Jay-Z vs. Nas
 

Both great rappers, both hugely successful, but who's better and why?

Nas is better. Hugely superior MC.

both boring imo

Okay, someone's stuck in the 90's. the beef's over, we ain't crowing over who's king of Brooklyn any more.
That said, you ask either man, they'd say themselves. You ask me, I say Nasty Nas.
He's the best lyricist in the game, and is streets ahead of Jigga.

Nas isn't Top 20 but he is much better than Jay Z.

lol. he's a certified top 5. you can't fill 20 slots with aesop rock, y'know?

For me "The World Is Yours" is my favorite hip hop song ever. I never found the appeal of jay z. I liked him on watch the throne but that's because I'm a big Kanye West. I think the thread should be jay z vs Kanye, my opinion Kanye is better.

Don't like hip-hop very much... but in the limited artists I listen to its always Kanye West & KRS-One. Don't like much of Nas or Jay-Z but if I had to choose then definitely Nas... seeing that he put out Illmatic!

Jay-Z comes across as a better businessman than artist.

Nas is a better emcee but Jay Z is no slouch either. Business wise, Jay Z is the smarter business man in Hip Hop.

One's an artist, the other is a salesman.

I remember a mate going to see Jay-Z in 2001 as part of his tour to promote The Blueprint. The crowd was 2/3rds full. Wouldn't happen now. It's only been since he said he was going to retire in 2005-ish and started gallivanting with Rihanna and Kanye West he's been talked about as the greatest ever by your mum, your aunt, your little cousin, your girlfriend etc... I can't respect him. He's a jack of all trades, master of nothing rapper who just adapts to contemporary trends to create music that sells at that particular moment in time. Good for business, bad for music quality. His albums are just disposable Hip-Pop albums which don't pass the test of time. Jay-Z has never cared about making classics, never cared about making music that can last the ages. He could live until he's 1,000,000 years old, release two albums a year and still not get close to Illmatic. People can point to Reasonable Doubt, but that was nothing when it was released, it didn't stand out at the time against the likes of OB4CL, It Was Written, Doe or Die... It's only because of Jay-Z banging on about it being a classic for years that people regard it as one.

He's a ruthless, slimy mother****er who has snaked his way to the top. I don't understand how fans of music can think this is even close.

Nas by a distance.

lol at all the Jay Z hate. God forbid we admit that Jay Z has got skills on the mic.

Based on what I listen to he is decent. Average. A good MC.

Ah, that old one. Ignore every salient point made and just accuse anyone who disagrees of being "haters."

hey man, I dont hate on Jay, I dont think anyone does

He's nice and got dope songs but I think lyrical wise, cadence, flow, rhythm, Nas has more diversity

but one thing Jay has on Nas is his business sense... the man sat down with Warren Buffet!

I like Nas and Jay-Z but there is no question. Nas wins too easily. In fact Jay-Z himself ruined his own brand by having a beef with Nas. This beef actually made Nas what he is today. A LEGEND. I mean Nas was always a better lyricist and a better MC overall than Jay-Z. Jay-Z is a effective businessman and he has been able to make large money. But musically, he is always been average. He did make one great record "BIG PIMPIN" which I was saw when I was 6 years old. I love this song and the video (of course because of the bootylicious girls). But Nas made tons of classic songs especially like ONE MIC. I mean that song was speaking the truth. Nas is more real and more respectable than Jay-Z.

Nas is better than Jay-Z.

"Ether"

By far the most important points in this post. That's all there is to it really.

I like both but Jay really needs to retire like ASAP

The first point is irrelevant, and the second point is probably not true. Jay Z usually has more interesting/good production compared to Nas, who usually lacks in that regard.

It's not irrelevant when pretty much all the Jigga Stans I have debated with have used his wealth or the fact he's more successful to argue that he's the better musician.

And he has always been average. He was average in the 90's then turned himself into a legend through his own hype post-2000 when everything went a bit ****. The production on his albums does nothing for me, other than a few Just Blaze beats.

You are talking to intelligent music fans on this site.

Nasir is the clear winner. To be quite honest I don't think Jay-Z is even half-way decent, let alone one of the greatest to ever do it. He's not even in the top ten of NY rappers.

+1. Jay Z is A to the ASSED OUT. I always felt the hype for him and Kanye was unwarranted. His rapping skill is lacking and I never saw the greatness that others saw in him. He wouldn't even be in a top 100 of NYC rappers for me.

100 percent correct.

Yea.. Imma have to agree.. Bad is a real as it gets. Love his song about his daughters btw.

I'd switch El-P and Aesop Rock, but alas, that's only a small difference. I miss a couple of rappers/rap groups though. (Cage, De La Soul, Cannibal Ox. How 'bout them?)

Cage would probably make it. I have Vast Aire who is a member of Cannibal Ox in there. Not really a huge fan of the lyricists in De La Soul. They are fine, but I prefer their music.

Oh, Vast Aire is in there? I completely read over it I guess. =/

Jay-Z - Heart Of The City - YouTube

This song is still pretty awesome... its got good arrangement

For me, I think Jay Z always delivers on the beats side.
So I'd break it down like this...

Lyrics - Nas
Flow - Jay Z
Rhyme Style - Jay Z
Beats - Jay Z
Consistency - Nas
Replayability - Nas
Delivery - Jay Z

Both are great, but I feel that Jay DOES get some unwarranted hate for being such a businness man even though he remains a great MC and has a great ear for music.

And for the record, imo, Takeover is 10X the song Ether will ever be. Better beats, better disses, funnier, AND a Morrison sample.

No chance lol. Ether completely destroys Takeover.

Jay-Z has some catchy stuff but easily Nas for me.

It's brought down for me because he throws out childish stuff like Gay Z, Cockafella Records, and calls Jay a D-riding faggot. If Nas didn't do this, Ether probably would be better.

Nas has far better delivery and MC skills, and is easily the best lyricist in hip-hop history. Jay-Z on the other hand is more consistent and his beats are better than Nas's. Illmatic is the best rap album ever but Reasonable Doubt is a classic as well

agreed.

Nas.
 

Nuff said.

Flow, delivery and rhyme style you think Jay-Z is superior to Nas? You are entitled to your opinion but you have basically picked three of the things Nas is considered to be one of the greats at and said Jay-Z is better. Jay-Z has a very sluggish flow anyways in my opinion.

Jay isn't more consistent, he has made some God awful albums. And RD cannot be called a classic when it didn't stand up the albums of a similar vein when it came out. Doe or Die, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and Nas' own It Was Written are far superior. I honestly believe RD is only regarded as a classic now because Jay-Z has said it is so many times people just believe him.

Nas's flow and delivery are often lazy and boring. The dude is a great lyricist, but his flow his very drab.

RD is a classic because it focused on what drug dealing and project living can do to the MIND of a person instead of promoting and glorifying it.