14232949

I never called it a classic. It's an album I enjoy. I consider it with the other two mentioned to be in Jay's best work. The Blueprint isn't boring at all. It has enough variety to keep me consistently coming back to it. As for The Black album it spawned some of the best tracks in hip-hop in the 2010's. Everyone knows Encore, 99 Problems and Dirt off my Shoulder.
The fact that these two albums are just as relevant today and are still played in heavy rotation, one need only check the worldwide Last.FM stats indicates that they are far from 'boring'


As for Lupe ghostwriting, that's a reference made by Lupe's former producer which probably had nothing to do with Jigga. I've never seen it confirmed, so to me it's still just another internet rumour. I could start one that Jay-Z ghostwrote for Notorious BIG. Could anyone disprove it?

Soulflower

I agree with every word

Soulflower

I actually stopped reading when you said this but decided to respond anyway because I just think this implication is disrespectful and laughable. It actualy would be the other way around. Jay Z would be struggling to stay relevant. The entire rap scene would be different if Pac and Biggie were alive.


This is true to an extent

But to discredit their talents and music is absurd. Tupac and Biggie were at their peaks when they were murdered so there is always this what if or what could have been because they were incredibly popular when they had died.

2pac was one of the top lyrist and writers of his era. He also brought alot of social conscious and political themes in his music unlike Biggie, Jay Z and so forth.

Biggie did what Jay Z does but he did it 10x time better and he had better songs. They both have more classics than Jay Z as well as albums.


Jay Z steals alot of punchlines, rap verses and ideas from other artists. There is a site dedicated to this and to the amound of versus he has stolen from Biggie. Jay Z is not original or creative. Most of his music is mostly the result of his producers and beat makers but if you take all that away... he doesnt really have much lyrical talent outside of that. Rappers like Krs One, Rakim, Nas DMX etc would kill him in a battle/free style even 2pac would have.


Thats different though. I am talking about actual rap verses and lyrics. Jay Z best punchlines that he has done were stolen from previous rappers.

When I get some time I will post the sites dedicated to this and even post songs and battles from other rappers that crap all over Jayz career. I am not hating on him. He is successful but no he is not the best rapper alive or period. lol


I am more of a 2pac fan but I think Biggie is a better gimmick rapper than Jay Z.

This is what I dont quite understand with your arguement. Jay Z does the SAME thing that you are accusing these two rappers of doing but you seem to think he is better lol

Pac is LIGHTYEARS better than both and he released political albums and songs.

The 7 Day Theory Don Killumanti Pac album is better than ANYTHING Jay Z released, is influential and not to mention majority of the songs were written by Pac himself.

Jay Z released Watched the Throne last year one of the most generic albums among other albums he has released and you making him seem like he is this political artistic rapper lol When he makes gimmick songs, raps about n@#$$, streets, gangstas and he is making a million dollars and lives in a mansion lol There is nothing political, challenging or risky in anything that he does. His beats are catchy and I think they are fun to dance to but dont sit up here and insist he is a thought provoking rapper because he isnt lol




They have everything to do with this if you are arguing that Jay Z is the best rapper alive and Nas and Rakim are still breathing on this earth.

Do I really need to explain why Jay Z and Nas/Rakim should never be mentioned in the same sentence??


I stopped reading when you insisted that he was more consistent than Nas and Rakim LOL

Gangta rap seems to be the overall influence of the genre currently in mainstream which is thanks to NWA,etc not Jay Z. Jay Z did not pioneer that.

Cuthbert

I enjoyed The Blueprint too. However there is absolutely nothing that stands out about The Blueprint. It's boring. The production is nice in parts and sounds catchy, that is about it. What makes it so good?

I don't care about the plays tbh, it's all hype, he just turned himself into a legend through his own hype and people buy into it.

No proof, fair enough.

Oh and I agree with realtalk, no chance Jay-Z is more consistent than Nas. Most recent albums - Life is Good was better than Watch The Throne, in fact everything Nas has done since Street's Disciple has been good. Illmatic, It Was Written, I Am were all good albums. He released a stinker with Nastradamus then came back with Stillmatic, The Lost Tapes and God's Son, all three of those were good too.

So 2-3 poor albums aside, Nas has been consistently good since 1994. Jay-Z has had 3 good albums out of about 11 with the rest being average or poor. How is Jay-Z more consistent?

SGR

@realtalk: Jay is more consistent than Nas. From 96 to 2003, Jay released an album every year and EVERY one was at least good. (The weakest probably being either Dynasty or Blueprint 3) Nas released "I Am" and "Nastradamus" the same year and both were wack or were at least close to being wack. (Nastradamus moreso) From 94 to 2000, Nas only released 2 great albums, Jay released 3-4.

Concerning Jay only being "great" because of his own hype, that's BS. Jay obviously has the skills to back it up because Wayne claims he is the greatest rapper alive too but do people buy into that? No. Why not? Because Wayne doesn't have the material or claims to back something like that up while Jay-Z does.

Cuthbert

Yes. lol.

14232949

How can you determine this? How is your prediction of the future any more relevant than mine? The fact is hip-hop has changed. Nobody cares about the gangsta rap bulls**t anymore. There's no more NWA. There's no more East Vs. West. Pac and BIG would have to reinvent themselves to stay relevant. They would manage this by working with others who have proved they can adapt and evolve and above all stay successful/relevant. People like Jay-Z.

