Don’t askWill.i.amif he prefers Tupac or Biggie’s music.
In a new interview with rapper Skillz ontheHip-Hop Confessionspodcast, the Black Eyed Peas frontman spoke about some of his favorite rap artists and revealed he doesn’t like when people hail Biggie Smalls (akathe Notorious B.I.G.) andTupac Shakuras the genre’s inarguable best.
“I’m gonna say something… I don’t want to say it in a disrespectful way,” Will.i.am, 47, told the host. “When people say Tupac and Biggie, I’m such [an] A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul head that I don’t like Tupac and Biggie.”
Will.i.am, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur.Raymond Boyd/Getty; Dave Mangels/Getty; Larry Busacca/Getty
“That kind of music doesn’t speak to my spirit,” he continued. “I like Boogie Down Productions, KRS-One; if it’s like, ‘Tupac or Biggie?,’ I’m like, ‘KRS-One.’ Why those two?”
Will.i.am elaborated on his thoughts and named more artists he personally considers to be the best in the game. “If it’s Tupac and Biggie, I don’t hold them up like that,” he said. “I hold Eric B. [and] Rakim up like that.”
Tupac Shakur.Raymond Boyd/Getty
He then spoke to the specific impact hip-hop acts like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest had on his Los Angeles upbringing. “It took me out of the projects while I was still in the projects,” said Will.i.am, noting their music sparked his imagination and “physically” allowed him to “reach” his “dreams.”
“It kept me safe while I was in the projects,” recalled Will.i.am. “Had I loved Tupac and Biggie while I was in the projects, I probably would’ve been stuck in the projects still.”
Ahead of the 25th anniversary ofthe Notorious B.I.G.‘sdeath on March 9, the late rapper’s sonC.J. Wallacespoke to PEOPLE about his legacy.
Biggie Smalls.Larry Busacca/WireImage
“I haveno memory of my dad, but I’ve been told so many stories about him and how much we are similar,” C.J. said at the time. “Now that I’m 25, it’s really starting to sit with me that I was able to pass the age that he died. It’s a very special feeling because I’m starting to really grow into my own as a man.”
source: people.com
