Mr. MFN eXquire Clarifies Trinidad James Tweets: “I Don’t Respect Him, But It’s Not Like I Got Beef With Him”

Mr. MFN eXquire has kept a low profile since dropping his first EP after signing a deal with Universal Republic, Power & Passion—until now. In a few weeks, the BK spitter is dropping a compilation mixtape, from his crew The Passion, called The Passion Tape Vol. 1: VivaLaPassion. The first leak is the awesomely titled "Dom Perignon at the Days Inn," a balance of grit and grandeur featuring eX doing his thing with a fluid delivery.

But eXquire is also making noise off the mic. A couple weeks ago, he spoke out about Trinidad James after the Atlanta MC's New York debut at Santos Party House on December 4. Never one to bite his tongue, eX sent a string of tweets about James stealing his style. "I lost all respect for Trinidad James tonight," he wrote. "I wish him the best tho...from the heart. How a nigga steal your whole style, then try to act like he made it up?!?!? I wish that nigga the best cause he black like me, but I don't have no respect for him. I'm not dissing nobody…just speaking my mind cuz that's what real niggas do." Here, he clears the air about his feelings toward Trinidad, and also speaks on The Passion Tape, his next solo project, and being the first rapper to pose naked on a mixtape. —Eric Diep (@E_Diep)

XXL: Let's get this out of the way while we have you here: What's up with you and Trinidad James?

Mr. MFN eXquire: Okay, listen, listen, listen. I don't have no beef with Trinidad James to answer your question. It ain't a whole thing. It ain't nothing that serious. You know what I am saying? I got mad love. I don't respect him, but it's not like I got beef with him. It's not that. I listen to his music. I know the words to all his songs. I go to his shows and shit. It's nothing like that. You know what I am saying? It's really not like that. I'm not the type that would beef with another rapper. I'm just the type that doesn't bite my tongue. And it's not even like I didn't meet him and spoke to him. I didn't have a problem with him until I met him, so it was nothing. I still don't have a problem with him. I don't want to say that. I was just disappointed when I met him. That's all it was.

But you were saying on Twitter that he bit your style.

I didn't think that though! That's the funny part about it. You see, the thing about it is, the real shit behind it is, I still don't think that. I don't really care. Everybody was saying it and once I met him, he was acting like a little bitch, hiding behind security like he was scared of niggas. We just came to his show to say hi to him. I was like, "You know what? You are not a real nigga. Since you are not a real nigga, I am just gonna let people say what they want to say about you." When people told me that before, I personally don't feel like that nigga look like me or he has a style that's even like me. I don't really personally care, but it was like, Fuck it, I'll let niggas say what they want. Before I told niggas like, "Nah, I don't think so." But now I'm like, "Y'all want to diss him? Go ahead. Diss him. Fuck it." Me personally though, Exquire Anthony Allison, I don't have any issues with that man. I could see that man tomorrow and drink liquor with him and we could fuck hoes. It ain't nothing. I don't have any problem with nobody. I'm not like that. I'm not violent. I don't like beef and ignorance and black-on-black crime. I'm not into that.

How do you feel about his Def Jam deal?

That's what up. I mean, I'm happy for him. He's like me. He's from poverty and he wants to make something out of himself. So why would I want him not to? [Laughs] That's stupid.

Are you a fan of "All Gold Everything"?

Yeah, I fuck with it. Me and my girl be in the crib singing that shit. Right, baby? "Don't believe me just watch!" C'mon.

Let's talk about The Passion Tape Vol. 1: VivaLaPassion. Why did you name the first leak "Dom Perignon at the Days Inn"?

I don't know. I just wanted something cool to say at my shows, so that groupies will want to come back to the hotel. If we're staying at the Days Inn, I can just be like, "Yo—we got Don Perignon," and they'll be like, "Oh—that's like the song!' And they'll come. Honestly, I just made that song just rapping. I really never wrote any rhymes this year, so that was just me buggin' out in the studio like, aight, let me just put it out there, because I never put songs out like that. But yeah—that was one where I just decided to rap and have a little fun on it. I don't really write rhymes like that—I've probably only written like 10 rhymes this year, and its December, right?

READ ON TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HIS CREW COMPILATION TAPE, THE UPCOMING KISMET PROJECT, AND MORE

Is there going to be a video for "Dom Perignon"?

