Jay-Z is the most overrated rapper

[Himu]

They've been playing him a lot on the classic hip hop station recently. It's my go to station and every song they play of his is garbage in terms of lyrics, content, and flow. Of all the rappers who gets played regularly on this station his songs have always aged the worst.

Like, I remember when Hard Knock Life came out. It was a great song then with a catchy hook that you could identify with in some way if you were black. Especially with that music video. But now I find the lyrics to be trash egotistical typical jay z self fellating crap and knowing that the book is from Annie just makes me want to watch Annie instead. You have a hook called Hard Knock Life, about getting kicked down, about not having as many options. Its subtitle is the Ghetto Anthem and you've got this dude rapping about the "hottest verses New York has ever seen". It lacks self awareness, introspection, or anything new and truly epitomizes how and why late 90's mainstream hip hop was straight Jay Z represents the beginning of the end of New York hip hop.

And that's his most famous song.

Jay-Z sucks outside of reasonable doubt and there a ton of better albums released in 1996. His fame undeserved, doesn't deserve to be in a top 10 mc list, and owes his career to the children who sang Annie - who weren't even paid - and, Kanye west, and 45 king.

[StealthFan]

I agree

[Himu]

2pac is my fave mc I just think Nas is the best

[Vertigo]

Both Tupac and Nas have good lyrics but mostly garbage tier beat selection.

[Himu]

Jay z wishes he could have better production than all eyez on me

[Valkyrie]

Used to listen to Lil Wayne, his lyrics are fucking garbage, but I liked the sound of his music.
I'm still ashamed though.

What should I check out, other than Nas?

[Himu]

Pac just gets me emotional aight. So many tears is the GOAT hip hop song afaic.

Comparing Nas' most famous song (if I ruled the world) to Jay's ( hard knock life) it ain't even close.

[Syph]

nas won
 

[Himu]

Nasir GOAT Jones is so influential that you can bring up Jay-Z without mentioning his highness' name and it'll make Jay-Z stans shook.

HIS POWER.

[Phoenix Dark]

As a long standing stan of Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, the best rapper, I feel obliged to say I do not cosign the views expressed by the OP. How could I hate on a fellow Nas stan?

Carmen said that when she was with Jay he’d ask her weird questions about her and Nas, like what positions Nas liked to hit, and weird stuff… she said Jay-Z was obsessed with Nas

she said in Jay’s Manhattan appartment Jay had a huge vinyl collection of rare Nas singles and shit…

said she found Beyonce's number in Nas' jeans...Nas played it off like her breathe stank though

Smiling like a proud dad watching his only son who made it


In his 40s still looking 20


Hairline still immaculate

[Himu]

[Mandark]

2pac

Now we can really start talking about the most overrated rapper.

[WanderingWind]

Nas got the better albums, Jigga got the better singles. Nas gets more studio shoutouts, Jay gets more industry respect. Nas fails at everything in his life beside making albums, Jay shits gold. Immutable laws of the game. Will never change.

 
Now we can really start talking about the most overrated rapper.

Always got to be one motherfucker bringing up Eminem in these discussions

[Mr. Nobody]

"2Pac and Nas are the GOAT....Jay-Z sux!!!"

Might as well throw in some Eminem and make the teenage cac cypher complete

[Himu]

2pac

Now we can really start talking about the most overrated rapper.

Dead to me

[Syph]

2Pac is excellent, dude made all sorts of great tracks. His biggest problem is his insane fanboys.

Eminem is the most overrated rapper by far. Even in his prime he did more bad than good, and his best has aged like a day old open can of budweiser.

lol wut at the bolded

[Cerveza mas fina]

id agree but now there is "rappers" like lil wayne

wait till you hear lil wayne on a classic hip hop stattion and come back

btw I saw Busta Rhymes on Jimmy Fallon sn dude got fat af

[Syph]

2Pac is excellent, dude made all sorts of great tracks. His biggest problem is his insane fanboys.

Eminem is the most overrated rapper by far. Even in his prime he did more bad than good, and his best has aged like a day old open can of budweiser.

lol wut at the bolded

Slim Shady LP was more bad songs than good, same for Marshal Mathers LP, same for Eminem Show, same for both D12 albums. We can also go back and include Infinite, his tapes with Royce, the EP, everything.

