There’s a hierarchy in Hip Hop that can’t be denied: Rakim gives his respect to Kool Herc, Eminem to Rakim, KXNG Crooked to Eminem and so on and so forth.
Wiz Khalifa, who rose to rap notoriety in the mid-2000s, is showing his admiration for The Roots’ de facto leader Black Thought. The proud weed connoisseur hit up Twitter on Wednesday (April 7) and confidently proclaimed, “Black Thought is one of the rappers to ever live.”
Black Thought is one of the best rappers to ever live
— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) April 7, 2021
The Philadelphia-born MC has been pumping out critically acclaimed work with his Roots brethren since dropping their Organix album in 1993. But he’s also amassed a modest but solid body of solo work, culminating with his most recent release, Streams Of Thought Vol. 3: Cain & Abel. Along the way, Black Thought has been showered with praise due to his precision on the mic, untouchable lyrical skills and commitment to the craft.
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During an interview with HipHopDX last September, Black Thought talked about some of his own influences as he looked back on his storied career.
“Public Enemy has been a huge influence in the Roots’ career from pretty much day one with regard to the Bomb Squad production and to Chuck D’s socio-political commentary and sort of what the band always stood for,” he told DX Senior Writer Kyle Eustice at the time. “They were always the huge influence on both Questlove and myself.
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“There were points in our career where we were able to support the band in the same way that we supported the Beastie Boys and Beck, and so on and so forth. So we got to tour with Public Enemy in the States, as well as doing some shows in Europe and in Japan. Just always a huge influence.”
Meanwhile, Wiz Khalifa has cited JAY-Z, Cam’ron and The Notorious B.I.G. as inspirations over the years. Now, Black Thought has been added to the list. Revisit his epic Hot 97 freestyle below.
