brayzie

Never really followed this dude's music, but checked out some previews for Tha Carter IV and didn't really like what I heard. From forums I still check out everyone said he fell off.

Just breezed through the previews for this new mixtape and I like what I heard so far. I guess the dissolving of his relationship with Cash Money and Young Thug taking his style rejuvenated Wayne and got him sounding hungry again.

I don't support him 'cause of what he promotes through his image and music but I like him as an artist, he's top 5 in hip-hop easily. Anyone else heard this mixtape?

dsa_shea

Top 5 in hip-hop? Maybe among teenagers but not among true, old school hip-hop fans. There are at least 5 better mcs in one borough of New York than him.

brayzie

I'm not up on old school hip-hop, like Rakim or BDK but I should be. I started listening in the mid 90s. However, what 5 mcs from one borough of NY are there that have equaled or surpassed Lil Wayne's quality and output?

dsa_shea

Any of the main members of the Wu-Tan clan for starters. GZA, Ghost, Raekwon, Method Man and even the RZA are better. Aside from them you have Nas, Mobb Deep, Das Efx, EPMD along with the deceased: Notorious BIG, Guru and even Old Dirty Bastard. He would easily hold his own in comparison to Wayne. Wayne is very popular among teenagers but I have never really considered his music to be much more than just a hit artist who will likely be forgotten once he is completely out of the spotlight.

kstublen

He's fun to listen to on occasion, but he isn't in the same league as the others you've listed.

dsa_shea

GZA had an album come out a few years before this but this particular song stuck in my head and has been there for 20 years. The video quality is rubbish but the song is what matters.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZiQoVv0FSKQ?list=RDZiQoVv0FSKQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

brayzie

I'm not a big Wu-Tang fan but I doubt that Raekwon is touching Lil Wayne's legacy.
Biggie is top 5 for sure, I guess Nas but I'm not too impressed with some of his work. Lost Tapes and Illmatic are classics. Stillmatic not quite. The rest of his work is boring IMO. I can listen to just about any 2pac song, official or unreleased, and enjoy it but not really with Nas' music. Monotone voice kills it.

My biased top 5 in no particular order:

1. 2pac
2. Jay-Z
3. Biggie
4. Lil Wayne
5...
Nah, I gotta rethink this one. Lupe's new album is pretty good. I'd probably put Lupe Fiasco above Nas. Kanye has a great discography but I'm not too sure about his overall lyricism. Then there's LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane to take into consideration...
But Lil Wayne is definitely up there with Biggie, Jay and 2pac.

kstublen

There's a difference between mainstream popularity and lyricism. Lil Wayne is fun to listen to, but he's more of a "pop" rapper if that makes sense. This is the same guy who started out as a kid with the Cash Money Records and having released albums pretty steadily since he was 17 years old there is obviously a lot of filler. I mean, we all had fun listening to their music back in the day but it wasn't really full of a lot of substance like other artists. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you're talking "the greatest rappers of all time" those aren't people I'd even consider in the running. For what it's worth, despite a few missteps here and there Eminem is easily one of the best technical rappers around. He's got skills that few can rival.

Wu-Tang isn't for everyone, but they easily outshine Lil Wayne when it comes to lyricism and technique. Maybe they aren't as popular, but as far as sheer talent it's not even a contest. I'd argue that RZA is on the same level as some of the biggest names in hip hop when it comes to legacy. Here you have a guy who helped found one of the most talented and prolific groups in history and early on pretty much exclusively produced everything they did. And he's a pretty good rapper to boot. Not to mention the fact that he's been involved in some great soundtracks for movies and is even getting into the realm of scoring films. That's a legacy that Lil Wayne, no matter how popular he might be in the mainstream, won't be able to touch.

There are just so many people out there who are better than Wayne. Despite his public persona, Kanye West is also light years ahead of Wayne when it comes to production, lyrics, and style. He's constantly pushing the envelope and actually sounds as though he's putting everything he has into his music. I'd rank him high on the list, especially when it comes to people who are still active.

Do yourself a favor and give Wu-Tang Clan another chance though, seriously. Check out these albums to get started:

• Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
• No Said Date by Masta Killa
• Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... by Raekwon
• Tical by Method Man
• Liquid Swords by GZA
• Ironman by Ghostface Killah
• Return To The 36 Chambers by Ol' Dirty Bastard

There are really just so many good albums in the catalog. And while some have fallen short of their earlier releases, others are still going strong, particularly Ghostface Killah. And for what it's worth, Wu-Tang was just so original and innovative in hip hop. They had a unified voice in their earlier group albums (before they drifted apart years later), but also had individuality. They've all got incredibly unique flows too.

brayzie

I meant top 5 rappers in hip-hop, and that's solo rapping career is what I'm referring to legacy-wise.

I would have thought the same but some of the verses on Yeezus were pretty average, if not mediocre in my opinion.


I know Wu-Tang as a group is great, although I'm not too familiar. I've heard "Cream" and "Triumph," classics. "All That I Got Is You" from Ghostface Killah. But I'll check the rest of the songs from those albums.

I guess I'm judging them by some of their later music that I used to come across on Rap City The Basement.

About your earlier comment about Eminem, I agree he's one of the best technical rappers but after his first 3 albums I stopped enjoying his work.

Right now I'm listening to Ol' Dirty - Return to the 36 Chambers. I'm liking his style with those beats.

EddieMoney

Not sorry enough, motherfucker.