Debates about who the best rapper is never seem to end, and now Vince Staples has shared his thoughts on one aspect of the discussion: When it comes to the “biggest” rapper, he thinks Snoop Dogg occupies that throne.
Speaking with Ebro Darden for a Black History Month episode of Apple Music 1’s The Message, Staples said of Snoop, “Snoop Dogg has always been the biggest rapper as far as brand, and namesake, to me at least. You can argue, people are equal, but you can’t argue nobody’s bigger than Snoop Dogg… He got the Martha Stewart show cracking right now, and nobody’s saying, ‘Who is that,’ when they watching the show, you know what I mean?”
He also explained why this year’s hip-hop-focused Super Bowl Halftime Show didn’t feel like a big deal to him, because it’s something that was supposed to happen:
“To me, [the halftime show]’s not even something to be super-duper excited about. It’s like, finally, because you can’t lie about it no more. It’s been so many times that they’ve pretended that this wasn’t a phenomenon, you know what I’m saying? They were playing songs from decades ago. That just goes to show you how long it’s been a thing, how long it’s been the pinnacle, but it’s good that they finally stop being stubborn and start coming around because it’s unavoidable at this point. […]
It’s just good to have that moment and just see how it comes full circle from Eminem taking his knee stance, to bringing it full circle with the Kaepernick situation, and the work that Jay-Z’s done in the messaging, and the lyrics, and all that… My pops used to always tell me… You come home like, ‘Oh, yeah. I got good grades.’ He’s like, ‘What you expect? You happy? You supposed to do that.’ I’m not giving people pats on the back for doing what they supposed to do. That’s just not how I’m built. I’m not proud of them, I’m not happy that they did it: they should have did it, you know what I’m saying? What else you going to do? What you going to put on there that’s more popping in LA for the LA Super Bowl? What’s your options? They had no other options except for the biggest hip-hop producer in the history of hip-hop arguably, the biggest rapper in hip-hop history arguably, and the biggest rapper out right now arguably. What other choice did you have? They didn’t do us no favor. They did what they was supposed to do.”
Watch the interview here.