S. Samuel
After making headlines last month for her move to New York after 11 years in Hollywood, SOHH decided to ask model-turned-singer Miss Tila which rapper she feels is the King of NY.
Although she maintains appreciation for rap veteran Nas, Tila said Jay-Z is the ultimate NY crown holder.
“I have much respect for Nas, he’s done a lot for the hip-hop community but I definitely, yeah, I don’t think anybody can beat Jay-Z at this point,” Tila told SOHH when asked who she views as the King of New York. “Jay-Z’s definitely the King of New York. I’ve been his fan ever since he was just running around with Foxy Brown. I grew up in Houston, Texas [and] I just watched his career grow and grow and he’s just a huge mogul. It’s very inspiring so I thought, ‘Hey, maybe I can move out to New York and follow in his footsteps.'” (SOHH)
A couple years ago, Jay-Z explained why he crowned himself as the “Best Rapper Alive.”
“But when I say I’m the best, I don’t say that outta my a**,” Jay said in an interview. “I say that with all my stats behind me. I put that against anybody. I mean anybody. I really believe that…I believe in a lot of things. I believe that ‘SportsCenter’ is the best thing on TV. I shouldn’t have to prove it. But I do have these stats to prove it. I’m talking about real run. I’m not talking about years off. I’m talking about straight–boom, boom, boom–back to back. We’re not talking about heritage acts either. We’re not talking about respect what I’ve done. I’m talking No. 1 [albums] 10 times. The Beatles is the only one [to have more No. 1 albums]. They got 19, and if I get a surge of creativity, I could make nine albums next year.” (XXL Magazine)
Despite Young Hov’s explanation, artists like Mos Def questioned giving the rapper said accolade.
“My response was to me seeing an article where Jay-Z was referred to, with trade marks following it, as the ‘Greatest Rapper Alive,'” Mos explained in an interview over the 2009 summer. “Now that don’t have nothin’ to do with me, but if you saying that, that’s a trade claim…If you saying that, you saying you better than Slick Rick, whose still very alive and well? You saying you better than Rakim? You saying you better than Black Thought? People making that claim have never been in a position to defend that in an open forum. I’m not talking about making a diss record or trying to go in on somebody’s girl…When people start coming out and making claims they’re gonna have to defend, like, who have you had to defend them against? It’s certainly been with people not on your level.” (“The Angie Martinez Show”)
Miss Tila recently talked to SOHH about her decision to move to the Big Apple.
“Friends and family in L.A., that does not go together [laughs],” Tila told SOHH when asked if she regretted leaving her friendsand family for New York. “That’s exactly why I left. There’s no friends and family in L.A. whatsoever, just a bunch of backstabbers. No, but I’ve been in L.A. for 11 years and I’ve pretty much done every single thing. When you wake up and you’re not inspired any more and your heart is calling to be in the city and meet new people and start a new life, you just have to follow your heart and that’s exactly what I did. I’m glad I did it because I’m having so much fun out here.” (SOHH)
Check out some recent Miss Tila footage below:
