As you already know there was some diss shots coming strong from two of New Jersey's finest with Joe Budden and Ransom. First, you had Ransom come at Joe Budden with the diss track, “Kid Brother” (which Ransom states isn't a diss) and before you know it Joey comes back strong with “Heart of the City”, spilling bars for days. Ransom on the other held his own firing back with “Somebody Gotta Die Tonight”, putting some things about Joe Budden on blast. Then, once again, Joe gives another round with “Ransom Note” giving all he’s got, coming for Ransom’s neck. Now the streets are talking and many want to know how this shit started anyway? Why are two of New Jersey’s finest going hard at each other?

We could only assume why until HipHopDX caught up with Ransom to see what the deal was. The former A-Team member explains the reason for the diss tracks, how he prevented Joe Budden from being stomped out, why he’s the reason New Jersey doesn't have a presence in the rap game, and why he’s the "overall" better rapper. The dichotomy of an overnight rap beef before your eyes.

HipHopDX: Ransom, there's a lot of talk in the streets, so let it be known what is the problem between you and Joe Budden?
Ransom: It ain’t really no problem, everybody thinking this nigga came at Joe for some buzz. My thing is if I wanted to go at somebody with some buzz it wouldn’t been him. The nigga ain’t drop an album in five years, why would I diss him to get a buzz? Actually something happen between me and him when I did some shit for him on Mood Muzik 3. I had did this like nine months ago, he called me and ask me to do a verse. I went over there and did it so nine months later through our mutual friend in the studio is like, “Yeah, Hitch (Hitchcock from A-Team) over there putting some shit on the joint that you did.” I said, “Yeah,” I thought the nigga was going to at least send the joint over before he put the joint out. He’s like, “Yeah Joe told me he was going to send it over and let you hear it before he put it out.” I’m like, “Alright” the next day niggas call me like, “Yo the A-Team back together,” I’m like, “Nah." They like, “I hear this joint with you and Hitch.” I’m like what the fuck is going on, he ain’t call me or nothing. He didn’t send the joint over for me to hear it or nothing so we had problems after that. That’s why I did the “Kid Brother” shit, I wasn’t dissing him I was just telling the truth. Everything you hear me say on these tracks is the truth. It wasn’t even a diss, it was just the truth.

DX: Y'all were cool before all of this, right?
R: Well you gotta define cool, I guess we said what’s up when we seen each other. That pretty much sums that up.

DX: I was listening to one of the disses and you mentioned “How you the king of a city you can’t even come to,” can you speak on that?
R: What I meant by that is that he keeps on saying he the king of the city, well why the fuck you can’t come here then? I live here, as we doing this interview I’m sitting in Jersey City right now. I don’t wanna be here, but I’m here. Even if I get bread I’m still gonna be able to come back, ain’t nobody gonna be able to keep me from my city. You the king of the city, but you can’t even come here. It’s niggas out here that just want to put something on him. I heard one of the disses he’s mentioning selling niggas broke uzis. I’m like “Damn when has that ever been cool?” That’s like one of the only true things that he said. He actually gave somebody a broke uzi and that’s just one of the reasons he can’t come here.

DX: You mentioned him sleeping on your floor, what’s good with that?
R: Yeah. Like all this shit he was talking about like [The A-Team] is signed to [DJ] Clue. Clue never even brought out a contract, me and Clue never even discussed a contract or nothing. He got on the freestyles with us when he did it in my studio, it ain’t like we was over at his shit. He came up to my studio, with my niggas, and we paid the rent for it when he did those freestyles, like 18 freestyles or whatever. He use to sleep on my studio floor with my niggas paying the rent, while me and my niggas paid the rent, he slept on the floor. They wanted to come over and bust his head open and I’m like, “Nah not in my house, you can’t do that over here.” It was his niggas, the niggas that he left in the hood. They was like, “Nah, Ransom we got to get this nigga.” I’m like, “At least wait until the nigga leave, not here.” Everything I say is true and he knows it. This is why he puts 230 bars together for me, because everything he hears from me is the truth. He’s stretching and reaching when everybody is seeing into that shit. He’s lying and it don’t even matter, I’m not going to even respond, all that shit is lies. Continued on page 2 »