Update: Neil deGrasse Tyson’s nephew is a rapper, apparently, and the astrophysicist recruited TYSON to record a pro-science diss track back at B.o.B. titled “Flat to Fact.” Maybe this has all gone too far.
I woke up not expecting to write a track about a flat Earth. But some days are full of surprises, I guess…
— TYSON (@Mr_Tyson) January 26, 2016
Yesterday, B.o.B. donned his tinfoil hat and joined intellectual luminaries like Tila Tequila, professing on Twitter his strongly held belief that the Earth is flat. Several people pointed out to the rapper that this belief is blatantly incorrect, if not outright insane, but perhaps the most qualified naysayer was the Director of the Hayden Planetarium and professional Star Wars ruiner Neil deGrasse Tyson. The astrophysicist refuted many of B.o.B.’s arguments before extending a backhanded olive branch. “Duude — to be clear,” he tweeted. “Being five centuries regressed in your reasoning doesn’t mean we all can’t still like your music.”
So late last night, B.o.B fired back with a conspiracy theory-filled diss track, as one does.
The track, “Flatline,” is a confident opening salvo in what promises to be the strangest rap battle of our time. (Although B.o.B. is sort of rapping from a sixteenth-century perspective). Over a fittingly ominous beat, B.o.B. spits lines like “Globalists see me as a threat / Free thinking, got the world at my neck,” and “Aye, Neil Tyson need to loosen up his vest / They’ll probably write that man one hell of a check.” Here’s another choice excerpt:
That’s probably why the horizon is always rising
Indoctrinated in a cult called science
And graduated to a club full of liars
Heliocentrism, you were the sixth victim
The track also includes a lengthy sample of Tyson giving a speech about the Earth, so, sick burn, we guess? To recap, let’s compare or combatants and see who’s winning the rap battle so far:
Who Has the Better Science?
Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Who Is the Better Rapper?
Well, we haven’t heard him rap, but one still assumes it’s Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Winner:
Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
