Vince Staples lit up Twitter as people blasted him for his comments in a Time magazine interview about 1990s Rap. Staples exchanged words with some of the detractors on the social media site, but further explained his comments with Sway in the Morning.
“You saying that nobody else’s artform matter unless it’s in the ’90s? That’s corny,” he says. “‘Cause we all Black people trying to feed our families. You got a preference on which niggas you think need to be supported?…My whole thing was the comments of, ‘You wouldn’t be shit without ’90s Hip Hop. Nobody would know who you was.’ First off, I’m a man at the end of the day that gotta feed my family. That whole statement coming from mostly Black people is really the funniest thing about it to me ’cause it’s like I’d never wish harm or anything wrong against any Black person.”
Staples further explains that, being born in 1993, he didn’t listen to 1990s Rap because he was too young and his parents were trying to protect him from the street life that was portrayed in the music.
“I would hope any parents wouldn’t want their six-year-old child or younger listening to music that was carrying this kind of content that was carried in these groups that people is talking to,” he says. “My father went to prison for the majority of my life and my mother’s a full-fledged gangbanger. They was making sure I went to church. They was trying to keep me out of that. They didn’t want me to listen to people talk about shooting people and selling crack.”
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On Twitter, Noreaga joined the conversation and questioned why Staples wasn’t showing respect to his predecessors. Staples says that the Queens, New York rapper spoke without hearing Staples’ original comments to Time.
“Nore called and apologized because he didn’t watch the interview,” Staples says. “When he watched the interview, he understood that it was no harm felt. He thought I was trying to be funny, when I told him my favorite Nore songs I’ve ever heard came in the 2000s but he said himself, his biggest hits he’s had came in the 2000s. People say ’90s Hip Hop artists as if Nas didn’t release music after the ’90s, Jay Z didn’t release music after the ’90s, which is disrespectful to them because they’ve been doing it for a very long time.”
Noreaga called into Sway in the Morning today (October 30) to share his side of the story.
“It was 100 percent a difference of opinion,” he says. “One thing you can’t argue with anybody is a person’s opinion. If you like Nike’s and I like adidas, there’s no way I’ma ever get you to cross over to my side.”
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Noreaga Compares Rap From Different Eras
He compares the situation to him being a fan of Floyd Mayweather, but says to be fully educated in the sport, he has to appreciate the accomplishments of Muhammad Ali even though his glory days were before the 38-year-old rapper was born.
“I want to be a professional boxing fan,” he says, “so every time I had a greatest of all times conversation and I said Floyd Mayweather, a lot of people who are boxing professionals always look at me and say, ‘Man, you’re crazy’ and they reference Muhammad Ali. So what I wanted to do, was I wanted to have this greatest of all time conversation. So what I did was, I went back and I studied Muhammad Ali.”
He continues by comparing today’s mainstream Rap scene to classic Rap and how people appreciate it differently. He describes waking up and watching the boats on the marina outside his house.
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“I counted 16 boats, 16 boats, all of which was White people and each one of them was either playing Fetty Wap or Future,” he says. “You think I look down on that? You think I say, ‘Naw, man, they should be playing Rakim?’ No dude I live in this time. I appreciate this music.”
Noreaga says that he is glad Staples is part of today’s music scene and is glad to serve as a mentor to him.
“I appreciate Vince Staples,” he says. “After listening to his music, he’s one of the guys that I want to lead in this new generation. I want him to be one of the leaders of this new school. I’m gonna support him….He won’t be 22 for the rest of his life, but guess what? Here’s the beauty part about it, I was 22 before. I understand his attitude. I understand his approach. I understand his feelings, so me being an elder, I feel like this should happen more.”
For additional Vince Staples coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
