|  SOHH Exclusive: Royce Da 5'9" & Mistah F.A.B. Show Off Their Battle Scars -
01-11-2007, 09:23 PM
After going head to head in a lyrical battle, Royce da 5'9" and Mistah F.A.B.'s war of words eventually spilled out of the battle arena and onto wax. SOHH caught up with both MC's to get to the bottom of the beef.
After trading verses in front of a large crowd in a battle hosted by Fat Man Scoop, many came to the conclusion that Bay Area MC Mistah F.A.B. got the best of Royce in their verbal sparring session, which eventually led to the two trading jabs on record. SOHH spoke with Nickel Nine to get his interpretation of the battle's outcome and the tension that followed.
"It's not a beef and it wasn't really a battle," Royce told SOHH. " What I was told was that it was gonna be like a cipher, that's why you see me just spitting verses like I was on the footage. That's what was told to me by the guys who put the thing on to get me to come there. If I had known I probably would have said no because that's not where I'm at in my career. But he did good, I give him his props."
But Royce also explained that the battle has nothing to do with the tension between the two, instead he took issue with what he felt was F.A.B. talking reckless in the media afterwards.
"It's how he handled it after the fact," he said. "He started saying a lot of stuff in the press like, 'I wanted to go at Royce but they said not to because he just got out of jail and he's going through a divorce and he just got out of rehab,' which wasn't the case. That kinda irritated me."
Royce also feels that F.A.B is only using the situation to boost his career and that his gripe isn't legit.
"He's young and he doesn't realize that rap is a full contact sport and that you'll hear people call out your name," Royce explained. "I just think he saw this as an opportunity to build a buzz. If it was beef nobody would be saying nothing, it'd be a problem."
F.A.B. disagrees with Royce, saying that he didn't perpetuate the situation and instead tried to be diplomatic until he heard Royce mention him in a song.
"After it was over, I thought it was over," F.A.B. told SOHH. "When the media came to me about me winning the battle I was like 'I don't think he[Royce] was really into it' Royce is a hot rapper. I respect him. He taught Eminem how to rap and if he taught one of my favorite rappers how to rap, I can respect him. So when I heard the @#!* he said about me on the song, I was like wow. Me being where I'm from, we don't even do the [battle] rap thing like that. You don't say a ni**a name on a song. You don't speak on me like that."
F.A.B. also disputes that he's using the situation strictly to get a buzz.
"Propel my career? Ni**a, I'm already doing me. Is it gaining me nationwide notoriety? Yeah, 'cause that's what motherfu**ers wanna talk about. But my career is not gonna be 'the guy who battled Royce 5'9" Win or lose, I still win."
Though the two have traded jabs on wax, both agree that the issue is strictly in rhyme and both have offered to dead the beef.
"I want fans to know that I don't have a problem with him," said F.A.B. "If you wanna call Royce right now it'll be over. I won't say anything else."
In related news, both MCs have projects in the works. Royce is gearing up to release his "Bar Exam 2" mixtape in the coming weeks, which will serve as an appetizer to his two new albums, one of which will be executive produced by DJ Premier, which he says will be released in 2008. Mistah F.A.B. is also preparing to release two new projects, a collaborative album with producer The Alchemist entitled Golden State Warrior as well as his major label effort The Yellow Bus Ridah on Atlantic, which is said to feature Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, Capone-N-Noreagea and Chamillionaire.
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SOHH Exclusive: Royce Da 5'9" & Mistah F.A.B. Show Off Their Battle Scars
