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Between Biggie, Pac, Jay Z and Nas...

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Kave_Man

come in my shame circle
For those that think Hov' fingers bling bling'n
Either haven't heard the album or they don't know english
They only know what the single is, and singled that out
to be the meaning of what he is about
 

tmdorsey

Member
Lambtron said:
:lol

RUBBA BAND MAN! WIL' AS THE TALIBAN! NINE IN MY RIGHT, FO'DEE FI' IN MY OTHA' HAN'!

The burning "TI" in the music video that looks like a burning cross is pretty much hilarious. (Not because I think the KKK is hilarious, I loathe racism) So is the fact that he says the rubberband "represents the struggle, man" while sitting on the hood of a Rolls Royce, in a $500 outfit, with Puff Daddy, who is wearing a fur coat. SURE LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE STRUGGLIN'.



I hope you aren't judging TI skills on a radio single. That would be like judging Jay-Z by "Bonnie&Clyde", Nas by "You Owe Me", or 2Pac by "I Get Around"
 

whytemyke

Honorary Canadian.
how is jay z even in this debate? the guy had eminem on "renegade" and eminem even wrote JAY Z's lyrics! Please man.

Nas owns this group, though biggie had the sickest flow and 2pac had the whole package.
 

Shinobi

Member
:lol This thread is a crackup...so many differing opinions. I can't say I've listened to these guys closely, but from what I've heard I like Tupac the best...just love his emotion and intensity. Plus he did most of his stuff with Dre and other west coast beats, which owns everything.
 

XS+

Banned
While I love hip-hop, I absolutely detest rap, which is the, uh, genre that Biggie, Pac, Jay-Z, and Nas all occupy. Hip-hop is an artform, a musical aesthetic that affords a voice to the once silent. Jay-Z, along with the others, is an icon of self-hate, a black sock puppet that spews the fantasies of degenerates.

"I roll in my maybach benze/spending fat ends/in my shiny rims and fresh timbz"

"I sell mad rock on my block/and if you don't want to get shot by my nickel plated glok/you'll step off"

"I push more coke than Pablo Escobar/in my new European car/and smoke mad weed with that chunky tar"

That's rap.

I don't understand how any self-respecting black man can listen to Jay-Z. *shrug*

If you're interested in ARTISTS that promote this aesthetic for the love, rather than pure profit, listen to:

Common

Ed O G

Mad Lib

Little Brother

A Plus

and other true heads.
 

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
XS+ said:
While I love hip-hop, I absolutely detest rap, which is the, uh, genre that Biggie, Pac, Jay-Z, and Nas all occupy. Hip-hop is an artform, a musical aesthetic that affords a voice to the once silent. Jay-Z, along with the others, is an icon of self-hate, a black sock puppet that spews the fantasies of degenerates.

"I roll in my maybach benze/spending fat ends/in my shiny rims and fresh timbz"

"I sell mad rock on my block/and if you don't want to get shot by my nickel plated glok/you'll step off"

"I push more coke than Pablo Escobar/in my new European car/and smoke mad weed with that chunky tar"

That's rap.

I don't understand how any self-respecting black man can listen to Jay-Z. *shrug*

If you're interested in ARTISTS that promote this aesthetic for the love, rather than pure profit, listen to:

Common

Ed O G

Mad Lib

Little Brother

A Plus

and other true heads.


No. Nas does not fall into the stereotypical rap artist. You have no idea what you're talking about. The vast majority of Nas' lyrics have nothing to do with that lifestyle.
 

XS+

Banned
Arnold K said:
No. Nas does not fall into the stereotypical rap artist. You have no idea what you're talking about. The vast majority of Nas' lyrics have nothing to do with that lifestyle.

Didn't Nas coin the name 'Esco'? Intermittent spurts of substance does not a good hip-hop artist make. No disrespect to you, but Nas, imo, isn't someone that is worth listening to. And I'm as far from a "backpacker" as one can be. I'm not your stereotypical underground head. If someone saw me, they'd assume, because of the way I dress, I listened to State Property and other garbage in that vein. I listen to really dope hip-hop -- Common and the like. Jay-Z preaches self-hate.
 

Mumbles

Member
XS+ said:
While I love hip-hop, I absolutely detest rap, which is the, uh, genre that Biggie, Pac, Jay-Z, and Nas all occupy. Hip-hop is an artform, a musical aesthetic that affords a voice to the once silent.

