Young Buck Ready To Pick Up Where 50 Leaves Off

[Damien J.]

Young Buck says that he and the rest of the G-Unit crew are ready to fill 50 Cent's shoes if and when the multi-platinum rapper decides to put music on the back burner.

As he prepares for a hoped-for Nov. 28 release of his new solo album, "Buck the World," Buck tells Billboard.com that he's getting a sense G-Unit's primary player is starting a transition, although 50 Cent is also working on a new album of his own.

"I think 50's in the mind of falling away from the music mode," Buck says. "He's definitely in the studio, but if he does do this album, it might be the last one. It's like 50's getting into a space where he feels like, 'You know what, Buck? I'm gonna fall back and leave this to you, [Lloyd] Banks [and] [Tony] Yayo" while exploring Hollywood and other businesses.

Banks says he feels 50 has been helping the rest of the G-Unit crew prepare for that day. "He's putting a lot of stuff in my hands, into my own label [Cashville Records]," he says. "At the end of the day, 50 [wants to] know if something ever happened to him, his company will be carried up through what he's taught us, hands-on. He's never kept us in the blind. We've always been aware of business meetings and sat beside him and everything. I think he sees I'm ready now."

"Buck the World" -- which features guest appearances by the rest of the G-Unit Crew, T.I. Young Jeezy, Snoop Dogg, Trick Daddy, Lyfe Jennings and Trey Songz, with production by Dr. Dre and Eminem -- is slated to be next G-Unit outing, following Banks' just-released "Rotten Apple." Buck's new single, "I Know You Want Me" with Jazze Pha, is currently No. 11 on Billboard's Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

But Buck says there's a chance the album may be held back until after the first of the year.

"[It] being such a good album, I want the best exposure from the company," says Buck, who's also opening a clothing store (Cashville Clothing) and a restaurant (Cashville Chicken & Waffles) in his home town of Nashville. "I need the whole, total push from the label, so I want to make sure [G-Unit parent] Interscope is fully aware of the project I have. When everything is feeling right, then I'll release it. If it ain't feeling right, it won't get [released on] Nov. 28. We'll be looking after Jan. 1st."

This report is provided by Billboard.com