Yonkers rapper DMX was one of a handful of emcees Queens artist Kool G Rap discussed during a recent interview with Montreality. The Hip Hop icon credited DMX as being “a hero to Hip Hop” and expressed his hope for the rapper, who has been arrested a handful of times over the past few years, to be safe.

“I just hope he be safe. If he is going through something he get over that,” Kool G Rap said. “Cause he’s one of the main contributors in Hip Hop. He’s a hero to Hip Hop. I got love for DMX. And I got a lot of respect for my homie. He’s somebody big in Hip Hop to me. He contributed a lot to Hip Hop.”

Prior to speaking on DMX, Kool G Rap cited Eminem, Jay Z, Raekwon, and Styles P as the artists he would most like to work with. G Rap spoke further on Jay Z while discussing the status of New York Hip Hop and the artist who’s currently holding the torch for the city.

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The rapper also gave credit to the South for dominating Hip Hop today despite struggling through Hip Hop’s golden era when artists like Run D.M.C. and LL Cool J held prominence.

“I think New York is just affected by what’s going on in general like a lot of places might be,” Kool G Rap said. “And that’s the total domination of the South sound. Of the South sound dominating Hip Hop in general. A lot of dudes might be mad at that. I’m not mad at that. Everything evolves. Everything changes. You know what I’m saying? And it was a time when it was just a New York sound that was dominant throughout the genre of Hip Hop. And then it kinda switched over. And the cats from the South was struggling during the times of Run D.M.C., LL Cool J…When Hip Hop was a New York sound. Dominated the genre of music. You know what I’m saying? So, you can’t be mad at them now for coming up.

“It might not be nobody on the mainstream except for the names we all know. Like a Jay Z,” he added. “That’s still doing it to the iconic level. That’s from NY and still holding it down.”

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Kool G Rap later recalled meeting fellow rapper 50 Cent through an ex-girlfriend while at a popular jewelry store in New York. He says upon meeting Fifty he was most surprised by the visibility of the G-Unit helmsman’s bullet proof vest.

“I kinda noticed 50 had a vest on under his clothing,” he said. “And I was thinking to myself ‘Damn, that was kinda noticeable.’ If cats try to get at him they might try to go at his top because it was noticeable that he had a vest on. You know what I mean? And that kinda stuck with me…I’m glad 50 made it through, yadda yadda. His fuckin’ life story is incredible.”

Active in Hip Hop since the ‘80s, Kool G Rap has influenced a number of Hip Hop artists including Eminem, Jay Z, and Queens wordsmith Action Bronson. Along with Cam’ron, Bronson cited Kool G Rap as a “main influence” in his music career during an October 2011 interview with MTV UK’s The Wrap Up.

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