As much as I like Com and Mad Lib, no. Hip Hop is the culture, rap is the lyrical music of it.
 
Nas is a lyricist, not a real emcee. Jay and BIG were emcees. Pac struck the balance IMO, but he's more of a lyricist that was good at getting the listener's attention. You don't really hear any clever alliteration from him like you would Jay or BIG.

Nas is more contemporary, due to the fact that he is alive, but Pac is more classic. I gotta give it to Pac. Even after death, Pac is reinvented. Too bad Eminem has to touch his great music and use his shit-tacular production skills to tuen Tupacs last 2 albums into unlistenable SHIT! What the FUCK was Afeni smoking when she allowed Eminem to molest Tupac's legacy.

It's kinda sad when the best Tupac song released in the past few years is "Letter to my unborn child" Produced by Lil Jon, and thats the one I can think of! Fuck Eminem.
 
XS+ said:
I listen to really dope hip-hop -- Common and the like.
Wasn't Common (Sense) The same way before he began messing with Erykah Badu and she made him convert his religion to Baduizm? (Or some shit like that).

And are you saying that the artists you like are hiphop, whereas many of the founders of the styles they most likely jack aren't?
 

pjberri

Crotchety Old Man
Arnold K said:
And Nas' new single "Bridging the Gap" is terrific. And shit, "Streets Disciples" is easily the hip-hop release of the year.
No, and The Black Album is better than Street's Disciple. :)
Street's Disciple could have been a fantastic album but it's just weighed down by too many shitty beats and too much forced lyrics. It's like there is absolutely no quality control and I shudder at the thought of outtakes that are worse than some of the songs on this album. What this says about Nas is that he is arrogant, but worst of all, that he can't differentiate between the good and the bad.

And I know it's the Nas fanboy thing to do, but you can't say Jay Z is bad. He just has absolute control over the mic and a huge presence, he just does almost everything effortlessly.
 

AlphaSnake

...and that, kids, was the first time I sucked a dick for crack
pjberri said:
No, and The Black Album is better than Street's Disciple. :)
Street's Disciple could have been a fantastic album but it's just weighed down by too many shitty beats and too much forced lyrics. It's like there is absolutely no quality control and I shudder at the thought of outtakes that are worse than some of the songs on this album. What this says about Nas is that he is arrogant, but worst of all, that he can't differentiate between the good and the bad.

And I know it's the Nas fanboy thing to do, but you can't say Jay Z is bad. He just has absolute control over the mic and a huge presence, he just does almost everything effortlessly.


I never thought it took much effort to rehash lyrics. So I guess you're right. :p
 
The Abominable Snowman said:
Nas is a lyricist, not a real emcee. Jay and BIG were emcees. Pac struck the balance IMO, but he's more of a lyricist that was good at getting the listener's attention. You don't really hear any clever alliteration from him like you would Jay or BIG.

LOL WTF?

....you must not know what an "emcee" is.

"nas is a lyricist....not a real emcee... "
<head explodes>
 
I don't like jumping on the popular train (even if Pac isn't as liked on the east coast as Biggie), but Pac had it down when it came to lyrics, emotion and charisma. He didn't play with the words as well as some of Biggie's tracks, which I what I like about Biggie.

Jay-Z doesn't have shit going for him, and I've tried to like his music. Now he's jumping on Linkin Park's cock, how could anyone call him artist anymore? Please...

Haven't listened to Nas enough to form an opinion.

Glad someone mentionned AZ.
 

Maverick

Member
Yo, more of you guys need to respect Masta Ace....Please, please, check out Disposable Arts and A Long Hot Summer if you can find it....Rap at its finest IMO...

See, I personally can't stand how everyone jocks Pac and Big, but whatever, they died, so they're no. 1 and 2 all the time. whatev.

For me it goes:

1. Outkast (I can put up a lot more classic kast tracks than i can classic Big tracks)
2. Masta Ace
3. Nas
4. Scarface
5. Big
6. Gangstar
7. Blackstar
8. Cube
9. Pac

Honestly, Masta Ace had better production, more creative tracks and "said" a helluva lot more than Pac.

Big's flow kills Pac. Pac's best track is Hit Em Up. That's some raw shit....But I'll take it to my grave that Pac would not even be widely regaurded as a top 5 rapper if he hadn't been murdered.

