Key Takeaways
- Sober Facts says he would apologize to N.O.R.E. after months of clashes over the Dominican food influencer’s use of the N-word.
- N.O.R.E. confronted him outside Casa Adela and asked him to stop using the word; Sober Facts says he felt shocked, not scared, and respected the rapper’s request to turn off his camera.
- Nearly four years sober, Sober Facts stands by some of his criticisms of drinking and smoking on N.O.R.E.’s show but says he understands the rapper meant well.
New York food influencer Jason Rodriguez, better known as Sober Facts, has had one of the craziest come-up stories of 2026.
The Corona, Queens native has been killing shit recently, with his distinctly New York approach to food reviews. He’s sometimes blunt, sometimes crude.
He recently found himself in the middle of a dust-up with rapper-turned-podcaster N.O.R.E. While Sober Facts was reviewing the popular Puerto Rican restaurant Casa Adela on the Lower East Side, N.O.R.E. pulled up, told him he wanted him to stop using the N-word, and said he could have “done you filthy” right then.
It was a notably tense exchange that had been building for months, with the two mostly going back and forth in Instagram comment sections after N.O.R.E. first asked the influencer to stop using the N-word back in June. (Sober Facts is Dominican.) Things culminated when Sober Facts shot a video from LeFrak City, the complex where N.O.R.E. is from.
I hit my boy Sober Facts, who pulled up to the Complex office to get his side of the story. I wanted to see where things stand with him and the rap OG.
This story has been lightly edited for clarity.
You had a crazy last 48 hours. Talk to me. What happened on that day? Because that came out of nowhere, bro.
Sober Facts: To be honest, I'm doing my food reviews because I feel like they're lying to the people. I just want to keep it real. And I went to Casa Adela on the Lower East Side because any time I hear the best thing in the world on a food review or any restaurant, I'm like, that's cap. Because the world is pretty big for you to be saying things like that. And Fat Joe said it was the best thing in the world.
Shout out to Fat Joe. But I go after anybody, and it was just his turn and I was there. I gave the restaurant an eight out of 10. Not the best thing in the world, but pretty solid. And then at the end, I'm about to give my last words outside. And I'm there trying to fix the settings, make sure the mic is working. And N.O.R.E. just pulls up, man. And I'm not gonna lie, I was in shock. Everybody says I was scared. I was just in shock.
Why were you in shock?
you see a famous person and they want to talk to you, and also they're mad at you at the same time? I was trying to turn the camera on. My camera was off.
You trying to get the content?
I'm not gonna lie, bro. But I was trying to speak to him. You can see in the video.
You understand why he was mad though?
I did a motivational video about me using the N-word, and I made the video in Queens. I preach a lot of sobriety. I'm sober almost four years. And I respect him. I made a video comment, and I was in shock that N.O.R.E. was in my comments. I'm new to this, and I like N.O.R.E.’s music, bro. But it's a strong debate. I think it's definitely a topic.
I grew up in Queens. I grew up a mile from his neighborhood, and I grew up listening to hip-hop. I always heard this word, and now that I'm getting older, I'm understanding the history and everything. It's like part of the way I speak.
I will be honest, I saw a clip where you pulled up to LeFrak City and I ain't gonna lie you was talking kind of hot.
Shout out to N.O.R.E. Everything is good. I don't want to make this interview look like I'm trying to speak down. I'm just really trying to say what happened.
We had a back and forth. He commented on like 15 of my videos. He called me a “coke head,” said he doesn't like my type, “we're going to find your baby mama.” That was in the very beginning, like two or three weeks into the video going up.
So all that was before you went to LeFrak?
Yeah, that was before. And I just came at his character, you know. I don't think drinking and smoking, even though some people still find success in that, I feel like we should [not encourage people drinking and smoking] and I feel like his show talks a lot about that. I really feel it strong in my heart. Sobriety is not an easy thing to do, but it will never let you down. Like, I wake up ready every day. I know what it's like to be on the other side.
And he came at me, and people tried to make it seem like I was acting like a tough guy. I was just saying my opinion about him. But it was a strong opinion.
I feel like you and him have the same goal though. I feel like he's pushing sobriety with the running and shit.
When I made that second video, that's kind of what got everything hot, because the thing went viral. The video of me trying to explain why I can't say the word, and most of New York City was on my side. Like, “yo, I'm this, I'm that, I can say the word, you can't tell us what to say.” And I was like, “yeah, you can't tell us what to say.” But I know that he meant well.
And when I saw him in the video that went viral this weekend, he said it from the beginning: I want peace. I felt safe the whole time. So what I did in that video was show him respect. You want the camera off? You turn the camera off.
Do you regret going to his hood and talking crazy like that?
I don't think I regret it. I think one day, if we could ever talk and he could see my intentions. Because I just speak from the heart. I just feel like sobriety is a beautiful thing. It's not easy.
Would you apologize to N.O.R.E. for doing all that?
I definitely will. I definitely will. It's even an honor to argue with somebody like that. Shout out to N.O.R.E., man.
