What Separates 2pac from Biggie w/Ben Westhoff | Joe Rogan

That's crazy because I remember hearing that as well. Crack Babies was a thing we were all worried about in the 80s. Oh my god, wait till the year 2000, all these crack babies are 20 years old. Yeah. That was the thing. Where are they now? Maybe they're mumble rappers. Maybe that's what's going on. I shouldn't laugh at that. You did though. Because you understand real rap music. Oh man, I'm just worried that I'm becoming like that. You wrote about real Nip-Hop. I'm just- You're not the old man, right? You're not the old man, right? You're not the old man. You're not the old man. You're not the old man. You're not the old man. You're not the old man. I know. It's just so lame to be like the kids these days. I'm definitely that. That's who I am. Yeah. I'm embracing it. Are you into hip-hop? I was asked to become someone. Okay. Who is your kind of generation? Nause. Huge Nause fan. Gangstar. Love Gangstar. Of course, Biggie, Tupac. The classics. I mean, Big Daddy Kane. I love EPMD. Yeah. That's so cool. East Coast stuff. Yeah. Just, you know, god, there's so many. It's just that era was like, I mean, there's a couple of eras that I just listed, but it's lyrical. Nause is my favorite, I think. Yeah. Because his lyrics, they're so intricate. The way he words things, you just go, oh, shit. You hear his lyrics, you just go, oh. Nause is like the king of, he's like the oh shit king. Yeah. Yes. For lyrics, man. He's the best. What was the, was it Rewind? He played the whole song backwards. Oh, yeah. I know what you're talking about. Yeah. From the bullet going back into the gun all the way through the entire story. He starts at the end and then backs up the story. Amazing. Maybe he had some fucking classics. I think he's the best writer in all of hip-hop. Yeah. Well, you know, it's just his beats don't always hit me the right way, but he's got so many classics. He's earned like the right, but my big thing, because I did live in New York and I was in East Coast, you know, like music snob and like Biggie is clearly the best ever. I got one for you. Let me find out. Yeah. Find out if you're real. Cool G Rap. Oh, yeah. He's the, I mean, he's the original. He's the best. Undisputed. Undisputed underground guy. People don't know. Yeah. Like you list like some of the greats of all time. People don't say Cool G Rap. Go back and listen to Cock Blocking. That is one of the best fucking songs ever. To this day, I'll go listen to that song and it'll make me laugh. Yeah. That was, yeah, I mean that like 80s New York stuff is so, so much of it. Hill Street Blues. So, like so intellectual, so amazing wordplay. Yes. But see, when I came to LA though, everyone's like two-pock, two-pock, two-pock. And I was like, I don't get it, man. His flow is not that great. You know, I just don't get it. The more I like listen to his lyrics, the more I saw he was more than just a rapper. He was like a cultural influence. He was like a political leader to a lot of people. And finally I'm like, yes, I get it. He stood for something. And now like, I just don't hear Biggie the same way, you know, because so many of his songs are about, you know, partying and crime and stuff. And the bigger message of Tupac just really won me over. And then... Well, I don't think it's a competition, but I know what you're saying. Tupac definitely had a different vision, but Biggie, you also have to realize, Biggie was like, how old was he when he died? Oh, yeah. 24 or something? Yeah. Tupac was 25. One of my favorite videos of Biggie is Biggie standing on a street corner when he was like 16, 17 years old rapping. Do you ever see that? I think I have. Oh, Jesus. And that's done with the lumberjack stuff? Yeah. He's got a fucking... I think he might even have a piece of paper in his hand where he's like reading the rap off or he's got it like in case he fucks up. Oh, yeah. But his flow was so good even as a little kid. He was a fucking kid, man. And he was like, as good as any rapper alive. What do you... Can you find that? Can we play that? We'll get in trouble. I'll play it for you afterwards. Yeah. After the podcast, we'll play it. And his breath control and like his weight. Sometimes I feel like you got to be like fat almost to be an amazing singer or rapper. Well comedians too. A lot of fat comedians like Patrice O'Neill, one of the greatest of all time. There was something about his girth when he was on stage. He was like, power. And like this whole thing. Here's Biggie. He's got a piece of paper in his hand. Oh, yeah. I've seen this. That's amazing. Yeah. It's like a towel. Oh, it might be a towel. Oh, yeah. You're right. 17 years old in Bed-Stuy. Yeah. And just murdering it. Murdering it. Everybody around him. Now look at everybody. I saw this early Tupac videos and her early Tupac recordings and his original style influence was actually Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Yes. Remember when he was a dancer for Humpty Hump? Yeah. Digital underground. Yeah. He was like in the background of the Humpty Hump dance. Yeah. Arsenio Hall. You can see him. Oh, oh. Yeah. No, Tupac was a dancer. I mean, and when he was young, which is really interesting when they interview him, he was like, he wasn't thugged out at all. Like he was- Well, he's the son of two Black Panthers. Yeah. You know, the politics was always his thing. What is that from? Oh, yeah. He had the- Oh, yeah. Oh, that movie. Yeah. The Gumby haircut. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. Oh, I forgot about that. That was his debut. That was his like solo debut. Wow. Yeah. Digital underground. Humpty Hump, Shock G. He's still around. Yeah. He's- They were so good. They had great shit. When you write a song that's as profitable as the Humpty dance, I would imagine it kind of like saps your need to do too much else when you're that set. Mm. I guess. But no, he has though. He's the real deal. Yeah.