Just two hours after its rerelease, the G-Unit x Reebok G6 completely sold out. Twenty-three years after its original release, 50 Cent and Reebok announced they would be bringing the shoe back in its original white, red and blue color scheme on Thursday, and keeping the design the same as the model’s victorious 2003 run.
While some may be surprised at the high demand the shoe is having two decades later, 50 Cent is not. In a brief email interview with FN, the “Stunt 101” rapper says that the fans’ reactions to the shoe is not about nostalgia but more so about the impact it made. He says he knew they had something special from the start.
“I knew we had something big,” 50 says to FN. “Back then, we were just focused on making noise and doing something that felt different. To see people still excited about it all these years later is crazy. The fans kept it alive. That means a lot to me.”
50 has remained a mainstay in pop culture through various business enterprises, his music and his long list of TV projects like the Starz “Power” franchise. Reebok has also stayed in the conversation through a long list of collaborations with other stars like Angel Reese, Cam’ron, Kendrick Lamar, Cardi B, Karol G and more. While those have also been a success, the company listened to the G-Unit fans’ demands.
50 Cent arrives Nov. 4, 2003, at his and Reebok’s launch party for Answer 7 and G6 footwear at Capitale in New York City.
Getty Images
“The hype around G-Unit hasn’t slowed down since ’03,” Reebok chief executive officer Todd Krinsky told FN in reaction to the shoes selling out. “We’re incredibly excited about the momentum this rerelease has created and we can’t wait for what’s next.”
FN reached out to 50 Cent about bringing the sneakers back, and he opened up about the shoes quickly selling out, what creating the shoe meant for him in 2003, what it taught him about business and what it means to introduce the shoes to a new generation. The interview, lightly edited for clarity, appears below.
: When you look at the impact the G-Unit sneakers still have today, what do you think the G6 sneakers got right that most celebrity sneakers at the time got wrong?
50 Cent: It was authentic. I wasn’t just putting my name on somebody else’s shoe and calling it mine. I was involved. The design, the marketing, the way we presented it — it all felt like me and G-Unit. People can tell when something is real, and I think that’s why it connected the way it did.
FN: If the G-Unit sneaker never existed and you were designing it for the first time in 2026, would you make it the same? What’s one thing you would change?
50 Cent: Look at the response now. We sold out within two hours, and our design held up. That tells you we got it right the first time. I might have some fun with new colors and different versions today, but the OG? I wouldn’t mess with that. I still wear it.
The G-Unit x Reebok G6.
FN: What made you and Reebok decide this was the right moment to bring the G-Unit sneaker back? Was there a specific moment when you realized the high demand for the sneaker was still there?
50 Cent: The fans never really let it go. People have been asking for this shoe to come back for years. Reebok is having a moment again, G-Unit is still part of the culture, and the timing just made sense. You’ve got the people who had them the first time, and now you’ve got a whole new generation discovering them. That’s when you know you have something.
FN: Back in the day, I remember teenagers lining up at the mall to buy the sneakers. Now people will be waiting to order on their phones or computers. Is it more valuable for you if a person who remembers and owned the original sneaker buys it again, or for a 16-year-old to discover it for the first time?
50 Cent: I want both. If you had them back then, there’s a memory attached to that shoe. You remember where you were, what you were listening to, what that time felt like. But seeing a 16-year-old want them today? That’s different. That tells me we made something bigger than a moment. Real culture gets passed down.
Reebok
FN: You’ve always been a visionary in your career. Did the 2003 version of you know the sneaker would still have so much cultural significance this many years later? How does it make you feel now to know that people care so much about the rerelease?
50 Cent: I knew we had something big, but you can’t predict 20 years later. Back then, we were just focused on making noise and doing something that felt different. To see people still excited about it all these years later is crazy. The fans kept it alive. That means a lot to me.
FN: The G-Unit brand was built when hip-hop artists were becoming major business brands. You have built many brands since, including a TV empire. What did having your own sneakers teach you about turning your name into a real business?
50 Cent: It taught me early that you have to bet on yourself. Don’t just take the check — understand the business, understand your value and make sure you’re building something. The sneaker showed me that what I was creating could go way beyond music. Once I understood that, I never looked at business the same way again.
FN: Lastly, if someone says to you that “G-Unit sneakers belong in the 2000s,” what would you say to them?
50 Cent: I’d tell them to look at what’s happening right now. [Laughs] If it belonged in the 2000s, people wouldn’t still be asking for it 20 years later. The fans wanted it back, so we brought it back. If something can leave and come back with this kind of energy, that’s not nostalgia. That’s impact.