The reason why Jay-Z will never be number one in my book :

**Apocalypse** · 08-19-2023, 10:12 AM

His voice sucks, his flow is boring and only thing he does is flex his money that he got through commercial pop songs he made, plus he got Ethered by Nas.

People just respect him because he is mega rich.

Also, Big L was so much better that Sean Carter, proof :

https://youtu.be/9dN3aS2Rxfs

( Big L & Jay-Z 90's 7 minute freestyle on the radio )

I like The Black Album and Reasonable Doubt, but please dont compare him to The Notorious BIG, Nas, Sean Price or ODB who are true MC's with a unique style and not some corny ass trend following commercial pop rappers.

Even the way Jay-Z dresses is wack!!!

Jay-Z is the Britney Spears of this rap game.

**Goldenchild** · 08-19-2023, 06:55 PM

Lil Wayne’s corny ass deserves this hate. Reasonable Doubt is pretty good

**ShaDynasty** · 08-20-2023, 02:11 AM

Hot take! I think you're wrong.

Boring flow? He had a ton of different flows from song to song, him and Jaz basically started the fast rapping trend for one thing.

Yeah he made a lot of money based material, but he was incredibly witty and creative within that, and could still drop concept songs and stories on every album that put most to shame.

One of the most perceptive and smartest people ever involved with Hip Hop. He was untouchable from 1996 - 2004. Even Takeover is a better song than Ether and Nas cheated, only one verse on Takeover really disses Nas where Nas spent 5 minutes slinging playground shots at him.

As far as the commercialism? Not a reasonable criticism when you're stanning Nas and BIG at the same time. Pop music is not automatically bad, and Jay has some classic hit songs.

**hotnikks** · 08-20-2023, 08:46 AM

I strongly disagree. Reasonable Doubt is a classic and Jay-z is a true mc was even feat on the first Big L album... So what hes had many comercial joints? Ghostface and Raekwon had them too that dont make them less of a mc

**IrOnMaN** · 08-20-2023, 11:02 AM

He made two classics. There's a reason why Jay's a legend.

**7star mantis** · 08-21-2023, 08:40 AM

i cant front on reasonable doubt use to rock that lp hard back in the days but i will agree with that he is not number 1 and not even close to it i think a lot of times peoples get things confused on mcs selling records and being a great entertainer and a having mad money then being a real skilled mc loving the art form and adding on to the music with something ill and building something real and to me jay z is a great entertainer sells a lot of records but a real mc i think not and am not knocking him because his a billionaire and got mad loot get yours no doubt but the greatest mc of all time i think not

**Goldenchild** · 08-21-2023, 04:16 PM

Peter Rosenberg and I both believe Big Pun is the greatest rapper of all time. Not about record sales. It’s about lyrics, flow, delivery, breath control, cadence, etc.

For the record, Pun made Nas rewrite a verse, broke a bottle over Jay Z’s head, and shook Eminem at a 1998 cypher, according to Pace Won. Rumor has it Eminem said something like “I just got signed by Dre, I don’t need this”

**Apocalypse** · 08-22-2023, 04:01 AM

Yeah, no doubt, Big Pun was a true MC, I wonder what he have done if he was still alive a few more years.

Big L also, apparently he was going to be signed to Rocafella but then he was murdered. I wonder what he have done on that label because in the early 2000’s Rocafella were at the top of the game and they had good beats, it would be really interesting to hear a Big L album on Rocafella.

**The Hound** · 08-22-2023, 06:51 AM

I like Jay-Z but I wouldn't put him in the top 10 for mine let alone close to #1 which will always be Rakim for me.

Reasonable Doubt is a near classic for me it's an amazing album and he's got other strong albums like The Black Album and American Gangster but I only really got in to bits and pieces of his other stuff, I'm not in to corny songs like Girls Girls Girls or 03 Bonnie and Clyde shit.

Some of Jay-Z's best work has been on features which goes a bit unnoticed at times, kind of like Method Man

Big Pun and Big L are both great rappers I love listening to but they didn't put out enough work before passing away for me to rank them at the top of the list, Biggie I'm on the fence about because he had recorded 2 great albums while alive.

**hotnikks** · 08-22-2023, 03:58 PM

Jay-z had crazy flow before resasonable doubt came out. Then he had to dumb that shit down on Vol. 2 as he stated himself. Top 10 rapper in my book.

**hiphopjunky** · 08-22-2023, 08:56 PM

I'm not a huge Jay fan and he's definitely not on my top N emcee list. I love Reasonable Doubt, and I have Volume 1 and Volume 2 which I recall being decent. I don't think he is very lyrical and a lot of his rhymes are wack to me. I'm pretty sure when he dropped Big Pimpin is when I stopped following him. But...after that he had the occasional track I liked (I don't recall liking any albums as a whole after his first three though)

**Apocalypse** · 08-27-2023, 03:35 AM

I am not saying Jay-Z isn't nice sometimes and doesn't has his place in the game, but he is too much overrated.

Like I said, I think people rate him so high because he is mega rich and think listening to him will make them rich too, but this is music, art, not Forbes Magazine.

**Mantra** · 09-02-2023, 05:46 PM

Jayz was at one time one of the greats but ether put him in his place.

**Sam the Seed** · 09-05-2023, 10:25 PM

Jay Z is a shitty human being. Illuminati. Screwed tons of his old artists and friends. Has one of the simple-minded, money-worshiping fan-bases.

All that said, he was one of the best of the late 90s and early 00s (when rap started turning into crap, IMO) and he inspires a lot of people to pursue business instead of crime. Thats all I can say about him. Not a fan at all. Yeah, he made 3 or 4 good albums. He also made like 10 wack ones.