{"id":272795,"date":"2026-06-20T19:51:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T19:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/272795\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T19:51:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T19:51:05","slug":"drink-champs-10-year-anniversary-fast-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/272795\/","title":{"rendered":"“Drink Champs'” 10-year anniversary: Fast facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As \u201cDrink Champs<\/a>\u201d celebrates 10 years, the show\u2019s story reaches far beyond podcasting. The platform connects N.O.R.E.\u2019s Queens rap history, DJ EFN\u2019s Miami mixtape foundation, Crazy Hood Productions\u2019 grassroots work, and REVOLT\u2019s role in bringing long-form Hip Hop conversations to television. For EFN, whose reputation was built through decades of documenting and amplifying Miami\u2019s scene, the anniversary also reflects a larger career spent preserving Hip Hop stories across formats.<\/p>\n

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Before \u201cDrink Champs\u201d became one of the culture\u2019s most recognizable interview platforms, both hosts had already built their names through years of work inside the culture. These fast facts trace that road from mixtapes and classic records to the small screen, major awards recognition, and the show\u2019s 10th anniversary milestone.<\/p>\n

1. DJ EFN founded Crazy Hood Productions in 1993<\/p>\n

Crazy Hood Productions began as a Miami-based Hip Hop crew and multimedia company founded by DJ EFN. The brand later expanded across music, marketing, clothing, artist development, management, film, and lifestyle work. At its core, Crazy Hood\u2019s earliest identity was tied to Miami\u2019s underground rap scene and EFN\u2019s mission to help document and amplify the city\u2019s talent.<\/p>\n

2. N.O.R.E. first broke through as part of Capone-N-Noreaga<\/p>\n

Before becoming one of podcasting\u2019s most recognizable hosts, N.O.R.E. rose to prominence as one half of Capone-N-Noreaga<\/a>. The Queens duo became a defining part of late-1990s New York rap with The War Report, their 1997 debut album. The project helped establish N.O.R.E. as a voice connected to street reporting, raw storytelling, and the era\u2019s East Coast sound.<\/p>\n

3. EFN\u2019s first mixtape was rooted in Miami representation<\/p>\n

EFN has said he made his first mixtape because Miami did not have a consistent mixtape DJ playing music from the city. While DJs like Clue and Tony Touch were respected names in the mixtape space, EFN wanted Miami to be heard, shouted out, and taken seriously.<\/p>\n

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4. Crazy Hood\u2019s mixtape run reached 42 volumes<\/p>\n

After releasing his first Crazy Hood mixtape in 1993, EFN continued building the series for two decades. The run eventually reached 42 volumes and featured Miami artists alongside national names, including Outkast, Redman, Capone-N-Noreaga, KRS-One, Wu-Tang Clan, Ja Rule, Ghostface Killah, Bun B, and more. The tapes became part of EFN\u2019s larger reputation as one of Miami\u2019s key mixtape-era figures.<\/p>\n

5. Crazy Hood became bigger than music releases<\/p>\n

In 1997, EFN founded Crazy Sounds Record Pool and opened Crazy Goods, a Hip Hop clothing store that also became a local hangout. Those moves helped turn Crazy Hood from a mixtape brand into a larger cultural hub. The company\u2019s work eventually stretched across music, retail, film, media, and community-rooted projects tied to Miami\u2019s Hip Hop identity.<\/p>\n

6. \u201cSuperthug\u201d helped push N.O.R.E.\u2019s solo career forward<\/p>\n

In 1998, N.O.R.E. stepped further into the spotlight with \u201cSuperthug,\u201d one of his biggest solo records. Produced by The Neptunes<\/a>, the song became one of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo\u2019s early high-profile Hip Hop productions. The record also helped show N.O.R.E.\u2019s ability to shift from group success into a solo lane with a sound that felt distinct from his earlier work with Capone.<\/p>\n

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7. \u201cOye Mi Canto\u201d became a major crossover moment<\/p>\n

N.O.R.E. reached another milestone in 2004 with \u201cOye Mi Canto,\u201d featuring Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee, Gem Star, and Big Mato. The record peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and arrived during a key moment for reggaeton\u2019s growing commercial reach. Within N.O.R.E.\u2019s catalog, it remains one of his most widely recognized songs and a major link between Hip Hop and Latin music audiences.<\/p>\n

8. N.O.R.E. and EFN had chemistry before the podcast officially launched<\/p>\n

Before \u201cDrink Champs\u201d became a podcast, N.O.R.E. and EFN already had a working relationship in Miami. EFN previously said the idea grew from the energy around N.O.R.E. being in his studio and the conversations that happened there. The two also hosted a satellite radio show before building the format that listeners would later know as \u201cDrink Champs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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9. EFN also built a film legacy before \u201cDrink Champs\u201d<\/p>\n

EFN\u2019s work expanded into documentary filmmaking with Coming Home, a project about Cuba<\/a>\u2019s Hip Hop scene that he made with rapper Garcia. The film won Best Documentary at The People\u2019s Film Festival in 2013 and later helped set up a broader \u201cComing Home\u201d series tied to global Hip Hop communities. That film work added another layer to EFN\u2019s role as a documentarian of the culture.<\/p>\n

10. The \u201cDrink Champs\u201d name came from Crazy Hood language<\/p>\n

According to EFN, the title came from a phrase used within the Crazy Hood crew. He has explained that he would tell people, \u201cIf you can\u2019t handle your liquor, you aren\u2019t a drink champ.\u201d When the podcast concept came together, the phrase fit the show\u2019s loose, celebratory interview style. EFN then secured the domain and social handles for \u201cDrink Champs.\u201d<\/p>\n

11. The first official episode featured Fat Joe<\/p>\n

The first listed episode of \u201cDrink Champs\u201d featured Fat Joe and was published in March 2016. The choice made sense for the show\u2019s foundation: A respected New York rap figure sat down with N.O.R.E. and EFN for a conversation rooted in history, relationships, and behind-the-scenes stories. From there, the platform continued building around long-form interviews with figures who helped shape Hip Hop.<\/p>\n

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12. REVOLT helped bring \u201cDrink Champs\u201d to television<\/p>\n

REVOLT announced in 2016 that \u201cDrink Champs\u201d would premiere weekly on the network in January 2017. The move brought N.O.R.E. and EFN\u2019s conversations from audio into a televised format, giving the show another platform and a wider audience. Years later, \u201cDrink Champs\u201d tied with \u201cCaresha Please<\/a>\u201d for Best Hip Hop Platform at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards. By its 10th anniversary season, the show had crossed more than 500 episodes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image Image Alt N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN “Drink Champs” graphic Image Size landscape-medium As \u201cDrink Champs\u201d celebrates 10…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-272795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}