In what would certainly be an unpopular hip hop opinion, will.i.am says he doesn’t like music by 2Pac or Biggie.
If you’re into hip hop, a cardinal rule is to like 2Pac or Biggie, or even both. Not will.i.am, apparently. He doesn’t prefer music by either.
During a recent appearance on Hip Hop Confessions, the Black Eyed Peas rapper was asked whose music he preferred: 2Pac’s or Biggie’s. To everyone’s surprise (or shock), he chose neither.
will.i.am explained: “Like when people say 2Pac and Biggie, I’m such a Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul head that I don’t like 2Pac and Biggie.”
“That kind of music doesn’t speak to my spirit. I like Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One, I like – if it’s like 2Pac or Biggie? It’s KRS-One. Why those two?” he said.
That’s not to say, he stressed, that he doesn’t acknowledge their skills.
De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, however, aligned much more with his dreams and ambitions as a boy growing up in the Estrada Courts housing projects in Los Angeles.
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“If it’s 2Pac and Biggie, I don’t hold them up like that. I hold Eric B. and Rakim like that. 2Pac’s dope – don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I don’t think he’s dope. It spoke to the projects. My escape is De La/Tribe out the projects. It took me out the projects while I was still in the projects.” he explained.
Claiming that their music ‘took me out the projects physically’, he added: “As far as being able to reach my dreams, that was my path out.”
“And it took me out of the projects as far as while I was in the projects, the worlds is painted for me. It kept me safe while I was in the projects. Had I loved 2Pac and Biggie while I was in the projects, I probably would have been stuck in the projects still.” he said.
In a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, will.i.am reflected on the current state of hip hop, claiming it had lost meaning and purpose.
“It doesn’t take much fucking skill right now to make hip-hop. It’s become the lowest-hanging fruit. It’s no longer about Rakim-level, Nas-level, not the deep, metaphorical simile shit.” he said.
“Out of respect for the Nases of the world, let’s not call it hip-hop. Let’s say that’s rap. But instrumental music is going to be the next biggest shit.” he told Rolling Stone.
For more on this topic, follow the Hip Hop Observer.
Check out will.i.am talking about 2Pac and Biggie Smalls:
