21 Savage has been on the defense against some Hip Hop purists after his comments about a Hip Hop icon. During a conversation on Clubhouse, Savage shared his thoughts on Nas.
“I don’t feel like he’s relevant,” said 21 Savage. “He’s not relevant. He just has a loyal ass fanbase. He just has a loyal fanbase, and he still makes good-ass music.”
After his remarks about Nas went viral, Savage hoped on Twitter to clarify his point. The London-born rapper tweeted, “I would never disrespect Nas or any legend who paved the way for me y’all be tryna take stuff and run with it 🤦🏾♂️.”
I would never disrespect nas or any legend who paved the way for me y’all be tryna take stuff and run with it 🤦🏾♂️
— Saint Laurent Don (@21savage) November 14, 2022
Actor/filmmaker Michael Rapaport took issue with what 21 Savage had to say about the Illmatic album creator. The Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest director blasted Savage on his podcast.
“Why, me, Michael Rapaport, gets so offended? Because number one, 21 Savage, I guaranteed if I walked around the streets of New York, and I asked people to quote your best line, it would be hard for me to find somebody that would be able to quote a quotable line,” said Rapaport.
The 52-year-old New Yorker went on to say Nas’s verse on Main Source’s “Live at the Barbeque” track is better than 21 Savage’s entire catalog. Michael Rapaport also called out DJ Akademiks for saying some Hip Hop pioneers are now “dusty.”
21 Savage recently teamed up with OVO Sound frontman Drake for the Her Loss collaborative project. Her Loss debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart with the highest first-week sales for a Hip Hop album in 2022.
Nas once again partnered with producer Hit-Boy for King’s Disease III which dropped on November 11. The third installment in the album series arrived after 2020’s Grammy-winning King’s Disease and 2021’s King’s Disease II. They also created Magic in 2021.
“And we see why you would think Nas is irrelevant, 21 Savage, because when we listen to your music it shows that you’re not a big Nas fan… I hear it in your work… You’re like Cat in the Hat. That’s the kind of s### you’re on… There’s nothing positive in your s###,” said Michael Rapaport.