T.I. "If 50 was from the Midwest he would be Nelly"

[Born2BKing]

U think it only got played on Funk Flex and Clue show? Lol. Aight man. Lemme ask u something. Was Nelly’s ENTIRE album playing on the radio in the Midwest?

In St. Louis I'm sure it was

 

[spliz]

In St. Louis I'm sure it was

50 was the first NYC artist we did that for in a MINUTE. Matter fact not since Biggie or maybe DMX had that happened up until that point.

 

[Born2BKing]

50 was the first NYC artist we did that for in a MINUTE. Matter fact not since Biggie or maybe DMX had that happened up until that point.

I never doubted NY holds 50 in high regard.

 

[JustCKing]

Man. Look. EVERY region has bias. Honestly I got family all thru the south and y’all fukkin more bias than US at this point. We play literally everything. And always have. Even in the 90s when CERTAIN DJ’s would hate. But the people fukked wit everything. Y’all got sensitive about getting booed. My nikka. This NYC. Home of the APOLLO. We boo EVERYTHING. We boo OUR OWN. Y’all get sensitive as fukk about some shyt that we used to. That’s all it is.

This isn't even about bias. It is one thing to be bias, but in The South, I don't recall anyone making personal attacks on other coasts. On the East, you had people coming at The South sounding like white folk who make fun of Black people i.e. "ya'll don't even know how to talk, so how ya'll supposed to know how to rap". "Ya'll slow and dumb" are all East Coast references toward The South. Yeah, granted a lot of rappers down here aren't that great at lyricism, but neither is a lot of East Coast rap. 50 is a good example.

 

[JustCKing]

Well it’s fukking true. Outside of Nelly’s first album. That’s typically what he is and it’s no diss. 50 had the fukkin streets and mixtape game on lock. AND he had the mainstream on lock. On top of that. The nikka’s ENTIRE album was gettin burn on the radio. Not just singles. It’s a fukkin dumb ass comparison honestly.

50 is also a Pop rapper in the same vein that Nelly is. It is not a dumb comparison.

 

[HipHopStan]

Country Grammar is a classic (just turned 20 BTW) and Nellyville was solid from front to back.

 

[JustCKing]

Also, when 50 dropped GRODT, people were saying he DMX'd the game. I get the comparison, but when you look at DMX's IDAHIH run and X was selling 4-5 million records with songs like "Get At Me Dog", "How's It Goin Down" (much more rugged than "21 Questions"), "Stop Bein Greedy" and "Ruff Ryders Anthem", his run makes 50's look like Nelly. X ain't have a #1 single. No Eminem or Dre backing (and remember they were with him on many of the stops during his promo run).

 

[Scott Larock]

50 must have hit a nerve posting that crime stoppers shyt

He probably got a point, NY was pretty much the standard until Death Row got big but fifty did benefit off that NY tough guy image, you gotta keep it 100%

Nelly was really popular from a much lesser known city and blew up pretty big.

The question is if Nelly was from let's say LA where would he be right now? Would he even have gotten where he's at if he's just another LA rapper during the early 2000s?

TIP gotta point, it's alot of think about.

I look at it in a sense like Florida rappers, Luke, Trick then Ross but is the florida tough guy story really believable like that?

I'm old enough to remember Peter Gunzs and Lord Tariq being asked if they were from Orlando when they first sign and dropped NY, NY and got on Rap City and dude literally thought they were from Orlando.

Location does matter in hip-hop, more beleiveable.

 

[Awesome Wells]

50's success doesn't have anything to do with him being from NY.

Thing is, a lot of artists have always had an inferiority complex with NY, when regional consideration really doesn't have anything to do with success in the music business after the late 90's. Soundscan actually showed that 50 was selling a lot more records in other states, rather than in NY. NY has always been the bootleg capitol. It's the fans in other states who were really going out and buying those retail copies back then. 50 pointed that out a few times. He wasn't new to anyone in NY. Outside of NYC, people went crazy for him.

Nelly dropped at the perfect time, because in 2000, the kind of pop-rap music he was making was a lot more acceptable, than it would've been before or even just a few years after that. That's why he wasn't able to pop anymore just 3-4 years later. Comparing Nelly to 50 is seriously apples and oranges. 50 came in making the same kinda shyt he made on the mixtape circuit, but just with a huge corporate machine behind him. Nelly came in making poppy rap songs that had catchy highly-accessible lyrics that catered to radio and Top 40. These dudes are very different kinds of artists. I think Tip is tight because people were online shytting on his catalogue against Fif's. He's mad now, and try’na diss Nelly and 50 in the process.

 

[swerve]

Are we not gonna act like TI is the equivalent to Styles P

 

[The_Third_Man]

so why was 50 cent #14 on TI's wack ass top 50 list?

 

[Formerly Black Trash]

This ain't true

And I didnt even grow up on bbn 50 like that

And why he shading Nelly?

 

[The_Third_Man]

Rappers from NY may get overhyped in the beginning of their careers but at the same time have much higher expectations to live up to too. NY young rappers have to be both successful AND lyrical.

 

[SpacelySprockets]

Also, when 50 dropped GRODT, people were saying he DMX'd the game. I get the comparison, but when you look at DMX's IDAHIH run and X was selling 4-5 million records with songs like "Get At Me Dog", "How's It Goin Down" (much more rugged than "21 Questions"), "Stop Bein Greedy" and "Ruff Ryders Anthem", his run makes 50's look like Nelly. X ain't have a #1 single. No Eminem or Dre backing (and remember they were with him on many of the stops during his promo run).

why do yall always conveniently use em and dre to deflect 50s impact on his own?

what did ems co-sign do for d12, stat quo, obie trice, or cashis? what did dre's co-sign do for hitman or truth hurts or all of his other non-white post death row co-signs prior to 50? he couldnt even do shyt for game until 50 came into the picture

 

[JustCKing]

50 came in making the same kinda shyt he made on the mixtape circuit, but just with a huge corporate machine behind him.

It doesn't make it any less Pop though. "In Da Club" is a smash, 50 was out here doing melodies and adopting sing songy type flows no different than Nelly. Not to mention, he had kind of a slurred flow similar to Mase (who again was kind of in the Nelly lane). And speaking of Mase, he had that Southern kind of tone to his raps, but he wasn't dismissed for it because he was from NY.