Memphis Bleek shared many memorable moments on a recent episode of Drink Champs. One new revelation that he revealed shed light on a pivotal moment in his career.
The former Roc-A-Fella rapper told the story for the first time, that he was initially offered the lead role in the 2002 film Drumline. Surprisingly, he turned it down, and Nick Cannon nabbed the role instead.
This role eventually catapulted Nick Cannon to stardom, but at the time, Bleek had reservations since he wanted to focus on his rap career instead.
Bleek also stated that his mentor at the time, JAY-Z, was not happy that he decided not to accept the role. In his own words, Bleek said, “Oh, man. If I could go back — y’all n-ggas don’t know this, I never told this story. I turned down Drumline. He wanted me to do it and everything, and I was scared,”
Following his candid admission, Bleek shared that he had hesitated to accept the role, even though it could have been a significant turning point in his career. He candidly reflected on this missed opportunity, expressing how he might have chosen differently if he had known the immense impact the film would have.
“Hov was mad at me!” Memphis Bleek continued to speak.
“I remember Hov was super-steamed at me. Like, ‘Why you ain’t do it?!’ And I remember telling him, ‘Bro, I was scared. I’ve never acted.’ And I remember Hov, he paid for acting classes for me.” Bleek recollected that he had a fear of jeopardizing his music career. At the time, he was on the cusp of success. And the prospect of stepping into acting posed a significant risk. He worried about the consequences of potential failure, particularly when it came to returning to his roots and explaining any setbacks to those who had supported him.
“You know what’s so ill? Me and Nick [Cannon] had the same management,” Bleek went on. “Nick wanted to be a rapper so he used to be in Marcy with me back in the day. And Nick took the role and here we are.” Although now Bleek recognizes the impact of the film, he does wish he could go back in time to pursue that opportunity. “But that’s one thing … if I could rewind time, I would have did that,” he said. “I was on some, ‘I’d rather to do this rap s**t.’ Almost like Ja [Rule] did with the Fast & Furious s**t. I super f***ed up with that.” “Rap was everything to me then,” Bleek concluded. “Hip Hop, it saved my life, so I didn’t want to jeopardize that.”
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