"Smile" is a song by American hip hop group

G-Unit G-Unit (short for Guerilla Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released ...

, released on April 8, 2004, as the fourth and final single from their debut album, '' Beg for Mercy'' (2003). The song was produced by No I.D. and contains a sample "I Too Am Wanting", as performed by Syreeta.

Background

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After ...

is the main artist on the song, with his G-Unit cohort

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

, only singing "be the reason you smile" as a background vocal on the

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the v ...

as well as giving the intro.

Music video

The video goes through Lloyd Banks' life from a child to an adult, as he gets involved in love interests and relationships. It features Banks' two brothers, who play him at different points in his life. Former

G-Unit Records G-Unit Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group. Founded in 2002 by rapper 50 Cent, for the first eleven years of operation, G-Unit ran in conjunction with, and was distributed by, Interscope Records. In February 2014, ...

artist, Olivia, is the adult girl featured in the video. The video was directed by

Jessy Terrero Jessy Terrero (born October 7, 1972) is a Dominican film and music video director. Career Terrero appeared as an extra on the 1992 film ''Juice'' starring Tupac Shakur. According to Terrero, it was his experience on the set of the movie that i ...

Chart positions

References

2004 singles G-Unit songs Music videos directed by Jessy Terrero Contemporary R&B ballads Song recordings produced by No I.D. Interscope Records singles Songs written by 50 Cent Songs written by Lloyd Banks 2003 songs G-Unit Records singles {{2000s-hiphop-single-stub