We didn't see this one coming: Mobb Deep and Rick Ross are set to collaborate.

With Prodigy stuck with a three-year bid for weapons charges, the Mobb haven't released an album in three years. But now, with P free and their Black Cocaine EP due in November, the Queens duo is set to call in favors—namely some high-profile collabos, to get their name buzzing yet again.
Considering Mobb's loyalty to former label boss and Ross arch-nemesis 50 Cent—not to mention Prodigy and Rick's pasts as inmate and corrections officer, respectively—it didn't seem like Rick Ross would be one of them. But Prodigy recently told MTV that they've already reached out to Ross for a feature. "All that is in the works, man. We like Rick Ross," Prodigy said. "I'ma be honest: We come from an era where longevity and consistency is key, and in the beginning, I ain't really see that in him. Then while I was locked up, he was dropping more and more music. I was like, 'Damn, I'm starting to like this dude.' That's when I was like, 'We need to holla at son and do some music with him.' "

Prodigy said that he's been planning the collabo since he was behind bars—and that 50 has no problem with it. (Mobb Deep used to be signed to G-Unit, and they both infamously got inked with the label's logo.) "The first day I came home," P said, "I went to the G-Unit office and told [50 Cent], 'Listen, Mobb Deep needs to start doing songs with everybody. We need to start reaching out to people even if we got little conflicts — people like Rick Ross, people like Lil Wayne, everybody that we respect and we like their music — and start doing songs with them.' He was like, 'Yeah, you right.' "

Ross himself also confirmed that he was linking with Prodigy and his crew. "I respect him most definitely, as being a Boss," Ross said. "When he was released, he gave me a call a few days after that. We spoke on the phone maybe once or twice, and it was a genuine conversation, us just touching bases. We most definitely put a record or two on the table, and just to be frank, I was always a fan of the homie, HNIC."

(Photos from left: Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Sony Music Entertainment)