Countless fighters have acquired the services of a rapper or two to walk them down to the ring since Mike Tyson ushered boxing into the hip-hop era in the 1980's. But it wasn't until Floyd Mayweather Jr. came along to assume that mantle, that the title of hip-hop's champion officially changed hands from the former heavyweight champ. He's been led down the ring by Lil Wayne, established The Money Team Music Group [which primarily focuses on rap], and of course survived a long storied relationship with 50 Cent that saw them flip and become villains once or twice. He's even been involved in a legit beef with rappers, as has been the case with T.I. So there isn't any doubt that what Mayweather does or says is relevant to hip hop, especially if he's actually talking hip hop.
On Tuesday [May 30] Mayweather called in to Shade45 for a conversation with DJ Whoo Kid on the success of his promotional endeavors and the status of the much-anticipated fight between he and UFC star Conor McGregor. The retired champ also inevitable touched on hip-hop, which wound up drawing the focus of headlines that have sprouted across news publications since. What got the buzz going is the sudden turn it appears Mayweather has taken in regards to his take on rap music, particularly, the content saturating songs today. "You have to understand, rap has took a heavy turn. There was a time when rap was about the lyrics, now it's just different," said Floyd. "You know, now, It's ok to be a junkie in the music world. It's ok to be a junkie. This is crazy that it's OK to O.D. on drugs, it's OK to take any drugs now, it's OK to be a junkie," he said.
His comments came in response to question on how he's enjoying hip hop these days, with Whoo Kid recalling that he once enjoyed a pretty promising relationship with Future. After all, Mayweather had the Atlanta rapper perform at his daughter's Sweet 16, and even talked about signing him to a record deal as recently as last summer. Some might argue, however, that it appears rappers have further exhausted exploits that glorify drug use [beyond marijuana] in the time since, particularly with the popularity of Future's "Mask Off," which rings with an infectious hook that invokes the use of molly and percocet.
Source: complex.com
