The 20 Most Humiliating Hip-Hop Apologies

Image via Complex Original

Eminem's homie Elton John was right: sorry really does seem to be the hardest word. And what could be more humiliating than a public apology? With all the grandstanding and chest-beating that goes on in hip-hop, it's rare to see rappers showing any signs of regret or remorse. But every once in a while, even a supa emcee has to say those dreaded words: "I apologize."

Take Soulja Boy for example: earlier this week he offered an apology to the United States military for saying "fuck the Army troops" in his song “Let’s Be Real." C'mon son! For starters, your name is Soulja boy. Not to mention the fact that Army troops are involved in at least three overseas conflicts at the moment. Time to humble yourself homie.

And this isn't the first time Soulja has had to apologize. Back in 2009 he said "Sorry to all my white fans" for a racially charged Twitter rant. Nor is Soulja’s not the only rhyme spitter who's had to fall on his sword. Check out our list of the The 20 Most Humiliating Hip-Hop Apologies and see whether your favorite rapper had to ask for forgiveness. You won't be sorry.

20. Drake Apologizes For BET Awards Performance

Date: July 2009
What Happened: Drake was panned by critics for his closing performance at the 2009 BET Awards. For starters, Drake rapped while seated in a chair due to a knee injury. But He and Lil Wayne were also joined on-stage by Wayne’s daughter young Reginae and her friends while he performed the songs “Every Girl” and “Always Strapped.” Many thought the gesture was in poor taste.

In an interview with Complex, Drake apologized for the performance saying, “That, actually—to be honest—was a terrible idea that I'll never do to myself again...I was being pressed from different areas to perform, and I think what really happened at the BET Awards is with the passing of Mike [Jackson], the climate really changed, as far as the award show goes. I don't think it called for us to perform "Every Girl" and "Always Strapped."

The rapper went on to say, "It was an award show filled with tributes and music and these genuine heartfelt speeches...Then people misconstruing Wayne's daughters and her friends coming out on stage...it was just timed very poorly and it definitely wasn't planned like that...To anyone who was offended, my personal apologies, it wasn't intended to offend anybody."

This might have been the first time Drizzy had to issue a public apology, but it wasn't the last.  The next month, the rapper apologized to Universal Motown head Sylvia Rhone for his lyrics in the song "Say What's Real." In the song Drake raps, "Sylvia be telling Tez, 'Damn, Drake's fly"/And he just be like, 'Silly motherfucker, I know." In his apology he admitted to his lyrics being "emotionally charged" and "very brazen."

Complex Says: It wasn't a good look having little girls dancing to “Every Girl,” but let's not act like there weren’t thousands of middle schoolers staying up singing every word right along with them.

19. Royce Da 5'9" Apologizes To Eminem on "Move On"

Date: January 2009
What Happened: Eminem and Royce Da 5'9" came into the rap game together in the late '90s and formed the duo Bad Meets Evil. But their relationship soured by the 2000s and though most of the aughts, they were beefing. After their mutual friend Proof was murdered in 2006, they were able to slowly but surely put the past behind them.

Just as Royce was reinvigorating his career with the Slaughterhouse crew, Eminem was making his way back into the rap game after kicking his prescription drug addiction. Royce got on the remix to Joell Ortiz' "Move On" and said, "You dealt with shady shit? I dealt with Shady shit," then added: "Marshall I'm sorry, I knew it went left."

Complex Says: Two years after spitting those bars, Royce and Slaughterhouse signed to Shady Records. And earlier this year, Nickel Nine and Slim Shady reformed Bad Meets Evil, dropped a #1 album, and Royce got his first gold plaque. SMARTEST APOLOGY EVER.

18. Kid Cudi Apologizes For Punching The Wrong Fan

Date: February 2010
What Happened: In December 2009, while performing at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom, Kid Cudi jumped off-stage and punched concert-goer Michael Sharpe in the face. Cudi had just been hit in the face by a projectile thrown from the crowd. Unfortunately, Sharpe had nothing to do with the missle.

