N.O.R.E. (Noreaga) recently addressed his strained relationship with Ye (formerly Kanye West) following the controversial 2022 Drink Champs interview. This particular episode was eventually removed from REVOLT’s platform due to the widespread scrutiny over West’s inflammatory remarks concerning George Floyd and the Jewish community. Appearing on The Jason Lee Show on Wednesday, April 15, N.O.R.E. delved into the extensive backlash he experienced and his unprecedented decision to edit parts of Ye’s comments, a first in Drink Champs history. He also recounted a call from Diddy, then chairman of REVOLT, who initially advised against any edits.

N.O.R.E. expressed profound regret over his handling of the interview, stating, “I feel like I should’ve took out a lot more with the Ye interview. I felt like Ye and me was friends. I wish I edited it more.” He specifically recalled removing a segment where West drew an analogy between assassinated Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and George Floyd, who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020. N.O.R.E. emphasized that it was not merely the content but “how Ye delivered it” that was problematic, asserting that leaving that part in would have been “horrible for Black people.”

Jason Lee confirmed that N.O.R.E. had sought his advice amidst the controversy and after speaking with Diddy, who initially favored leaving all of Ye's statements untouched. N.O.R.E. admitted his initial lack of full comprehension regarding the gravity of West's comments about the Jewish community and George Floyd, explaining that “it went over my head” amidst other discussions. He then clarified Diddy’s eventual shift in perspective: “Puff called me and was like, ‘Hey, I think we should edit this one.’ I’m saying, ‘We’ll take your part out.’ He’s like, ‘Not my part, my part can stay. You sure you want these other parts to stay?’ … [Diddy] said, ‘I do not suggest that.’” N.O.R.E. reflected on the mindset at the time, believing they were like “Howard Sterns” and that editing would compromise their creative content, but acknowledged, “Me looking in retrospect was like, ‘Damn, the George Floyd thing was wrong.'… I should’ve listened to my own material. Had I listened to it, I would’ve been saying, ‘I could take this part out.'”

Days after its release, REVOLT officially removed the Drink Champs episode from its platform due to the severe backlash against West’s antisemitic remarks. During the interview, Ye had audaciously claimed, “I can say antisemitic s–t and Adidas cannot drop me.” N.O.R.E. subsequently issued an apology, but Ye’s controversial spiral continued throughout October 2022, as he propagated antisemitic rhetoric across various platforms and social media. Major businesses, including Adidas, Balenciaga, Gap, and Universal Music Group, swiftly terminated their associations with the rapper.

More than three years later, West continues to face repercussions for his actions, which have included selling a swastika t-shirt and releasing a song titled “Heil Hitler” in 2025. In an effort to mend his relationships with the Jewish and Black communities, Ye published an apology in The Wall Street Journal in January and reportedly met with a rabbi in November 2025. Recently, on Tuesday, April 14, Ye was forced to postpone his June concert in France due due to opposition from government officials. Earlier in April, West was banned from the U.K. because of his history of antisemitism, leading to the cancellation of his planned headlining performance at Wireless Fest in London this summer.