With the main participants in the Joe Budden/Raekwon confrontation now remaining silent, fight eyewitness Mickey Factz is speaking out on the punching incident.
Last night on the Rock the Bells Tour, Wu-Tang member Raekwon and 5-6 other men accosted Joe Budden in a backstage room over comments made in a July video about the now squashed Budden-Method Man feud.
After tense words were exchanged, one of the men punched Budden in the face. Later, the Jersey lyricist confirmed the incident via Youtube and other online outlets.
Bronx rapper Mickey Factz was present during the altercation, and revealed that initially the Wu veteran showed no signs of malice when he entered the room.
“Rae came in on some peaceful sh*t at first. He dapped everybody, he dapped Joe,” Factz explained. “But then everything changed. He wanted to talk about the video he seen me in with Joe Budden.”
The video in question was recorded several weeks ago during a Rock the Bells tour stop in Boston.
In the clip, Joe Budden offers a flippant apology about his statements regarding Method Man, but advised that he would retaliate if any further comments were made like Inspectah Deck’s “House N*gga” diss.
The Budden clip was recorded just one day before the Jersey City native and Method Man settled their differences in person.
However, Factz revealed the Raekwon refused his attempts to mediate.
“I didn’t see the punch, but I heard it…Rae was just in another zone, like ‘yo this is what happened, I know what happened,’” Factz detailed. “To be real, that was a bad move. I’m not a street dude, but if it would’ve went down we would’ve had to fight. We were not going to win, but I’m looking at Joe if it has to go down, it has to go down. I stayed, I didn’t leave. Rae told me it didn’t have anything to do with me.”
“But at the end of the day I have no problems with Wu Tang Clan. I’m looking Rae in his eyes and telling him the video happened the day before [they squashed it]. Rae didn’t swing. I didn’t see the punch, but it apparently hit Joe in the eye and also the shoulder…If somebody come at you, you have to defend yourself, whether it’s Raekwon, Jay-Z, Nas, n***as we listen to.”
As a young emcee who grew up on Wu Tang, Factz expressed disappointment that a veteran would ambush a fellow emcee in that manner. Additionally, Mickey verified that the Chef does have footage of the entire incident, as one of his entourage members had a camera.
“One of the six dudes did punch Joe, it was 6 vs. 2. Without me it would’ve been 6 vs. 1. I think it was a sucker move,” he stated. “It looked like Joe barely felt it. [But] sh*t is crazy. Raekwon has the footage…Joe didn’t swing back, and no they didn’t laugh after the punch. Joe and Rae were going back and forth talking like men. How you going to have your man punch him and now you want to talk? And then you have the camera on? C’mon Rae. Once again I love Wu.”
Factz is currently working on his latest project, entitled The Leak Volume 3: The Achievement.
At press time, Raekwon and Joe Budden could not be reached for comment.
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video playervideo platformvideo managementvideo solutionsfree video player