Will.i.am dropped off a hot take while recently appearing on Hip Hop Confessions, stating that he doesn't like 2Pac or The Notorious B.I.G. Instead, the Black Eyed Peas rapper says that he's a fan of A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.
“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,” he admitted on the program. “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 added that he doesn't mean any disrespect to either artist with his opinion: “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.”
From there, Will.i.am explained that he has such a commitment to these artists because he feels that they helped him get out of the projects as a young man. Conversely, he believes that 2Pac and Biggie's music might not have inspired him in the same way.
“It took me out the projects physically, as far as being able to reach my dreams, that was my path out,” he explained. “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.”
Check out Will.i.am's full explanation of his opinion on Tupac and Biggie's music below.
[Via]