50 Cent breaks down recording with Justin Timberlake

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Rapper and mogul 50 Cent is preparing for the June release of his new solo album, Curtis. The rapper recently shared what it was like working with Justin Timberlake on "Ayo Technology," a Timbaland-produced song which will be included on the Curtis album. The rapper told MTV.com, "I actually wrote a lot of the portions that other artists are working with me on, (but) in Justin's case, I flew to Florida. He was on tour with Timbaland. Timbaland produced the beat in a studio/trailer, on the tour bus. We got the music, the first time. I wrote a first verse; I didn't want to finish without the content and chorus. We got together the second time and finished the song in Houston."

50 Cent also explained that for this album he decided to expand his circle as opposed to just working with Eminem, Dr. Dre, and G-Unit producers. He said, "This time I worked with Akon, with Mary J., Robin Thicke, Will.I.Am, Pharrell, Swizz Beatz, Kanye West. Me and Young Buck featuring Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls. The album, for me, was finding a space where I am content and comfortable with my career, where I can go off and create with other artists and experiment a little bit."

In addition to the lead track, "Straight To The Bank," 50 Cent recently leaked a Havoc-produced track, "Fully Loaded Clip." In the song, 50 Cent raps, "While Jay and Beyonce was 'mmwa, mmwa'kissin'/ I was cookin'1,000 grams in my kitchen/ While Nas was telling Kelis, 'I love you, boo'/ I was shining my nine/ You know how I do/ ... While Trina was telling Weezy, 'I love you, boo'/ She was just running game/ She told Buck that too."

As far as dealing with the pressure leading up to the release of the new album, 50 Cent feels like the quality of the music will speak for itself. He said, "I think CD sales have been down because of a lack of quality (in the albums) that have been released. It wasn't (as) good as the standards that they hold at Shady/Aftermath. Dr. Dre, Eminem and myself -- (we collect material until we've got) what we feel is the best possible music by the time I come out. That's my formula to selling to the hip-hop community."