Rapper Mad Skillz recently posted a message criticizing hip-hop’s new generation of music that ruffled feathers, especially 21 Savage‘s, who shared a letter of his own asking “OG rappers” to refrain from judging the newer rappers and instead, help “make a change.”
Although 21 Savage didn’t directly mention anyone in particular, he wrote, “They say we make drug user music like making drug selling music is better what’s the difference?” in reference to Mad Skillz’s tweet. Skillz wrote, “The generation gap on the music is actually really simple…we were in a era making drug dealer music…these kids are making drug user music.”
In Savage’s letter, he argues that hip-hop vets are more concerned with the lyrical content of today’s rappers instead of praising the fact that hip-hop is “the number one genre in music right now none of yall acknowledge that.” He notes that drugs in music is nothing new and has been a major factor in music “since the 70s and 80s.”
“If the message in the previous generation of rap was so good why did so many of our parents abandon us for crack? Why we still killing each other? Don’t use us as the scapegoat,” he continued. “Our music is a reflection of what’s going on in our community and all we doing is using our talent to escape that community.”
T.I. quickly came to Savage’s defense, praising the “Bank Account” rapper for “speaking real truth” and defending hip-hop’s contemporary artists. “Regardless of the subject matter… This THEY time,” T.I wrote. “Couldn’t nobody tell us how to run ours, or make us sound how they thought we should. Live ya life & do ya stuff young’n.”
Read 21 Savage’s message below.
— Saint Laurent Don (@21savage) November 21, 2017