do you feel like nas did anything different from rakim or kool g rap/juice crew?

[spammy sosa]

i've been wondering

[TheFunkyDrummer]

No, he didn't. I know the responses from Illmatic. Critics and people were saying he got influenced by Rakim and Kool G Rap and build upon their styles and surpassed them in their own ways. Bullshit ofcourse. Kool G Rap was known for his strong multies and internals. The only resemblance I saw was the similes which everyone uses in Hip-Hop. Now I also can't see the resemblance with Rakim. Rakim on Paid In Full (Follow The Leader and the other Eric B albums had even better lyrics than PIF) is more lyrical than Nas. Rakim is way more complex, Nas just says things that sound amazing but that doesn't make it lyrical. Technically he's not as good as people say. He had nice stories and it's dope to hear Rappers I monkey flip 'em with the funky rhythm I be kickin but it's not complex nor does it make a lot of sense. G Rap and Rakim's styles were more complex in the 80s than Nas was in 94.

It Was Written best tracks are more lyrical than Illmatic, but the worst tracks are far worse than Illmatic's tracks and I don't think the 2nd effort from Nas is a classic. Nas has 1 classics and some (very) good albums and some corny records.

I'm saying this even tho Nas used to be my favorite rappers years ago and Illmatic still is one of my favorite albums.

Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap >>>> Nas

[tekunique]

yeah the difference is that he was able to reach the mainstream audience while good hip hop was alive and kicking with It Was Written. he gained alot of new fans with that album coincided with the success of Fugees' The Score around the same time snatching Lauryn for the hook and Trackmasters on the boards for the most part.

[cj wisty]

lyrically: his style was more stream of consciousness. thats it.

flow'll just quote kool moe dee

Kool Moe Dee notes that Nas has an "off-beat conversational flow" in his book There's a God on the Mic – he says: "before Nas, every MC focused on rhyming with a cadence that ultimately put the words that rhymed on beat with the snare drum. Nas created a style of rapping that was more conversational than ever before".

nas also targeted a more commercial audeience with IWW and later albums. kool g and rakim didnt go for commercial success

[Socrates92]

Yeah he wasn't as talented, especially in comparison to the God Rakim

[TheFunkyDrummer]

Nas in 94 couldn't fuck with this









His flow was never on this level or on Kool Is Back.


NAS level of rapping in 94 is equal to BDK's classic compilation material:

[ShaDynasty]

nas had a slicker way of saying shit and vocabulary. his storytelling is vivid.

[TheFunkyDrummer]

nas had a slicker way of saying shit and vocabulary. his storytelling is vivid.

I disagree with his vocabulary, Rakim's was more interesting but I agree with the rest. Nas did have a slick way of rapping and his storytelling is pretty vivid.