Surell

HUR HUR HUR.

I really can't take that Drake surpasses his godfather seriously. Especially when he's not even second best pop rapper.

FutureFan, I'm not hot on Drake myself. Some of Future annoys me but he's pretty out there. "Karate Chop's" ill too

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SGR

Wayne isn't terrible but he's definitely dipped in quality since he got popular. Since Juvenile doesn't embarrass him on his own albums anymore, now Wayne feels he's got to embarrass himself. (by releasing stuff like IAMNAHB2)

Surell

When are we considering popular? "Go DJ" was a huge hit and Carter 2 had a few pretty big hits as well. His most acclaimed period came between C2 & 3, which was probably his hottest run critically and popularly. Carter 4 sold but no one liked it nearly as much as 3, so I'd consider that his drop off (though that's not saying much because he still plays like crazy).

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SGR

I was thinking of Carter 3 and IV as his commercial peak. I'm not entirely sure but wasn't the Carter 4 his first or second best selling album. He may have fell of critically at that point, but from a sales standpoint, he was still immensely popular, breaking first week records and stuff.

Surell

That's true, I think he sold about as much as the Carter 3. They both just missed platinum in their first week, which was always his goal. I liked 3 though, especially for its diversity. As far as pop rap goes, he touched about everything one could imagine.

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SGR

I agree, Carter 3 was definitely unique, but Carter IV was mediocre. What do you think of Wayne's early albums, namely "The Block is Hot" and "Lights Out"? Are you a fan of Mannie Fresh's productions?

Ass Napkin Ed

Jay z

As for the others mentioned, Em is severly overhyped, Lupe has fallen off & 2chainz lol stop it

Surell

Mannie Fresh is a very unique DJ, I like Wayne's material when he stepped away from him more but he has a very distinct and fun sound. He should have more work now, but I guess that ship has sailed in hip hop (ship hop).

I actually haven't heard much of his super early stuff, I have 500 Dagreez but I haven't listened to it very often. The title track for Tha Block is Hot is indeed hot, it actually has a lot of vocal inflection and energy similar to what Nicki Minaj uses on her more hip hoppish songs. But other than that I'm not too familiar. I really started following him around Carter II.

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ejcj

There are a bunch of great rappers Nas, Andre 3000, Eminem, Common, and Talib just to name a few. Still I think it's hard to argue against Jay-Z.

SGR

^Jay-Z is one of the greats definitely.

@Surell: You should definitely check Wayne's first two albums, they're worth it for production alone imo. Maybe not as good rap wise but production wise they are pristine.