Copyright TMZ
Comedian Alex Thomas was closely associated with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records uprising at the top of the century ... which led to him landing the role of the sassy gay man who dissed Ja Rule at the end of 50 Cent's "Back Down" track!!! The song was a crucial moment in 50 and G-Unit winning their rap battle against Ja and Murder Inc. en route to 50's "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" debut, nearly being certified Diamond!!! Alex tells "The Art of Dialogue" that after Dre and DJ Pooh hand-picked him to star in the 2001 film "The Wash" -- alongside Snoop Dogg and Eminem -- Dre immediately pulled him aside and tipped him off that some guy named 50 Cent was the next rapper to blow up. Dre played Alex a clip of a supposedly gay man calling a radio station asking for Ja Rule ... and the comic actor took the gag and ran with it, without knowing the depth of the beef or even who 50 was altogether. The end result is one of Hip Hop's biggest blockbuster albums ... Alex says it only took him 30 minutes to earn $10K!!! To sweeten the pot, Dre also bought him a pool table as a housewarming gift ... and Alex was sinisterly left uncredited to fuel the gay rumors directed at Ja. Alex says it was just business -- not personal clowning on Ja -- and hopes to catch 18 holes of golf with him down the line.
