Rainbow-haired rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine and his music have officially become things of the past. The ‘Gummo’ emcee, who appeared in 2017 with aggressive, gang-affiliated and violent music, was one of the most relevant MCs of the late 2010s.
The Bushwick rapper (real name Daniel Hernandez), with the help of UMG label 10K Projects, was at the forefront of hip-hop before his court case and, for three years, was the most dominant and controversial emcee in the culture. Hernandez’s brand involved goading other artists, stirring up gang-related controversy in every major US city, and tastelessly flaunting his wealth.
However, following a lengthy set of legal proceedings that saw Hernandez snitch on his gang and several Blood members operating in New York, the artist went underground and, after a stint in prison, re-emerged in the middle of a pandemic.
In 2020, the colourful emcee released his single ‘GOOBA’, which was featured on his album TattleTales. He garnered a lot of attention as people were eager to hear about the details of how and why he snitched on members of NTG. However, after the initial explosion, his relevance dwindled.
During the leadup to the release of TattleTales, the Mexican-American musician had several interviews, mostly about his time in prison and to clarify various rumours concerning his charges. However, one interview saw Hernandez scandalously compare himself to 2Pac. Considering the differing careers and cultural impact, it’s difficult to quantify just how ludicrous the claim is.
When he exploded onto the scene, Hernandez had a dark cloud hanging over him concerning the inadvertent recording of a minor performing sexual acts for a music video. During an interview with The New York Times, the rainbow-haired act was questioned about his actions.
However, insisting he was innocent, he brought up the 1995 jailing of 2Pac, stating, “Tupac Shakur was convicted of rape. Is Tupac Shakur loved or hated? Loved! What’s the difference between me and Tupac Shakur? I never caught a rape charge — ever.”
Many people consider 2ac to be an artistic legend and 6ix9ine to be a trashy throwback. However, even in 2020, the emcee was still insistent that he was similar to Shakur and compared lyrics in Tupac’s ‘Troublesome ’96’ to his own 2018 track, ‘Billy’.
You can hear and compare the two tracks in the videos below.
