Matt Walsh Rap Battle： Tekashi69 vs NBA Youngboy
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
174.10468
Summary
Takashi 6ix9ine is one of the greatest artists of all time. He s a rapper, singer, songwriter, and humanitarian. And he s also a member of one of hip hop s most infamous gangs, the Symbionese Liberation Army.
Transcript
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This is a big year in a lot of ways, and one big change for me is that I became,
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through the course of 2021, something of a musical genius. Well, I didn't become a musical
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genius. It was more that I've always been a musical genius, and that fact became public
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knowledge. And I was judging entries at the American Idol-style competition for the Sweet
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Baby Gang anthem. We were talking about, I was reviewing BTS, the K-pop band, and we watched
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a lot of rap videos and that sort of thing. So I wanted to bless you with a couple songs
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that I believe are some of the greatest artistic creations, going back to Beethoven and before
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that. I mean, this is music that I think transcends music, and now it really puts itself in competition
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with and in conversation with the great artists of all time, you know, Michelangelo, Da Vinci,
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and that sort of thing. So first we have none other than the great Takashi 6ix9ine. Let's
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I'm very excited today for the chance to listen to and experience a joint from my man, Takashi
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6ix9ine. He is, for my money, one of the most transcendent artists in the history of Western
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civilization. As a poet, I put him on the level of Ralph Waldo Emerson. As a singer, he's
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Pavarotti. As a humanitarian, he's Mother Teresa. And to think he achieved all of that
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despite suffering that horrific accident where he fell into a giant tie-dye machine. He actually,
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well, he actually looks a little bit like a bowl of Fruity Pebbles come to life. Or maybe
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he looks like something out of a Skittles commercial in hell. But I say all of that in a positive
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way. It's all part of his genius, really. Now, the song we're going to be experiencing
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today is a classic. It's an oldie, one of the Takashi 6ix9ine songs that my dad was listening
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to back in the day. It's not from Takashi's newest album, which, by the way, is available
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now for purchase. It's called Tattletail. Tattletail being a little reference to the fact
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that he's a gang member who sold out his crew to avoid 40 years in prison. Lots of people
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think that he lost street cred for that because he's a snitch and all that. But personally,
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I think it makes him more relatable. Because I can tell you, I would totally flip on my crew
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to avoid 40 years in prison. Wouldn't anyone? If I'm going down, I'm taking a whole lot of
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people from me. If I had a crew, I mean, at all, I would flip on them. This is probably why I don't
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have one. And I'm never going to get one if I keep talking like this. But if I had a crew,
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I would dime them out in a second. I would sit down for the interrogation. The detective would
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come in and 12 seconds later, I will have told them everything. It would be that easy. I don't
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think I've ever had a friendship that I wouldn't ruin to avoid a lifetime in prison. But in any case,
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that's just the background on the artist. Now, let's get to the song. This one is from way back
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in 2017. Like I said, it's an oldie, but certainly a goodie. It's called Cuda. All right, let's give it
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a listen. So can I just say here, you know, I appreciate this dichotomy. And already we're
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seeing the nuances of Tekashi 6ix9ine. He's got the puppy. He's being affectionate. In the next
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moment, though, he's pointing a gun at your face. It's as if to say, yes, I can be sensitive. I can
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appreciate these more pleasant moments. I can stop to smell the roses, but I can also shoot you
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in the head for no reason. Now, a therapist might say that that's a symptom of a psychopathic
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personality disorder. But I say, no, this is just what it means to be human, really. We can all
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relate to it on some level. Let's keep listening.
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Okay, now let's take a second to reflect on these lyrics.
