N.O.R.E.: My Comments About Rappers Doing Non-Hip Hop Media Weren’t About Cardi B

“We control what’s cool not the outsiders!!!”

Some of Cardi B’s fans had a problem with N.O.R.E.’s recent tweets. On Wednesday, the Drink Champs podcast host called out Hip Hop artists for doing interviews with Ellen DeGeneres and David Letterman.

“I have been the best to this culture I have always put Hip Hop first and I see [you] guys go to Ellen and [David Letterman] and [Zane Lowe] and treat them [with] more respect [than] the culture but [you] say [you] want Black excellence,” posted N.O.R.E. earlier this week.

Cardi B made a highly-publicized appearance on the latest season of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. A few of the “Bodak Yellow” hitmaker’s followers felt N.O.R.E.’s criticism was subtly directed at her.

“Love [I] wasn’t even talking or thinking bout Cardi but love the article,” tweeted N.O.R.E. in response to an AllHipHop.com write-up about his comments. He also added, “S### goes for all [artists]!!! Including me!!”

The native of Queens, New York returned to the social media platform to write, “I literally was not talking bout any artist especially any female artist I was talking bout our culture period we control what’s cool not the outsiders !!!”

N.O.R.E. then doubled down on his original stance. He tweeted, “I love [artists] but hate when artists are acting like artists and that’s such an artist of me ha ha!!!” The man formerly known as Noreaga also declared, “NOBODY IS F###### BIGGER [THAN] THE CULTURE NOBODY IS!!!”

Fellow emcee/podcaster Joe Budden weighed in on the discussion. Budden tweeted, “Just a humble servant of Hip Hop, it only helped raise me and teach me still to this day… N.O.R.E. hit a few points, a lot of [people] use it as [an] entryway and shed it soon as they can. Culture was never vying for acceptance, it was always MAKING them accept it, sadly that line is blurred.”