[Mr. Nobody]

2Pac is excellent, dude made all sorts of great tracks. His biggest problem is his insane fanboys.

Eminem is the most overrated rapper by far. Even in his prime he did more bad than good, and his best has aged like a day old open can of budweiser.

lol wut at the bolded

Slim Shady LP was more bad songs than good, same for Marshal Mathers LP, same for Eminem Show, same for both D12 albums. We can also go back and include Infinite, his tapes with Royce, the EP, everything.

We're grown men now. Majority of Eminem's work expires the minute you hit puberty.

[king of the internet]

I don't fuck w his music outside of Reasonable Doubt which is a classic

[king of the internet]

id agree but now there is "rappers" like lil wayne

wait till you hear lil wayne on a classic hip hop stattion and come back

btw I saw Busta Rhymes on Jimmy Fallon sn dude got fat af

Lil Wayne? Is this the mid 2000's? Get with the times gramps.

[seagrams hotsauce]

Lil Wayne is a great lyricist. At his peak he came up with stuff that rivals anyone
Also Pac makes great records but he isn't very impressive technically

[Syph]

2Pac is excellent, dude made all sorts of great tracks. His biggest problem is his insane fanboys.

Eminem is the most overrated rapper by far. Even in his prime he did more bad than good, and his best has aged like a day old open can of budweiser.

lol wut at the bolded

Slim Shady LP was more bad songs than good, same for Marshal Mathers LP, same for Eminem Show, same for both D12 albums. We can also go back and include Infinite, his tapes with Royce, the EP, everything.

We're grown men now. Majority of Eminem's work expires the minute you hit puberty.

you really got me there didnt you 

[nudemacusers]

I'd like 2pac more if weren't for his influence on the rise of the homosexual agenda in hip hop.

[jakefromstatefarm]

Did you actually listen to his music or did you just skim through it? By my estimation, he's got 2 certified classics in RD and TBA, a borderline classic in BP1, and what is probably the best singles catalogue in rap period.

And I say this as someone who thinks that: a) Illmatic is probably the best rap album ever; b)  sober discussion on either of the men's discographies has to acknowledge any rekindling of the beef for what it really is, posthoc navel gazing over something that neither of the original combatants actually cares about; and c) jay has a legit claim to be one of the best verse writers in rap, this last point has been obscured over the last 15 years because of both the poor output since his comeback and the narrative that pigeonholes him as the Big Daddy Kane to Nas' Rakim.

In short, yes, Eminem is the most overrated rapper.

[Phoenix Dark]

Whether you have him in your top ten is a matter of personal preference of course but it's hard to legitimately argue that he can't rap or doesn't have an impressive catalog. Reasonable Doubt, BP1, and TBA are all great albums, and at least two of them are classic albums. Not to mention the fact that he has rapped over some of the best production in the genre and put together one of the best in-house production teams ever (Just Blaze, Kanye West, Bink, etc).

I think a lot of people knock Jay for being a Brooklyn nicca flashy or the shit talking, but he has quite a few tracks that delve into a variety of personal subjects. And above all he's always been witty as fuck.

I spent hours arguing Nas v Jay as a teen and college kid, and used to hate on Jay a lot. Given the fact that they're friends today and I'm a fucking adult I really have no excuse to linger on it...but that being said I love reliving the old battles and trolling on the subject. It's the best rap battle of all time. It didn't start in 2000/2001, it goes back to 1995 if not earlier. Years of subliminal disses and tension led to two of the best diss tracks ever. And nobody got killed despite various armed confrontations.

[Mr. Nobody]

you really got me there didnt you 

If the shoe fits

Only a preteen and a complete stan would listen to a song like Role Model in 2016

[Phoenix Dark]

I listen to Eminem because he doesn't say the n-word every ten seconds, isn't rapping about gangs, and doesn't talk about money.


Instead he raps about things my cac self can identify with such as killing my mother, doing opiates, being homophobic, and pooping.


If only the nation's policy makers would have listened to Eminem they could have anticipated the rise of heroin/opiate use in rural communities.

