dsa_shea

So who do you hear them mention? Jay-Z? lol! Kanye West? Right! Rakim? Now you are getting closer. Guru? Much better than most of the current talent. Big L? Quite possibly, but lived a very short life. Tupac? One of the top 5 but not on top. Nas? Great with his first few albums but most of his newer albums nowhere close.

brayzie

If that was the case, they would step up to the plate since he was dissing so many people on Kamikaze and going after mumble rap.
Didn't he say he only respects Kendrick and J. Cole?

Maybe to switch it up from how he sounded on his first couple albums. Plus, he has a kind of nasally, high voice, so he yells to compensate for that and sound tough.



How many classics does Eminem have? Because I've been hearing for the longest time that he's been putting out trash, despite still being an amazing lyricist. I honestly don't know because I stopped listening after his second or third album.

Eminem is an elite emcee, and possibly the greatest with wordplay. But does he have as many good songs as 2pac?
2pac was far from the best lyricist but he crafted great songs.
Why does Jay-Z get an lol?
And yeah, Nas has some good albums, but there's more weak ones than good ones.
Then you got Lil Wayne, who's catalog of albums and mixtapes is unrivaled by most mainstream rappers.
Kanye West apparently never wrote his own lyrics, but as far as impact on culture goes, I'd say he had a bigger impact than Eminem and has made better albums.

dsa_shea

I would say that 2Pac has had the greatest impact and most enduring legacy on the hip hop community. Much more than even Kanye, who can still put out albums but doesn't seem as focused as he used to be. Kanye did put out some albums that a lot of hip hop fans would consider classics, but the earlier ones were not much on my radar. Lil Wayne? I get the appeal to some but feel like he is a rapper that the younger crowds seems to flock to. I don't think he is as lyrically gifted as you might think but he still has albums that have sold a lot of copies.

Jay-Z has built an empire and it is worth upwards of 500 million dollars. He has cranked out tons of albums from the 90's until recently. I will say that the most memorable songs of his, in my opinion, are when he is collaborating with another artist. He is a great storyteller for the tough city life, but doesn't seem to expand his focus beyond that. Eminem may have only one or two classic albums, if the general hip hop community can even agree on that. I have seen the range anywhere from 0-4. I would say, without a doubt in my mind, that the Marshall Mathers LP is a classic. You have to agree that Eminem has crossed that threshold of having songs that people can mention by name without even being fans. Some of it has to do with him being a white rapper and some of it has to do with him being so controversial. I don't believe that Jay-Z, Kanye or even Lil Wayne can say that.

In the end, we have to be able to differentiate between what our personal tastes are and the preferred songs we like to listen to and who has captivated the minds of the masses as whole with the art form. I think Eminem has done that on a greater scale than any of the other artists previously mentioned.

These are the artists that I wish were still alive today, as they would likely still be making an impact in the hip hop community: Guru, Big Pun, Big L and of course, Phife Dawg. I don't even need to mention Pac and Biggie, do I? My favorite rapper right now is Rittz. You might listen to him and think he is not any good. I guess we would just have to agree to disagree.

Sonny Corinthos

I used to be huge into rap music until the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie. I guess I never got over their deaths. It's a shame they both died as such a young age. Can you imagine the rap seen now if they were still alive?

It makes you wonder what rappers benefited the most from their deaths? Not in a personal way, but what their careers would be now?

Obi-Wanma

Puffy is the most obvious answer to this question, is it not?

JeremyM

Jay-Z. He slid right into Biggie's spot. I think he would've been a, ahem, big thing regardless, but would've always been under Biggie's shadow to a degree.

brayzie

Sway did an interesting interview with Eminem.

Sonny Corinthos

When I have this conversation with friends, most will agree about Jay-Z. If Bigge was still alive, I don't think Jay-Z would be the superstar he is today. Not saying he wouldn't have had a good career, he wouldn't be as big a star as he is now.

brayzie

I'm not a fan of Jay-Z. He can get very lyrical, but his weak, awkward sounding voice ruins it for me.

The Marshall Mathers LP is definitely a classic.
But I'm pretty sure non-fans can name a Jay-Z song. "Hard Knock Life" is one of them. Kanye and Wayne...not so sure.



I've been checking out his music since this thread got posted, and just with his Kills Shot diss, it's like he never lost it. You can tell he loves the art form and puts a lot of work into every line.
From what little I hear from him though, it sounds like he hasn't matured when it comes to his music. It seems like he's rapping about the same stuff since the early 2000s.

And I can't believe that MGK isn't going to reply. I mean, I get why he wouldn't want to, but still.

JeremyM

Not sure on Wayne, but I hear "Power" by Kanye everywhere.

Deadman31

JeremyM

New video for "Venom":

JeffTheAlpaca

Machine Gun Kelly and G Eazy both suck


Not a huge fan but this is kind of cool

Throwing Copper

Totally agree with this.

gerrythedon

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