Yes, they were incredibly popular, but do you really believe their popularity would have remained constant had they kept doing the same gimmicky 'gangsta' rap over and over? BIG was well and truly out of material after his second album and the two stayed relevant by beefing with one another. That catapulted their popularity by placing them in the media eye. Without that, and their deaths glorifying rap, they would not have maintained the height of their popularity. They would have had to adapt not only their rapping styles as hip-hop moved into the 'bling' era but also their production and who they worked with. Pac using horrible soul singers to belt out choruses was painful to listen to in 95. I can't imagine listening to it nearly 20 years later. They both would have had to change.

2Pac choose to speak about different subjects, but this doesn't mean Jay-Z never touched on politics or social matters. He just knew there was a fine line between highlighting such themes and becoming preachy. Pac was never the greatest technical rapper and most of his stuff just came across sounding contrived. I am embarrassed for 'Dear Mama'

How could 2 album Biggie have more 'classics' than anyone? And if you're not talking about albums, what are you talking about? I'd love to know. Kendrick Lamar has a better discography than BIG.


Oh wake up, 50% of hip-hop is sampling and recycling old themes, but in a new way. Every rapper out there has borrowed from another and puts their spin on it. Look at BIG's lyrics, look at Pac's lyrics. Look at Nas's, Eminem's, whoevers. There's always traces of their influences and there's always nods to other rappers. Jay-Z is not alone in this. DMX would kill nobody, in anything related to hip-hop.


Would like proof to back up your claims.



Don't believe I've said that. 'lol'


What, makes hip-hop? You just told me he's nothing like 2Pac. Because 2Pac talks about politics and socially conscious material. Are Jay-Z and 2Pac exactly the same as being completely different now?

This is an opinion. Who cares if he released 'political albums' Immortal Technique releases political albums. More so than 2Pac. Does that mean he's 'LIGHTYEARS' ahead of preachy 2pac?

Again, an opinion. Not fact. Influential to whom? More influential than The Blueprint? Please explain how?


I'd love to know where I said Jay-Z was a 'political' rapper. And your own interpretation of 'political' rapper seems jaded. Because Pac talked about the black man getting held down, is that political? Did Pac ever rap about Congress, or writing to his local councillor? I can think of other rappers that did. Does that make them more 'political'
Better question, why do you keep barking out that term like it somehow validates 5 lacklustre 2Psc albums? Does it matter if it's 'political' a term you seem confused as to what it actually means. Does it make it better somehow, please explain.


Okay, now you're just making things up because your argument is that weak. And no, to your original point. They have nothing to do with it.

Yes, please. Oh wait is it coz they are 'political'



The second time you've said this. Reading must be another word you're unfamiliar with's meaning.

Jay Electronica, Kanye West, Odd Future, Big K.R.I.T, A$AP Rocky, Hopsin, Kendrick Lamar, El-P, Sadistick, Killer Mike, Aesop Rock, Brother Ali, Lil B, Drake. There's a variety of current hip-hop artists. None of whom show any signs of incorporating 'gangsta rap' into their work. Again, your claims are unsubstantiated and are just plain nonsense. Nobody cares about 'gangsta rap' it is dead along with Eazy-E, 2Pac and BIG. Now get over yourself, and start thinking like a logical person.

14232949

I enjoy the Blueprint for its variety and its accessibility. To me it personifies the full spectrum of what Jay's capable of. In it he manages to win the battle between him and Nas with 'Takeover' addressing Nas's inconsistency. He talks about everyday subjects such as man's chauvinistic nature with songs like Girls, Girls, Girls. Which would paint him as a person who has no respect for woman and just uses and abuses them in whatever town he has a show. Yet, he manages to completely counter that with the heartfelt Song Cry about the one true love of his life and his feelings when he's on the receiving end of being used and abused. Throwing in a great plethora of styles with other tracks such as Hola Hovita and Never Change, both instantly recognizable he creates an album that manages to carry all its eggs in one basket without dropping them and gives you a snapshot of Jay's versatility.

As for Nas, he has only regressed as time has went on. It's undeniable that Illmatic is the benchmark for hip-hop. Possibly one of the greatest albums of all time. But after that nothing else he did came close. That's not exactly top consistency. It Was Written, another great album but by '99 Nas released a mediocre and a downright bad album months apart. It was clear he could not produce the same quality that he had when he first started out.
For whatever reason that may be, Nas has never managed to recreate his early success. He's like a roller coaster, for every good album he has, he has a not so good album. Hip-Hop is Dead wasn't great, but his Untitled album was, etc. Can you honestly say he has ever came close to fulfilling the potential Illmatic hinted at? And, I'm a Nas fan but I know one thing he's not is consistent.

Jay-Z has not only had 3 good albums. I just happened to mention 3 in my previous points. Besides up to the Black Album and before a 3 year hiatus, Jay released a solid album (at least) each year from 96 to 2003. In the same time frame, Nas released It Was Written, Stillmatic and a bunch of instantly forgettable or even below average records.

dhine31

All rappers are bad. Discuss.

Janszoon

You're wrong. Discussion complete.

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