Keith Murray was slated to appear on Drink Champs in January but N.O.R.E. has now explained why they haven’t had him on the show yet.
N.O.R.E. admitted earlier this week that he and DJ EFN haven’t gone through with his invitation because they’re worried about the Def Squad rapper’s mental health.
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“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.
“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 muthafuckin’ year, but why would we put a rap legend in jeopardy? And that’s what it’s feeling like.”
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Back in December, N.O.R.E. confirmed Murray was slated to join him as a guest on Drink Champs in January after he also extended an invite to Cardi B following a productive conversation with the Grammy-winning rapper.
“Yes we getting Keith Murry [sic] on drinkchamps in Jan when we come off the break,” he tweeted to close out 2022.
Yes we getting Keith Murry on drinkchamps in Jan when we come off the break!!!
— N.O.R.E (@noreaga) December 30, 2022
The reason for the concern comes after Murray took part in a few animated interviews with The Art of Dialogue, in which he detailed alleged rendezvouz with both Shawnna and Foxy Brown.
Both rappers denied Murray’s claims, while social media voiced its concern for the New York rapper’s mental health.
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“I hope Keith Murray gets the help that he needs. Those videos scream mental health and substance abuse,” one Twitter user wrote. Another added: “Dust head and all, Keith Murray was nice, hopefully he get’s help before he ends up like DMX, Black Rob and every other great who lost their life due to substance abuse, there’s many.”
Many fans hopped into N.O.R.E.’s comment section to ask where this kind of grace and hesitancy was when he had Kanye West on Drink Champs in October for an interview, which Drink Champs took down shortly after it aired due to hate speech Ye was spewing in his interview.
N.O.R.E. expressed regret for having Ye on Drink Champs in an interview with Hot 97 where he apologized to “anybody that was hurt by Kanye’s words and actions” and to “anybody who felt like I let them down.”
Talib Kweli called out Ye for not being a “good friend” to N.O.R.E. and using his platform to spread his rhetoric.
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“@kanyewest bro you not a good friend to @therealnoreaga stop the [cap],” Kweli wrote in his caption. “You called NORE because he the only one who would let you come on after The Shop shelved you because you was screaming White Lives Matter (a nazi phrase) at everyone during that taping.”
