Exclusive: 50 Cent Previews Forever King Mixtape
'Act as if you're a king to be treated like a king,' 50 says in Mixtape Daily.

By Shaheem Reid

Forever King: A Mixtape Daily Exclusive

50 Cent is definitely up on everything. He looks at the Internet just like everybody else. Sitting in his New York office Thursday (July 2), 50 was looking at the Drake video, refusing to watch Game's apology to the G-Unit on MTVNews.com and answering calls from Leonardo DiCaprio's camp for a dinner with the movie star. All that, and he played his latest mixtape, Forever King for Mixtape Daily. He was originally going to call his latest mixtape Sincerely Yours: Southside Part 2, and on it he planned to rap over '90s R&B classics. But in the end he decided to throw in some additional flavor with his throwback stylings.

"It was Sincerely Southside Part 2, but I changed it to Forever King because of the content," he explained. "I wanted to not just make all '90s music, I wanted to switch up the content a little bit. Also, calling it Sincerely Southside would cause an expectation based on Part 1. So I called it Forever King. In the past, you've had artists, when they feel they're on top their game, say they are, or would be considered, the King in New York City. So I feel on top of my game. It's actually one of the laws of power: Act as if you're a king to be treated like a king."

The cover of the tape features 50's face digitally imposed with an iced-out skull.

"When Michael Jackson passed, there was a piece of artwork that had 'King of Pop, King of Rap' with me and his pictures. That's what gave me the concept of the artwork. There's a real human skull that's got diamonds embedded in it," he said. "I saw the photo in Dubai. It's an artifact, it's priceless. That's a real skull they see. We used the effect to make it feel like it's a skull inside my face. And the Yankee hat would be my crown."

The King gets anything but the royal red carpet rolled out for him in a track called "Put Da Work In." Over a slow beat, Fif tells shocking, pensive true stories about his childhood.

"You know, my aunt killed my dog and never said sorry," he raps about one of his family members doing away with his pet canine. "N---as broke in my crib and stole my Atari/ Man, n---as could've asked, I would let them hold a cartridge."

Fif just couldn't catch a break.

"Instead of selling crack, I could've been Tiger Woods/ But they ain't got no f---in' golf courses in the 'hood.'

The tempo gets faster as does the mood on the playfully disparaging "If You Leave." Fif raps over the 1991 classic "You Called and Told Me" by Jeff Redd (the man who discovered Mary J. Blige).

As the beat builds up, Fif rhymes: "N---as know how I do./ Let's get mo' paper, mo' bread./ It's grind time./ I ain't f---in' 'round kid./ ...If there's a problem I get right to the root./ ... You talk too much, I'll put your a-- on mute."

"If you're leaving, then leave/ On the way out leave my keys," 50 sarcastically says on the chorus while Redd's chorus of "you called and told that you wanted to leave" plays.

"I got y'all back in Bentley's," he adds, referring to the legendary New York nightclub.

"Dreaming" incorporates Christopher Williams' 1992 hit off the "New Jack City" soundtrack "Dreamin'." Here, the G-Unit general tells his aspirations of being rich away from drug dealing.

"It's bigger than coke, bigger than dope," he promises in his rhyme. "My marijuana mentality went up in smoke."

"Things You Do," uses Gina Thompson's "The Things You Do" and finds Fif having fun with fast women, while "Funny How Time Flies" is about him withstanding the hate he receives from rolling with one particular woman.

"They can wish bad sh-- on us, it's cool we made it/ Look at me and see the Lord's blessing while they stressing/ Switch whips, push the Bugatti through the recession."

You can also look out for "London Girl 2" and 50 flipping records by Horace Brown and Case. He also includes tracks that he previously leaked such as "Paranoid," "Respect It or Check It" and "Where You Are," which includes vocals by Michael Jackson.

" 'You Called and Told Me,' that was [popular] at Bentley's!" 50 said with a grin. "That's when I met Jay-Z. That has gotta be '97. That record was ill at that point. A lot of those joints, I have memories tied to the records. Music marks times. 'Get Money,' that joint right there I took the Horace Brown joint, 'One for the Money.' Then I used Gina Thompson. Intro! That was my favorite group. At one point, Intro was consistently giving me [hits]. 'Let me be, let me the one!' A bunch of joints man. Of course, 'Funny How Time Flies,' the one I used. Then they had 'Let Me Come Inside.'"

Forever King drops Friday night (July 3) on Thisis50.com. Last night, 50 debuted his new video for "OK You're Right," which will be featured on his upcoming Before I Self Destruct.

Fif said he came across the clip from the short film "Carousel," which was directed by Adam Berg and won the Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and placed portions of it at the beginning of his video. The story escalates from there, with 50 in a clown mask for part of it.

"We're searching to find the newest thing possible or newest film tricks. That clip actually won in Cannes Film Festival. I felt it would have been a dope intro to the movie. It was a four-minute-long piece. I felt it was overkill the way they did it, but for what they were doing it for made sense.

"A little bit of the Joker," he explained about what "Carousel" reminded him of. "That was my opportunity to play the Joker with the mask on."

Forever King's track listing:

» "Paranoid"
» "Respect It or Check It"
» "Suicide Watch"
» "Things You Do"
» "Get Money"
» "Funny How Time Flies"
» "If You Leave"
» "Dreaming"
» "Where You Are"
» "London Girl 2"
» "Touch Me"
» "Put Da Work In"   

Jul 3, 2009 -- 10:37PM, StAfresh81 wrote:

Fif need to put dat ego aside and work wit da homie Game bruh. Dat shit would be crazy...........

 

Overall though, this mixtape is insane. I like it a "lil" better than War Angel..........more range. But combine both.........dats how I do.....

yea anotha game and 50 cent joint would kill alot shit!

50 back on his grind. Im happy to see him takin it to the music this go round.

So the haters gonna need somethin new to hate about.

Jul 3, 2009 -- 10:57PM, DIABOLICAL reppin' the Evil Empire....fuck Philly wrote:

50 don't need to watch Game's apology because his apologies don't mean shit due to the fact that he's a bi-polar chump. I'd rather hear a 50/Nas collabo rather than a 50/Game one.

that would be good cuz working with nas..  50 would have to bring his A game..  he would have to do the same with Game cuz you know he aint gon let Game shine a a track with him..  but just the fact that Nas is out the world with his lyrical ability would make fif push a lil more.

Game cant make up his mind. Dont get ya hopes up cuz a collab with both of em wont happen