In February 2010, Sharpe spoke to TMZ saying that Kid Cudi had reached out to him to apologize and offered to fly him out to New York for an all-expenses-paid weekend. In June of that year, Sharpe was brought on-stage during Kid Cudi’s set at the Sasquatch Music Festival in Washington. Cudi said to the crowd, "Remember that kid I punched in Vancouver? This is him. I brought him out here to hang out. It's all okay, he forgives me."

Complex Says: You know what's worse than getting punched in the face by your favorite rapper? Getting punched in the face by your favorite rapper for something you didn't even do.

17. Raekwon & Ghostface Killah Apologize To The Notorious B.I.G. For"Shark Niggas (Biters)"

Date: March 1997
What Happened: On "Shark Niggas (Biters)," skit from Raekwon's classic debut album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., the Chef and Ghostface Killah took subliminal shots at The Notorious B.I.G. for biting Nas' album cover concept—both CDs featured a photo of a child.

Earlier this year, Raekwon told the story of how he and Ghostface ran into Biggie in a club two years before his death and apologized for the skit. Rae claimed that Big Poppa wasn't stressing the line at all.

Complex Says: Damn, if only they had apologized sooner the three of them could have gotten in the lab and made some classic material. Sigh.

16. Jim Jones Apologizes To Ma$e

Date: June 2009
What Happened: In the summer of 2009, Ma$e was making yet another foolish attempt to start rapping again. When Ma$e called up NYC's Power 105 to talk about his remix to Drake's "Best I Ever Had," Jones called the station as well. Intent on taking the high road, Jones told Ma$e live on the air, "I apologize for anything I done when I was younger."

Jones was likely referring to the endless amount of insults he and his Dipset crew threw at their fellow Harlem emcee over the years following a dispute over money. The most memorable insult was surely the time Jones heckled Ma$e on the air at a radio station and sarcastically asked, "Is that you Betha?"

Complex Says: Ma$e may have accepted Jones' apology, but we certainly won't. There's no way we'd let Jones take back "Is that you Betha?" We're keeping that one forever.

15. Busta Rhymes Apologizes For "Arab Money"

Date: December 2008
What Happened: In 2008, Busta Rhymes teamed up with Ron Browz to make a minor hit called "Arab Money." Sampling verses from the Quran and seemingly poking fun at Arab culture, the song was deemed offensive by many. One unknown Iraqi-born rapper named Narcicyst even responded with a song chastising Busta for "misrepresentin' us in Dubai" and correcting his pronunciation: "It ain't Ayrab money / It's called Arab money."

Somehow, Busta got word of Narcicyst's song and called him up. According to Narcicyst, he spoke to Busta for a half hour and Busta claimed the song was meant to be a homage to Arab culture, not an insult. He also claimed Busta apologized for any misunderstanding.

Complex Says: That was a nice thing to do but ahh...we're still waiting on Busta to call the rest of us up and offer a personal apology for that awful song. (And if you thought the song was bad, you should see the dance.)

14. The Game Apologizes To 50 Cent

Date: June 2009
What Happened: After a messy on-air break-up that included shots fired—and diss records too—Game's relationship with G-Unit, Shady, Aftermath, and Interscope Records would seem to be damaged beyond repair. But then in June of 2009, he decided to take the high road and extend an olive branch to his former mentor.

In an interview with MTV, Game said, “For 50, I'm just gonna apologize to him, just as a man. It has nothing to do with music, or beef, or nothing like that. It ain't about being the bigger man. He can take it and say, Game is apologizing, Game's a sucka, he's apologizing. I'm apologizing for me to him, to [Dr.] Dre, to Jimmy Iovine, to Eminem, to all the fans.”

Complex Says: This was almost compelling, but then Game said it had nothing to do with music, or beef, or being the bigger man, at which point it just became confusing and pointless—like so much of Game's career.

