AFI singer Davey Havok says the band were encouraged to collaborate with 50 Cent during the mid-2000s, after their label situation changed from DreamWorks to Interscope. The proposed pairing was intended to attract the attention of Interscope head Jimmy Iovine, illustrating the commercial pressure AFI faced despite their established goth-punk identity.

Havok told Metal Hammer that an A&R representative was determined to make Iovine notice AFI, particularly as Iovine had publicly said that rock was dead. Because 50 Cent was then a major priority for Iovine, the collaboration was suggested, although Havok said he had nothing against the rapper and questioned what such a partnership would mean creatively.