50 Cent hasn’t dropped a new album since 2014, but the rapper admitted he’s found recent inspiration in Eminem’s verse on Nas’ track “EPMD 2.”
In an interview with People Magazine for People in 10, 50 Cent suggested the King’s Disease II song made him want to get back into writing music. “When Em does something that stands out to me, it’s special,” he said when asked about what inspires him to work on music, as HotNewHipHop pointed out. “He just had a performance on Nas’ album, and it made me want to record again because of my connection to it. He sounded so good that I was like, ‘I gotta write something.’”
He went on to admit that he’s not been quite as prolific as he used to be, but he still feels as though his heart is firmly in the world of rap. “Even if I don’t share it with the general public, it forced me back into writing, going to the studio and recording something,” he said. When asked if he could land an Em feature on his next album, he nodded but added that it “probably” won’t happen.
Em references Fif on the track, which is one of the reasons Fif felt so connected to the track. “I hit 50 via text / Told him that I love him ‘cause I don’t even know when I’ma see him next,” Em raps on the track.
When “EPMD 2” first dropped, 50 Cent shared a brief clip of the song on Instagram to show his appreciation to the mention.
“No you can not front on this verse,” he wrote. “You just gotta listen, shut the fuck up and listen.”
Em didn’t just name drop 50 Cent on the track, though, also showing his love to the late MF Doom and closing out his verse with references to the titans of rap.
“And my name's with the Kane's and the Wayne's, and the Jay's and the Dre's,” he rapped on the song. “And the Ye's, and the Drake's and the J Dilla's, Jada's, Cool J's / And the Ra's and amazin' as Nas is, and praise to the Gods of this.”