“You used to be my dawg, you was in my left titty.”
It was 1998, when that line first became recognized as the hook on DMX’s “We Don’t Give a Fuck,” a notable cut off his second top-selling album of the same year Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. The album was as much historic as it was controversial. On one end, it made X the first rapper to drop two No. 1 albums in the same year and cemented him as a certified superstar. On the other end, there was controversy — behind the scenes at least.
At the time, Queens rapper Ja Rule struck a buzz with his breakout single “Holla Holla,” which was the lead single to his debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci. Interestingly enough, the song drew widespread comparisons to DMX, who was not pleased. “So now, X is starting to go at him, he’s telling me “Gotti, he’s biting my shit,” Irv Gotti, who happened to produce “Holla Holla” and also pal of X, told N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN on Drink Champs. “I’m like X, you wilding out nigga. He says, “Everyone thinks this “Holla Holla” record is mine. His voice sound like mine.”
In response, X later secured some beats from Gotti for his second planned release of the year, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, and that’s when the things turned interesting. “I did two records on Flesh Is My Flesh,” Gotti recalled, before admitting that one of the songs happened to be “We Don’t Give A Fuck.” That record, which also featured X’s labelmates Jadakiss and Styles P of The Lox, featured subliminal shots at Ja Rule. Over the dark production, he snaps back with lines like, “I let you get too close and you bit me, I’m still mad at myself for lettin that shit go down / Somebody shoulda told me, I was fuckin wit a clown.”
According to Gotti, he realized the record was a diss when he sat in the studio with X. “So I make this record, give X the beat, I’m in the studio and as soon as I hear it, I know he’s on the bullshit. He’s shitting on Rule in that record,” Gotti revealed, before later sharing Rule’s reaction. “[Now] Rule’s my artist and my brother. Here’s what I do, after he does it, I’m in my truck, Rule’s in the backseat. I said Rule, “I ain’t using the record.” He’s like, “What you talking about?” I’m telling him we not putting that record on the album and he goes, “Play the record.” I said, “Rule, you may not want to hear this record.” So now, I play the record and the record is making me uncomfortable because I know exactly what X is doing.”
After playing the record, Gotti said Rule had six words for the matter: “He want it, we gon’ do it!.”
This is just one of many gems from Irv Gotti and his appearance on Drink Champs. Watch the full episode below.
‘Drink Champs’ | Irv Gotti (Full Episode)