Controversial rapper 6ix9ine says there's no difference between him and the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
When Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times asked 6ix9ine if he understands that many people believe he does not deserve to be famous, the 24-year-old replied: “No, I don’t. Tupac Shakur was convicted of rape. Is Tupac Shakur loved or hated? Loved! What’s the difference between me and Tupac Shakur? I never caught a rape charge — ever.”
Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996, was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse in 1994.
“He put art into the world in which he grappled with his demons, and said, 'I’ve done good, I’ve done bad, I want to be better.’ He tried to give back through his work. And what am I doing?”
Coscarelli pushed back, pointing out that Shakur was a multi-faceted artist whose music was introspective.
“You’re telling me he gave back through his art? You’re lying to me,” said 6ix9ine. “I got to feed what, in 2020, is relevant. I got to feed the masses. There’s no difference between me and Tupac Shakur.”
6ix9ine, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, was arrested in 2018 on firearms and racketeering charges. Facing 47 years in prison, he pleaded guilty to nine charges and testified against gang members.
In 2015, 6ix9ine pleaded guilty to using a child in a sexual performance and received three years probation. He had been facing three charges related to acts involving a 13-year-old girl.
Speaking to The New York Times, 6ix9ine seemed to downplay the latter. “I was 18 at the time,” he said. “Am I this 40-year-old Jeffrey Epstein-type?
“I was at the wrong place at the wrong time … Listen, I went to this place, and these guys brought this underage girl. I’m filming it, uploading it for the masses to see.
“I admit to all my wrongs, right? I pleaded guilty … and then I took responsibility for that.”
6ix9ine also admitted to being physically abusive with Sara Molina, the mother of his child, for many years. “I don’t owe the world an apology,” he said. “The person I owe an apology to is Sara Molina. She got that apology. That’s where it matters.”
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The rapper complained he is not being given a chance to move forward.
“What society is trying to do is have me crawl into a corner and say, you know what, I hate myself,” he explained. “I will never hate myself. I love everything I’ve been through and I will never take it back.
“I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever regret the lessons I learned in life, because they made me into an animal, made me into a beast. I can go through anything.”
Because he snitched on gang members, 6ix9ine admitted he lives in fear for his safety and is surrounded by a large security team. Is he scared of being killed?
“I worry about it, but I’m not scared of it,” he replied. “The streets is a myth. Right now, if I left this interview and took the train by myself to Bed-Stuy, I wouldn’t come back. If you took a trip to an island full of cannibals, are you coming back? But you don’t put yourself in stupid situations.”