N.O.R.E. Confronts Sober Facts Over N-Word Usage in Manhattan

N.O.R.E. interrupted a live food review by content creator Jason Rodriguez, known as Sober Facts, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan this weekend. Rodriguez was filming when the rapper approached him, citing a recent video that Rodriguez had posted about the exchange.

"He thought I was a dude he ain’t gon’ see, but now I run up on him," N.O.R.E. said to Rodriguez and the camera. The host of the Drink Champs podcast stated that he intended to keep the interaction positive, though he told his audience that he could have handled the situation differently.

Rodriguez attempted to lower the tension by explaining that he was trying to grow his content. N.O.R.E. responded by referencing past criticisms, telling Rodriguez, "Yeah, you was cryin’ some other s, t before, but you’re cryin’ some other s, t now."

The dispute originated in June when Rodriguez disclosed that N.O.R.E. had requested he stop using the N-word in his videos. N.O.R.E., who is of African and Puerto Rican descent, told Rodriguez to stop using the term before others stopped him. Rodriguez declined the request and later filmed a video outside N.O.R.E.'s former apartment in Lefrak City, Queens. In that clip, he challenged the rapper over his drug and alcohol habits.

Rodriguez accused N.O.R.E. and those with him of being intoxicated in a follow-up video that he later removed. "I dare anybody that was there to pass a drug test… nobody in NYC gonna stop saying it, it’s part of the culture… you too old to be ‘I beat people up’ at this age, come on," Rodriguez said in the deleted footage.

After removing the video, Rodriguez wrote on Instagram, "Shout out to N.O.R.E. I’m just a young sober guy speaking the facts and trying to make it." Online viewers noted that N.O.R.E. showed restraint during the weekend confrontation, remarking that Rodriguez was fortunate to encounter the rapper in a composed state.