Florida rapper Kodak Black is pretty well-known for causing controversy. He once burped his way out of court-mandated anger management and his opinions on women aren’t exactly the most progressive, nor are his views on gender and sexuality. Oh, and let’s not forget that he has trial coming up for allegedly raping a female fan. That said, his latest statements are drawing even more fire than usual after he once again referenced iconic hip-hop figures Tupac and The Notorious BIG in a recent Instagram Live stream.
He previously caught heat for insinuating that he should be categorized alongside the two late legends thanks to his flow and passion for music, but rather than backing down, he doubled down in his response to the resulting backlash, reasoning that the two rappers’ stature would be different if they were still around. “People trying to say, ‘Oh, I can’t put myself in the category with Tupac and them,'” he said. “Actually, I’m better than them n—-s. You know why? Like, ’cause, I live what I rap about. Them n—-s was just, like… them n—-s was just legends ’cause they died.”
While there are many, many rap fans who would disagree — and are, vehemently, on social media — he does bring up an interesting point. When he says he “lives what he raps about,” he draws a contrast between the somewhat disingenuous public personas Tupac and Biggie portrayed in their music and their respective realities. Tupac played up his revolutionary roots early in his career, switching to a more outspoken, “Thug Life” mantra later on, despite the fact that his career had followed a traditional entertainment career trajectory, beginning with his start as a backup dancer for Digital Underground, through his eventual turn toward acting in movies. Meanwhile, BIG’s mother has often pointed out that he grew up relatively well-off and his drug-dealing career never expanded to the mafioso proportions depicted on his Life After Death album, ending well before he blew up with the help of Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records.
That hasn’t stopped rap fans from weighing in on his comments and the responses have been far from favorable. Perhaps Kodak should reserve his Instagram Live streams for his acts of altruism from now on.
Kodak Black is a Warner Music artist. .
