According to the autotune icon, Tupac wouldn’t be able to compete with the quality of modern rappers if he was around today.
Tupac Shakur is widely regarded as one of the best rappers to have emerged from the West Coast. He has had a serious influence on the rap music we hear today. Unfortunately, the legendary rapper left the rap game at an early age. Hip-hop has changed significantly since then, and T-Pain feels that the West Coast legend would not be on the same level as today’s artists.
T-Pain recently spoke with DJ Akademiks on his Twitch channel, where he discussed the current state of hip-hop. The two also talked about how the social media era has played an important role in shaping the music industry today.
The conversation, which took place on Akademiks’ Twitch channel, kicked off after the media personality brought up how interesting it would’ve been if social media existed when 2Pac was beefing with Biggie. Before Akademiks could finish his sentence, T-Pain hopped in with what he described as “some bullshit” — and proceeded to deliver his unpopular opinion.
“‘Pac would’ve gotten killed sooner [if social media existed] and he would’ve gotten his ass ate the fuck up lyrically,” T-Pain said, to which Ak replied, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What!?” T-Pain continued, “Lyricism wise, ‘Pac would’ve got ridiculously murdered. Bro, ‘Pac was a crazy lyricist in our time because ain’t nobody else have no platform.”
“If the platforms would’ve been what they are now, ‘Pac would’ve been ate the fuck up […] I’m just saying what we look at as ‘Pac’s greatest lyrics right is peanuts to what we hear today.”
When Akademiks said he consider 2Pac to be more of a poet, T-Pain agreed, adding, “‘Pac is a full fucking poet. Pac was — if not the — one of the greatest lyricist at the time, but if we would’ve had social media back then and everybody would’ve been able to have their opinion, there would’ve been way the fuck more disrespectful n-ggas at the time. They would’ve been dying to be more disrespectful to ‘Pac.”
He continued, “If ‘Pac was alive right now, they would’ve discredited everything he said just because he was old. That’s it. He would’ve been saying the same thing as the young n-ggas, but it would’ve been less credit ’cause he’s old.
If ‘Pac was alive right now, over 20 years later, and he would’ve been talking that same shit that he’d been talking from the beginning, but somebody younger would’ve came and talked that shit a little more disrespectful would’ve stepped on somebody’s grave and that would’ve been the new n-gga and then all of a sudden, 2Pac would’ve been out of style.”
Tupac was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1996. He was 25 years old. If he was still alive, the rap game would have been quite different.
