During an interview with Billboard.com about his recently released Juice mixtape and mini-movie, Soulja Boy was asked about the tough times he's gone through lately, more specifically the loss of his younger brother in a car accident just last month.

SB told the music website, "I'm grateful for my family, keeping me grounded, and all of the fans that stuck through it all with me, everyone that kept it real with me, that messed with my music and me as a person."

One of those people who stuck by him was 50 Cent. According to Soulja Boy, 50 personally reached out to him while he was going through it all. Soulja Boy says he had never gone through something like that before.

Despite his hardship, the Atlanta rapper says he's thankful. He also shared insight on Juice and his decision to release a mixtape as opposed to an album. He said, "I want fans to really feel the music. With an album, it's going to be a whole process; get the beats and samples cleared, features [done]. On a mixtape I can do whatever I want to do without any consequences. It's just me 100%, full creativity in the studio."

(Photo: John Ricard/Retna Ltd.)