Days after announcing his appearance on Nas’ upcoming album, Magic 2, 50 Cent took a moment to reflect on their working relationship, which spans over two decades.
The Grammy Award winner selected Fiddy to go on tour with him after hearing his 1999 breakout diss track, “How to Rob.” Once they hit the road, 50 Cent realized there was more to the NYC legend than his music revealed.
“He was ahead of us,” 50 Cent said of Nas during an interview with XXL. “What he had, and I was looking at it going, ‘You gotta be careful’ because he was smarter than the music he was releasing.”
Fif was able to see another side of Nas as they relaxed while hanging out between shows. He was surprised to learn the “One Mic” hitmaker was a bookworm.
“He was smarter than things he was saying on the records,” he continued. “Because what he said on the records matched how things felt in the environment not who he was actually [in his head]. We’d be on the tour bus, and he’d be reading books and stuff.”
50 Cent Addresses Working With Nas 20 Years After Last Collaboration
Elsewhere during the interview, 50 Cent discussed their upcoming offering “Office Hours.” The song comes more than twenty years after they last worked together on “Too Hot” and “Who U Rep With,” which featured on the G-Unit founder’s 2002 mixtape Guess Who’s Back?
“[Nas] felt like it was time so it’s done,” 50 Cent wrote, announcing the song on Instagram earlier this week. The track arrives Friday (July 21) on Nas’ Magic 2 album.
“It was cool to get in with him and do something like that,” he added. “It’s interesting that the relationship is different because we in two different places now.”
Elsewhere during the interview, 50 Cent revealed Nas “wanted me to be around,” after hearing “How To Rob,” telling him, “That’s like when I first came out.” He loved the “raw” energy of the track, which saw Fiddy go after some of the biggest Hip-Hop acts of the time.
Thankfully 50 Cent didn’t call out Nas, although he did send shots at JAY-Z, DMX, Diddy, Ma$e and many more.