50 Cent revealed he was close to dropping a mixtape this winter, and it would have directly addressed tension with fellow New York rappers Jim Jones, Fabolous, Dave East and Maino.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, 50 opened up about why he briefly considered returning to rap mode after the four unleashed the "Squatters" freestyle dissing him.
"I almost put a whole tape out because of the rap podcast thing," 50 said, explaining that comments made on their podcast, Let's Rap About It, including criticism from Jim Jones over 50's involvement in a documentary centered on Diddy, caught his attention. According to 50, the situation escalated after he made remarks about the podcast crew allegedly failing to pay their bills.
"I never said anything about anyone if they didn't do something or we didn't have an actual issue," he said. "They responded to something that I said about them not paying their bills, which was true. They responded to that by rapping."
Despite being tempted to respond musically, 50 ultimately decided against releasing the mixtape, suggesting that engaging in lyrical back-and-forth would only benefit his critics. Instead, 50 emphasized that his priorities have always been rooted in commercial impact rather than rap sparring.
"Even if I responded to those records, I think it would only be to their benefit," he explained. "If you look at what they've done in their careers and then look at my stats, there's no way we're supposed to be competing with each other."
He continued, "If you're in the business of selling music, the idea is to make music that sells. That was always my only interest, making the right music and having it embraced and sold."
The comments highlight 50 Cent's current mindset as both a veteran artist and media mogul, balancing his legacy in hip-hop with his expanding footprint in film, television, and business. While fans may be disappointed that the winter mixtape never saw the light of day, the G-Unit boss is content letting podcast debates and diss records play out without him.