[seagrams hotsauce]

My turning point on eminem was in the summer after junior year of HS when I heard a Atlantan suburbanite say "I think he's the best rapper ever, and not just cuz he's white"

It really shocks me that he's as big as he is today. He's actually gotten worse than he was at his peak. He used to be able to string words together in a clever way that could convey a thought or feeling (sick of aggy bosses bitching while i'm washin dishes) and now he just comes up with the most technical rhymes he can that have absolutely zero or less than zero substance. I honestly thought syph was joking when he posted that Trump thing he did last month

[Himu]

Did you actually listen to his music or did you just skim through it? By my estimation, he's got 2 certified classics in RD and TBA, a borderline classic in BP1, and what is probably the best singles catalogue in rap period.

And I say this as someone who thinks that: a) Illmatic is probably the best rap album ever; b)  sober discussion on either of the men's discographies has to acknowledge any rekindling of the beef for what it really is, posthoc navel gazing over something that neither of the original combatants actually cares about; and c) jay has a legit claim to be one of the best verse writers in rap, this last point has been obscured over the last 15 years because of both the poor output since his comeback and the narrative that pigeonholes him as the Big Daddy Kane to Nas' Rakim.

In short, yes, Eminem is the most overrated rapper.

RD is a classic. Never really "got" BP1. Never listened to TBA. Find the rest to be boring or filler. For his place in hip hop, I think he's overrated and I'd rather have Puffy over him.

[seagrams hotsauce]

What? Puffy ruined a whole labels worth of careers and has never written a rap in his life.

Also there is no point in Jay's discography that's nearly as bad as Nastradomus or HHID

[Himu]

I dunno. I just don't like him. Reasonable Doubt is great and one of the best debut albums ever imo. And it's downhill from there. That's all I can say about him. Aside from Takeover, just coasting.

[Vertigo]

Did you actually listen to his music or did you just skim through it? By my estimation, he's got 2 certified classics in RD and TBA, a borderline classic in BP1, and what is probably the best singles catalogue in rap period.

And I say this as someone who thinks that: a) Illmatic is probably the best rap album ever; b)  sober discussion on either of the men's discographies has to acknowledge any rekindling of the beef for what it really is, posthoc navel gazing over something that neither of the original combatants actually cares about; and c) jay has a legit claim to be one of the best verse writers in rap, this last point has been obscured over the last 15 years because of both the poor output since his comeback and the narrative that pigeonholes him as the Big Daddy Kane to Nas' Rakim.

In short, yes, Eminem is the most overrated rapper.

RD is a classic. Never really "got" BP1. Never listened to TBA. Find the rest to be boring or filler. For his place in hip hop, I think he's overrated and I'd rather have Puffy over him.

I'd say the Blueprint 1 and The Black Album are probably for me better than RD they feel like the most full Jay albums Blueprint especially.

As it's not just flashy nugga lyrics.

[Vertigo]

My turning point on eminem was in the summer after junior year of HS when I heard a Atlantan suburbanite say "I think he's the best rapper ever, and not just cuz he's white"

It really shocks me that he's as big as he is today. He's actually gotten worse than he was at his peak. He used to be able to string words together in a clever way that could convey a thought or feeling (sick of aggy bosses bitching while i'm washin dishes) and now he just comes up with the most technical rhymes he can that have absolutely zero or less than zero substance. I honestly thought syph was joking when he posted that Trump thing he did last month

Em is awful now. I can't even listen to most of his old stuff now either, just doesn't have the timelessness that classic hip hop should.

[Phoenix Dark]

How do you like RD but not get Blueprint? And The Black Album...come on brehette.

[Steve Contra]

I just want to say god damn is Big Pimpin good

Can't see a point in Nas' career where did anything comparable

[Himu]

Never listened to black album. Pegged it as another mediocre post-RD lp

[benjipwns]

I just want to say god damn is Big Pimpin good

http://www.bratproductions.com/mixes/mashups/brat_bigshotpimpin.html

[seagrams hotsauce]

So it looks like Jay Z is just the most overrated rapper that you've never actually listened to

[Himu]

FYI my dislike for Jay has nothing to do with Nas. I was a fairly big Jay Z fan in the 90's and early 00's. The only Nas songs I knew were Hate Me Now and If I Ruled The World and as Christian, I couldn't fuck with Nas after that Hate Me Now vid. "Who the fuck does this nicca think he is?" were what I literally said after seeing that video.

