Glasses Malone turned heads when he released his latest single "2Pac Must Die." As a result, the rapper stopped by Big Boy's Neighborhood to explain the motive behind the track and its visual.
Glasses begins the interview by explaining that he's been detailing the tragedic effects of gangbanging since he began rapping professionally.
"It's really a simple story. I've been telling the same story for 10 years-12 years, since I became a professional in the business," Malone said to the show's hosts. "I think people just care about it now because somebody they love is involved."
When Malone debuted "2Pac Must Die," he accompanied the track with a tweet that read "2Pac deserved to die" and a video that shows a point of view perspective of the crime through the eyes of Shakur's alleged killer Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson. Of course, this ruffled a lot of feathers.
But during the interview, Malone explains how gang culture has no regard for fame and celebrity status.
"In the culture we come from—the street—no matter who you are, if someone gets jumped we're all equal," Malone said at the three-minute mark in reference to the fight that led to 2Pac's murder. "It's fair play for everybody. Even the greatest rapper of all time could become a subject to gangbang violence."
Throughout their conversation, Malone unpacks the reason behind the resurfacing of 2Pac's death. The rapper knew that retelling this story would make 2Pac's fans upset. But, he wanted them to feel that passion so that they can understand the emotion that goes into gang violence. He also wanted the audience to truly step into the shoes of a gang member so that they can better empathize with the struggles of some of their favorite artists. While doing this, he continuously reminds the listeners that this was done as an artistic expression. That led Big Boy to ask if he could see the value in a song titled "Nipsey Hussle Must Die."
"Is it good?" Malone retorts. "If it's good I can listen to it... because it may be some stuff I didn't know. But again, do I think any human being deserves to die? She [points to co-host, Ayydé] doesn't feel like that. I think there's a thousand reasons for people to get killed. But you put those things behind you when you have something to live for... but when you don't have any of that, that's what really lowers the value of life because your life ain't worth nothing... I never want to forget. I never want to feel like I don't care about Baby Lane's side of the story."
