Despite Hopsin’s issues with Funk Volume co-founder Damien Ritter, the rapper says the other artists on the label he helped build are “Team Dame.”
In an interview with Home Grown Radio, the rapper said that while he’s still cool with Jarren Benton, his relationship with others is strained.
“I’m still cool with Jarren Benton, but there’s some tension in the air, man, because everybody’s Team Dame strong and he has them all blinded over there. So, it’s some tension there, so I don’t know,” Hopsin explained.
“As far as I know, I’m cool with everybody, but I know me and Jarren, we have a relationship, a cool relationship that’s not gonna be broken,” he later added. “But the other dudes, they don’t call. They don’t really keep in touch…I’ve been reaching out to them. I try to stay on top, but it’s only like me trying…I don’t reach out to Dame. F*ck Dame. He’s done. He’s a non-factor in my life.”
Hopsin accuses Dame of stealing money from the artists on Funk Volume, specifically pointing out how Dame, himself, profited from their tour meet and greets, while the artists weren’t paid at all.
“Tell everybody the reason why Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton, DJ Hoppa weren’t getting paid for those meet and greets we did every single day, 100 people every day for 60-some days,” he said. “How come he got paid for the meet and greets, but the artists didn’t get paid? This guy tried to bank $50,000 off the tour from meet and greets that we were doing. He wasn’t there on the meet and greets. The artists who were doing meet and greets were not getting paid for meet and greets. How do you justify that?”
Regardless of how things play out with his former crew, Hopsin says he’s moving on with his new imprint, Undercover Prodigy.
“I can just tell when I’m unwanted, so I’m just doing my own thing,” he says. “I don’t really need them. I wish them the best of luck, but I’m just going to do my own thing now. I’m done reaching out. If they want to reach out to me, they can do whatever but there’s definitely tension the air. I’m not cool with Dame. I dislike the man so much to where if they roll with him, they become him to me and that’s just the way it is. When you’re rolling with the enemy, you’re low-key becoming the enemy.”