I wasn't a hip hop head then. I watched MTV Raps a lot but mostly BET religiously. I was about club songs because as a teenager I'd go to lots of dances and parties and we'd bust out the moves we were working on against our rivals. Back then I was bout dat Souf. Endless Cash Money lp's and OUTKAST and Htown sound. I was all about Juvenile and Lil Wayne. With some Lil Keke on the side. They could turn a party upside down. But I liked no rapper more than the duo of OutKast. Ms Jackson was my jam. It was the jam of everyone I knew too. No one fucked with Nas or any of that stuff besides 2pac. Jay Z was cool because he made lots of great bangers. Jigga (My nicca), Big Pimpin;etc were bangers at parties and dances.

Y'all bring up Nas but the artist that made me a hip hop fan was Kanye West. College Dropout was the first hip hop record I actually connected to. It helped that I also wanted to drop out of college. I identified with that album. After that album I placed the genre on a completely different standard. After that I went back and became intimate with the genre. I went back to the 80's to learn its origins and got heavy into Grandmaster Flash and Africa Bambaaataa. I got into 2pac. Around the same time GTA San Andreas came out and I fell in love with its soundtrack. I checked the discog of every rapper on that games ost. 80's, 90's whatever. Joining SOHH sent me down the path to Nas, Jean Grey, Common, Jurassic 5,  Wu-Tang Clan, People Under The Stairs, Tribe, Blackalicious, Run DMC, De La Soul;etc basically all or most of hip hops classics.

Then I went back to Jay Z and my old south shit. I just didn't think it stacked up according to my new standard. While I could still get down to Back That Ass Up or The Block Is Hot or Kiesha I just found Jay's stuff primitive outside of RD.

It didn't help that any time I heard Jay featured on a track on artists I liked (Kanye, again) he just sounded whack. He turned an emotional, spiritual song is Never Let Me Down (College Dropout's best song) into something about himself in the most egotistical, boring way. I had no reason to check his stuff out again or give him a second chance.

I'd rather listen The Carter and jam to Earthquake than listen to Jay Z back then even while recognizing I still kind of liked his famous singles on the "I like to twerk to this" tip but at my heart, I'm still going to compare every hip hop lp to Collegr Dropout even if it's not the best (though it's up there) or even my fave (again it's up there).

I've never really fucked with Em. He had some good songs like Stan but I've always found him cheesy in that white boy sort of way?

[Himu]

So it looks like Jay Z is just the most overrated rapper that you've never actually listened to

Wrong. I've listened to all his albums up to black album and nothing past that besides throne.

Jay Z stans emotional af

[seagrams hotsauce]

lol @ me being an 'emotional stan' because you're calling someone overrated and haven't listened to half their discography, after writing that dissertation no less

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I think he's ok.  He hasn't done anything post-retirement that is worth listening to though.

[nudemacusers]

The black album is great. Change clothes

[benjipwns]

his best work

bless up

[Mr. Nobody]

Y'all bring up Nas but the artist that made me a hip hop fan was Kanye West. College Dropout was the first hip hop record I actually connected to. It helped that I also wanted to drop out of college. I identified with that album. After that album I placed the genre on a completely different standard. After that I went back and became intimate with the genre.

[Himu]

Listening to 7-8 Jay-Z albums = Not knowing what I'm talking about

I don't have to like every rapper. I think Jay is ok, and just like stuff like Mobb Deep I just don't get the appeal. A least Jay has RD though. I really like RD but his other stuff didn't click.

Listening to 8 Jay Z albums gives me a good enough idea of his strengths and weaknesses. Listening to Black Album likely won't change my perception of him at all.

You can listen to 8 albums by Jay but if you don't listen to Black Album suddenly all bets are off and you don't know what you're talking about! Don't miss this extra special release but yeah, this doesn't add to my argument that Jay is an above average rapper with a mediocre discog.

