Comedian Alex Thomas just lately mirrored on his surprising position in one in every of hip-hop’s largest feuds. Back within the early 2000s, Thomas grew to become a part of 50 Cent’s legendary monitor “Back Down,” the place he voiced the flamboyant caller who mocked Ja Rule. The skit closed out the diss report that helped solidify 50’s dominance throughout his battle with Murder Inc. and marked a serious second main as much as his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’.

Thomas defined that the chance got here by way of Dr. Dre, who had already labored with him on the 2001 movie The Wash. After filming wrapped, Dre approached him about doing one thing new within the studio. He performed Thomas an audio clip of a person calling right into a radio station asking for Ja Rule, which grew to become the inspiration for the skit. “I didn’t know who 50 Cent was,” Thomas admitted, recalling that he had no thought how severe the feud between 50 and Ja Rule actually was on the time.

He recorded the bit on the spot, ending the job in about thirty minutes and incomes ten thousand {dollars} for his time. Dre later shocked him with a pool desk as a present. However, Thomas’ identify was purposely overlooked of the credit to make the prank sound actual and maintain followers guessing. “They wanted people to think it was an actual call,” he mentioned.

Over time, the second grew into a bit of hip-hop historical past, although it induced some stress between Thomas and Ja Rule. The comic insists there was no private malice behind the efficiency, saying it was simply enterprise and a part of the inventive course of. Looking again, he calls it a wild however unforgettable expertise that linked comedy and rap in an surprising means.