In one of the recent episodes of Drink Champs, Grafh and Memphis Bleek dive deep into their careers in hip hop. From Grafh’s early days with Black Hand and his near-signing to Roc-A-Fella, to Bleek’s experiences as a core member of the iconic label, the duo share never-before heard stories. They discuss Grafh’s alleged beef with 50 Cent, his ghostwriting for J.Lo, and his fight with Busta Rhymes. The conversation also touches on the importance of lyricism in hip hop, the impact of the Griselda movement, and the legacy of Chaz Williams. Grafh opens up about industry blackballing and his journey to independence, while both artists reflect on the evolution of their careers and the current state of hip-hop.
At one point of the interview, Grafh played a traditional Quicktime With Slime game, where the hosts ask the guest to choose between two artists or subjects and if he/she can’t answer, then she/he drinks a shot. NORE and DJ EFN of course asked a traditional question, ‘Busta Rhymes or Eminem?’ and Grafh chose Eminem.
“I’mma have to go with… Damn, Bus my nig-a too though. I’mma go with Em, cause he influenced my style. I’m combination of like Prodigy, Eminem, Nas, Jada, Royce and Jay-Z. But I love Busta, man.” said Grafh.
Later in the interview, the Queens, New York-born rapper showed love to Eminem and Royce 5’9″: “They used to call me Black Eminem for a while. That’s one of the best compliments to me. I think Em is one of the top nig-as. A lot of my influences were them type of nig-as. Royce and him, both of them nig-as influenced my s–t. So, that’s a big compliment to me, the Eminem s–t. I always wanted to do a song with Em. Just one nostalgic s–t because I look up to him as MC and have to see who get the better verse and we have to go hard. A lot of times when I make a record though, I’m not trying to get the best verse. I’m trying to make the best record but with Em, we gotta get the best verse. With Em, it is a blood sport nig-a. This is personal. Cause that’s a fact, he’s coming to smoke s–t.” said Grafh.
You can watch the interview below.”Busta Rhymes VS Eminem” talk starts at 59:47. The Eminem and Royce shout out starts from 1:04:18.
