2Pac, B.I.G., NaS, LL, Andre 3000, Eminem, Nelly, Lil Wayne and T.I. may all have some questions for the new XXL cover (out on newstands Sept 15) as they all have sold multi-platinum albums, and I don't mean collectively. I only mentioned these above names because at one point in time, these relative artists all released albums that sold at least 2.5/3.5 million copies which in today's market is almost impossible to do. Now if we are speaking solely based on lyrics then I would name a different list all together.
To be King, means you are the best, the top and the ultimate at a given point. Some people would say that their favorite rapper is the best, but what makes someone the best? Isn't being the best subjective? Who determines this "best of all?"
If we are going off of records sales and net profit then Jay-Z would probably be best. Beat production: Jay-Z usually has top notch production with beat makers, Just Blaze, Kanye West and Premier to name a few. A business man, he made the most money in a fiscal calendar year, more than Diddy and 5o Cent to be exact.
If we are going on relativity and influence to pop culture, I would have to give that one to Jay-Z as well. Jay-Z has literally changed the game multiple times to proclaiming what was cool and what was not as well as setting it in stone until the God MC proclaimed something else to take its place. "I dont wear Jerseys, I'm 30 Plus...Give me some crisp blue jeans and a button up!"
Sports jerseys, Crystal and Autotune sales have long since dimished, but I do admit to have been seeing people wear all black lately. HA HA. Jay-Z has also had back to back consecutive number 1 Summer smashes to put in your whip and make you wanna cruise an extra block just so you could repeat a song. (Ignant Ish, Dear Summer, DOA, the list goes on and on. Honestly, it seemed like when I was DJing back in the day, every time I would get inspired to make a new mixtape for the people, I would be motivated by a new song Jigga dropped. "Oh man, that's hot, I gotta make a new mixtape for the streets..." (It's true I am a fan of Jay-Z, but I also have Pac, NaS, and Kanye on constant rotation) so I have to give credit where credit is due all across the board.
Wait! Pac, Nas, Kanye, T.I., Common, I mean don't these other rappers have this same influence and credibility? I am really trying to figure out what makes Jay-Z the best or any given rapper for that matter. Some people could say LL Cool J is the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time), or maybe Rakim? Some say, 2Pac or B.I.G. And the new school kids may say Lil Wayne.
Honestly, I think what makes someone the best is their ability to stay relevant to the times, consistence with their number 1 albums sales, a profitable money-maker for themselves as well as those around them and of course your peers acknowledging you as the king or best to go along with everything else.
I don't know if Jay-Z is the best but I can break down why your favorite rapper is NOT.
I'll start with Lil Wayne. Lyrically, he can stand own his own. When F. baby is on his mixtape weezy grind, his rap skill is astronomical, but sometimes weezy tends to go too far off with the alien talk you know with him being a martian and all. Plus Lil Wayne has been in the game for about 12 years but he has only since become relevant to mainstream in recent years.
Ask a new school believer of weezy wearing skinny jeans, what Lil Wayne's first album? They will probably tell you something made in the 2000's like The Carter 1. Ha ha ha, What about 500 Degrees and Lights Off? These were both great albums but didn't quite hit the mainstream core of success, meaning Lil Wayne doesnt have enough consistency or longevity being and STAYING on top; he's still to new to the "kingdom" if you will.
NaS. Probably has the best hip hop album of all time with Illmatic, but since he is a lyricist and not a rapper per se, he doesn't try to appeal to the mainstream and sometimes loses most main-streamers with his I-read-too-much am too-socially-conscious and too-smart-for-you dumb and average listeners. Luckily, I'm one of the smart ones...Or else I would have missed out on some of the classics Nasir Jones put out that most people missed the memo on.
Andre 3000. Bar none a beast, but never can stand alone because he always comes as a 2headed dragon with him being in Outkast which is a group.
Eminem. This is a touchy subject. Why? Because he IS white. I think Eminem is great, but I think some people put him on a pedestal and some people throw stones at him because he is white. So in all honesty, Em will never be judged fairly on his ability to rock the mic either by him being given a handicap(+) or a crutch(-). Not to mention does anyone remember Obie Trice? A black Eminem; an black average rapper?
2Pac/B.I.G. No matter how you put it, these two artists were definitely way ahead of their time but died way to soon in their career to determine how good or bad they would be. We will never know what life after death would truly be for Notorious or whether Makaveli would come back in 7 days to bring us more rapture; just always left wondering?
You're only as good as your last album, and B.I.G. had 2 albums and Pac, although he had 5 compared to someone such as LL Cool J with 13 or Jay-Z with 11 is almost impossible to judge based off of averages alone.
LL Cool J. Why Is LL Cool J not the GOAT? He has 13 platinum albums. The Ladies still love Cool James, and he is still relevant to the times. So what is he missing? Well, the fact that he is "missing" something that we can't quite put our finger on, and since it is solely based on this ability NOT to be able to determine what he is missing to be the Goat, keeps LL from being the GOAT.
After all of this criticism, I could be way off base and your favorite rapper could be the GOAT, but since being the best IS subjective it doesn't matter what I think or anyone else for that matter as long as you pay your &13.99 for your favorite artists album and pop it in your itunes to enjoy, that rapper is the GOAT! SSD on who's the best and just make sure you support YOUR local goat!
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