Though he wasn't impressed by some of 2Pac's bars, T.I. admits that the late MC was a solid businessman. In fact, Tip recently claimed that no other rapper has been able to duplicate Pac's wide-ranging success—well, except for him.
"Any way you slice it... I'm the very best at what I do... impossible to duplicate... accept no substitution!" T.I. declared on Instagram this week. "When you get done buuuulshittin'... Riddle me this.... Who since 2Pac has maintained as much consistent diversity within music genres,businesses & other opportunities? I’ll wait..."
A number of Instagram users challenged T.I.'s bold claim, pointing to other hip-hop artists who have deftly crossed entertainment mediums and have made bank within various industries. Many specifically named JAY-Z, who has had his hands in everything from music and sports to fashion and restaurants to mobile apps and real estate.
T.I. wasn't convinced JAY was on his level.
"Respectfully to da goat...what major feature film he [starred] in?" the ATL rapper wrote in response to one of the JAY comments.
Back in January, T.I. made an appearance in BET's Rate the Bars series, in which celebrities judge the lyrics of notable rappers. T.I. was asked to recite lines from unidentified artists and rate them on a scale of 1 to 5—with 1 being the lowest.
During his episode, T.I. was given the lyrics to Pac's 1991 record "Something Wicked." And let's just say he wasn't feeling it.
"I give this a 1," he told the camera after reciting a portion of the first verse. "I gave it a 1 because, it's, you know: 'rat, cat, dog, fog, run, fun.' I'm done."
It's worth noting that T.I. gave higher scores to Iggy Azalea and, of course, himself.
You can check out his Rate the Bars episode below.
