Trinidad Jame$' performance at Converse Rubber Tracks last week (Nov.  12) where he went on rant claiming New York’s rap scene has fallen off—and that Atlanta runs New York musically—has been well documented. New Yorkers have responded, artists such as Smoke DZA and Hopsin have fired back, and the conversation surrounding the state of New York hip-hop has re-entered as a main topic of discussion. Jame$ has since then clarified some of the points, put out a track on this topic and even claimed that he has something in store for New Yorkers today (Nov. 18).

Maino, one of Jame$' most outspoken critics, has had enough of artists disrespecting New York City. The Brooklyn native wants New Yorkers to understand that Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse and Jame$' comments are two different situations. XXL spoke to Maino, and he explained why Trinidad Jame$' comments were disrespectful, his disappointment with New Yorkers and the state of hip-hop in New York. —Emmanuel C.M. (@ECM_LP)

Previously: Maino Says Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” Verse And Trinidad Jame$’ Comments Are Different
Maino Wants Trinidad Jame$ To Apologize

You're pretty pissed about the Trinidad Jame$ incident.
Maino: It's just sad that we're in a place, as far as a city, we're so disorganized, people feel like they can do or say whatever they want. This don’t fly anywhere else. It’s an unspoken rule as an artist, as a man, when you go to other people's cities, you show love you'll get love, you show respect, you'll get respect. You don’t go into people's territories, into people's cites and talk down on them. You don’t go and critique them and tell them what their issues are. And people saying, “What [Trinidad James] said is true.” OK, what he saying is not unheard of. Everything that he said is shit that I said in “What Happened” and everybody know it. However, it ain’t what you said it's how you say it. When you get on a stage and say, “We run y'all and I ain't trying to start nothing but if you want do something we can do it.” What [does] that mean to you? That’s not a man just speaking his opinion. That’s a man offering a challenge to anybody that don’t like what he said. It’s not like he went up there and said, “I feel like New York need to get back on their game.” That’s cool, that's understandable, that’s his opinion. But the man went up there and said, “I’m not trying to start nothing but if you want to do something, we can do it.” That’s to me, speaks volumes to how a man actually felt. He’s trying to flip and bounce now. Everybody I know that lives in Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, they got pride in their city.

What was your initial reaction to Trinidad James comments?
Somebody sent me the link. There were people tweeting saying, “Is he crazy?” It was just that nobody addressed it. People was offended with him saying, "We run y’all.” We run y'all? What does that mean? And he knew he was saying something crazy because he heard the crowd. And then he said, "Well I ain't trying to start nothing but if you want to do something we can do it.” People only say that when they know they over stepped their boundaries.

I'm more mad at my city for being that disunited and that weak. That people feel like they can say and do whatever they want to say and do. People are comparing this to the Kendrick thing, which I spoke about. We're so fucked up here, what's stopping anybody else from saying anything and we don’t want to say nothing? What’s next? At least have respect for the city that you in. When you go to Chicago you got to have your hat a certain way. When you walk into these places, it's already understood, don’t come over here with that bullshit. I just got back from Houston today. Imagine if I went on stage and start blabbing about this and that. I would be food. I would be on a menu and it would be on because people love their city. People have pride in where they're from. We're the only people that  got it fucked up. We think people can have opinions and say whatever the fuck that they want to say to us, in our own city.

When do you think that started?
I don’t know. I have know idea when it started but all I know is I'm living in a time where anything goes now. Whether his opinion is valid or not, who the fuck are you to be on the stage in NYC lecturing New Yorkers about New York hip-hop? Who the fuck is you? This ain't about Atlanta and New York, this is about respect, this is about man business. This is about how you move in these markets.

Were you more angry at Trinidad Jame$ for calling out NYC hip-hop or more disappointed with NYC  for not stepping up?
I'm more disappointed in us as a city and a culture. He knew what he was doing, he knew what he was in front of. This ain’t about me. People like, “Hey Maino, you’re being a bully.” Man listen, I like that man's music. I ain't got a problem with that man at all. But at the same time, enough is enough. This ain't about no rap shit, this about a nigga coming to our city, standing on our stage and telling us that, “We run y'all,” musically. Now he’s going around and saying, “This is what I said, this is what I mean,” and people buying that bullshit. I’m just speaking the truth. But like I said, It ain’t how he said it, it's how he did it.  If he went about that in a different way, if he would have went about it in a more respectful way, then I wouldn’t have had anything to say. I'm not a person who just be jumping out the window for nothing.

Who did you want to see voice their opinion publicly? 
Everything that everybody saying, trust me, they saying to themselves. They just not as vocal as I am. It's all cool. But that’s part of the problem. I can't say which niggas should have said something, because to each his own. Every man deals with issues differently. Some niggas felt like, fuck that nigga I got nothing to say. Some niggas say, that’s good for us. Which was how I felt originally when the Kendrick shit came on that we suck so much dick, that this is what happens. This is a result of a place that we're in with each other. This isn’t just about radio, this about all of us together, artist to artist, artist to DJ, radio, clubs, the streets, the fans, we're all fucked up. We ain't on the same page.

Where does NYC hip-hop go from here?
I don’t know. We got dope artists. All I know is we just got to do more for each other. Trinidad Jame$ was caught in a moment. I would have rather him say, "You know what New York, I got caught in the moment, I was getting passionate and I over stepped my boundaries, it is what it is.” I would have respected that. We grown men, doing grown business, we aint shooting and killing over here man. Who the fuck is shooting and killing, man?

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