DJ Drama has stated that for him, his position within Hip Hop is solidified, and he is surprised that it’s even up for debate.
On Tuesday (March 20), a clip from a conversation the superproducer had with Cigar Talk surfaced online. Drama makes it clear in the clip that his place within Hip Hop and what he’s contributed to the culture is unquestionable.
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“I’m not in a position of speaking politically correct anymore,” he said. “For what I’ve done for the culture and what I’ve given to people and what I’ve given to Hip Hop, like n-ggas, can’t see me.”
He continued: “Second of all, don’t ever question about what I mean to Hip Hop. How many classic mixtapes would we not have if it wasn’t for DJ Drama.”
There has been a lot of openness in DJ drama’s interviews lately. Last week, he admitted that he still feels horrible about removing Nicki Minaj’s verse from one of Gucci Mane’s early mixtapes.
In an interview with Bootleg Kev, Drama reflected on Gucci’s first Gangsta Grillz project, 2008’s The Movie, and said that when the 1017 rapper originally brought the tape to him, it included a verse from then-up-and-coming Nicki Minaj.
DJ Drama decided that it was appropriate to remove the verse because at the time, Nicki was still largely unknown. Fifteen years later, it’s a move that the Philly native now regrets.
“When he brought it to me, the first song on the tape, the first voice you heard on the tape was Nicki Minaj,” Drama began. “Obviously, this is an early Nicki Minaj. And disrespectfully I felt like we can’t have a Gangsta Grillz with me and Gucci and the first voice you heard not be Gucci, so I removed her verse from that song. I feel terrible to this day.”
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In other DJ Drama news, he recently revealed that a De La Soul Gangsta Grillz tape is on the way. In another separate interview with the Rap Radar podcast, Dram casually slipped in a gem that he’s working on the mixtape with the group amid discussing his ability to remain a cross-generational talent.
“De La Soul’s coming to streaming. I can’t be more excited,” he said. “And we got a Gangsta Grillz coming! Little sidebar.”