13. Cam'Ron Apologizes For Snitching Comments

Date: April 2007
What Happened: In an interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes Cam'Ron took the Stop Snitchin' movement to a whole new level. Explaining why he didn't call the cops when he was shot while driving his blue Lambo through D.C. during Howard Homecoming weekend was one thing. But then the rapper added, "If I knew the serial killer was living next door to me? I wouldn't call and tell anybody on him—but I'd probably move."

Four days later, Cam issued a statement saying, "I in no way was intending to be malicious or harmful. I apologize deeply for this error in judgment."

Complex Says: Basically, this was a real life episode of "When keeping it real goes wrong."

12. Diddy "Apologies" To Rival Vodka Company 

Date: April 2010
What Happened: Last year in March, Diddy grabbed the microphone at a NYC nightclub and claimed, "If you're not drinking Ciroc vodka, then you're drinking pee pee." His remarks offended the owner of Georgi Vodka, multi-millionaire Martin Silver. Sliver demanded an apology and when he didn't get one, he showed up front of Diddy's office with a camera crew and put several bottles of Ciroc in a toilet.

A few months later, after winning two gold medals in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Diddy made a sarcastic video apologizing to other vodka competitors... for the success of his brand. In the video he says, "I am sorry I came out with these flavors that taste so good...I am sorry that the competitions sales are down and we are up. There's nothing I can do about that. I am sorry that I am coming to you live from my bubble bath. I'm not really sorry. It tastes good."

Complex Says: No wonder he was a hit on Broadway—Diddy has some serious acting chops. If there's one thing he's good at, it's feigning remorse.

11. Lil Mama Apologizes For Crashing VMA's Stage

Date: September 2009
What Happened: During Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' show-closing performance of "Empire State of Mind" at the same bizarro VMAs that Kanye interrupted, Lil Mama ran up onstage alongside the two artists. Jay quickly gestured for little miss "Lip Gloss" to leave the stage, but she stood her ground, posing in a B-girl stance while the two artists finished their the performance.

The next day, Lil Mama humbled herself in a statement to MTV: “"I did not mean any disrespect towards Jay-Z or Alicia Keys. I admire them and look up to them as role models. 'Empire State of Mind' had my emotions running high. In that moment I came up onstage to celebrate my two icons singing about NY.”

Complex Says: When Beyoncé physically tries to hold you back, that should be a solid hint to return to your seat.

10. Public Enemy Apologizes For Professor Griff's Anti-Semitic Comments

Date: June 1989
What Happened: In an interview with The Washington Times, Public Enemy member Professor Griff said that Jews are responsible for “the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe.'' He continued, “The Jews are wicked. And we can prove this.”

Griff was subsequently fired from Public Enemy. In the wake of his dismissal Chuck D. issued a statement on behalf of the group saying, “Offensive remarks by Professor Griff are not in line with Public Enemy's program. We are not anti-Jewish. We are not anti-anyone. We are pro-black, pro-black culture, and pro-human race.''

Complex Says: Public Enemy? It takes a nation of millions to hold them back...or just a small number of offended Jewish Americans.

9. Lil Wayne Apologizes To Jay-Z For Saying He Was Better Than Him

Date: February 2007
What Happened: Responding to Jay-Z coming out of retirement in a December 2006 interview with Complex, Lil Wayne addressed Jay-Z saying, “It's not your house anymore, and I'm better than you."

But Wayne soon backtracked a February 2007 interview with XXL: ““I wanna apologize to Jay and his family and friends, because I was asked that question and they put it in there like I was just feeling like, ‘Oh, you know what, nigga? I’m better than Jay!’ They came at me like, ‘So you say you’re the best. Can you say that you’re better than everybody? Would you say you’re better than Jay?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, nigga, I’m better than everybody!’ But I’d like to throw that apology out there ’cause of whatever trouble I caused, I ain’t want that to happen.”

Complex Says: First they love you, then they hate you, then four years later they threaten to kidnap your wife for ransom.