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I roll up, I'm gonna be booted, stupid, and shoot it, stupid. Brought a knife, I brought a Ruger,
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stupid. I really do this. If I tote it, then you know I shoot it, and I'ma prove it. Back,
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back, don't be moving, stupid, or I'ma use it. Now, this is the kind of moment in a Tekashi song
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where I know that he gets me. You know, he understands where I'm coming from, and I feel
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a little bit less alone in the universe because so often I walk through life feeling, frankly,
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booted. And often my wife will say to me, honey, you're not booted, are you? And then I say,
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yeah, I am booted. I am. And she'll say, we've talked about this. And I'll say, okay, well,
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if you don't want me to be booted, then get this sucker up out of my face in that case.
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So just a normal marital spat that couples have while walking through Bed Bath & Beyond on a Tuesday.
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Okay, I do have to say just one note here. Probably you don't want to take a job as a
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cameraman on a Tekashi 6ix9ine music video because you're going to have a lot of people
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pointing probably loaded guns right at you. I mean, there are a lot of basic gun safety
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protocols that are being disregarded here. If you don't know how to handle one of these
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So that is a concern. You know, I just wonder how many cameramen perished during the making of
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this video. Everybody's dancing, jumping up and down, drinking God knows what, probably high.
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And they're literally singing about killing people. And meanwhile, they all have loaded guns and
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they're pointing it at the camera that you're holding. I just, it seems like a hazardous combination
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of factors. I hope they have workman's comp is all I'm, it's really all I'm saying. But you know
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what? However many cameramen died, they didn't die in vain. They died for the sake of true art.
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If you feel like you're not getting the respect you deserve in life, well, that might be because you
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don't have a title in front of your name that causes people, forces people to respect you. And
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here's, here's something that you could get. You could get established titles, your very own
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proclamation like I have, declaring that you are a lord or lady and you have this and you will gain
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the respect you deserve. I guarantee you all you need is as one square foot plot of land in Scotland
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and establish titles as a project based on a historic Scottish custom where landowners are
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referred to as lairds or lords and ladies in English. In your title pack, which I hold my hand
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here, you'll receive at least one square foot of dedicated land on a private estate and an official
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certificate with a crest. Your certificate will include a unique plot number with which you can
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see the exact location of your land. With this certificate, you could officially change your name
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to lord or lady and you can get it on your credit card, your plane ticket. So this is like a legal
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name change. I am legally, officially lord Matt Walsh, lord bestselling children's author Matt
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slash Matt Walsh to save 10% off today. And remember to use the discount code Matt Walsh or
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just click the link below. That's establishedtitles.com slash Matt Walsh or just click the link below.
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Well, as always, and I've listened to that song so many times. I mean, every day I listen to
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Kashi69, but it gets to me every single time. Truly a work of art and beautiful. Maybe not,
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maybe, maybe still though, pales a comparison a little bit to this masterpiece by NBA Youngboy.
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Well, I thought it was time to do another review of a popular rap song, a real banger,
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you might even say. And this one just dropped. It's, it's that new s***. It's NBA Youngboy
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Around. I'm not actually sure where the rapper's name begins and ends here. But we'll just call
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him Youngboy for short in any case. And I have to say, I'm a little worried that he's taken a stage
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name that sort of puts a time limit on things. You know, he can't be 46 years old and still called
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Youngboy. It's kind of like I was worried back in the 90s when Lil Wayne first came on the scene that
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if he has a growth spurt, he'd have to change the name. Fortunately, he never did. So that kind of
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worked out. Anyway, let's get to the song. This is NBA Youngboy Around. And let's, let's watch it
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Okay, just quickly, just got to stop it here. I have to say, and listen, I fully, fully admit
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and accept that Youngboy is way cooler than me. Orders of magnitude, you know. But I just,
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I wonder about this dance move. He's doing this.
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And this is a, and there's no way that this is okay. This, you can't go to the club and do this.
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I've never been to a club, but I'm pretty sure if I'm at the club doing this, I'd get shot.
