Maino is clarifying his stance amid escalating tension with 50 Cent, insisting that recent comments made on his podcast were not aimed directly at the media mogul.
During an appearance on Way Up With Angela Yee, the Brooklyn rapper addressed the back-and-forth, explaining that discussions on his podcast about documentaries and public figures were meant to be broad, not personal.
According to Maino, the conversation was centered on whether people truly have the right to tell someone else’s story and how they themselves would feel in that position.
“It was a general conversation, about do people have the actual right to make a documentary about you and how would you feel if it was you?” Maino said. “But I get where you’re coming from, but at the same time, I’m not trying to walk nothing down. Like if it’s smoke, it’s smoke.”
Maino said that the podcast, which he hosts alongside Fabolous, Dave East, and Jim Jones, isn’t meant for taking shots at others. Still, he acknowledged that once names and images get involved, the situation can quickly turn confrontational.
“If you shooting and you saying ‘they’ and ‘these guys, ’ and you got a picture and I’m in a picture, I’m shooting back,” he said. “It’s with whoever, whenever, however, whatever.”
The comments come after 50 Cent publicly accused accused the Let’s Rap About It crew of owing $250,000 for the space where the podcast is recorded. In a social media post, 50 labeled the group “squatters,” mocked their appearance, and suggested they were more focused on image than paying bills.
The situation escalated further after Jones criticized 50 Cent’s involvement in Netflix’s controversial Diddy documentary, Sean Combs: The Reckoning, calling the project “petty.”
50 responded by reposting the clip, referring to the series as a “mockumentary” and firing back with an inflammatory caption aimed at Jones.
Maino jumped into the fray on Instagram, sharing an edited image of 50 Cent with a stylized haircut and a caption that mixed humor with hostility. Despite acknowledging that 50 once helped him secure a record deal, Maino made it clear he felt the recent attacks were unnecessary and disrespectful.