Lil Duval wants E-40 to be celebrated for the strides he’s made during his years-long career in the rap game.

In a stream of consciousness shared on Twitter, the comedian reflected on the progression of hip hop, which he believes has benefited artists financially. Most of the rappers in the 90s, he claimed, were broke and didn’t start making millions until the early 2000s. E-40, however, was one emcee he’s sure defied the odds at that time.

“The only rapper rapper that was [a] millionaire in the 90’s was maybe E-40 cuz he was really one of the only true independent rappers back then,” Duval tweeted. “He might’ve was the first come to think about it.” He later corrected himself to mention MC Hammer’s success as a millionaire but said that E-40 deserved credit for accomplishing the same as an independent artist. Pondering on the California native’s accomplishments and ability to prosper without a major label behind him, he deemed the “Choices” rapper worthy of recognition during Black History Month.

“We gotta salute more people like E-40 for Black History Month,” Duval tweeted. “Just for the fact that he thought about being independent 30 years ago. Because Blacks just fully understanding now so for him to already know that back then is genius.”

E-40 would most likely agree with Duval’s take as he has notably paved the way for independent rappers today. After launching his label Sick Wid It Records in 1989, he released his debut project Let’s Slide and hustled to ensure that he could fund his business. He’s since released nearly 30 projects to date and doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.

“We started off selling tapes out the trunk of the car,” the West Coast star previously said in an interview. “I pioneered and coined it independent hustle. I coined that before the Master Ps of the world, before the Cash Moneys. Them my folks, but they’ll tell ya that I gave them the blueprint.”

See Lil Duval’s tweets below.