By Tai Saint Louis
Brooklyn rap group M.O.P. is searching for a new label home, as they prepare to leave 50 Cent's G-Unit imprint, the group's manager Laze Elliot told AllHipHop.com.
"As soon as I lock down the new situation, it will be official," Laze told AllHipHop.com, adding that the terms were definitely “amicable.”
While M.O.P.'s three year stint on G-Unit did not yield an album, the group benefited greatly from the situation, according to their longtime manager.
"The great thing about the G-Unit deal is that it cleared all the debts the group carried over the years," Laze explained. "So we are starting basically from scratch."
Comprised of Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, M.O.P. has yet to attain the commercial success that would match the loyal fan following they've garnered since their 1994 debut To The Death.
Their most successful album to date was Warriorz, released in 2000 on Loud Records.
Despite the popularity of two singles from that album, "Ante Up," and "Cold As Ice," Warriorz has yet to break the 500,000 records sold mark.
The group was briefly signed to Roc-A-Fella Records before Dame Dash's departure and has remained ever present on the mixtape scene, despite several label changes since Loud Records folded in 2002.
M.O.P.'s most recent album was 2005's independently released M.O.P. Salutes The Marxmen on their own Family First imprint, which is distributed by Koch.
As recently as July of last year, Billy Danze was quoted as saying that their G-Unit debut was due in October of 2007.
"I think [if we] would have got our record out earlier, that would have set a clear quality precedent," said Laze. " All the aesthetic issues would have been solved and we'd be on the second album by now. I knew we were going to have problems though, because 50 needed the group to be in a certain space in order for him to co-sign it.
"He didn't feel Fame was in that space physically or mentally," Laze continued. “He shouldn't have to [understand Fame], but there are many talented artists in history that you don't know where their talent comes from."
Creative differences aside, Laze maintains that there is absolutely no animosity between the two camps.
"50 has been good about letting us move on," Laze stated. "I still believe that we would work together. The relationship is much better from a creative standpoint."