P.S.

B0001ZMWWI.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


PPS.

Fuck Dipset.
 

Suranga3

Member
My list:

Pac
Biggie
Jay-Z
Nas

I feel nas lyrically out-classes Jay - Z, but hova's production is second to none. Both can't hold a candle to pac or biggie though. IMO of course.
 

PhatSaqs

Banned
Biggie was mad overrated IMO. His delivery and wordplay were on point and witty for its time, but as a lyricist he's outshined by Nas, Jay & Pac IMO.
 
I'm not sure I understand -- is this a discussion of four random MCs and which is better, or a discussion of the four people consider to be the best of all? Because if it's the latter, this is pretty much why I stay out of hiphop threads on GA, they don't make no kinda sense to me.
 

Bat

Member
Biggie is probably the best MC of the group....though Jay-Z held his own on their old duets. Part of the problem with him is that he's released so many albums that a lot of the stuff does become redundent.

However, Tupac as a lyricist is waaay above the other three. I'd take him over the rest because of that...

Nas, as someone pointed out, has one great album and a couple of good ones...that's it. I'm not such a big fan.
 

DaCocoBrova

Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
I love B.I.G. and all, but he hardly any material compared to the other MC's mentioned. So I can't really compare him.

Big Pun should be mentioned as well. Crazy talented.

However, Tupac as a lyricist is waaay above the other three. I'd take him over the rest because of that...

I don't think you really know what a lyricist is... Black Thought from the Roots is a lyricist. Eminem is a lyricist...

Not Tupac. If he was alive, I'm sure he'd say the same.
 

PhatSaqs

Banned
DaCocoBrova said:
I love B.I.G. and all, but he hardly any material compared to the other MC's mentioned. So I can't really compare him.

Big Pun should be mentioned as well. Crazy talented.

I don't think you really know what a lyricist is... Black Thought from the Roots is a lyricist. Eminem is a lyricist...

Not Tupac. If he was alive, I'm sure he'd say the same.
I agree about Pun. Dude could spit. But you're off your rocker regarding Pac.
 
F

Folder

Unconfirmed Member
If you want to have a discussion about the best MCs, then why contain it within four unltra-mainstream MTV shiny-suit rappers?
Um, perhaps you need to visit a record shop - no disrespect! :)

Edit:
Kool G Rap
Rakim

Conversation ends
 

DJ Sl4m

Member
Jay-Z is a joke, for the last few years his*ahem* flow, or better yet, lack there of is blatently obvious when compared to any of his early stuff.
It's like his mouth and brain silmply can't keep up with the pace of the beat, clearly heard in 99 problems.

Besides any rapper who has to invent an entire baby sounding language because he can't come up with real words from a real language is defaulted to a damn moron. FO SHIZZLE!!
:lol

Biggie sounds and always has sounded like an utter joke to me, I don't hear skills with this guy, with him all I can hear is a very fat guy having trouble trying to get words out of his overly constricted throat.

For me 2Pac >> all, I can listen to damn near all his stuff and love the way he makes it sound fun or energetic in a way that he just flows like no other, including that wanna be comedian Eminem.

2Pac's best work to me is at the peak of his hatred for Biggie, I love the way he gets sooo fuckin hyped and it's clearly yet poeticly spoken like a touch of audio art.

"I hit em up"
 
DaCocoBrova said:
:lol

No.

Nas is 4th in the whole Biggie, Jigga, Pac or Nas debate.

He lacks charisma. He lacks wit. He songs are either 'hit' or 'miss'. The one's that 'miss' are the ones that are contrived... Forced... Just not him. Songs such as 'U Won't See Me Tonite' and 'U Owe Me' are prime examples of that.

My favorite Nas song ever is 'U Gotta Luv It'.

Street Disciple is hardly getting any listening time from me. If it were one disc, then I'd give it all kinds of props. Taking away just a couple of the sh!tty tracks allows it to fit on one disc.

^^What he said. Especially when it comes to the whole "King of New York" debate. Nas doesn't have the charm or appeal that Biggie, Pac and Jigga all has/had.

Nas' is more of an elite rhymer. At times he comes off as a snobby know-it-all and I find that unappealing.

DaCocoBrova said:
Takeover > Ether

Both tracks shows off each others style perfectly. I preferred the Takeover also. Though Ether is dope and slices Jay up methodically; Takeover is the catchier of the two.
 
