G-Unit is definitely 50 Cent's ship, but after taking a look at the newly-expanded roster that includes everyone from vets like Mobb Deep and Mase to newcomers like Hot Rod, there's no question of which member of the crew receives the most respect. After migrating from Juvenile's camp to join G-Unit, Young Buck established himself as more than the group's interim Yayo replacement with standout verses on the group's Beg For Mercy album and a whopper debut album, Straight Outta Cashville. With his smokey Nashville drawl, tough as nails lyrics and slew of cameos alongside the south's elite, Buck stood out from his fellow G-Unit soldiers so much that enemies of the group would attempt to disclude him from their beefs.
While Buck is still riding for 50 and co., he's preparing his own takeover with a star-studded sophomore LP and his own label. In part one of a must-read interview with HHDX, Young Buck talks about naysayers' accusations of G-Unit's downfall, standing out from the rest of the crew and more.

HHDX: Tell me about the new album.
Young Buck: It speaks for itself, well the title do: Buck The World. With this record, I ain't hold nothing back nothin, I ain't got no limits with it, and I worked with key producers to add to that sound. Dr. Dre produced like three of em, Eminem produced something, Hi-Tek produced something, Lil Jon produced something, DJ Pod produced something, Timbaland produced something, everybody. Feature-wise, you gon get records like me, T.I., Young Jeezy and Pimp C on something together; me, Snoop and Trick Daddy together; me, Bun B, 8Ball and MJG together; me and Lyfe. So I've got a lot of features and things, but what I did was put my features together so I could make a lot of room for my own solo work, too. It's one of them records where real honestly, man, I can compare it to Dr. Dre's Chronic, 'cause this shit is one of those albums that's a legendary album, and I feel like this is an album that's going to be here for a minute.

HHDX: How do you think you've changed and developed as an MC since your last album?
Young Buck: I'm a mothafucka that's hands-on with the streets. You take the streets away from the world, and there's no more Young Buck. I'm breeded from this. I keep my fuel going, and make my music advance based off of the reality of life that I go through. I make my music based on reality; that's the only way mothafuckas are going to feel what you're saying through your music is if they can pull something out of these verses you put out, and say, “I'm going through that, I know somebody who's going through that, I don't want to go through it.” All my music is real life shit. It lasts longer; no disrespect to none of the people of the snap era, but dances get old. You aren't going to see anybody doing the MC Hammer typewriter today, but you can find somebody listening to 2Pac's “Keep Ya Head Up” or “Brenda's Got A Baby,” and it's still very relevant for today, and it's 10 or 11 years old.  I've always leaned toward that side of the music, more than the party side; even though you get that from me, the majority of what you're going to get is real-life shit. Just being out here, being a part of these streets gives me plenty of shit to write about. Just constantly working, my work ethic is a little bit different from the average nigga. I stay working, so I always grow. I reinvent myself as an artist, but stay myself as a person. Continued on page 2 »