Funkmaster Flex Addresses Drake's Diss at Madison Square Garden on Hot 97

Funkmaster Flex addresses Drake's MSG diss, reference tracks, his infamous Blackberry freestyle, and more on Hot 97.

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Complex Original

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Funkmaster Flex appeared on Hot 97 Saturday night to address Drake’s comments he made during night one of his “Summer Sixteen” tour at Madison Square Garden.

Drake spit a freestyle that many outlets—including Complex—reported that he said “fuck Hot 97.” When audio and video of his performance surfaced online, he actually rapped, “They telling lies on Hot 97, that’s how it goes / I told ‘em fire Funk Flex and then I’ll do your show / Plus, me and Kanye just got out the studio / My first night in the Garden, feeling like D Rose.”

Drake and Funkmaster Flex haven’t been on good terms since the Hot 97 DJ/radio personality tried to expose him as a rapper who uses ghostwriters. It was during this time last year that Flex leaked alleged reference tracks from Quentin Miller for Drake’s “Know Yourself,” “Used To,” “10 Bands,” and “R.I.C.O.” While Drake eventually responded to Flex with a subliminal jab on “Charged Up” and dropped a Grammy-nominated diss called “Back to Back,” it was Flex who publicized his alliance with Meek Mill, debuting his own diss record “Wanna Know” on his radio show.

Flex promised he had a story to tell earlier this week, and he definitely delivered one. During the live broadcast, the DJ first reassured listeners he was not worry about losing his job because of Drake's comments: "Want me to tell you why? Because 70 percent of your fans wear high-heels, the other 30 percent are guys who wear sandals," he said.

Flex then went on to tell the story behind the infamous BlackBerry footage. You remember? That video shot by Cipher Sounds inside the Hot 97 studio, where Drake was filmed using a smartphone during a freestyle in 2009. Flex claims that video was never supposed to be released because the team didn't want to embarrass Drake; however, Drizzy's team supposedly pressured Cipher to release the footage and eventually helped circulate it—all because Drake wanted to use it as evidence that he writes his own raps. 

"You wanted people to think that you write your bars, you wanted people to think that on that BlackBerry those [words] were yours, and that you wrote that" Flex said. "I see through you. And that’s why you so angry." 

Of course, Flex brought up the reference tracks again: "Let me tell you something, Drizzy. You know what you should've just done, bruh? Reference tracks came, you should've just said, 'Bruh, I got a couple people who help me with a couple things and keep it moving. It doesn't change you."

Flex later admitted that Drake is a respectable artist who sells a lot of records; but if a rapper is trying to be the best lyricist in the world, "that cant happen when you’re not writing," Flex explained. "Now I'm not saying he doesn't write anything. I don't want to take anybody's work away from them. Yes, he writes, but there's a couple of key things that he didn’t," Flex said. 

Listen to the full audio, in which Flex also mentions Drizzy's physical altercation with Diddy, below. 

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