Keith Murray Blames N.O.R.E.’s Mistreatment For Him Skipping ‘Drink Champs’ Interview
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Keith Murray has pointed to Drink Champs host N.O.R.E. as the reason he didn’t appear on the podcast last year after it was announced he would be a guest on the show.
During a recent interview on Geto Boys member Willie D’s Willie D Live podcast, Murray recalled feeling disrespected by N.O.R.E.’s treatment of him during a run-in at the Rock The Bells music festival last August in Queens.
According to Murray, N.O.R.E. had him escorted out of a private section that rap icon and festival curator LL Cool J had invited him into, leaving the Long Island native perturbed.
Those feelings would deepen when Murray later approached N.O.R.E. to inquire about appearing on an episode of Drink Champs, with N.O.R.E. allegedly “scurrying” away in an attempt to avoid interaction with him. Murray would express his disappointment to Willie D regarding the encounter with N.O.R.E, asking “Why would he shun me like that?”
The Def Squad member revealed that he had been booked to appear on Drink Champs earlier this month, on Martin Luther King Day, but skipped out on that commitment to speak on Willie D Live instead. “I was supposed to go do [Drink Champs] MLK Day but I ain’t go … I ain’t go; I came to Willie D.”
A few months after Murray’s absence from his initially scheduled appearance, N.O.R.E. gave a statement explaining his reasoning for being uneasy about going through with the episode giving questions regarding Murray’s psyche.
“We love Keith Murray, but let’s also be upfront,” he began. “We’re concerned. His mental health doesn’t seem that we could put him in this environment and smoke and drink. Now, if he can, we gon’ do it. If he can sit, he can smoke, he can drink, we gon’ do it.”
The hitmaker continued, adding that he would be open to having Murray appear on Drink Champs sober and simply want to present the rapper in the best light. “Or he doesn’t have to smoke or drink. We don’t wanna — the thing is we have responsibilities. We know there’s a certain amount of people that watch us every week, every month, every muthaf**kin’ year, but why would we put a rap legend in jeopardy? And that’s what it’s feeling like.”
See Keith Murray’s interview with Willie D Live below.
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