While Jadakiss has long been considered one of hip-hop’s most underrated figures, he’s also got one of the genre’s most recognizable voices. His gravely tone has graced some of rap’s most beloved hits for nearly three decades, as demonstrated by his standout performance in The Lox’s Verzuz battle with The Diplomats, and he’s still a favorite go-to for a feature verse for contemporary artists who need his signature sound to bring some New York grit to their own work.
In the upcoming debut episode of Uproxx’s newest show, Fresh Pair, Jadakiss breaks down his own top five voices in hip-hop with hosts Just Blaze and Katty Customs. It’s a fascinating look into one of the most underrated facets of rap success from one of the most successful but underrated artists in the business.
“Nobody never asked me who I think got the top five or top three or any kind of voices,” he exclaims before settling into deep thought. “It took me a while… [to learn] how somebody’s voice can add on to what they bring to the table.”
He cites a few classic MCs as influences to his own unmistakable tone, but we won’t spoil it here. You can check out his answers in the video above and catch the full episode of Fresh Pair on Wednesday 9/28 at 3 pm ET / 12 pm PT.
There is an old adage that the ‘”eyes are windows to the soul,” but in Uproxx’s new show, Fresh Pair, it’s a person’s sneakers that offer a true glimpse into who they are. Launching September 28 at 12pm PT/ 3pm ET, the show stars sneaker customizer to the stars Katty Customs and hip-hop super producerJust Blaze. Each week, the duo sits down with your favorite celebrities and presents them with iconic one-of-one sneakers inspired by their respective careers, lives, and journeys.
Throughout the debut season, Katty and Just will be joined by legends like Jadakiss, TI, The Game, El P, Jim Jones, Styles P, will.i.am and more for a set of in-depth interviews that go beyond sneakers and deep in their careers. But this isn’t your typical sneaker show. Each bespoke design — dreamed up by Just and Katty — serves as an exploration of what makes these legends truly great and inspires each guest to open up and share previously unknown anecdotes and stories.
Attendees at Monday’s Fresh Pair launch party at will.i.am’s FYI House in Hollywood got a taste of what to expect with a special screening of Will’s episode, which, in addition to a truly dope and futuristic pair of kicks that perfectly captures will.i.am’s aesthetic, included gems like how the Black Eyed Peas got their start, an explanation of Will’s early beat-making, and sage advice he received from Prince, as well as how the iconic chant from Usher’s “OMG” came to be.
Some of the celebrities in attendance included Cordae, Trinidad, apl.de.ap, Sauve, Rap Sh!t‘s Victoria Richards, multi-hyphenate talent Jarry Lee, Grammy award-nominated graphic designers Brian Roettinger and Julian Gross, streetwear icon Jeff Staple, and many more with celebrities and influencers rubbing shoulders and dancing to the sounds of Jurassic 5’s DJ Nu-Mark who kept things moving by spinning classic cuts all night long.
Sponsors for the event included Fresh Pair‘s NFT partner Wagmi Beach, key sponsors D’Ussé VSOP and Filthy, and Salt & Straw, Kettle One Botanical, Liquid Death, Heartbeat Hot Sauce, and Sabali Graphics. After you check out the trailer, be sure to dive into these photos from the premiere, shot by event co-sponsor TOSTI Photography’s David Tosti.
At the end of last year, it was announced that sneaker-customizer-to-the-stars Katty Customs would be teaming up with Grammy-nominated and multi-Platinum producer Just Blaze for Fresh Pair, a new show on Uproxx. The upcoming series — set to launch in early summer ’22 — features Katty and Just teaming up to make custom sneakers for some of the biggest names in entertainment. After the hard work of crafting the shoe is done, the hosts sit down with each guest to discuss their careers and how those careers inspired these unique, 1-of-1 kicks.
In a clip from the show — released today, along with a show trailer — The Game chops it up with Katty and Just Blaze. It’s here that he makes a stern challenge to Eminem, clarifying previous mentions of an Em-focused diss track by his manager, Wack 100 — which stemmed from The Game’s appearance on Drink Champs last month. In that interview, The Game claimed that he could not only beat Eminem in a Verzuz but that he is also a better rapper overall. His comments received plenty of criticism, and during his time on Fresh Pair, The Game responded to the criticism with tremendous nuance.
“I’ve always told myself that ‘you are the best rapper!’” The Game said after pointing out how the late Kobe Bryant was often compared to Michael Jordan. “Everything that we do, if you’re doing it on this level that we’re doing it at, is some type of competition. Usain Bolt ain’t running around the track by himself in the Olympics. It’s n****s trying to beat him and he’s trying to beat somebody.”
The Game added that his comments towards Eminem were to “challenge him” and “challenge hip-hop.” He makes it very clear that this isn’t about violence, it’s only about rap. Just Blaze then asked The Game why he’s taking aim at Eminem specifically, and The Game revealed that it’s tied to his longtime beef with 50 Cent.
“50 can’t rap,” The Game said. “So I gotta go a level up and challenge the better rapper, that’s why. And not to take nothing away from what 50’s doing, he can see it and tweet it, but he knows I’m gonna respond. Or he can go rap about it, but he knows he’s gonna lose that battle.” He later added, speaking of 50: “When it comes to rap, he can’t out-rap me. Your buddy can rap though, and nobody takes shots at Eminem off this preconceived notion that he’s better than everybody. Well, I want action and I want it today.”
The clip is paired with a trailer for Fresh Pair that reveals five of the eight season 1 guests — Jadakiss, Jim Jones, El-P, Styles P, and The Game. The show is set to air on Uproxx and Youtube.com/UproxxVideo.
