50 Cent made the term “wanksta” famous 20 years ago when he dropped the song as part of the 8 Mile soundtrack. Defined as, “a person who acts/looks like a gangster or thug, but has never done anything gangster or thug-like besides acting or looking like one,” it was almost like the ultimate diss.
But Almighty Jay is taking it a step further and denouncing being a gangsta of any kind — real or fake. On Wednesday (June 1), he tweeted, “It’s not cool to be gangsta. Go start a business.”
Almighty Jay’s sentiments are similar to Soulja Boy who, during an interview with HipHopDX in January, reminder rappers they shouldn’t have one foot in the street life while trying to have a rap career.
When asked about some of his favorite new rappers, the jovial conversation took a more serious turn when the gravity of losing dozens of rappers to violence or prison in 2021 appeared to set in, even though it was more so implied.
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“I got favorite new rappers, but they be getting locked up,” he said at the time. “Free the young talent, man. We got to keep our new talent out the streets. Every time I find a new rapper, they getting locked up. So free the young rappers, man. I know it’s hard in the streets, but you can’t be in the streets and be a rapper at the same time. You got to separate it.”
The D.O.C. Says Rap Has Reached A Level Where 'Art Is Imitating Life' - Not The Other Way Around
Speaking to DX in May, The D.O.C. said it was also important for the vets to help guide the next generation when addressing the dozens of violent deaths that have taken place in the rap community in recent years.
“I think things like that are sort of already in the air and growing,” he said. “A lot of things like that are already in play, in space. I see it, you know what I mean? I do it personally, so everything is going to build in its own time and turn out the way it’s supposed to, but that’s absolutely happening right now.”
