On Sept. 6, 2008, T.I. officially dropped the anticipated single from his 2008 album Paper Trail, "Swagga Like Us" featuring Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Kanye West, who also produced the track. But its release didn't come without a bit of drama.

Years before, T.I. had been dubbed the so-called "Jay-Z of the South," a way of acknowledging he was a lyrical talent with stylish wit and nuance, which he displayed on the smartly weaved street tales that showed up on previous albums like his 2001 debut I'm Serious and his landmark 2003 album, Trap Muzik. So when it was announced that he'd be teaming up with Jay-Z on Paper Trail, folks were excited, even though the collaboration wasn't initially planned.

"It was a song that Kanye and I had done first; me featuring Kanye," T.I. told MTV back in 2008. "An idea had presented itself — 'What if we included these people and made it an event record?' -- and I was like, 'That's a very ambitious idea but a lovely one.'"

The song was even supposed to appear on Jay's Blueprint 3, though he eventually abandoned the idea. But that wasn't the real drama with the anticipated song — it leaked ahead of the album, much to the chagrin of T.I.

"That's some bullshit," T.I. told MTV News on Aug. 23, 2008, about a month before the album dropped. "I'm beating down the Internet as we speak. Don't ruin the event, wait till the cake comes out the kitchen before you eat it. That's like a kid who sees his toys before Christmas; it takes away from me and I think it takes away from the fans as well. When it's time, I'mma give it to you. They leaked my record with me and The-Dream ["Like I Do"] too. Leakage is never a problem I have had. I'm not used to it."

Leaked or not, "Swagga Like Us" peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also went on to win a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Kanye sampled M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" for the track (he actually wanted to work with her on Graduation, but the collaboration didn't come into fruition), and the four rappers — T.I., Jay, Wayne, and Kanye all performed the song at the Grammy's, alongside a pregnant M.I.A.

Listen to the song above.