N.O.R.E. Blasts Rappers For Doing Interviews With Non-Hip-Hop Media

Since becoming a member of the media with his Drink Champs podcast, rapper N.O.R.E. has taken note of the continued trend of high-profile rap artists opting to grant exclusive interviews to mainstream outlets instead of those dedicated to Hip-Hop. The Queens native recently took to social media to address the topic, going as far as name-checking some of the hosts of the shows he feels aren’t a direct reflection of the culture.

“I have been the best to this culture I have always put Hip Hop first and I see guys go to Ellen [DeGeneres] and David [Letterman] and Zane Lows (sic) and treat them [with] more respect [than] the culture but say [you] want Black excellence,” he tweeted on Wednesday night (May 25).

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He also made it clear that his gripe is not an issue of race and included Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King among the aforementioned hosts who’ve secured rare sitdowns with rap’s biggest names. “Imma be honest even going to [Oprah Winfrey] or [Gayle King] is trash at this point!!! We control our culture why go outside of it!!!”

N.O.R.E. added that while he’s a big fan of David Letterman, he’d prefer rap artists do deep dives with the likes of Gillie Da King, Joe Budden, and himself before giving those opportunities to cultural outsiders. “David letterman is my favorite but man why go there or Ellen before million dollars worth of game or joe or the champs or even twitter sh*t!!!” he expressed.

The rapper and media personality’s comments come after Cardi B’s appearance on the latest season of the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. Ironically, Sean “Diddy” Combs, who owns REVOLT, the platform on which Drink Champs episodes are aired, recently made an appearance on The Ellen Show as well.

See N.O.R.E.’s comments below.

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