Christopher “CJ” Soriano Jr. has been accused of falsifying his ties to the Bloods gang. The Staten Island-raised rhymer continues to push back on the narrative that he is a real-life version of MC Gusto from CB4 or Papa Doc from 8 Mile.
CJ’s latest effort to address the rumors he is actually nothing more than an industry plant, supposedly installed by his influential relative James Cruz, comes in the form of a new verse. Yesterday (June 2), he shared his own take on Drake’s “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” featuring Rick Ross.
“First things first, b####, I’m Hit Squad Brim, and if you got a problem with it, you can suck my dick. N##### wanna kill me cause I probably f##### their b####. Crazy how a n#### I called my brother done turned snitch,” raps CJ in the clip posted to Instagram.
Hit Squad Brim is a Bloods set. Following the commercial success of CJ’s “Whoopty” single, there was speculation that some Bloods members were upset that the Loyalty Over Royalty EP creator was allegedly falsely claiming to be part of the Los Angeles-founded street gang.
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Later in his freestyle, CJ says, “We were really throwing ‘Bs’ in the trap. I feel like I’m 2 Chainz. Can tell by your energy, n####, you ain’t what you claim. Should’ve seen the way we had n##### running, they look like Usain. The way I put on for the island, n#### feel like Wu-Tang.”
During a February interview with Ebro Darden of Apple Music, CJ was asked about how he deals with online hate. The 24-year-old New Yorker downplayed the effects of social media users’ negative comments about him, his past, and his music.
“There’s no response. I don’t pay that no mind,” said CJ at the time. “Everybody got an opinion, you can’t satisfy everybody. I’m gonna keep doing what I do, and elevating, and perfecting my craft. I don’t really pay no mind to what the internet’s saying.”
CJ broke out as a rapper on the rise when “Whoopty” began climbing Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in late 2020. The song eventually peaked at #10 earlier this year. An “NYC Remix” of the record featuring Rowdy Rebel and French Montana was released in March.