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When Papoose said he was retiring from rap during an interview with the HollywoodLife podcast last February, even his wife Remy Ma didn't believe him.

June 8, 2021 Jay Electronica hit me up, Papoose tells DX. He was like, You cant retire, youre one of the last samurai. And I was like, Aw, man. It was just an honor to get that message from him. And then Busta called me up and he said, You are not retiring. Im not allowing you to I wont allow it. And Im like, Ohh, this like a gang? Am I forced for life? Then my brother Kay Slay, he said, Pap, what the hell are you talking about, you retiring, man? Aint no retirement, man. He was saying the same thing. He was just constantly on me about it, man, like, Yo, Paps, are you still going to retire? The entire year. And Im like, No, man, brother. Im trying to explain to why, and hes like, Man, you cant retire. You better not retire. Im like, these guys are forcing me to stay. I didnt know people cared about me that much. But Papoosestill has his proverbial bags packed and hasnt exactly decided if hell make more music. Hes admittedly deflated by the current state of Hip Hop. As he told HollywoodLife, Im over it. Its watered down. When I came into this thing, it meant something. It was about talent and craft and spreading the good word. Its not about that anymore. I can sit here and tell you, Im really turned off from it. I mean, I just want to go on with my life and you know, focus on my family. Doubling down, Papoose says nothing has changed in the year since he initially made that bold yet astute observation. I still feel that way, he says. Theres a lot of things, a lot of lost elements in Hip Hop, man. When I said I was retiring, Busta was saying things like, Man, your contribution is needed. Are you kidding me? And it helped me realize, it helped me feel a little appreciated. I didnt know that I was going to get so much love. I didnt know some of the greatest rappers of all time, like Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz all were going to do great music with me this year. Because my plan was to do the 12 albums just to show appreciation to my fans on my way out. But Im reconsidering it now. My bags are packed by the door. I didnt unpack yet . From the January to December albums, Papoose was able to secure beats from some of the greatest Hip Hop producers alive, including Pete Rock,DJ Premier and Large Professor. He still marvels at the fact he was able to pull it off. I was blessed last year, he says. Pete Rock, Large Professor, Premier, Lil Wayne,Fabolous me and Fab finally did something. Swizz Beatz,Da Rockwilder, Bangladesh, Crooked I, Ransom, 38 Special. Man, I can keep going. Its not even funny what I did this last I cant even believe I was able to do this shit. Check back with HipHopDX soon for Part II of the Papoose interview. Until then, find all 12 of his 2021 albums on Spotify. Subscribe to DX Newsletter Get The Most Important Stories Of The Day Straight To Your Inbox Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Youre Far Too Kind To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. Joining Newsletter Read more