Fixed2BeBroken said:
LOL WTF?

....you must not know what an "emcee" is.

"nas is a lyricist....not a real emcee... "
<head explodes>
Jay vs Nas in a freestyle battle. Nas would be decimated because he's better with the pen whereas Jay is better with the tongue and mind. Nas' lyrics are on point but Jay's style is top class. Classic lines and metaphors, many off the top of the dome.
 
Maverick said:
Yo, more of you guys need to respect Masta Ace....Please, please, check out Disposable Arts and A Long Hot Summer if you can find it....Rap at its finest IMO...

See, I personally can't stand how everyone jocks Pac and Big, but whatever, they died, so they're no. 1 and 2 all the time. whatev.

For me it goes:

1. Outkast (I can put up a lot more classic kast tracks than i can classic Big tracks)
2. Masta Ace
3. Nas
4. Scarface
5. Big
6. Gangstar
7. Blackstar
8. Cube
9. Pac

Honestly, Masta Ace had better production, more creative tracks and "said" a helluva lot more than Pac.

Big's flow kills Pac. Pac's best track is Hit Em Up. That's some raw shit....But I'll take it to my grave that Pac would not even be widely regaurded as a top 5 rapper if he hadn't been murdered.

P.S.

B0001ZMWWI.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg


PPS.

Fuck Dipset.

disposable acts was average with some great songs here and there..

a long hot summer is really good....really good.

foreign exchange....pretty good album but the emcee sounds too much like mos def. it pisses me off. but yea, its an interesting album being that its a album where the artists and producers never met each otehr...everything was done over the internet.

You should check out Deltron 3030.....such a GREAT fucking album yet it never gets any props.

oh....and the list i gave earlier was just the 4 emcees talked about in this thread.

but....my TOP 5???

easy....

In NO particular order......My top 5 emcees.

1. Krs One
2. Common sense
3. Andre 3000 (yes...andre rhyming >>>>>> andre singing)
4. Black thought
5. Nas

Ramirez said:

you're from the south.....no one cares what you have to say =P

Jay vs Nas in a freestyle battle. Nas would be decimated because he's better with the pen whereas Jay is better with the tongue and mind. Nas' lyrics are on point but Jay's style is top class. Classic lines and metaphors, many off the top of the dome.

an Emcee IS a lyricist.....thats my point!

being a Lyricisit is APART of being a Dope Emcee.

you cant be a dope lyricist, and not be a dope emcee, Sorry....it does not compute.

Jay freestyles some wack shit sometimes, he is much better when he writes his shit.

For instance.....Takeover (written) >>>>>>>>>>>>> the other diss track to nas that was all off the dome.

sorry, when it comes down to it....written shit will always >>>> freestyle unless its a Real LIVE battle. thats when freestyles will dominate whatever is written.

And when it comes to good freestyles.....i wouldnt look at either Jay or Nas.

Id look at Juice, Supernat, Eyedea, Jin, etc.

peace
 

Maverick

Member
Deltron 3030 is amazing. Thing is, w.o Dan the Automator, "del" is just alright....

D3030 is top 10 albums for me.

btw, i kinda agree w. you on disposable, but "take a Walk" "hold u" "acknowledge" "pta" (w/ the liks), and "dear diary" = great tracks/
 
i don't think it's really fair for me to compare Pac/Biggie to Jay/Nas, mainly because the latter have been able to live and change and improve, while the former haven't...

so i won't compare the dead to the living, but i will do it this way...

Nas > Jay

Big > Pac

and whoever mentiond Party & Bullshit.. i LOVE that track, i was listening to it just a few hours ago!
 
Let just say this

Nas is a hyprocrite\confused mofo-even Nas stans such as myself admit that. That is why XS+ is 90% correct (as in not being a 'consience(sp?)' rapper'), but I say he does a better job of playing both parts (knowledge and materialistic) rapper than anyone else alive. Tupac was probably the best ie finding balance but he is a bit of a hypocrite.
Jay-Z is all flow- a few punchlines - abit of lyricism- no message. The black album apart from 99 Problems was about:
1) Miss me I am the greatest
2) I'm rich now biatch but I once was poor :(
3) Bling etc.
To me the Black Album seemed to me be more about how Jay-Z wants to be remembered, not how the 'game' have to him.

