Cardi B
Source: Instgram
In a new essay, TDE's Punch Henderson explains why he feels “Cardi B is 2pac.”
After Top Dawg Entertainment president Terrence “Punch” Henderson wrote a tweet a comparing Cardi B with Tupac Shakur the internet turned itself inside out— enough to make the rap exec write an essay expounding on his hip-hop hot take.
On Saturday. Punch tweeted "Cardi B is 2pac," a day after the Bronx-rapper released her debut album Invasion of Privacy. On Monday, Punch penned a guest editorial for DJBooth explaining his comparison to highlight the connections between the two rappers.
He grounded his comparison on the two artists' ability to evoke emotion through their raps, heralding them both as "raw" and "honest." Punch prefaced the examination with, "Because 2Pac touched people on such a deep level emotionally, many of us feel it’s our personal responsibility to make sure he isn’t presented as anything less than perfect. This is often why any type of comparison to 2Pac is regarded as complete and utter blasphemy. "
In the piece, Punch writes, "I won't pretend to know as much about Cardi as I do about 2Pac, but from what I do know, she embodies some of those same qualities. She’s a straight shooter right from the hip. Her interviews are as raw as her music. She’s politically incorrect, yet, her charisma means you cannot stop watching and listening, whether you agree or disagree."
Punch also looks into Cardi's “Bodak Yellow” and Pac's “Ambitionz Az a Ridah," charging that their cadences and flows on each track are more alike than not— that the sonic shifts in the last 20 years of rap make this similarity even more striking.
READ: Cardi B's 'Invasion Of Privacy' Is Certified Gold Thanks To One Technicality
Punch continued in defense of the comparison, writing, "Obviously, "Cardi B is 2Pac" is a metaphor. Cardi is one album into her career. Of course she can’t compare with his body of work. Pac came from a revolutionary background. Of course there's no comparison when it comes to his social impact. I'm not saying she’s the heir apparent to Tupac Shakur or that she’s the second coming, but Cardi B does embody a lot of Pac's best qualities."
