10 Rappers Who've Compared Themselves To Tupac

Young Thug's bold claim that he is the #newPac makes him the latest rapper to claim the heir to Pac's throne, but he is far from the first. Invoking Tupac as away to trumpet one's own greatness is one of hip hop's great traditions, one that is only growing Tupac the Man fades into the past (he died before many popular rappers were born) and becomes replaced Tupac the Deity.

Click through the gallery to read on.

Young Thug | June 2017

I dropped E.B.B.T.G on 2PAC'S bday because I'm the #newPAC
I feel like I am the thug he didn't get to become #SoImGoinFinishWhatHeStarted💇🏽

Wyclef Jean agrees:

"He reminded me of a modern Tupac, in a sense -- in a revolutionary sense. I mean that by, alright, you might see a thug, but his connection to history seemed similar to what Pac understood, of like, 'This is who the Black Panthers are. Read this book, read that book.'"

YFN Lucci disagrees:

Pac would've never wore a dress 🤡

Troy Ave | April 2017

"I go in the motherfucking clubs and nuggas going crazy, in the clubs, in the streets, where they’re playing all the fucking trap music and all type of shit, niggas go crazy, "Troy told The Breakfast Club. "'Oh shit, that’s Troy Ave.' Nigga, it’s the second coming of Tupac. It’s NewPac."

Four days after Troy Ave announced his NuPac mixtape, Boosie Badazz announced BooPac. NuPac currently boasts a 39% user rating.

Joey Bada$$ | March 2017

"I already know I'm a better rapper than Tupac is," Joey told Genius. "That's just facts. One on one battle, I'll flame Pac."

"I believe I am one of the minds that Pac said that [...] [he] will spark to change the world," he continued. "I’m probably not the one that is going to change the world; probably the one after me. It’s a part of me wanting to have their messages travel further, because their messages resonate with me. I know there is a lot of people out there that resonate with me, who don’t necessarily resonate with them."

Kodak Black | June 2016

“I’m better than 2Pac and Biggie," Kodak to XXL in an interview that came out nine days after he released Lil B.I.G. Pac. "I say that so now you know where my head at."

50 Cent | December 2014

"I don’t think they’ll replace me now," 50 Cent said of Tupac and Biggie in an interview with The Guardian. "Already my face is in the hearts of people who really love hip-hop music, and the culture’s growing to the point where you have people from all walks of life choosing it for their personal pleasure. So it’s already there. I don’t think it’s going to take me being killed to compare me to Biggie or 2Pac. I am immortal."

Jeezy | August 2014

"Nobody in this game got my credentials. Just me and Pac," Jeezy told Hot 97. "As far as Hov, Hov is a businessman. Me and Pac is more so on revolutionary leadership. Hov, that’s my G. I respect anything he do. But he’s a boss. He makes boss moves. Me and Pac, we always on the ground level, trying to motivate and inspire."

Kanye West | February 2014

“I don’t care who you are. Don’t play yourself. Respect as such. SNL, all you writers, Lorne Michaels, respect it as such," Kanye told fans at a 2014 New Jersey show. "Because when we’re standing face to face, you know who you’re talking at. You know you see me as a Gemini creator of 2014. You know you’re looking in the face of Miles Davis, you know you’re looking in the face of Lauryn Hill, you know you’re looking in the face of Pac, you know you’re looking in the face of Biggie, you know you’re looking in the face of Prince, you know you’re looking in the face of every Gemini creator. This ain’t no spoof, so play this shit at your motherfucking meetings when you write your jokes, play this shit back when you’re writing your headlines for the tabloids."

Lil Durk | January 2014

I feel like PAC

im the best rapper alive

Two years later, Durk called Future a "modern-day Tupac."

Lil Wayne | February 2013

"I ain’t Tupac, I’m the new Pac," Wayne told fans at a show in Houston. "Holla at ya boy.”

T.I. | April 2010

"It is the most significant return from incarceration that the game has had since [All Eyez on Me]," T.I. told Rolling Stone. "Just given the enormous success of that project, everyone’s expecting the same results. I just want to meet the expectations, if not surpass them."