Tyler The Creator was thrilled to bump DJ Khaled from the top of the music charts in 2019 – after his rival claimed his music wasn’t real rap.
Speaking to U.S. radio show Ebro In The Morning over the weekend, Tyler recalled the pair competing for record sales when their albums, Igor and Father of Asahd were released around the same time.
And despite the diss from DJ Khaled, Tyler admits he still has “respect” for the star.
“Bro that Khaled thing was like, it was fun, it was just watching a man die inside,” Tyler said. “The weirdo was winning. I was moonwalking in a wig…
“For some guy like that to kind of indirectly be like ‘that ain’t real rap, that ain’t real black music.’ That’s what it felt like… I just let that number one speak. The ego had to deal with that.
“His whole identity is being number one. When he didn’t get that, that sat with him longer in real life time than that moment… I moved on, I did some shows, I went to London, cool. Didn’t think about it.
“When the underdog, to him, took that away from him, the ego was deflated. He’ll probably never admit it. And it’s no hard feelings towards him… I do have some sort of respect for him.”