T.I. Says Today’s Rappers Believe Dissing Older Artists Will Earn Them Respect [VIDEO]
The generational gap between the young rappers and older MCs continues to be a hot-button issue in light of Lil Xan’s comments about 2Pac’s music being boring.
Rapper T.I. talked with MTV News about today’s rap generation and their perceived disdain for older hip-hop artists.
Tip believes that young rappers think disrespecting older artists will earn them respect. "The younger generation wants to be respected, and they feel that that respect comes from the disrespect of the former generation,” he said.
"For us, we actually had to go out there," he continued. "The things that you hear me rapping me about, these are things that I actually had to live through. I had to go out here and do these things and I earned the right to speak about them."
T.I. then addressed Lil Xan's comments head on, suggesting that some of the young rappers don't know the hard work that older rap artists have put in to become such iconic figures in hip-hop.
“Right now, you have people discussing other people who haven’t gone through these necessary steps that they’ve gone through and you are critiquing their work when you haven’t really walked their path,” he said. “This guy Lil Xan he just has never really taken the time out, he’s not aware of how much work actually went into making it where Pac made it, where B.I.G. made it.”
T.I. talks more about his start in the rap game and his legacy in Netflix's new documentary Rapture, which premieres on Friday (March 30). The eight-episode docu-series, produced by acclaimed hip-hop journalist Sacha Jenkins, features interviews with several rappers who share their perspectives on maintaining their legacy in hip-hop.
Check out a few trailers from Netflix's Rapture below.
Watch T.I.'s Rapture Netflix Series Trailer
Watch Rapsody's Rapture Netflix Series Trailer
Watch G-Eazy's Rapture Netflix Series Trailer