N.O.R.E. Still Grimey Toward LeBron James’ Heat, “The New York In Me Wouldn’t Allow Me To Cheer”

Written By S. Samuel

New York rapper N.O.R.E. recently talked about his admiration for his hometown Knicks and why local roots will not allow him to embrace the 2012 NBA champions Miami Heat.

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Although he can appreciate the Miami sunshine, the rapper has no plans of donning a Heat jersey anytime soon.

“Nah man, I’m such a hater,'” he said. “Once the Knicks got out, I was rooting for OKC [The Oklahoma City Thunder]. It was hard going to bars out here [in Miami]. Don’t get me wrong, congrats to LeBron James, congrats to Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, but the New York in me wouldn’t allow me to cheer for them.” (XXL Mag)

The Queens, New York rapper also dished out on what New York Knick has won him over.

“I’mma be honest, as hardcore Knick, New York dude, Carmelo Anthony is the actual element that made me feel comfortable rooting for my city,” he said. “He has swag, he’s a cool dude, he’s a killer scorer…and he’s like me, a fellow ‘N*gga Rican.’ When I saw him come to the team, I went back full support of the Knicks. I can’t wait until next season.” (XXL Mag)

Prior to the Knicks losing to the Heat in round one of the play-offs, N.O. told SOHH he had high hopes for a strong post-season run.

“I haven’t been a New York Knicks fan in so long. I’ve always been a Knicks fan and I’ve always slandered them but with Carmelo Anthony being black and Puerto Rican, I have to roll with them again,” N.O.R.E. told SOHH. “I’m so glad I stuck to rolling with them because they’re looking good and we have Amar’e back. I’m not agreeing with the braids but it’s all good. We need Jeremy Lin coming off the bench. Steve Novak has been looking fantastic. Steve Novak’s the new Larry Bird. Iman Shumpert, we’re doing fantastic. I don’t want the Bulls or the Heat in the first round — I’m not saying we can’t pull it off, I’m just saying it’s very skeptical because the reason those guys have been having a great season and we don’t want to be the backdrop to their great season. We want to be the ending to the Heal and Bulls’ phenomenal season.” (SOHH)

Earlier this year, fellow New Yorker Maino said he had nothing but support for the Knicks.

“I feel good about it. We needed that energy, we needed that energy in the city,” Maino said in an interview referring to Knicks guard Jeremy Lin. “Part of inspiring people is you need that energy to make them feel proud, make them feel worth, feel their worth and seeing Lin out there dishing the rock — they’re doing their thing. It’s bringing this proudness back to the city. … The first time I seen him, I was like, ‘Who the f*ck is this?’ … The first game I caught was when they played against the Lakers. That’s when he cracked on Kobe [Bryant]. That was the first game I caught.” (All Hip Hop)

Check out some recent N.O.R.E. footage below:

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Written by S. Samuel

Steven Samuel is the co-founder of SOHH.com.

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