Memphis Bleek doesn't think Jadakiss should get caught up in a back-and-forth with 38 Spesh.
During a recent conversation on Joe & Jada, the Roc-A-Fella veteran weighed in on the brewing tension between the two New York lyricists, arguing that Spesh's callouts are ultimately a sign of respect rather than disrespect. Drawing from a lesson he says he learned from Jay-Z, Bleek encouraged Jadakiss to avoid engaging in the feud.
"Look, at the 38 Spesh situation. From my perspective, that just shows you the GOAT, my G," Bleek said. "I don't care where you're from. You go from Africa to Finland, any n***a rapping right now, they feel ain't nobody better than them. Feeling that, n***a? So that makes you one of them guys."
Bleek said elite rappers naturally become targets because younger artists want to measure themselves against the best.
"So yes, you gotta take your hat off to that. I don't even want you to engage because that's how much work you put in," he continued. "It's almost like, where were these n***as when they put in work to mention me like this? You can't battle everybody. A n***a gotta prove who they are to get to your attention."
According to Bleek, competition in hip-hop isn't always rooted in animosity.
"Because we competitive. Sometimes we look at everything as, 'Yo, n***as trying to get at me?' Sometimes it's deeper than that. N***as respect you. So they gotta get at you, because without getting at you, n***as won't respect them. How you prove you the best if you don't take out the best or go at the best?"
Bleek made it clear he has no issue with 38 Spesh or the Black Soprano Family camp, praising their work while explaining why established artists often become lyrical targets.
"What they doing, the BSG family, doing their thing. I'm a fan of them," he said before recalling his own competitive mindset toward Jay-Z. "Even in my feud with Beans... when I first heard, 'You n***as is like yellow lights, I'm running through y'all,' this n***a picture been on my wall since then. I just never admitted it. I got up and gunning at this n***a. He's the fucking guy."
Bleek's comments arrive after Jadakiss appeared to respond to 38 Spesh on wax.
The tension began when Spesh claimed on the BagFuel podcast that Jadakiss stopped working with him after the pair collaborated with Benny the Butcher on "Sunday School." Spesh argued that he delivered the strongest verse on the track and suggested that Jadakiss had avoided collaborating with him ever since.
Not long afterward, a video surfaced of Jadakiss saying he was heading to the studio to do some "samurai swording," signaling that he planned to address the situation in his music.
He followed through earlier this month by previewing a new record titled “The Aroma” alongside Fat Joe and Stove God Cooks on their Joe and Jada podcast. On the song, Jadakiss appeared to take aim at Spesh with bars including, "Is this about a verse or is this about a career?" while also referencing his earlier "samurai swording" comment with a nod to the classic video game Shinobi.
