In a recent interview with HipHopDX, Black Thought of The Roots revealed that his friendship with fellow Philly MC, Beanie Sigel, predates their recording careers.

“He’s a couple of years older than me and he had an older sister that was my classmate,” he recalled. “Beans was maybe one or two years younger than me, and he lived maybe two blocks from me. From the time I was nine or ten, Beans, or Dwight as I knew him initially, was part of my life.”

Beans and Black Thought rhymed together as youths, but Thought had no idea that Beans had continued with his craft, and it was a chance conversation with a mutual friend and studio owner that would lead to Beans’ guest spot.

“A friend of mine who lived close to Beans and had a studio in his house was like, ‘Guess who came to my house to record vocals? And they are crazy.’ I couldn’t wrap my head around it being the same Beans.”

As far as their collaboration Thought says that Beanie honing his skills is responsible for him being able to shine amongst a seasoned group.

“His appearance on ‘Adrenaline!’ is what really catapulted his career,” he recalled. “He was doing a verse that had already garnered some street popularity. It was a legendary verse in the hood that he modified to fit ‘Adrenaline’. It took him two weeks to get that take, and he came in the studio every day and our manager Rich would listen and say “Nah, that ain’t it.”

Black Thought continued: “He worked and it got better and better, and ‘Adrenaline!’ is one of the most dynamic and energetic introductions to an Emcee.” Check out the interview above.