50 Cent recently announced that he will partner with DJ Drama to release his first Gangsta Grillz mixtape, The Lost Tape. Speaking with The BoomBox, Mr. Thanksgiving explained how the collaboration came to be and that it all began with a run-in at South by Southwest.

“We ran into each other at my party out there,” he said. “I think I said a joke to him real quick about [doing a Gangsta Grillz tape], like, ‘You playing…,’ because a while ago we were supposed to be doing a G-Unit tape that never happened and we’ve been discussing some things. I was with his man Rene from G-Unit, went backstage after the show and mentioned it to him. But after that we never really spoke.”

Drama woke up the next morning to texts and calls after Fif posted to his Twitter account that the tape would see the light of day. “People were calling, saying 50 went on Twitter and said he ’bout to drop the tape,” he said. “So I was like, ‘Cool. It’s real.’ It’s good, because him doing that created a lot of anticipation and excitement and I’m looking forward to it.”

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Shooting for release in late April or May, Drama says that they’re both aware expectations are high for them to deliver a top quality project. “For me, it’s a lot on the line,” he said. “I think because it’s a Gangsta Grillz [mixtape], because it’s 50’s first, because of what 50 means to mixtapes and because of what I mean to mixtapes. There’s a lot… of ears. A lot of opinions. So I like the challenge, I’m excited for it, and I’m glad it’s getting the attention it’s getting because I’d like to be in the space where n—-s ride to this 50, how they’re supposed to ride to 50.”

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