8. Pimp C Apologizes To Atlanta

Date: August 2007
What Happened: In a July 2007 Ozone interview, Pimp C made a stunning suggestion: “Atlanta is not the South, Goddamn it...Atlanta is on East coast time. You niggas ain’t in the South. And all you old bitch-ass niggas talking about “crunk,” you niggas ain’t do nothing but take Three 6 Mafia’s style and renamed it.”

The very nexy month, Pimp C pumped his brakes and issued an apology: "To all my Atlanta fans & friends, I want to say I apologize for my statement in Ozone magazine about Atlanta not being the South!! That was a bull**** statement!! Atlanta is and has always been the dirty mthfkn South!!!!! Chuuch!! But the rest of what I said, about them p***y a** niggaz is and will always be the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Complex Says: If someone can point to a map and destroy your entire argument, it's probably not a battle worth fighting. It's hard to argue with geography. Word to Sarah "I can see Russia from my house" Palin.

7. Ice-T Apologizes To Soulja Boy, Sort Of

Date: June 2008
What Happened: After saying that Soulja Boy single-handedly killed hip-hop and telling him to eat a dick, Ice-T seemed to have a change of heart. The part time pimp and rap-rock rebel turned actor made a semi-apologetic video directed at the young rapper and web entrepreneur.

In the video he says, “I apologize Soulja Boy for telling you to eat a d*ck. That was just in anger...Because truthfully, a brother of my caliber shouldn’t be talking down on a youngster of your age. T continued, "But as far as your music goes.. it’s garbage!...There are kids that go in the studio and really try to rap. That really sit down with a pen and write stuff...I’m talking about you’re garbage! We got to get rid of that, man. Hip-hop has to last and it ain't gonna last with you doing that Supaman bullshit.”

Complex Says: Halfway through his apology Ice-T must have realized that there’s virtually no coming back from telling someone to “eat a dick.” Obviously, this is chess, not checkers.

6. T-Pain Apologizes To Jay-Z

Date: September 2009
What Happened: In June 2009, T-Pain embraced Jay-Z’s controversial single “D.O.A. (Death Of Auto-tune)” by joining him on stage during the rapper’s Hot 97’s Summer Jam performance. When Jay-Z was asked about the gesture afterwards, he said, “It was awkward, but it was cool...He didn’t mean any harm.”

But a few months later in Las Vegas, T-Pain lashed out at Jay-Z saying, “Jay-Z is 59 years old. I don't think he has the right to say what's good and what's not. I think if anything is dead, it should be him.” Later that month Pain released a song called “More Careful,” in which he raps, “Some days I wish that I ain't never say shit/ And Diddy said ain't no excuse for what I did/ But I felt like he was knocking the same shit that feeds my kids.” The third verse ends with him saying, “My bad.”

Complex Says: Saying Jay-Z's 59 years old wasn't exactly clever, but it was kinda funny in a "You 36 in a karate class?" type of way.

5. The Notorious B.I.G. Apologized To Kandi of Xscape & Patti LaBelle For "Dreams" 

Date: March 1999
What Happened: On his X-rated classic “Dreams,” Biggie indulges some freaky R&B fantasies, and throws a few shots in the direction of R&B group Xscape saying, “I’ll fuck Rupaul before I fuck them ugly-ass Xscape bitches.” Patti LaBelle was also mentioned in the song—“I’d probably go to jail for fucking Patti LaBelle.” Biggie rapped. The legendary singer wasted no time calling him up to call him out for his lyrics: “He apologized. I just said ‘Well you know brother, you really can’t see me that way.’”

Years later, Xscape singer Kandi revealed that on the night of his death, Biggie extended an apology to Xscape during a Soul Train Awards after party in Los Angeles. Kandi said she regrets not accepting his apology.

Complex Says: Big's convo with Patti LaBelle must have been awkward, but he also rapped about getting it in with the virgin Mary and dumping her body in a sewer. Wonder how he straightened things out at the pearly gates?

