Jadakiss isn’t here for fans trying to clown him over having both parents in his household. The Yonkers legend recently addressed the chatter surrounding his childhood on his Joe & Jada podcast, after some critics suggested his upbringing was too “Huxtable-like” to match his gritty rap persona.
“Some assholes in the comments think I grew up like the Huxtables. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with these people, but coming from where we come from, it’s a beautiful thing to have both of your parents,” Kiss said. “Yeah, we had both of our parents. Do that mean we wasn’t in the street? No. That mean our household had gold spoons? No. My moms bust her ass. My pops was on drugs. He was able to shake back. I was outside doing shit. I was smart in school, I was athletic, but I was outside.”
The LOX lyricist doubled down, pointing out that having two parents doesn’t erase the struggles he faced: “Just ask the people, just ask the cops, just ask anybody you wanna ask. For some reason, people act like you can’t stand on your word if you have both of your parents. Are you some type of asshole? It’s a blessing to have both of your parents.”
Outside of addressing the critics, Jada also had words for the current state of Hip Hop. On 7PM in Brooklyn, he stressed the importance of originality, pushing back against the trend of artists chasing whatever’s hot at the moment. “It’s all about balance,” he said. “Rap is for rapping. Start doing a bunch of everything else, it’s getting away from the elements and diminishing the culture. We don’t need to hear 53 more ‘Not Like Us’es.”
For Kiss, authenticity, whether in music or in life, remains the standard.