The Rest is History > The Black Album

Also rap is a part of Hip-Hop stop trying to disaccotiate the two: Hip-Hop is scratching\djying, mcing\rapping, graphitti, breakdancing and beatboxing.
I'd like to know when this 'real' head business- Hip-Hop started out in house parties after all.
Yes Big Pun deserves to be on the list as well.

LAD >Street Disciple >>>>>>>>>>>> The Blueprint 2

Nas I think is doing 2 more albums, if he drops near classics like SD he is the best out of that time period.

Everybody should know RAKIM is GOAT
 
Fixed2BeBroken said:
an Emcee IS a lyricist.....thats my point!

being a Lyricisit is APART of being a Dope Emcee.

you cant be a dope lyricist, and not be a dope emcee, Sorry....it does not compute.

Jay freestyles some wack shit sometimes, he is much better when he writes his shit.

For instance.....Takeover (written) >>>>>>>>>>>>> the other diss track to nas that was all off the dome.

sorry, when it comes down to it....written shit will always >>>> freestyle unless its a Real LIVE battle. thats when freestyles will dominate whatever is written.

And when it comes to good freestyles.....i wouldnt look at either Jay or Nas.

Id look at Juice, Supernat, Eyedea, Jin, etc.

peace
IMO, emceeing is a lot of how you can intertwine and accent words, tie in metaphors and rhymes, and make things you encounter in your mind into a tight, tight line on the spot.
 
The Abominable Snowman said:
IMO, emceeing is a lot of how you can intertwine and accent words, tie in metaphors and rhymes, and make things you encounter in your mind into a tight, tight line on the spot.

thats nice, you are the only one of that opinion.

emceeing is alot more than JUST that. Emceeing is a Sum of things, not just one thing. Being a lyricist is apart of emceeing. I am telling you how it is from the hiphop perspective.

Fresh Prince said:
Everybody should know RAKIM is GOAT

while i think he was the most influential rapper ever...i dont think that makes him the greatest....alot of emcees out now would Own him.

peace
 
Fixed2BeBroken said:
while i think he was the most influential rapper ever...i dont think that makes him the greatest....alot of emcees out now would Own him.

peace
This is true but would the rest be able to be compared to him if he didn't exist?
 

Teddman

Member
The cool thing about 2pac was that he was so much more than just a rapper. Actor, poet, iconoclast, political activist, and was starting to get into music production when he was killed. You can tell he elevated the skills of those he worked with through his presence & influence. How many otherwise unremarkable rapper/producers did their best work in collaborations with him? In addition, I've never seen anybody blur the line between art and real life the way he did...

His life would end up mirroring the subject material in his films and songs, and vice versa. To the extent that it was eerie. And so prolific, a workaholic to the extreme. His body of work still outnumbers that of Nas and Jay-Z, and he's been dead for 8 years. There was a lot going on with that dude, by far the most complex character out of the four mentioned... or of any celebrity in our generation.
 

Joe

Member
sorry to derail the thread but i didnt want to make a new one and i just had to get this out...

eminem's "the sauce" is fucking sick. i mean shit, he just brings it to a whole new level on that song.
 

Blackie

Member
Joe said:
sorry to derail the thread but i didnt want to make a new one and i just had to get this out...

eminem's "the sauce" is fucking sick. i mean shit, he just brings it to a whole new level on that song.

You should be sorry.
 
Nobody mentioned Kool G Rap....a shame. He tears up nearly every song he guests on. Along with KRS one and Rakim, old rappers that can still put it down better than most.
 

DJ Sl4m

Member
Teddman said:
The cool thing about 2pac was that he was so much more than just a rapper. Actor, poet, iconoclast, political activist, and was starting to get into music production when he was killed. You can tell he elevated the skills of those he worked with through his presence & influence. How many otherwise unremarkable rapper/producers did their best work in collaborations with him? In addition, I've never seen anybody blur the line between art and real life the way he did...

His life would end up mirroring the subject material in his films and songs, and vice versa. To the extent that it was eerie. And so prolific, a workaholic to the extreme. His body of work still outnumbers that of Nas and Jay-Z, and he's been dead for 8 years. There was a lot going on with that dude, by far the most complex character out of the four mentioned... or of any celebrity in our generation.


Damn right, man I couldn't agree more.

*highfives Teddman*
 
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