He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After the group's 2003 release of their debut album, Beg for Mercy, Banks released his first solo album, The Hunger for More, in 2004, featuring the top ten hit single "On Fire". His second studio album, Rotten Apple, was released in 2006.

Banks left Interscope Records in 2009 and, along with the rest of G-Unit, signed with EMI the following year[4] to distribute Banks third studio album The Hunger for More 2, which was released in 2010.