In an interview with hip hop media outlet VladTV, legendary Queens rapper Kool G Rap told the story of meeting Big Pun for the first time and how a regular night in Los Angeles turned into a memorable one after Tupac showed up.
Kool G Rap is one of the most underrated rappers of all time, especially with regard to lyricism. As a former member of the legendary Juice Crew of Queensbridge with Big Daddy Kane and others, Kool G Rap became a local and international star.
As one of the biggest names in New York during the 1980s, Kool G Rap brushed shoulders with the city’s best MCs, including the likes of LL Cool J and KRS-One. Not a one-trick pony, aside from being an MC, he was a songwriter, DJ and music producer, giving the artist the keys to the city as the most versatile rapper around. However, Kool G Rap was more respected on the underground and was somewhat shunned by the mainstream. While his fellow crew member, Big Daddy Kane, would become one of the highest-selling rappers of the 1980s, Kool G Rap, in a duo with DJ Polo, would release music to vast amounts of acclaim from underground hip hop figureheads but would fail to break into the mainstream.
However, that didn’t mean he lost respect in the city of New York, in fact, he was one of the most respected and the late Puerto Rican rapper Big Pun showed him the utmost respect on one occasion and even went as far as to kneel and kiss Kool G Rap’s ring.
Addressing the rapper, host Vlad asked, “What happened when you first met Big Pun?” To which Kool G Rap responded, “Pun got down on one knee, grabbed my hand and kissed the ring and all that, and I was blown away by that ’cause even back then Pun came across as a real cat. I just blew me away, and I was like, that’s how you know a man is completely confident within himself…he felt that deep about G Rap!”
He continued, “Pun was a goon, Pun was a straight wild goon!” During the interview with Vlad, Kool G Rap disclosed how open Pun was about his influence on him and, with regard to his flow, even admitted that “at times he enhanced it”. You can watch the full interview in the video below.
