Redman on Being Rejected by The Roots: “I was actually hurt”

Redman is recalling a would-be collaboration that left him feeling disappointed. The New Jersey rap legend sat down with fellow lyrical titan Black Thought for Rolling Stone’s “Musicians On Musicians” series. During their conversation, Red recalled that he’d once sent a verse to The Roots, but his rhymes didn’t make the final cut.

“I said damn, you know what, I was cursing a little bit too much,” Redman recalled thinking at the time. “I might have said ‘b***h’ or something derogatory that they probably didn’t like, and yo, I was actually hurt from that, bro.”

But Black Thought offered an explanation. He shared that The Roots’ late manager, Rich Nichols, handled a lot of the song choices for the Philly crew’s albums. 

“You know what happened, Rich, rest in peace, who was very much the brains of The Roots operation, ran such a tight ship,” Black Thought explained. “It was hard for me to place verses on The Roots’ albums. He would shoot down every submission, and there was something about that verse, something that Rich didn’t like about it. I can’t remember what it was.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the two emcees acknowledge each other’s greatness and how they’ve subtly inspired each other. Redman revealed that Black Thought was an influence on his seminal 1996 album, Muddy Waters.

“I can honestly say, bro, on the Muddy Waters album, when me and [Method Man] did this song called ‘Do What Ya Feel,’ that whole round was inspired from you. If you listen to it, you’ll hear how I caught your flow a little bit. Especially then, I was deep in The Roots. Every time I go overseas, Roots is my first CD I’m popping in for that excitement, for that hype I need to get before [the] stage.”

“That means so much, bro,” Thought responded. “[Questlove] is going to lose it when I tell him.”