There are many people who only know N.O.R.E as a podcast host and one-half of Drink Champs. However, his influence and his reach during his heyday in rap can’t be questioned. Records like “Super Thug” continue to ring off while projects such as Capone-N-Noreaga’s The War Report stand as a classic. However, N.O.R.E’s biggest impact came when he popularized the term “slime” on projects like 2002’s God’s Favorite. Since then, it has since been associated with Young Thug and YSL, which N.O.R.E isn't happy about.
During a recent interview on Drink Champs with Joe Budden, N.O.R.E seemingly threw shade at Young Thug and other rappers who’ve turned “slime” into a gang term. Though he didn’t mention any specific individuals, he said that he never intended for it to be attached to street gangs. “This is what’s f*cked up about slang. People use that as a gang terminology. They say, ‘you slime.’ Then, you affiliated with a certain gang,” he explained during the podcast.
N.O.R.E Explains “Slime” Origin
Though N.O.R.E made it clear that he never created the term, he made it clear that he popularized it. “You n***as is bozos,” he continued. N.O.R.E said it was intended to be a term of endearment for his friends, one that he hoped would replace the N-word. “I’m gonna say this because – I did not invent the word slime… But I made it famous and it was always used to just be ‘slime,’” he said. “It was also kind of to replace the word ‘n***a.’ It was kind of positive," he added.
Unfortunately, his intentions with the word muddled over time, and N.O.R.E couldn’t be anymore disappointed. “And now the way they use it – I’m disgusted,” he said as he referenced witnessing two young kids using the term as gang terminology. “I recently seen two young dudes and they was like, ‘Yo, slime!’ I watched him and I literally wanted to shoot them both if I was still in that era.” Ultimately, N.O.R.E feels upset at how the term became redefined these days, especially since his name is still attached to it.