T.I. Compares New Rappers to People Thinking They Can Join NBA

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T.I. compares the new generation of rappers to people with no basketball experience who think they can join a professional hoops team.

T.I. Opines on New Generation of Rappers

On Monday (March 4), T.I. sat down with Shaquille O'Neal on the former NBA player's The Big Podcast With Shaq. Early on in the podcast episode, which can be seen below, Shaq asks Tip what he thinks about the new generation of rhymers in comparison to the new crop of NBA players.

"This generation reminds me of every other generation," T.I. began around the 3:50-mark of the interview below. "You got some people who are exceptionally dope, and some people who are just alright...But it’s a lot more of it to choose from now. I feel that, actually, what they’ve done with music is equivalent to if they were to open up the doors of the arena and say, 'Anybody think you can play basketball. Come on out the stands out here to the floor. Here go you a jersey, man. Get in the game.'"

He continued: "The thing that happened is, there was what we call a paradigm shift in the industry. It went to a direct to consumer industry. Which means, you don't need a distributor. You don't have to go through Best Buy or Target or Blockbuster. You ain't gotta do that. You can go straight to the consumer. And the consumer more than likely wants to hear something that reminds them of themselves. Sometimes, too much talent intimidates the consumer."

T.I.'s Song King Goes Viral for Druski Beef

T.I.'s son King, who has a budding rap career of his own, recently went viral for beefing with comedian Druski, who King initially called out for making a song called "Standin on Bihness," which is a phrase King takes claim for originating.