Fat Joe Clarifies DaBaby & 2Pac Comparison, Says "No One Will Ever Be Tupac Shakur"

Fat Joe took to IG to explain his controversial “Rap City” appearance.

It seems like every week now we get an IG Live video of Fat Joe explaining something. From breaking down his Verzuz battle with Ja Rule to letting the world know that Ja was the “Drake before the Drake,” it feels like we have gotten a weekly video of Joe sitting in front of his Big Pun mural explaining the *actual* meaning of something he said or did.

This week is no different.

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After an appearance on Big Tigger’s Rap City revival special Rap City ’21, during which the “Lean Back” rapper said that DaBaby is the 2021 version of Tupac Shakur, the conversation surrounding the comparison was loud enough to get Joe back in front of the camera.

Romain Maurice/Getty Images

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Starting out by saying that he wasn’t taking anything back,Fat Joe broke down his thought process.

“I’m not making excuses, I’m not saying I’m sorry,” Crack started. “I got put in the hot seat, unorthodox and I’m trying to help my brother revive Rap City.”

Continuing on to explain that there will never be an exact comparison to 2Pac, Joe contextualized his Rap City statement and talked about the reality of the situation.

“I knew Tupac Shakur in real life. Not as a mythical person. I knew the man in real life,” Joe said. “He was the realest rapper ever. So now when I think Pac, not just musically or whatever the case may be … I’m thinking DaBaby a real one. Certified real one, whether you like him or you don’t like him or whatever, I believe he lives what he raps. And that’s very much like Tupac.”

DaBaby, who drew the ire of the internet and multiple communities of people after going on a homophobic rant at Miami’s Rolling Loud festival back in July, has been thrown back into the limelight as Dave Chappelle used his “cancelling” as a cornerstone of his argument against cancel culture in his most recent special The Closer.

Despite Chappelle’s commentary and Fat Joe’s eyebrow-raising comparison, the Bronx legend made it very clear that, even though he brought the ‘Pac conversation to the table, DaBaby is not the “California Love” rapper.

“Is he Tupac Shakur?,” Joe asked bluntly. “No. No one will ever be Tupac Shakur.”

What do you think of Fat Joe’s explanation of his DaBaby/2Pac comparison? Let us know in the comments.