Irv Gotti stopped by Hot 97 recently and spoke with Funkmaster Flex about the first time he heard 50 Cent's 2003 megahit 'In Da Club.' It was 7:00 in the morning, he was in his office, and Flex was playing it on the radio.
Gotti and Ja Rule were in the throws of a major beef with Fif then, but Ja was still the bigger artist.
"Oh God," Gotti remembered saying as soon as 'In Da Club's' beat came on. "Fucking Dre."The Murder Inc. boss remembered saying that if 50's rhymes are dope, then he'll know the song will be huge.
"Alright," he 2003 Gotti admitted. "The beat is fucking nuts. He may have one, but let's see if he connected the dots lyrically."Then Fif started to spit, and that's when Irv realized that he, Ja and his whole Murder Inc. team were in for some real trouble.
"Buckle up, we have a major problem," he told the people in his office. "This record ... And he's with Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre and fucking Eminem."Things went down pretty much how Irv figured it would. 'In Da Club' took 50 from a respected New York mixtape rapper to an international star.
As far as Ja, his career suddenly got stalled, and it seemed everyone took Fif's side in their dispute and turned their backs on the Murder Inc. rapper.
As a matter of fact, Ja's career never recovered after 'In Da Club' dropped.
Irv's Funk Flex interview comes just days after he and 50 started beefing again, so their problems with each other haven't gone away.
You can hear Irv's interview below.