Fans waiting to see Keith Murray make his highly anticipated visit to the studios of N.O.R.E and DJ EFN’s popular “Drink Champs” podcast will have to keep on waiting it seems.
During a recent appearance on the “Willie D Live” podcast, the beloved veteran lyricist told of an awkward encounter with N.O.R.E that may explain the delay.
According to Murray, there was a funny interaction between the two where N.O.R.E. had Murray removed from a VIP section that LL Cool J sat him in at a “Rock The Bells” event late last year. Murray says he ran into N.O.R.E. outside the event later and when he tried to approach him about his long delayed “Drink Champs” scheduled appearance the rapper-turned-podcaster quickly “scurrie[d] off.”
“Why would he shun me like that?” Murray asked rhetorically. “I was supposed to go do [‘Drink Champs’] MLK Day but I ain’t go … I ain’t go; I came to Willie D.”
The “Get Lifted” rapper was scheduled to do “Drink Champs” last January but the appearance never materialized. Not long afterward, N.O.R.E. gave his reasoning for the delay.
“We love Keith Murray, but let’s also be upfront,” he started. “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.”
“Or he doesn’t have to smoke or drink,” he continued. “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—–’ year, but why would we put a rap legend in jeopardy? And that’s what it’s feeling like.”
Murray was confirmed in December 2021 by N.O.R.E. as being a slated upcoming guest shortly before a couple of discombobulated appearances on “The Art of Dialogue” podcast in which Murray’s claims to have sexual relationships with rappers Foxy Brown and Shawnna left many in the hip-hop world concerned as to the state of his mental health.
See Murray’s full interview on “Willie D Live” below.
