A Blast From the Past: Recalling the Funkmaster Flex and Meek Mill Drama
In this deep dive, we’re revisiting an unforgettable -signs-global-publishing-deal-with-inxs” target=”_blank”>-signs-global-publishing-deal-with-inxs” target=”_blank”> from the early 2020s, which is now turning heads again half a decade later. Remember when Azeem Khan, a fervent hip-hop fan from New York, initiated a petition for Hot 97’s Funkmaster Flex to step down? This came Flex’s infamous failure to deliver on his promise of airing Meek Mill’s highly-anticipated response to Drake’s “Charged Up” diss track. Today, we’ll delve into the details of this controversy, capturing the essence of a time when hip-hop was embroiled in a fierce battle of words and reputations.
The Petition and The Controversy
Azeem Khan’s petition on Change.org demanded Funkmaster Flex’s resignation from Hot 97, Flex failed to deliver on his promise of Meek Mill’s response to Drake’s diss track, “Charged Up”.
The controversy began when Meek Mill accused Drake of not writing his own lyrics, a serious accusation in the hip-hop world. Drake responded with the semi-diss track “Charged Up.” Funkmaster Flex promised listeners that he had the exclusive on Meek Mill’s response and was ready to reveal it. However, Flex didn’t deliver, leading many to accuse him of making false claims to boost ratings.
The Response
The backlash was swift. Over 6000 people signed the petition, and Azeem was only 1271 signatures away from his 7500 goal. The petition statement from Azeem read:
Looking Forward
“There has always been that DJ Funkmaster Flex was not someone who was willing to give up his position at Hot 97 for his slot. Despite constant critiques from everywhere for the old man to step down, and give the younger people a shot he decided to stay where he was. Last year Dame Dash was at the forefront of the movement saying that Funk Flex really needs to just leave. Well, today was the last straw. This fraud of a DJ decided to lie to everyone for ratings and downloads of the Hot 97 app that Meek Mill would be on tonight to release a diss track to Drake to no avail. No one has given Hot 97 two hours of listening time since Biggie was alive, and it’s a crime to have taken that from us. The people have spoken and it is time for Funk Flex to step down.”
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