Freddie Gibbs recently addressed being compared to Tupac Shakur.
While speaking with HipHopDX, Gary, Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs was asked about being one of several artists who are often compared to Tupac. Although the wordsmith explained that such a comparison does add a lot of extra pressure, he did reveal that he has studied the late rapper.
In addition to Tupac, Gibbs named 50 Cent as another artist he’s studied and looked up to.
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“I didn’t know I fell in that conversation…I try not to compare myself to Tupac whatsoever,” Freddie Gibbs said. “I think Tupac’s the greatest of all time. I don’t even—When people say my name next to his, I just be like ‘Ooo.’ That put a lot of pressure on you. And it’s just—I saw Tupac got left out of some Top 10 lists. That was crazy. Earlier this year. That was wild. I definitely don’t try to make music like Tupac. I don’t try to do nothing that he did musically. I try to definitely study what he did and try to evoke that same kind of emotion. It’ll never be another Tupac, man…It’ll never be another 50 Cent. I definitely studied 50 Cent. His whole come-up. He was definitely one of the rappers I looked up to when I started rapping. Both of those guys made they mark.”
When asked about the drama that seems to follow him, Gibbs explained that his aura sometimes intimidates rappers. He also dubbed himself one of the most feared artists in rap.
“I think that my whole aura just intimidates a lot of rappers,” he said. “I got a lot of rappers that I’ve worked with or plan on working with or things of that nature that didn’t work out just due to—We got a thing in rap. It’s kinda weird. We fear other rappers taking our energy. And we fear helping another rapper, putting them on type. I don’t know. It’s kinda weird, man. It’s so much egotistical energy in rap. It’s crazy. And egos fuck people up. It definitely fucks a lot of people up. It definitely made me not want to work with a lot of niggas in this game. Just off the way they act. I’d just much rather stay to myself. Nowadays I’ve learned, just to let collaborations and things of that nature happen organically, man. Cause this shit can cause you to not like a mothafucka, for real…As far as the controversy with me, I think that I’m just one of the most feared niggas in the game.”
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Freddie Gibbs speaking on comparisons to Tupac, can be found below.