Jay Z is still my most overrated rapper. All that fame, power, riches, and influence and he has one great album, some fun singles, and an okay album in Blueprint. SMH. I don't think Em is overrated partly because the only people who rate him highly in 2016 are crazy white rap fans. I can't think of any rapper on Jay's level of influence who has put out as many average albums, Black Album or not. Even if Black Album is good, this still only puts him at one great album (RD), one solid album (BP1), and the rest are okay to average.

Comparing it to 2pac who from 1991 to 1996 put out bangers it's not even close. Comparing it to Nas it's not even fair. Nas has Illmstic, It Was Written, Lost Tapes, Stillmatic, Distant Relatives, God's Son. Kanye's got College Dropout, Late Registration, 808's (I like it okay?), MBDTF. But Jay? Y'all are stanning for RD, BP, and Black Album?! And thinking this doesn't prove me right? Three albums?! A rapper of Jay's stature should have five classics minimum.

I'm going with most overrated.

[Himu]

I'd honestly put 50 in this as well but no one's riding 50's dick in 2016.

All those albums from Jay though. All those albums and the classic hip hop station I listen to can't put anything noteworthy unless it's a Reasonable Doubt song.

TBH, listening to that station just reinforces my viewpoint. They play everything classic from 1979 to 2005 ish and Jay's songs are still among the lowest quality besides production. I'd definitely rather listen to him than anything G-Unit though. I want to bang my head against the wall any time I hear The Game. I'll say this about Jay-Z: I don't hate him, at least. Can't say the same for niccas like Young Jeezy!

[Himu]

The late 90's stuff is really poor too. What a era with Jay-Z leading the pack. No Limit Records didn't help either. Hip hop definitely peaked in 1996 which is probably its best year next to 94 and 88. Late 90's were so bad you had Q-Tip doing songs like Vibrant Thing. Thank the Lord for DMX and underground hip hop from that era.

[Himu]

Doesn't like mobb deep, young Jeezy, jay z and no limit

Likes Jurassic 5



Mr. nobody is right you have the taste of a 14yo white guy in 2005

Now you throwing INSULTS because I don't like the same rappers you do. Jay-Z needs to teach his stans some manners.

My hip hop album of the year is Yes Lawd. Fuck you insulting me like this. My taste is fine! Almost all my favorite rappers are pro-black af. You mention I don't like no limit but I DO like Cash Money which I mentioned earlier. No Limit was trash outside of Silkk The Shocker. Everyone knows Cash Money was better.

[Himu]

lol @ me being an 'emotional stan' because you're calling someone overrated and haven't listened to half their discography, after writing that dissertation no less

That took me five minutes to write. You are definitely mad. Only people who have no other rebuttal mention how long something is, especially if it's only 4-5 paragraphs. I have listened to the majority of his albums. I forgot I listened to Magna Carter, BP3, and some other albums. I still don't get it.

All you Jay-Z stans can do is throw out insults, just like your idol.

[PlayDat]

I used to not get what people loved so much about Jay, but I only grow to appreciate his music more with time.  He's one of the most versatile rappers ever.  When he wants to he can be poetic, braggadocious, introspective, or technical.  He doesn't excel at everything he tries, but his hit rate is damn good.

His most famous song would be Empire State of Mind.  It was his first #1 track.  I lived in NYC at the time and can tell you the song was inescapable for months.  Maybe this speaks to my youth, but I'd also wager people more quickly associate him with 99 Problems than Hard Knock Life.  My first time listening to The Black Album in full was years after it's release and already knew every word when it came on. 

For the record I like Nas more, but won't stan either of them.

[WanderingWind]

this thread just reconfirmed that Yeezy stans are the actual worst

[Himu]

As expected from Playdat, an actual response on why they like him rather than juvenile mud slinging as per a typical Jay Z fan.

Good response! I would say he's versatile. He doesn't excel at anything and that's my problem. He can be braggadocious but Biggie did and Nas did that better. He can be introspective but he's no Common or Lupe. He can be technical but he's no Nas. He can be gangsta but he's no NWA. He doesn't excel at anything and everyone one ups him on everything he does.

