Man…this thread is an epic list of all the classics man. I really agree with all these mentions. I totally forgot about gang starr moment of truth. That song betrayal is great. Primo beats man…
As far as references to tupac…of course this is just my opinion. I think he deserves his place in hip hop, lyrically he just doesn’t deliver to me like big or any of the other great emcees of the east.
And this is not an east vs west type deal. Dre is great, the chronic is great…but he is what he is, makes entertaining songs. He’s not on the level lyrically of big or big L or anyone from wu tang etc.
And to me, tupac as far as complexity goes, is not that high up there. He made some real memorable songs, and made alot of ruckus in the media and the hip hop world, but that doesn’t mean hes a great lyricist.
On another note…alot of people tell me they tend to like pac more due to the more serious note of his music. How he rapped about various issues…etc. Call me a cynic, but to be honest, alot of these joints people consider inspirational just seem corny to me.
That’s why I listed Makaveli, and possibly All eyez on me. But all his shit before that…seemed rather corny to me. He didn’t even really sell albums until he got incarcerated and then went to death row, established all the controversy etc…thats really when he started selling albums.
Big hit with ready to die…and he wasn’t trying to be anything but a gangster story teller. His voice is so damn memorable…I mean he can let out some uhm or uh and you immediately identify him. His flow…ridiculous man.
I’m not trying to make this a big vs pac…because it is subjective…this is merely my opinion. Tupac came out with alot more material than biggie…but if you look at it…there were always few memorable tracks on each pac album, however on biggies albums, pretty much every song is great.
Ready to die can easily be played from beginning to end…I can’t really do that with any pac album, not even makaveli.
Aside from that…I like all these mentions. What is your opinion on the current state of hip hop…and when and how did it start going downhill?
