Fred Durst Threatened to ‘F*** Up’ Taproot For Name-Dropping Limp Bizkit

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Fred Durst wasn’t always about the “Dad Vibes.”

Leading the charge for nu-metal in the late 90s and early 2000s, Limp Bizkit dominated much of music and pop culture. Durst was looking to dominate all aspects of music beyond that, starting Interscope imprint label Flawless Records.

Durst went onto sign bands including Puddle of Mudd and She Wants Revenge, helping catapult the label into something interesting.

Meanwhile, Michigan band Taproot were looking to make a name for themselves. In an interview with Loudwire, Taproot singer Stephen Richards recalled sending Durst demos, saying,

“After students reviewed a record for their local paper, they’d go sell it for beer money so we got the record two weeks before it came out and they had an address asking for demos. We sent out our demo two weeks before everyone else did and he really liked it.”

It appeared to work, and the bands hit it off, with Richards kicking it with Durst everytime they came through. Durst would also go and shoutout Taproot in interviews, wear their merch and show love. Eventually, Durst got them an offer with Interscope, though it turned out to not be as great.

The record deal stipulated that the band submit three songs, and if the label liked them, they’d sign them. If not, Interscope still retained rights to the songs.

Taproot wasn’t into the deal, and having had numerous conversations with other labels, wound up signing with Atlantic Records for their debut album Gift.

Durst wasn’t stoked. After learning about what happened, he left a very angry voicemail on Richards’ mom’s answering machine. Durst said,

“Hey man, you fucked up. You don’t ever bite the hand that feeds in this business, bro . . . Took you under my wing, brought you to my house, talked about you on FM radio and press, and you embarrassed me and the Interscope family. Your association with Limp Bizkit doesn’t exist.

Your manager slings our name around, he’s gonna be blackballed and probably be erased, and you will, too. He’s a fucking idiot. You’re gonna fucking learn from this time right here I hope you let your band know that you just fucked yourself.

You need to be associated with somebody in this business, to put you out there and believe in you. Now you got enemies. Don’t fucking show up at my shows cause if you do, you’re gonna get fucked. You and your fucking punk ass man. You’re learning right now exactly how to ruin your career before it gets started. All the luck, brother, fuck you.”

Ouch. Thankfully, Durst chilled out pretty hard after that, these days opting for “Dad Vibes” and fun tunes over threatening other acts. Still, nu-metal is serious business.

Hear the message below.