Kid Capri Explains Why He Has Beef With Funkmaster Flex (Video)
Two of the most recognized names in DJ’ing, especially for those in and around the New York City area, are currently beefing. For those following social media, mixtape legend Kid Capri has minced no words in his opinions of Funkmaster Flex. Both men, who each claim Bronx, New York as their home, have had major positions in Big Apple clubs, on radio, and helped usher in an area when mixmasters made major albums that brought the mixtape culture to the mainstream.
In 2018, Kid Capri remains a top touring act. Last year, he appeared on Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. album. Flex is a 25-year-plus flagship personality and DJ at HOT 97. Besides radio, Flex—especially his freestyle series and “I Got A Story To Tell” interview platform has become a digital destination for Hip-Hop content. Additionally, the former Loud and Def Jam Records artist spins at parties and events.
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Appearing on The Breakfast Club, Kid Capri explained why Funkmaster Flex led him into this beef, and how he feels his contemporary is doing wrong by Hip-Hop culture. At 6:45, Capri begins, “Let me take it back a little: for years, I sit there and I watch things. I see it all; I always stay in one lane. I’m gonna be very honest with you: the DJ [arena] is very corny to me. It’s not corny to me, because I stay in my lane and I watch what I’m doin’. But if you [look] on the whole, anybody can grab a computer, some MP3s, and call themselves a DJ. They slap their name on somethin’, and they’re out. So it’s always been kinda corny. But there’s always been this competition-type thing in the city with me and a lot of DJs. I felt that with [Funkmaster] Flex every time. We were always cool—talk, whatever. But I always felt like there was that certain competition there. Be that as it may, it really don’t matter. The years went by and I started seeing him disrespect kids—just doin’ certain things that, where his platform, as strong as it is, he could go a different way and be a king.”
With that sentiment in mind, the two recently clashed. “Somebody had hit me and said, ‘Go to Flex’s [social media], he’s goin’ at you—something about “corny dudes trying to rewrite history, but I was there.”‘ So before I reacted, I went and looked at it. Then I [contacted] Flex, and I said, ‘Flex, who was you talkin’ about when you said ‘corny dudes tryin’ to rewrite history?’ You know me; I’m humble about it. He hit me back [and] instead of being humble, he said, ‘Yo fam, why you askin’ me what’s on my [timeline]. I ain’t gotta answer to you.’ I still didn’t react.” According to Kid, the history in question pertained to the evolution of the mixtape and DJ’ing.
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The conversation over text between the two legendary DJs led Flex to post a screenshot of Kid Capri’s contacting him. “Before he posted, I told him, ‘You know what, I’m gonna give you full smoke now.'” The two artists beefed on social media, when Flex ultimately declaring that the Def Comedy Jam DJ “fell off.” “Now you made it personal,” describes Kid. “I kept it DJ.” As Flex criticized his status, everything changed.
Kid Capri contends that while he is uplifting Hip-Hop through youth initiatives and aid to Puerto Rico with Fat Joe, Flex tears down artists. “We’re in a position to make ourselves great. I’ve never seen [DJ] Red Alert have to talk down on anyone to get his ratings. I’ve never seen [The Breakfast Club] or [DJ] Clue or [DJ] Self any of these dudes that’s been on the radio have to do that because the talent should speak for itself.” He singles on Charlamagne Tha God, and says that it is part of his brand to knock others, but not DJs, such as Envy or Angela Yee.
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The guest says that Flex has changed. “I done watched him talk about dead people, I done watched him talk about kids, I just watched him—after the whole pressure I put on him—talk about Cardi B, a pregnant woman. This is a pregnant woman! Let’s take the Rap out of it, the business out of it, this is a pregnant human being that’s doing her thing on top of that and then she’s [also] from the Bronx, a place that you claim—that I don’t really think you from, Flex.” Capri says his current foe is a product of Mount Vernon, New York. “Nobody says nothing ’cause they’re scared to go burn a bridge with Flex,” he says later. The HOT 97 mainstay has called out Drake, Tupac Shakur, JAY-Z, G-Eazy, and others in recent years. Charlamagne says he has no problem calling out his radio peer. Envy has had a “personal” beef in the past with his former HOT 97 colleague.
Kid Capri adds that a few people—including Swizz Beatz—are trying to settle this dispute with a DJ battle. “A lot of rich people are tryin’. Swizz [Beatz] has definitely tried, for one.” He says that his Red Bull-backed Master Of The Mix show also is looking into creating the battle.
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Notably, Kid Capri brings up his 1998 album Soundtrack To The Streets on the show, and calls out folks like Flex for lack of support. Meanwhile, in the last 13 years, Hip-Hop has supported DJ-artists such as DJ Khaled on a major level. “My album was fire, but they didn’t want to see Kid Capri get any further than what he already did…and nobody from New York supported that.”
Later in the interview, Capri says that he has a follow-up album coming.