"Everything Tyler said was right": Internet reacts as rapper Ian drops new song amid Tyler, the Creator criticism

Well-known rapper Ian is in the headlines after the release of his new single, Shut It Down, on August 18, 2024. He announced the song's arrival through Instagram the same day and the public is already giving a positive response to the track.

Also known as Ian O'Neill Smith, his song was released at a time when Tyler, the Creator seemingly addressed his frustration towards the latter for making fun of rapping in an interview on August 14.

While speaking on Mavericks with Mav Carter, Tyler referred to someone as a "Caucasian man", saying that he was mocking Future and Gucci Mane. Tyler even compared such rapping to other hip-hop artists such as Eminem, saying that they have a lot of respect towards the profession.

Although Tyler did not directly mention Ian, he additionally expressed criticism towards those who were praising actions leading to a mockery of rapping and added:

"It's not even, like, satire, it's like, 'I'm just joking, I'm just mocking it.' But I'm like, 'No, no, no, you can't do [that].' And I hold rap music so close to my heart 'cause this sh*t changed my life and everyone's life around me, and I'm a nerd about this sh*t."

Furthermore, O'Neill Smith's new single is now trending on social media platforms and netizens took to the comments section of a post shared by NFR Podcast on X (formerly Twitter) to react, which also included the music video. One of them wrote:

"Everything Tyler said was right."

A few people criticized the song as they posted their reactions.

"This sounds like 100 songs I've heard before", a user wrote.

"We not listenin to ts", another user wrote.

"Im just tryna understand why these finance undergrads wanna do this", a third user wrote.

Users also believed that O'Neill Smith's new song was a response to Tyler, the Creator.

"Well he definitely did not waste time after that Tyler clip", a reaction reads.

"Yall owe Tyler The Creator an immediate apology. This is not real music", another reaction reads.

"Tyler the creator is punching the air as we speak", a third reaction reads.

A section of the public agreed with what Tyler said.

"And yall don't see this as mocking hip hop? This is insulting af imo", a user stated.

"People will listen to this and then complain about lyricism", another user stated.

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Joe Budden speaks on Ian after Tyler, the Creator seemingly criticizes the rapper

Although Ian has not shared any response to Tyler's words, Joe Budden addressed the criticism as he appeared on his podcast on August 18, 2024. He initially stated that he was not familiar with O'Neill Smith and recalled the time when he "used to shame" his family members for not being well aware of the world of hip-hop. He added:

"They was old and washed. Now that I'm old and washed, I really appreciate not being in tune with whoever the f*ck Ian is."

Joe also took the side of Tyler, saying that he was right about other artists giving respect to rapping and continued:

"I don't know enough about Ian, but what I can say about Mac Miller, Russ, Eminem: they love this sh*t. They live it. MC Shan produced "Informer"? I used to f*ck with Snow before I knew race played such a huge factor in the country."

O'Neill Smith is a rising star in the world of hip-hop and his debut mixtape, Valedictorian, came out in May this year. His single Hate Me also managed to grab the 68th spot on the US Billboard Hot 100.