Yeah. We're gonna shoot it in 2 or 3 weeks. Maybe next weekend, maybe the weekend after. It's gonna be crazy. It's gonna be super-good. I can't really give it away yet, but it's gonna be crazy. It might be the most ratchet thing you've ever seen in your life—or un-ratchet, depending on your perspective.

Can you give us a hint?

I've got heart-shaped hot tubs and shit. It's gonna be crazy.

What's the rest of Passion Tape going to be like?

That's me and my crew, 'cause I see everybody else bringing they crew out, you know what I mean? Everybody got they niggas rappin', they wack niggas is rappin'. I'm like, Damn—my niggas ain't wack, so you know what? I think I need to show everybody how my niggas do. Last year, I did Merry eX-Mas & Suck My Dick. This year I was gonna do Merry eX-Mas & Suck My Dick Part 2, but then I was like, Nah—you know what? Let me just make the Christmas tape the crew tape. So I'm keepin' it an annual experience.

Who's in your crew?

We called The Passion, baby. Simple and plain. Real simple name. It's me and Goldie Glo, who appeared on "Aggin Laer" on the EP with me. He's on "No Time" off Lost in Translation, he's on "The Bear Tricks" on The Man in the High Castle. Dallas Tha Kid, he's on "Motivated to be Rich" on Merry eX-Mas; he's on "Chicken Spot Rock" on Lost in Translation. Heron, he's on "Huzzah 2" if you ever seen that video. We are in the liquor store; that's me and Heron right there. And My DJ, SicksentZ, he raps as well, but niggas ain't heard him rap yet. But they gonna hear him rap next week because he's putting out a video. That shit is gonna be crazy—people are gonna think I'm more insane than they already think I am, and I'm gonna love it.

When is The Passion Tape dropping?

It's done. There's gonna be 12 records, it'll be out in a couple of weeks. My song is the first leak from it, then we got the "Death Addicts" video coming out next week, and that's me, Heron, Sixth Sense, Lakutis and D.V.S. is on it. We already shot a video for it, so that's gonna be out next week. It's like a posse cut. Shit is like retardedly wild, trust me. The video is like 8 minutes long—shit is crazy.

You said you didn't write any rhymes this year, but you dropped your EP, Power & Passion. You didn't write a lot for that?

Not really, a lot of those songs were old. I did them songs mostly before I had a deal and the first week I got signed—that whole EP. I didn't really do none of that shit. The EP's been done since like May or June, so a lot of those songs were wild old and shit.

But you just wanted to get it out there for the fans?

Yeah—I guess. Pretty much. [Laughs] That's the abrupt version of it. I just wanted to put it out there. It wasn't nothing crazy, it was nothing that I really worked hard at. I'm a weird artist. I guess I am really an artsy-type dude in a way, so I just kind of get into my modes of what I want to release and what I don't. I'm just weird like that. The EP itself, I'm proud of it, definitely, because I wanted to just try different things out. I just wanted people to see that I was gonna get signed and not change. I don't know what changing for me would even be, but I don't know—I guess people thought I was.

Do you think you succeeded in showing people that you were the still same dude?

Definitely. Hell yeah. Super yeah. [Laughs] I think people thought I was gonna get a record deal and have straight hair and be light-skinned the next week.

Do you have any doubts with the major label system?

Nah—I don't have many doubts at all, in general. I'm pretty confident about my abilities as a human being, so I don't really get doubts, you know what I mean? I don't see the point in them.

What are your plans after The Passion Tape drops?

We got the Passion Tape Vol. 1 coming out this month. We'll rock niggas with that. Then, I'ma sit on them, put a couple of videos out from that. Let niggas see how ill my niggas are. Then, I'm coming out with my tape, which is called Kismet. That comes out in March. That's my solo tape. That's just me coming back. It's kind of like the sequel to Lost in Translation.

What about your full-length major label debut?

I know when my album is coming out, My label knows when it coming out, but I am not allowed to tell nobody. I got a title and all that. It's ready. I just wanted to mention that I am naked on my next mixtape cover too. I'm butt-ass naked. I can't wait for people to see it. I really am naked. I know you think I'm joking, but I am dead-ass naked on my mixtape cover. I want everybody to get ready to see me naked. Make sure everybody know that I am going to be naked. I gotta do it, man. I just want to put it out there: Unless another nigga want to be naked and want to steal my shit, I'm gonna be the first naked rap nigga on his mixtape cover.