never had a thing for nas. would rather listen to Canibus.
i mean ive listened to just about all his tapes and i find more songs that i just go eh rather than yo nice. i guess hes good though. just eh to me
never had a thing for nas. would rather listen to Canibus.
i mean ive listened to just about all his tapes and i find more songs that i just go eh rather than yo nice. i guess hes good though. just eh to me
^^
the inflated sense of social importance is what throws the whole vibe off for me. i cant get behind him as an emcee because of that.
illmatic is nasty though but other problem is i was a kid (14-16 years old) when i first heard that album and at that time i was heavy heavy into the wu sound and it was then i made a choice... fuck nas. hahhaha.
best rapper of all time? what constitutes this? i have a guy in mind and i know why i think hes the best... i think hes better than nas in these said aspects...
Aesop Rock. huge vocabulary. nasty flows. perfect breath control. impeccable references in music, literature, art just about everything in his lyrics. interesting. can story tell when he wants to. has released consistently good music since his debut (even Appleseed had highlights). has stayed true to himself and doesnt him haw around releases (*clears throat* DOOM). wordplay? unsurpassed. oh and he produces (that really dont matter though)
but i guess this is all opinionated. as i could just as well put Kool Keith as the best ever due to his innovation and whatnot.
i remember everyone said Rakim was/is the best and he was a bit of an innovator but i think Canibus out shined him on the tracks i've heard them on together... they may only have one off 2000 BC i thought they might have one on Mic Club idk.
nevertheless Eminem? i mean yeah dude knows a lot of "big" words but they really dont have much meaning as i dont even think he knows what they mean (hahah). Aes uses big words too but he dont sound forceful when he uses em. and also just because Em hits that super fast flow here and there (nowadays new school Em) with big words that just covers up the fact that he really dont know what they mean. hahah. nevertheless yes i have listened to Infinite and yes that shit is dope but i still dont think it holds a candle to Aes.
i will say this Eminem has made great fucking music. the drugs have made great music but like id rather hear Aes or Keith on the mic... way more fresh. whats/what has eminem ever rapped about that was fresh anyways? espeically when nowadays Em is making pop rap for the masses. like you said the inconsistency kills him but like... how am i supposed to dig someone on the mic when theyre working with RiRi and shit like its hard to even listen to that one track "Rap God" i think where he spazzes for six minutes and then the albums got fucking Rihanna features on it. smh. your brand is something to be very serious about and dudes like me really dont like giving the pass all that easily. like hes got no history with RiRi a Mariah Carey feature i can be down for. a no name nasty ass female vocalist that is nice, i can be down for but Rihanna? c'mon. also i looked at the wikipedia for the MM2LP and hes got writers out the ass on all the tracks. like wtf?
hahaha. i also havent listened to the MM2LP. so maybe i should hold my tongue but recovery did me in to the point i was like ight.
^LOL
Nas' 'concious' songs are fewer than he's given credit for but they're also mixed in with concept songs that are hit or miss.
Why everyone sais It Was Written is a commercial album? It only has " Black Girl Lost " and " If I Rulled The World " has commercial songs, all other songs are bangin!!!!
Its my favorite Nas album.
why does commercial mean bad/not banging?
at far as '96 was concerned "It Was Written" with songs like "Street Dreams", "Watch Dem" and the songs you mentioned was a move towards slicker production, cinematic gangster themes and both an image and sound that catered to the popular hip-hop of the day. and it made for an incredible album
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It Was Written was very commercial sounding in 1996 especially compared to Illmatic, then came the Firm album. One of the reasons why many people who were hip hop fans in 96 don't like it and younger fans love it.
At the same time It Was Written had some songs that were a lot harder than Illmatic. I think it just broadened the spectrum of what he could do.
Illmatic is almost perfect but It Was Written is very dope too and lyrically probably better since he takes a more universal, humanistic view of life. I guess its more commercial but its not a bad thing to put a few songs on there with universal appeal. I don't think Bach, Paul McCartney or Bob Marley were ever scared of making popular songs. Why as a musician would you want to cater exclusively to a small group of snobs?
I think this board is the only place where people still don't understand hip hop enough to have an issue with 'being commercial'. The objective of being a rapper is to win. Anyone that's not trying to be the best or on top isn't a rapper they just rap. When the history book is written there's no 'unpopular' chapter. Illmatic was commercial, it's just that what it takes to be popular in the early 90s was different than what it took to be commercial in the mid 90s, but both albums matched was was conventionally 'commercial' in their time. Illmatics production team is the equivalent of having Kanye, Metroboomin, 40, Pharrel and Swiss Beats work on your album.
deliberately trying to be unpopular is something that was invented in the mid 2000s. In the 90s Ready to Die, Illmatic, 36 Chambers, DoggyStyle, Wutang Forever, The Chronic and It Was Written were commercial. There's absolutely no hip hop classic that wasn't commercial because all that other shit is gay and not in the conversation.
You guys are confusing 'commercial sounding music' and 'commercially successful music'. 36 Chambers went platinum which is considered a commercial success, it was however not commercial sounding. IWW was commercial sounding for the most part.
36 Chambers was commercial. I think it's lame when people twist the meaning of words to suit their own sentiments.
36 Chambers was a commercial release, on a major label, that sounded similar to and had similar themes to commercial music at it's time, you just happened to like the sound of commercial music at that time. Wutang, nas, mobb deep, onyx, biggie, etc etc. These were the commercial rappers of the time. Find a different word. The only rap that counts is commercial rap. Nobody has some asshole who's mom hasn't heard his album on their top 10.
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