Key Takeaways
- Memphis Bleek argued that selling out a stadium three nights for a debut album released 30 years ago is nearly unmatched in Hip Hop.
- He named Snoop Dogg as the only other rapper he believes could potentially replicate that kind of anniversary run.
- Bleek also discussed Foxy Brown and Sauce Money’s absence from the shows and described the Nas feud as feeling “inevitable” at the time.
JAY-Z may be one of the only musicians who can sell out New York’s Yankee Stadium three nights in a row off a debut album he released three decades ago, at least according to Memphis Bleek. On Tuesday (July 14), the Coming of Age rapper sat down with “The Breakfast Club,” where he explained why “no other artist” — with the exception of Snoop Dogg — could repeat Hov’s JAŸ-Z 30 anniversary run.
“Remember, when Reasonable Doubt dropped, I was 18, bro. I’m f**king 48, and we’re still doing it. I even had to tell that to JAY. I don’t think no other artist before my era or even before Hip Hop can do what he did these three days,” Bleek said. He then asked the radio show’s hosts, “Name me another artist that can celebrate their first album release [at that scale 30 years later],” to which DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God suggested Snoop Dogg. Bleek agreed, adding, "Yeah, Doggystyle."
“I’ll give it to Snoop,” the Brooklyn native replied. “Three nights in a row and then you sell out Blueprint and you let people know, ‘This is just the album. This is not like 'Yo, we’re playing around [or] going to play a few songs.' No, we’re focusing solely on this project.'” Scroll down to watch the clip, then let us know whether Bleek has a point!
Memphis Bleek explains why Foxy Brown and Sauce Money were absent from JAŸ-Z 30
For anyone who somehow missed it, JAY-Z welcomed a Rolodex of A-listers and former collaborators to the stage throughout the weekend, including but not limited to Beyoncé, Nas, Eminem, Rihanna, Pharrell, and Usher. However, a few artists that fans were especially hoping to see were noticeably absent, namely Foxy Brown and Sauce Money.
Explaining why Brown didn’t join Hov onstage, Bleek said he “heard through the grapevine” that she was at the show but “got cold feet or something.” He continued, “They said she was there… I don’t know how true it is, but, you know, rumor has it.”
When it came to Sauce Money, Bleek shared, “They reached out to Sauce, too. The line just wasn’t returned. That was a major one I wanted to see. I wanted to see the Sauce, Jaz-O, JAY [‘Bring It On’ reunion] ‘cause that’s where it started at.” Whether people agree or not, the “Dear Summer” creator argued that there’s “no trio that can rap better” than the three of them together.
Why Memphis Bleek believes the Nas beef felt “inevitable” at the time
Among the other topics that came up during Bleek’s “The Breakfast Club” sit-down was how he helped spark the Nas-JAY-Z beef. As the “ROC Solid” host tells it, he believed the Queensbridge MC’s “I could let a slug melt in your hat” line on “Nastradamus” was aimed at him. When Charlamagne pushed back and asked why he thought that, Bleek responded, “The hood gassed me up. I was the n**ga wearing hats, the durags… I never got to the bottom of it.”
“I never wanted to beef with anybody. Nas and them was the guys. Mobb Deep — rest in peace to Prodigy — they was the f**king guys. They dropped before us,” he went on to say. “We was hoping it could be what it is today: everybody [being] cool [with one another]. But you know that New York energy back then, bro, it was inevitable.”