Goofle

Not for me. He has a few decent albums.

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SGR

The dude has been very consistent in my opinion. His albums are always progressing as well. What "decent" albums does he have for you? Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint?

14232949

It's undoubted when one takes into account Jay's influence on the genre, his consistency and style (which has been emulated by many) that he is one of the all times greats.
He's had more impact on hip-hop than his predecessors' Biggie & Pac.

Goofle

I won't doubt influence etc. He's an All Time Great in the same way certain albums that I don't particularly love are "Classics".

I like Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint most.

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Soulflower

You MUST be joking LOL

This is a joke right?

There is no way Jay Z is more influential than Biggie and Pac and ESPECIALLY PAC.

Let me tell you something and you can take this to the bank. If Biggie and Pac were still alive Jay Z would not have a career right or now. Jay Z stole all his lines from Biggie and Krs One. All he is is smokes and screens.

He has alot of catchy beats and hooked with the right producers. He is a savy businessman but none of these things has anything to do with Hip Hop. He is not an exceptionally skilled MC or lyrist. Most of his catalogue is generic and full of gimmicky songs.

I can list like 10 rappers that are way better than him but for now Nas, Krs One, Rakim etc are LIGHTYEARS better talent and catalogue wise.

The fact that you implied he had more impact than Pac is laughable.

SGR

Woah dude, don't catch feelings over it.

It's completely ignorant to say that Jay stole ALL his lines from BIG and KRS. He just didn't. Jay has come up with so many original and quality verses and dumbasses still jump on the "BIG Ripoff" bandwagon. And props for being able to tell what would've happened if two men weren't killed.

Hooking with the right producers can make a big difference and yea, it has a lot to do with hip hop. For example, my favorite hip hop album of all time, The Low End Theory, wouldn't even be notable if it had a different production than the dark jazzy backdrop that it has.

It's hard to measure impact but I know I hear more rappers today taking on the stylings of Jay moreso than rappers taking on the stylings of Pac.

14232949

If Pac or Biggie were alive they'd be signed to Rockafella and doing guest spots for Drake, J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar to stay relevant.

The only reason their legacy has continued as long as it has is because of the controversy and somewhat glorification surrounding their deaths. As if they were the personification for 'gangsta' rap.

Jay stole all of Biggie's lyrics? BIG only had two albums. Jay's had 11 solo albums not to mention mixtapes, collaborations and countless guest spots. Where's he finding enough Biggie material to stretch to such a vast quantity of music? And KRS-One? What because they both had a record called 'Blueprint'
Janet Jackson and Pedro the Lion both had an album called 'Control' does that mean one's copying the other?
I'd like to see evidence to back up your claims.

Gimmicks? Like Biggie telling you about his partying lifestyle and how he sold so much crack? Or 2Pac's "I'm a hardcore thug" despite going to drama school gimmick? And generic music? Have you listened to a full record from either BIG or Pac, there's more filler than anything else. One talks about hos and partying. The other, get this...a rapper who talks about guns. And crime. Breaking stuff.

Nas & Rakim have nothing to do with this. They are two entirely separate entities and completely influential in their own rights. I never said Jay-Z was GOAT. I said he's highly influential, which he is. I said he's consistent. Which undoubtedly he is, way more so than either Nas or Rakim. And his style has been emulated by many, which it would take a fool not to see. Don't tell me you're that fool.

Cuthbert

Jay-Z is consistently average.

14232949

You classify The Blueprint, Black Album and Reasonable Doubt as 'average'?
I'd love to see your interpretation of a great hip-hop album then.

Cuthbert

What about the stuff in between? He's released a fair amount of music.

And Reasonable Doubt is overrated. It was nothing when it came out, it was just another Mafioso type New York CD in an era full of Mafioso type New York CD's, many of which were better than Reasonable Doubt.

It was only since Jay-Z started referencing it himself as a classic that The Source retrospectively changed it's score and people started believing Jay-Z, which basically means it's only a classic because Jay-Z said it was a classic. How does that work?

The other two albums are just boring, and didn't Lupe write for Jay-Z on the Black Album? Jay-Z's closest attempt at being 'deep'.