Dark Lo and V Don are revisiting their nearly decade-long partnership with the deluxe edition of Made of Gold, which arrived Sept. 18 with four additional tracks. The Philadelphia rapper and Harlem producer recently sat down with Billboard to discuss the original 11-song project track by track, explaining the stories behind the songs and how the album came together after Dark Lo’s return home.

The duo began working on Made of Gold in April 2025, after Dark Lo returned home following four years of a seven-and-a-half-year sentence connected to a witness-intimidation case. V Don said he began sending beats to Dark Lo after his release, while the two also worked together in person. The project became their first major collaboration since 2023’s Charlie Pope 2.

The album opens with “540 Months,” a title referring to the 540-month sentence given to Dark Lo’s longtime friend and collaborator AR-Ab. V Don said he immediately felt the track stood out as Dark Lo’s return record, while Dark Lo added a bridge after initially recording the song without a hook. The producer built the instrumental around chopped keys from a sample.

“Cabin Fever” follows with Dark Lo moving between jail experiences, street stories and more unusual subject matter. He described the track as a showcase for his range, while V Don explained that the beat was one of the final productions completed for the project. Dark Lo also identified the song as one of his favorites from the album.

“Stay Alive 2” serves as a continuation of the duo’s earlier “Stay Alive.” V Don said the new version takes a more soulful and positive direction than its predecessor, while Dark Lo approached the song more personally, discussing family, friends and experiences connected to staying alive. Additional vocals from Ashli James were added during post-production.

“Freeze Tag” was the first song Dark Lo recorded after coming home. He said he filmed the video for the track as well, while V Don revealed that he had kept the instrumental for years before Dark Lo finally used it. The recording became an early indication for V Don that their creative partnership was returning to form.

The title track, “Made of Gold,” became the foundation for the album’s name. V Don initially viewed the instrumental as potentially an interlude, but Dark Lo turned it into a full song. Dark Lo connected the title to the process of gold being refined through heat and used that image to describe his own experiences, including his time in prison and his return home.

“Burgers on Wednesday” draws directly from Dark Lo’s time in federal prison. He explained that inmates regularly received burgers on Wednesdays, making the meal a recurring part of the prison routine. The song developed from that detail, with Dark Lo eventually using the phrase “Burgers every Wednesday” as the hook. V Don said he heavily chopped the sample and built the drums around the energetic production.

On “Keep Callin’,” V Don revisited another beat he had held onto for some time before sending it to Dark Lo. The rapper approached the song with a mixture of aggressive lyrics and smoother passages, while V Don added an 808 and other production elements after receiving Dark Lo’s recording. The two described the finished track as having a jazz-influenced, “smooth criminal” feel.

“2000 Grams” features one of the project’s darker and more stripped-down productions. V Don described the instrumental as eerie and grimy, while Dark Lo said the beat immediately inspired a stream of verses. The song does not rely on a conventional hook, instead allowing Dark Lo to deliver an extended series of bars, including a section in which his voice is altered with a filter.

The album closes with “For Keeps,” another track built around V Don’s production and Dark Lo’s street-focused storytelling. During the Billboard conversation, the pair discussed one of the song’s central lines about making money with a supplier without having to rob him, contrasting that approach with narratives common in contemporary street rap.

The original album contains 11 tracks in total, including “Chowline,” which features Corey Staggers, and the songs “Stay Alive,” “Made of Gold,” “Burgers On Wednesday,” “Keep Callin’” and “2000 Grams.” The project was produced entirely by V Don, with the duo continuing the artist-producer partnership that has produced several collaborative releases since their earlier work together.

The deluxe edition expands Made of Gold with four additional songs, bringing the project beyond its original 11-track configuration. Dark Lo and V Don discussed the deluxe release as part of their ongoing collaboration, with V Don revealing that they already have another project substantially prepared and are targeting the first quarter of 2027 for its release. Dark Lo also said he hopes to continue recording and appear on more features.

Made of Gold is currently available in its deluxe form, while the duo continues to develop new material following Dark Lo’s return to music.