4. Puff Daddy Apologizes To Steve Stoute For Beatdown 

Date: May 1999
What Happened: Steve Stoute, Nas’ manager at the time, and Diddy, then known as Puff Daddy, started feuding when Diddy insisted that his crucifixion scene in Nas’ “Hate Me Now” be cut out before the video aired on MTV. Steve Stoute refused to re-edit the clip and on the night of April 15th, 1999, Diddy and two others attacked Stoute in his New York office, hitting him with a champagne bottle. The assault allegedly left him with a broken arm and jaw.

Stoute sued Diddy, but the matter was resolved out of court. In May, Diddy apologized in USA Today saying, “I made a major mistake, and I have to handle the consequences for it. I have to admit I was totally wrong. I have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Complex Says: You can't appear in someone else's video, shoot a scene, and then tell the people who paid for it not to put out their own shit. Smarten up, Sean.

3. Eminem Apologizes For Making Racist Song As A Teenager

Date: December 2003
What Happened: In November of 2003, The Source magazine dug up an old Eminem freestyle on which Marshall Mathers raps “Blacks and whites they sometimes mix/But black girls only want your money 'cause they're dumb chicks/Don't date a black girl/If you do it once you won't do it twice/Black girls are dumb, and white girls are good chicks."

Eminem addressed the track later that month saying, “The tape ... was something I made out of anger, stupidity and frustration when I was a teenager. I'd just broken up with my girlfriend, who was African American, and I reacted like the angry, stupid kid I was. I hope people will take it for the foolishness that it was, not for what somebody is trying to make it into today."

Two weeks later he offer another mea culpa: “While I think common sense tells you not to judge a man by what he may have said when he was a boy, I will say it straight up: I am sorry I said those things when I was 16.”

In 2009, Asher Roth suffered similar backlash when his attempt at twitter humor went horribly wrong. Making a reference to Don Imus’ infamous diss to the Rutgers women’s basketball team, the rapper said, “Been a day of rest and relaxation — sorry twitter hanging with nappy headed hoes." Roth apologized to "any man, woman, or child" he may have offended, calling his comments "immature."

Complex Says: We're willing to forgive a teenage Eminem for saying ignorant shit, but he needs to apologize for spitting such a wack rhyme. As for Asher, how can he say he was just being immature when he only tweeted the joke a few days earlier?

2. Kanye West Apologizes To Taylor Swift

Date: September 2009
What Happened: In a moment that will forever live in award-show infamy, a slightly tipsy Yeezy interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance of the Best Female Video award at MTV's Video Music Awards. “Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you and I'ma let you finish," he remarked, "but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. Of all time!"

Shortly after being escorted from the building he took to his blog to offer an all-caps apology. In the blog post Kanye wrote, “I'm sooooo sorry to Taylor Swift and her fans and her mom," he wrote. "I spoke to her mother right after and she said the same thing my mother would've said. She is very talented!”

Later, on the "Power (Remix)" Yeezy rhymed, "Jay's my big brother, and B's my little sister/And excuse me all, but you can't see my little sister," which seemed to rescind his previous apology. 

Complex Says: We love Kanye's rants, so while the incident was definitely rude, he wasn't wrong, so we can't say we felt the apology was really necessary.

1. Jay-Z's Mom Makes Him Apologize For "Superugly"

Date: December 2001
What Happened: In the midst of his epic battle with Nas, Jay dropped the song “Super Ugly” In the song Jay claimed to be smashing Nas's baby mother, whom he identified by name. Right after the tune premiered on Hot 97 in December of 2001, Jay-Z received a call from his mother letting him know, “That went too far.”

Jay returned to the station the day after and said, “I apologize. I felt like I didn't think about women's feelings or [Nas' former girlfriend's] feelings, or even my mom. It was really like, 'Let me meet your level of disrespect with this level of disrespect.'"

Complex Says: Jay and Biggie had a lot in common. They were both from Brooklyn, they were both incredible rappers, and apparently, they were both momma's boys.