2Pac was a credible songwriter (sometimes) with a lot of really dark shit on his mind.
I believe his belligerence was what got them both killed.
Biggie, I love more because was just as lyrical without being so malevolent.
Anyone think their deaths were somehow connected?
[quote]belligerent wrote:
2Pac was a credible songwriter (sometimes) with a lot of really dark shit on his mind.
I believe his belligerence was what got them both killed.[/quote]
Agreed. And on that latter point, sad but likely true.
As previously mentioned, there’s actually NO DEBATE at all when one views these rappers in terms of productivity, social consciousness & awareness, etc. Plenty of Pac’s earlier work had strong activist/revolutionary rhetoric – ie. Pac laid down “I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto” while the post-Rodney King riots were going on – while Biggie was rapping about trivial nonsense. And all those ‘CIA-assassinating-Pac’ conspiracy rumors, however laughable, would be even more laughable re: Big.
But in terms of flow, style, personal preferences, obviously its an endless debate.
Biggie
WEEZY F BABY MUTHA FUCKA
JK, BIGGIE
Ready to Die was an amazing album, but I think both of them are overrated. Hell, most rappers are overrated. I disagree with the very notion that there is a GOAT. Biggie is up there near the top. Can’t really say the same for Tupac. He’s well above average, but I wouldn’t put up there with Biggie, Nas, Mos Def, Eminem, Black Thought, Andre 3000, Jay-Z and others.
Biggie, but it very close
Tupac, that voice… Nevermind his lyrical content, delivery, charisma. His racism often makes me not want to give him the time of day though
I’ve listened to more songs by big than pac so my preference would be big. However, some of the stuff pac did is mind blowing and he’s one of a kind.
To say one is better than the other is stupid, music is a completely subjective thing, unless you like nickleback cause they just suck.
Go listen to either big or pac, and then listen to whatever are the popular rap songs of today and compare…
[quote]amayakyrol wrote:
Can’t really say the same for Tupac. He’s well above average, but I wouldn’t put up there with Biggie, Nas, Mos Def, Eminem, Black Thought, Andre 3000, Jay-Z and others.[/quote]
LOL
You’re either very young or just plain wrong. (no offense)
[quote]chillain wrote:
[quote]amayakyrol wrote:
Can’t really say the same for Tupac. He’s well above average, but I wouldn’t put up there with Biggie, Nas, Mos Def, Eminem, Black Thought, Andre 3000, Jay-Z and others.[/quote]
LOL
You’re either very young or just plain wrong. (no offense)
[/quote]
Seriously with this.
Outkast was fantastic, but you can’t put Andre up there as one of the greatest solo. Big Boi and Andre were beast together. Solo…not sp much. Eminem is great, too, but he doesn’t have the lyrics to contend for greatest. He’s a brilliant rhymer, but quite one dimensional. Put slim shady up there, then I’d have to counter with Technique. Have those two ever met in a battle? Can’t believe i’ve never checked.
Black thought, yassin, kweli…all fucking great. Although I would put all of them before Jay. I don’t know what it is about him, but i can’t listen to him. Just saw Nas at Lollapalooza in Santiago. Holy shit. The beats, the insanely quotable songs. It was best man, best. Oh, and green lantern warmed the crowd up fairly well, too.
From the first page, some one said Rakim. Fuck i love listening to Rakim. So great. Big L would have made it bigger, I’m sure.
I was always a fan of Pac, never cared much for Smalls. I didn’t enjoy his content, or flow, or attitude. Still don’t get much out of him. If you can’t feel a Pac somg, you have no heart.
But, it still all comes down to DOOM for this guy.
You know, i wonder what would have happened for Big if he never had Puff Daddy leading him around. I don’t know much about Big as he never did much for me, but listening to the songs posted above it definitely sounds like some heavily influenced PDiddy beats. His beats are shit. Just garbage. I’m willing to bet Biggie could have been way better with some actual music to rhyme over.
If you think about it, I bet Biggie would go fantastically with a Dre beat. I can’t think of who else there was back then. RZA might have had something for him.
Yeah, just checked the production credits on Life After Death. Majority had Sean Combs greasy little paws all over it. Kick im the door was Premier. But, it just doesn’t work. So, something seems off.
[quote]chillain wrote:
Man I love this track, glad you posted it.
To the person who said Tupac doesn’t belong in a list with Eminem, fuck you man.
Tupac is hands down the most influential and resonant rapper of all-time. Why? Because he was controversial, enigmatic and bi-polar in both the literal and metaphorical sense. The guy had no problem spitting in people’s faces and calling them out for having sickle cell but could write some of the most beautiful verses of rap/poetry ever. You can feel Tupac’s rawness through the emotion he exudes in his music.
If you want to use a quantitative measure of who’s the best rapper you probably have to go with Jay-Z. Jay has been consistent throughout his whole career (some say he’s fading now) and his longevity as a “top guy” is unparalleled.
However, Nas will always be more favoured by those you dabble in underground rap more. Nas has done a rare thing in appealing to both underground and mainstream audiences.
Tupac, Nas, Jay-Z and Biggie. All of them combine mainstream success with ticks next to most categories that define a dope MC.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
If you want to use a quantitative measure of who’s the best rapper you probably have to go with Jay-Z. Jay has been consistent throughout his whole career (some say he’s fading now) and his longevity as a “top guy” is unparalleled.
Tupac, Nas, Jay-Z and Biggie. All of them combine mainstream success with ticks next to most categories that define a dope MC. [/quote]
We could definitely dedicate a whole entire thread to whose the greatest MC question. But as someone stated earlier its such a personal/subjective thing. I’ve loved guys like Kurupt, Royce da 5’9, Crooked I, Copywrite but save for Kurupt, nobody’s putting those guys as the greatest ever.
I will say one thing i hate that relates to Big and Pac is how people feel like the 90’s was the greatest era of Hip Hop. I think with social media(twitter, facebook, youtube, etc) everyone can have a platform and therefore we happen to see a lot of bad Hip Hop nowadays which alters our perception of just how great those 90’s were.
My opinion, there was a lot of bad Hip Hop back in the day, we just didn’t see it because back then unless you had a major label you were never heard. Now, you have someone like Chief Keef, put out a Youtube video, get a ton of hits and you have the labels beating YOUR door down.
On the flipside, this has given us better music also, we now get to hear artists that actually have talent and different styles that go against the mainstream that we may not of ever heard before. Not to mention these guys trying different syles, cadences pushes the more established artists to try new things and constantly improve.
uhh, that was a tangent but its always bothered me!
It also trips me out on just how far Hip Hop has come, i remember when Eazy-E’s Dr. Dre diss, “Real Muthafuckin G’s” came out, i had to stay up until 1a.m to see the video played. Now that shit would be in heavy rotation during the daytime!! Of course not on MTV but wherever they actually still play videos.
[quote]chillain wrote:
[/quote]
Rap Snitch Kinishes. Goddamn youtube wouldn’t let me view it on the ipad last night. Such a good song.
[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
If you want to use a quantitative measure of who’s the best rapper you probably have to go with Jay-Z. Jay has been consistent throughout his whole career (some say he’s fading now) and his longevity as a “top guy” is unparalleled.
However, Nas will always be more favoured by those you dabble in underground rap more. Nas has done a rare thing in appealing to both underground and mainstream audiences.[/quote]