New Jersey rapper Redman has had a career of ups and downs but is most renowned for the exceptional music he produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Following the level of notoriety and success he managed to attain during the ’90s with projects such as Dare Iz a Darkside and Muddy Waters; Redman shifted his position at the turn of the millennium. Becoming one-half of the duo Method Man and Redman, the emcee (real name Reginal Noble) also became known for his incredible acting following his role in the legendary stoner-comedy film How High.
After starring in a comedy and featuring in a highly comedic episode of ‘MTV Cribs’ in 2001, the ‘Smash Sumthin’ lyricist became somewhat of a happy-go-lucky OG figure within the culture. However, before entering the limelight and achieving national and international fame, Noble was less chirpy and was, in fact, uncontrollable.
Many stories concerning the rhymer have surfaced, both positive and negative, over the years. However, in an interview with Gully TV, Noble’s former mentor, K-Solo, shared a firsthand account of an incident during which the Blackout! rapper attempted to shoot him.
K-Solo was a member of the East Coast collective the Hit Squad and found fame in the early-’90s with his track ‘Spellbound.’ As a prominent member of the Hit Squad, the Long Island act (real name Kevin Madison) initially took Noble on as his DJ, hypeman and roadie. However, when he unveiled that he had aspirations of being an artist, Madison wanted to put him to the test.
Speaking with the show’s host, Dusty Angel, explaining how he was unsure at first, Madison revealed: “I didn’t know if he was serious at first. He used to DJ for me … I gave him like 20 minutes of my set to rock from behind the turntables and drop rhymes. I laid the groundwork.”
However, concerning being a gangster, he knew Noble could talk the talk but wanted to see if he could walk the walk. Detailing what happened next, K-Solo declared: “He was that dude … he was a real dude. I wanted to test him physically to see if he was as tough as he said he was.” However, how he approached the situation may have been a little unnerving for Noble, who he knew had a short fuse. He then described the situation unveiling that he jumped Noble and attempted to wrestle him to the ground, but it went wrong.
Delving into the details of the incident, Madison declared: “I grabbed [Redman] to try to get him to the ground, and he grabs the gun and shit … and then he just shot it,” K-Solo recalled. “He shot that muthafucka. I couldn’t get it, and he kept shooting.” He recounted how a stray bullet flew past his thigh. However, following this event, Madison knew Redman was no joke.
Madison asserted Noble’s resilience as a youngster divulging: “He was just as live as me, but he was just younger. He passed everything I put him through. He took what I said, and he wasn’t playing … I’m happy that he was very focused and became what he is today because he wasn’t that in the beginning.”
Although K-Solo made this on-air revelation, Redman has never been shy regarding his volatile temperament as a youngster. In 2016, during an appearance on VLADTV DJ Vlad, Noble even admitted that he and K-Solo travelled to Queens to physically take revenge on a thief who had stolen a chain from their friend and crewmate Erick Sermon. “I was a hood nigga,” he unveiled, “I ain’t give a fuck.” You can hear K-Solo’s Gully Tv recollection in the video below.