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That's the assumption I make. And so I'm concerned now. I'm concerned about Youngboy. He looks like a
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large flightless bird or an escaped mental patient. And I'm concerned that Youngboy will keep dancing
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like this and no one will tell him to stop. And so I'm worried about him now. That's the feeling
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that I have. But let's, let's get back to the song.
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Okay, I got to stop it again. And I'm sorry to keep focusing on these kinds of details, but if we can
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look at the freeze frame here, I'm confused a little bit about what's going on here. You've got Youngboy
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in his garage with a nice car. Okay. I get that. And if I had a car like that, I'd spend a lot of
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time in my garage too. No question. And he's in a swing. All right. He put, he put up a swing in his
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garage. No problem there. It's a little weird, but fine. But what's happening with the couch in the
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back? It looks like an all white couch that someone's scribbled all over. It looks like my
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couches at home. Honestly, I have four kids and we actually bought a white couch for some reason.
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And that's what my kids do to couches. So have my kids been hanging out with Youngboy? That's what
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I'm wondering now. If so, that's a problem because I've told them that they cannot chill in a rapper's
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crib and smoke blunts until they're at least 12 or 13. That's, that's, I don't know how many times
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I've given that speech. Anyway, let's get back to, let's get, let's really get to the meat of this song.
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I want to, I want to hear what Youngboy wants to tell me. So I'm going to stop focusing on the
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frivolous details. Let's listen to the message now.
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I'm going to stop playing games. They take out my fashion, strapped inside my jacket.
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I just said a preface about it. I said, let's go get active.
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You can win that cash. I just let the top down. Show them this massive. I pull up on frivolous.
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I look like a man. Dope inside my coat. Got me so dumb that I might need a nanny.
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is bringing to the surface many of his deepest fears and hopes, anxieties, exposing his very soul
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to the world, exposing so many other things, especially with his pants pulled down that far.
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So listen to what he says here. A, check out my fashion strapped inside my jacket.
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I just said a prayer for Babette. Say, let's go get active. Geek in when they cash in.
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I just let the top down. Show them this massive. I pull up fresh as I look like a manic. Dope inside
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my coat. Got me so dumb that I might need a nanny. Let's focus on just those last two lines again,
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because he says, I pull up fresh as I look like a manic. Dope inside my coat. Got me so dumb that I
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might need a nanny. So there's something almost Freudian going on here. I feel like I can tell that
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Youngboy has been studying some of the early 20th century psychoanalysts, applying their insights
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to his own life. And here he is yearning for the maternal. You know, he says, I need a nanny. I need
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a mother figure, a caretaker. This world's a great burden for me. I feel out of place, vulnerable.
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Yet at the same time, he realizes that he's fresh. You know, he's even fresh as a...
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And this is his recognition of his own innocence. And this is really fascinating. Youngboy here is
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exploring the great tension of youth. That is, the young will cling to their innocence,
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to their childhood, while at the same time desiring the very freedom and independence
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that will lead ultimately to their corruption. And notice the insecurity too, because he says,
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dope inside my coat. So what is he saying? He feels like a dope when he wears his coat.
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Maybe it's a few sizes too big. He doesn't think it looks good, is what he's trying to say.
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And these are the concerns of youth, childlike concerns. And maybe that's what the swing is
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all about, because the swing and the car. So you see the disparity between the desires of youth,
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frivolity and play, represented by the swing, against the desires of adulthood, materialism,
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greed, represented by the car. And behind him, yes, behind him is the couch, covered in scribbles,
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and this represents confusion. It's his internal struggle. The war between the two competing
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psychological forces. It's just stunning. I mean, this is absolutely stunning.
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You know, I don't know why we have to take these two great artists who create musical masterpieces
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and put them up against each other. I don't know why we can't just enjoy them. But if we have to name
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a winner, then I think, with all due respect to Tekashi69, who is owed nothing but respect, of course.
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And is not only a great artist, but truly a gentleman and a scholar. But even so, I think
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NBA Youngboy is the greatest musical genius of them all, I would say.