I don't know where you are from, but you didn't have to listen to this guy go on Hot 97 and Power 105 talking up Reasonable Doubt like it belongs anywhere near the top ten of that year, let alone the 90's during the pre ethering. The thing that allowed Jay to move forward was Biggie dying. Biggie's best friend Jay-Z, or so the narrative is spun, dude isn't even shouted out in the linear notes of ready to die. This is the same dude wHo supposedly dissed Pac at the Apollo and the crowd went crazy, but then Pac died so they scrapped it? Word? Yet no one ever talked about that happening.
Fact - MC's have called out Jay for biting beyond Nas and Camrom
Fact - Jay lost the battle to Nas and got reprimanded by his own mother for disrespecting a women
Fact - Rakim, Nas, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, KRS were all better lyricist and more influential than Jay-Z, I could list more.
The best to ever do it? Nah, the most known in white households? Yeah I'll give him that.
It's a shame that true pioneers didn't get this accolade first.
1) Why shouldn't he talk up his album? it's his album, if he believes it has that level of quality and the people judge him correct then why shouldn't it be considered a classic, especially with the influence he's had on rappers that came after him/the level his career has reached?
2) You're mentioning ether, irrelevant but a common tactic for Jay hater's (not people with constructive criticism) who want to break the man down or act as though Ether has bearing on anything beyond the battle, makes me want to discount everything you're saying even more.
3) Fact, Jay Z is loved by many of his peers and is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time.
4) No shit Jay lost the battle to Nas, so fucking what?
5) None of the people you listed match Jay on a technical or poetic basis other than Nas.
6) Attack Jay for something involving white people, you're just checking off the Jay bashing check list, it's sad that his fame precedes him to the point where many people don't want to give him credit/act as though he's not very talented.
7) Doesn't mean Jay is undeserving.
8) Jay is attacked for being friends with Biggie like you're doing, it's just salt even though it's irrelevant towards Jay's skill.
Now here's the fun part, let's bring it back to the Biggie point, fool's like you will always use his association with him and your ignorance as to the actualities of their relationship/dynamic to bash on Jay as if that somehow props up the memory of Biggie, as if Biggie represents some higher level of Hip Hop that Jay corrupted or that Jay was just his sidekick, but I'm talking fact's so let's talk facts, not baseless narratives:
- First thing's first, if you knew anything about Jay or Biggie you would know that they did not associate with each other until either late 95 or early 96 when Jay was I the middle of making Reasonable Doubt:
https://gumbomonster.wordpress.com/blog-stew/tizzo-tips/how-biggie-and-jay-z-first-met/
The circumstances behind their meeting are backed up by multiple other accounts as well, and contradict the narrative of Jay being the one chasing after Biggie, they met as equals.
It was about for the last 2 or 2 and 1/2 years of Big's life.
-Biggie was a fan of Jay's Dead Presidents 1 record prior to meeting him:
"DJ Clark Kent spoke on having the first and second versions of ”Dead Presidents" on repeat while touring with The Notorious B.I.G. Singing Jay-Hova's praises, Big and the rest of the tour bus were sick of hearing Kent say that Jay could out rap the King of New York. When Big finally gave a listen to the aforementioned tracks, he changed his tune. ”After Big heard that, this is before they met to do ‘Brooklyn's Finest,' he was like, ‘Clark, that dude got it. He got it. He got it.' That let me know that I wasn't crazy."
Also talked about here starting at 6:35:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk7_UvBv6ao
(The Dead President's thing from someone other than Clark Kent, and he talks about how close they were)
-That is probably why he Biggie opted to appear in the video for the track as well as why he appeared in the "Aint no nigga" video as well despite Jay being an unknown artist, even if it meant traveling out of country, he respected him despite not being featured, there was no BK Finest video because Puffy wouldn't let them use it as a single.
- According to Lil Kim:
”(Biggie) and Jay Z just had this adorable friendship — it was the cutest. They were so competitive with each other, but it was such a friendly competitiveness, and I loved it because that's how it's supposed to be when you like somebody."
”B.I.G. admired Jay on the hustling level. I think he saw Jay was gonna be able to maneuver the game the way he is. I think he always seen that in Jay."
Also there's another interview where she talks about how they talked daily until the day that Big died, dinners, partying, including just phonecalls while Big was on tour, they had a bromance which is backed up in other sources (I'll try to find the interview).
Also performing together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B21D-aKuWAs
(more pictures of them on google performing together in other places as well)
- If you want a Nas source since you seem to care about him, he mentions Biggie admiring Jay from how Big talked about him to him/what he saw on "Last Real Niggaz Alive".
- Biggie didn't bring Jay back on I Love The Dough (which was supposed to be their first video) and I Love The Dough because he wasn't tight with Jay, their rapping competitiveness was brotherly.
- That's why Biggie wanted to make The Commission with Jay as his right hand man right?
- That's why Biggie said ”Asked My Man Jigga, My Ace Boon Coon..." on a non-I Love The Dough track (which is slang for #1 friend or best friend)
-Big featured Jay on Lil Kim's first album even though he wasn't a big artist yet/
-Also on Biggie's last interview on Rap City days before he died they asked him to give shouts out, and he only said His son, Daughter, Junior Mafia and "JAY Z, PLAYBOY JIGGA, THAT'S IT", his word.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA7J3Mq9gTo
Jay was an unofficial bad boy member and Biggie planned on staying with Jay for the ride.
Their closeness is one of the reasons Lil Cease is always at Jay events.
-Biggie would say Jay Z is the future
-According to Jay, Biggie called him to ask why he wasn't out in California partying with him on the night that he died.
And so much more solidifying their close relationship, you don't want to buy it or act like you're championing the memory of Biggie by bagging on Jay, but let's be clear, I have the facts, I don't have the narrative against Jay and vendetta to make it seem like he undeservedly stumbled into success.
Jay came in the game a boss unlike Biggie, would he have been as unchallenged had Biggie lived? Nope, but he wouldn't have failed and would have continued to rise as a rapper and a businessman.
You guys are always creating narratives born from ignorance of Jay's life and fill in the blanks with things to make him look bad.
What are your thought's on being wrong on everything involving Jay and Biggie just because you want to hate on Jay?
