Sitting strong and proud in his Expeditiouslystudio, King T.I. talked with the Breakfast Club about his latest activities starting with his challenge against 50 Cent.
Tip had everyone buzzing (and definitely a little nervous) when he publicly spoke out to demand a head-to-head hits battle with 50. Now, we've all been tuned into the Verzuz battles since quarantine hit, but there was something about this potential match up that made a lot of people uneasy. One, being these two men are both intellectuals who would take trash talking to a scholarly level. So much to the point where either one could say anything to get it poppin at any given moment. Aside from the "Get Rich" artist's attempt to allude to T.I. as a "snitch," the southern artist admitted his beckoning on 50 was out of both respect and boredom.
"Man, I'm bored, bruh! Last week, I thought it was a fun idea to challenge 50's catalogue...That was a fun idea. I think he's reluctant to do so for some reason. I don't know, but a lot of respect for 50. I'm a fan of his music. If it ever does happen, regardless of the outcome which I shall be victorious, I think it'll be entertaining for the fans more than anything else."
"We have a mutual respect for one another and always have. It wasn't personal. If I ever go head-to-head with anybody it's gonna have to be somebody who have, let's just say, a robust ego. It gotta be somebody who ain't intimidated by my personality. And I felt like 50 is one of the most monstrosity of ego that you can have. So I just felt like it was a proper matchup."
We can agree that these artists are quite comparable in their own right. However, their views and responses on social issues differ greatly.
Fif was quick to clown Nick Cannon about losing his partnership with Viacom over his controversial anti-Semitic comments on his podcast. The OG troll king entered his bid to swipe Wild'n Out from Cannon's grasp since the series airs on Viacom's MTV. While he was making messy business moves, T.I. stood more on solidarity grounds for his fellow brother in entertainment. Especially after the black community turned on him for apologizing to those he insulted.
"Whether you agree or disagree with the apology, you don't use it to villainize or slander one of our national treasures."
"I just really feel like if a mistake was made, then he has to rectify that mistake. But it ain't our job to cancel him. First of all, let's look at Nick Cannon's career and his reputation. Look at how many Black people he put in position and helped and got off of zero. Look at how time after time after time, he's made contributions to the culture...You gotta give him consideration. You must give him consideration. Fair and reasonable consideration. We must hold him accountable if necessary, but we can't just discount and discard our people because don't no one else do they people like that. Why we expected to throw ours away when they make a mistake?"
Find out more on T.I.'s new beef with insurance company Lloyd's of London, this opinion on the infamous "entanglement" situation, and the status of his relationship with daughter, Deyjah.