![](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/1805B/production/_124959389_8bc29586-7678-4c76-b3eb-5a1a48ff8c77.jpg)
The singer maintained a distinct hip-hop vocabulary, from clothes to style, which made him an instant hit on the global stage. His music at the time was also typically macho – as rap music often is – and swaggered on the edge of violence. Unapologetically belligerent, he sang about his fondness for guns, boasted about his caste and gave details of a put-down of his enemies.