In 2001, Redman starred in the most popular segment in the history of MTV’s longstanding series, Cribs. In a time when it was commonplace for guests to showcase their lifestyles of the rich and famous–palatial mansions, fancy cars, swimming pools–Redman did something completely different. He kept it real. Years after the show ended, reports surfaced that several of its participants were fakin’ the funk by rental cars and houses they flaunted. It turns out, MTV asked Redman to do the same for his episode, but he wasn’t having it.

The Newark, NJ MC recently spoke with VLAD TV about the episode and why he refused to portray a lifestyle that was anything but 100% authentic. “They wanted me to rent a house so I could open the big double doors and say ‘look at my sh*t’,” Redman said of MTV. “And, my mother would have told me ‘you know goddamn well that wasn’t your house,'” he continued.

When MTV arrived, they were shocked by the “modest” nature of his residence and asked if he was sure he wanted to film there. To make matters worse, they arrived several hours earlier than he expected, actually rousing him from bed. “They came at an earlier time, like 8 in the morning. I’m still in the bed. That’s why my cuz was still asleep on the floor…but it all worked out, overall. And, it worked out because I was believable with it.”

The MC born Reggie Noble also goes on to talk about the revisit when MTV returned to his home and he’d “Beyonce’d” the place.

Who in 2001 can you see keeping it as real as Redman did back in 2001?

Related: Redman, Method Man & Erick Sermon Always Deliver in The Clutch (Audio)