Rivalries in rap are all too common, from Biggie and 2Pac all the way up to Drake and Meek Mill. But it’s not often that a rapper takes on an astrophysicist.
After a bizarre weekend Twitter rant in which he claimed the Earth is flat, Grammy-nominated rapper B.o.B. doubled down on his theory and took aim at Neil deGrasse Tyson at a new song released on Monday.
(Warning: this track contains explicit language)
The rapper's rant began on his Twitter account (which he claims has been censored in the past) on Friday. That’s when he tweeted a meme that called for the shutdown of “Human Cloning Centers.”
since I'm lying... prove it ... pic.twitter.com/KoJmqSpXnX
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 22, 2016
no matter how much over-whelming evidence is presented to humans... they won't believe it until it comes on the cooperate driven news
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 22, 2016
His tweets then shifted toward space and NASA, which he called “Edge of the World Gatekeepers.” He also accused the agency of doctoring photos of the Earth taken from space.
Good Job Guys ?? pic.twitter.com/GWFzfQDfNu
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
NASA forgot to put stars in all the photos of earth???
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 23, 2016
By Sunday, B.o.B.’s timeline was full of memes that supposedly proved the existence of a flat Earth.
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
— B.o.B (@bobatl) January 25, 2016
By Monday, the media had taken notice of the rapper’s rant, which produced a number of think pieces disproving his theories. But that didn’t stop him from releasing a new song, “Flatline,” in which he takes shots at noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
In one line, B.o.B. implies that he believes Tyson is being paid by the government to misinform the public.
Aye, Neil Tyson need to loosen up his vest
They'll probably write that man one hell of a check
Tyson — who has never been afraid to call out scientific inaccuracies in the entertainment industry in the past — countered B.o.B.’s claims with some scientific facts.
@bobatl Earth's curve indeed blocks 150 (not 170) ft of Manhattan. But most buildings in midtown are waaay taller than that.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016
@bobatl Polaris is gone by 1.5 deg S. Latitude. You’ve never been south of Earth’s Equator, or if so, you've never looked up.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016
@bobatl Flat Earth is a problem only when people in charge think that way. No law stops you from regressively basking in it.
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) January 25, 2016
He even found a rapper — his nephew — to counter B.o.B.’s diss track with one of his own.
B.o.B.'s song may be better, but you can still chalk this one up as a win for science.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
