Tory Lanez has never lacked confidence, but the Toronto MC’s 2018 rap battle with Joyner Lucas, in which many fans declared him the winner, has brought things to new heights. In a series of late-night tweets, Tory declared himself the “best rapper alive right now,” and dismissed comparisons to J. Cole and Pusha-T because they wouldn’t rap battle with him.

He later defended his claims, saying fans' favorite artists need to step up and rap against him:

Last November, Lanez challenged Pusha to battle with him during an Instagram Live session. “Let Pusha-T know. And if Pusha-T don’t want it and he can’t respond, then y'all just need to give me that nigga’s spot in wherever you put me in the hip-hop game,” he said.

Around the same time, he claimed that he could outrap Cole and Kendrick Lamar. He also had some disparaging words for Royce da 5'9'', although they later resolved their issues.

Hip-hop has a long history of artists declaring themselves the “best rapper alive,” with greats like JAY-Z and Lil Wayne making the assertion at one time or another. However, they’re usually dominating the charts at the time, rather than just winning rap battles.

Genius previously broke down the essentials behind Tory’s rap battle with Joyner Lucas:

Tory Lanez is gearing up for the Assassination Vacation tour with Drake this Spring in Europe, and is likely set to drop Chixtape 5 this year, too.

Catch up on all the lyrics to Tory Lanez’s 2018 album LoVE mE NOw? on Genius now.