Lonzo Ball recently ignited a fury amongst hip-hop heads, especially those who've been around the genre for more than a few years. "Don't nobody listen to Nas no more," said the Lakers guard on the premiere episode of his family's new reality series, Ball in the Family. "Real hip-hop is Migos, Future."
T.I., the self-proclaimed originator of trap music, is the latest rapper to express his outrage at Lonzo's comments. "My Boi u reaching like a muuuufucka!!!" he wrote on Twitter in response to a XXL headline about Lonzo's controversial quote. Tip went on to suggest that the Lakers might drug test the 19-year-old rookie due to this thoughts on hip-hop. He also tagged Nas in his tweet and dropped the hashtag: Legends Never Die.
Many, T.I. included, perceived Lonzo's words as a slight to the legendary Nasir Jones. Lonzo brought up Nas when he was told that he'd be forced to listen to "real hip-hop" during his interviews. "That's not gonna happen. Y'all outdated, man," replied the No. 2 draft pick, before making his now-infamous comments on Nas, Future, and Migos.
Also today, Lil B, who deems himself a statesman of hip-hop, went on Twitter to express his concern at Ball's reflections on his beloved genre. He then threatened to hit Lonzo with his dreaded "BasedGod" curse, which has haunted the careers of Kevin Durant and James Harden. He lifted the curse on Kevin Durant -- who was named Finals MVP in the Warriors' recent championship victory over the Cavs -- once he was traded to Golden State last summer. The BasedGod lifted the curse on the ringless Harden earlier this summer, which the Rockets are certainly thankful for.
"Lonzo Ball is a few seconds away from being cursed his rookie year on the Lakers," wrote Lil B, "Nas is hip-hop and always relevant, watch ur team."
This is not the first time Lonzo has issued divisive remarks about his preference for new-school rap. A couple of months ago, he made it known that he feels 21 Savage's debut album, Issa, is better than Jay Z's latest, 4:44. His top-5 list -- Lil Wayne, Future, DMX, 50 Cent, and 2Pac (in that order) -- was also considered blasphemous by many hip-hop fans.
Nas released his most recent album, Life Is Good, over five years ago.