Skillz has chimed in on the newly reignited greatest storyteller in Hip Hop debate, picking someone whose name doesn’t often come up in the conversation.
On Tuesday (July 11), the Virginia MC took to Twitter to share an old photo of DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith from back when the Bad Boys actor went by the name The Fresh Prince.
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“And while we talking about the greatest storytelling rappers of ALL TIME? This guy on the right was definitley one of the greatest,” he wrote. “No we didnt look to him for barz or punchlines but when HE HAD A TOPIC? HE NEVER MISSED. EVER.”
Re-sharing it on Instagram, the artist formerly known as Mad Skillz added: “It had to be said.”
Whereas Smith has been mostly inactive as a rapper since 2005, he kickstarted his career in the entertainment circuit as one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The pair released five full-length albums and were the first act to win a Grammy Award in a rap category.
“Summertime,” “A Nightmare on My Street” and “Parents Just Don’t Understand” are just a few of the songs they put out that exhibited Smith’s brilliance as a lyricist with vivid storytelling skills.
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However, it wasn’t till he composed the theme for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV show, which the Philly native also starred in, that his talents as a rapper reached larger audiences.
Though Smith shifted his focus toward acting soon after the NBC sitcom blew up, Skillz hasn’t forgotten his contemporary’s contributions to Hip Hop. The From Where??? spitter’s opinions about Smith’s greatness, however, didn’t just come out of nowhere, and were most likely prompted by a recent incident involving Ice Cube and Biggie.
During a recent interview with Drink Champs, Tony Yayo and DJ EFN engaged in a spirited debate over who’s the better rapper between Cube and The Notorious B.I.G. While the G-Unit rapper went with Biggie, the host decided to run with Ice Cube as his personal pick.
When the Miami DJ said that Ice Cube’s 1991 diss record, “No Vaseline,” was better than Biggie’s 1997 track, “N-ggas Bleed,” chaos ensued.
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“This is why I hate this industry shit,” Yayo said. “So you telling me Ice Cube is a better storyteller than Biggie? You fucking buggin! You lost your fucking mind! Ice Cube is better than Biggie as a storyteller? You fucking buggin, n-gga! You lost your fucking mind!”
The two men continued to debate over which artist reigned supreme before the 45-year-old rapper admitted that Cube was “fire.” Still, Yayo kept doubling down on DJ EFN and calling him crazy before they both turned to others in the room to help support their respective choices.
