Some names to watch before it’s deleted

[bobbydigius]

Big L was nice wit it for sure. But to say he would have been better than Nas is stretch. I think he would have made the top 5 though. And AZ is definitely on my list as one of the most underrated MCs. Him and Black Thought Imo....

Agreed on the last line. In terms of the rest, I’m not as big of a fan as most on Nas, still top 10 easily borderline top 5. The main purpose of the post though is I’m doing my part to get us to 2k.

 

[canefan96]

 

[nystateofmind]

BIG L would have been better than Jay and Nas.

Depends on what criteria you’re using.

In terms of selling records?

Big L was already well known + established when he died and he was never going to touch Jay or Nas on a commercial/mainstream level.

As a pure rapper?

You could make a case he was already better than both, although I’d put Nas slightly ahead of him. Nas did said Big L was the only rapper he ever feared in a battle.

 

[88]

Can’t forget my girl Bjork who gets extra points for her unique, eccentric style. Also check out Esthero and early Nely Furtado, not exactly world class vocals but great song writing and production. Esthero’s “Breath From Another” is one of my favorite 90s albums

The video for this used to freak me out. Had the biggest crush on her at one point. Genius

 

[GrozDozer]

Whew that caneville thread has to have the record for CIS jail LMAO. Thang nearly took down the site LOL I couldn't even get to the website for 5 minutes.

What happened lol

 

[nystateofmind]

AZ, yes. Big L lyrically was sick and a NY legend. But he wasn’t touching Nas, who wasn’t touching Rakim. Jay Z, no thanks.

Nas has had an infinitely better career than Rakim.

 

[Moecane]

Agreed on the last line. In terms of the rest, I’m not as big of a fan as most on Nas, still top 10 easily borderline top 5. The main purpose of the post though is I’m doing my part to get us to 2k.

I hear you. Nas has fallen off in recent years IMO. I prefer vintage , classic NAS. He rhymed on a different level back then.

 

[88]

BIG L would have been better than Jay and Nas. AZ is the most underrated MC to come out of New York.

In my opinion Nas and Jay Z had depth, something L was missing. He could rhyme with the best of them but J and Nas made you want to listen. You saw vivid images in their early lyrics. Although I haven’t listened to too much AZ I think I agree with you there. I guess the fact I don’t listen to him too much proves that.

 

[canecrazy23]

Can’t forget my girl Bjork who gets extra points for her unique, eccentric style. Also check out Esthero and early Nely Furtado, not exactly world class vocals but great song writing and production. Esthero’s “Breath From Another” is one of my favorite 90s albums

I saw her play at the Kitchen Club back in the early 90"s. She was awesome!!

 

[Moecane]

Depends on what criteria you’re using.

In terms of selling records?

Big L was already well known + established when he died and he was never going to touch Jay or Nas on a commercial/mainstream level.

As a pure rapper?

You could make a case he was already better than both, although I’d put Nas slightly ahead of him. Nas did said Big L was the only rapper he ever feared in a battle.

Big L was better with the word play, puns and entendres than NAS.

NAS was a better storyteller. He painted a vivid picture with his lyricism.

 

[nystateofmind]

Top 10 All Time Rappers in terms of pure talent, musical output and mainstream success:

1 - Nas

2 - Tupac

3 - Jay-Z

4 - Eminem

5 - Biggie

6 - Scarface

7 - Rakim

8 - Lil Wayne

9 - Kanye West

10 - Big L

Honorable mentions: Andre 3000, Black Thought, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Bun B, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Ghostface Killah, T.I.

 

[nystateofmind]

Big L was better with the word play, puns and entendres than NAS.

If you said that Big L had the greatest punchlines ever, I wouldn’t argue with you.

 

[Moecane]

If you said that Big L had the greatest punchlines ever, I wouldn’t argue with you.

Him and Fred the Godson

 

[nystateofmind]

 

[bobbydigius]

I hear you. Nas has fallen off in recent years IMO. I prefer vintage , classic NAS. He rhymed on a different level back then.

Nas fell off in the late 90s and early 2000s hard but I felt he has come back very well. There was a time where he was really flailing on the cusp of irrelevancy.

 

[bobbydigius]

Him and Fred the Godson

RIP

 

[Cryptical Envelopment]

I get this odd feeling when I’m engaged in this thread that I’m being watched and part of some grand social experiment

I put forth that we were in a sim somewhere around page 300-400 I think.

 

[Moecane]

Nas fell off in the late 90s and early 2000s hard but I felt he has come back very well. There was a time where he was really flailing on the cusp of irrelevancy.

I agree. I misspoke when I said recent years. But you basically nailed what I was trying to say. I think his production has been one of his biggest issues. Many of his albums sucked from a production standpoint.

 

[pacusmc]

I saw her play at the Kitchen Club back in the early 90"s. She was awesome!!

Holy sht a kitchen club reference.

 

[bobbydigius]

I agree. I misspoke when I said recent years. But you basically nailed what I was trying to say. I think his production has been one of his biggest issues. Many of his albums sucked from a production standpoint.

He struggled with putting songs together. He could make these amazing introspective songs that involved storytelling but struggled outside of that. Sure he was the man during the boom bap era but once the music started to evolve, he struggled. He tried being Jay and he just wasn’t that. The first banger he had where I was stunned on what I was hearing was ‘Made you look’. I said, no way he came up with that. You sometimes gotta dumb it down, is the best way to put it. It’s about quotable words/lyrics, not essays. Although there is a time and place for the essays.