So contrary to the belief of the stans in this thread, I don't hate him. I just don't think he's up to par for someone of his stature. Given his fame, he should be known for excelling at one thing and the one thing I think he excels above everyone else is his best picks.

The worst thing is, I feel like he could be better than a lot of those artists. But it feels like wasted potential to me. It's like he's on the cusp of reaching those highs and excelling at things, but he's so inconsistent that it feels like his positives are never allowed to blossom.

[nudemacusers]

thugga the goat tbh

[Himu]

I fucking love make em say unh!

Nah nah nah (nah nah nah!)

[WanderingWind]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam pharetra dolor quis ligula vulputate, sit amet iaculis mauris hendrerit. Nullam Yeezy lorem, scelerisque non molestie quis, sodales non libero. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Etiam porta sit amet mauris aliquet placerat. Ut ac libero nec quam hendrerit faucibus. Maecenas faucibus ex ac metus lacinia pulvinar a sit amet nunc. Integer et consequat ex, at maximus enim. Donec vel est non ex elementum suscipit. Praesent gravida luctus nibh, ut feugiat quam condimentum quis. Nulla facilisi. Phasellus sit amet neque nisi. Sed sollicitudin, ex hendrerit lacinia congue, nisi ante rutrum augue, vitae vestibulum nisi nulla sit amet tellus. Maecenas suscipit imperdiet laoreet. Aliquam interdum posuere neque et suscipit. Aliquam erat volutpat. Donec a lobortis overrated, vitae porta ante.

Ut sit amet tristique orci. Kanye sed sollicitudin nunc, non facilisis erat. Nunc rutrum pharetra nunc, vel vehicula tortor elementum ac. Suspendisse porttitor odio id dolor venenatis pulvinar. Sed interdum ipsum eu bibendum interdum. Vestibulum efficitur urna non eros tristique lobortis. Nunc consequat felis et mi imperdiet porttitor. Ut tempor nibh eu eros dignissim, eu mollis nunc fermentum. Ut nec lobortis odio. Etiam libero nunc, auctor vel fermentum ac, aliquet ut libero. Nam at nibh bibendum, auctor diam ac, auctor metus.

Morbi ac pulvinar lectus, in viverra est. Vestibulum ut purus vitae tellus pharetra tristique vitae quis urna. Morbi in pharetra ligula. Suspendisse placerat blandit nibh, sagittis blandit massa dapibus id. Vivamus a metus euismod, commodo dui viverra, pharetra ligula. Suspendisse sagittis tortor in dolor sodales feugiat. Nam vel dapibus nibh. Maecenas dignissim est a magna rutrum vehicula. Vivamus non justo quis eros malesuada porttitor. Vivamus nec rhoncus urna, rhoncus lobortis nulla. Nullam sit amet eros ac sem aliquet Yeezy. Donec auctor ut magna ut accumsan. Sed vestibulum tellus dui, sed rhoncus quam blandit faucibus. Phasellus vitae dignissim tellus, id feugiat elit.

Quisque eu accumsan magna. Fusce tempus fermentum placerat. Cras auctor convallis fermentum. Donec at euismod dolor. Vestibulum ac auctor lorem. Nullam ut libero vestibulum, feugiat tellus nec, porttitor turpis. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Vestibulum at lectus orci. Donec tincidunt ante arcu, ullamcorper malesuada risus consectetur et. Nulla leo turpis, tempus vel gravida nec, aliquam vitae leo. Suspendisse porttitor, dolor sed elementum mollis, quam risus sagittis tortor, a fermentum dui erat non enim.

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[Madrun Badrun]

I like how we are talking about over rated rappers with out bringing up Beastie Boys.  I mean I appreciative that they taught us that shit rhymes can literally give you mouth cancer but that's really the extent of their achievements. 

[Himu]

I like how we are talking about over rated rappers with out bringing up Beastie Boys.  I mean I appreciative that they taught us that shit rhymes can literally give you mouth cancer but that's really the extent of their achievements.

Paul's Boutique is pretty good

[nudemacusers]

not sure why wanderingwind posted eminem's 'campaign speech'