A lot of magazines, radio stations, and music t.v stations keep giving jay-z the title of the best rapper alive. I get their drift. They base their judgement on what was hot, what has been hot, and how successful the artist is in record sales. But you have to stop and think, what if that person knows what the people want and he gives them just that, no matter how out of his lane it might be.
I am not hating on jay-z or his legacy. I like that he came in the game, and gave it his best. He has dropped 10 albums so far since 1996, and all have gone platinum. That is what he bases his judgment on, that he is the best rapper alive.
Let's go to nas; He came in the game a young artist in 1994, with illmatic An album with no popular name featured on it, and he was crowned the best lyricist at 21. That means he was respected for his craft alone and no form of gimick whatsoever. Nas has stuck to that since his 1994 debut till date, never selling out. He has never followed the trend that be. He does his rap thing,. and is still relevant till date. A lot of youngstars just don't relate with him, because he is not the swagger showing rapper. He does not talk about money, or clothes, or living the life. He is a poet, a great story teller, and a damn impeccable lyricist. Not being as successful as jay is why he is not as relevant as jay in the eye of the present public eye.
A lot of old artist in the game, and even the new ones have nas on their top 5 rappers of all time. And some even give him props for being an incredible rapper. Common, lupe fisaco, slick rick, cool g rap, kanye west,fat joe, the game, and even jay-z himself, are some rappers that have testified to nas's greatness, one time or the other in their rap, or through interviews.
I want you to think of one rapper that has been around as long as nas has been that still makes relevant music and is able to sell records and compete with the present rap scene, and not sell out. Nas's last album, "untitled", has sold over 500,000 copies. He didn't have any song on heavy rotation on radio. He didn't have any champagne popping, or ice wearing video, or number one single And he did those numbers, after being in the game for over 16 years. Even busta rhymes, that you can say has been in the game as long as nas has been, with all the videos he released for his latest album and all the gimicks he pulled, he is yet to eclipse the 200,000 scale for his "back on my b.s" album.
There is no rapper you can name that came out in the era nas came out in that is still relevant and making some money off his music till date. Rappers come and go. Even the legendary members of the wu-tang-clan like ghostface, method man, reakwon, e.t.c, can't say they have stayed relevant like nas has.
What i am saying is that, giving that nas has stayed true to the game, and has in no time tried to go commercial to sell records, and is still relevant in todays rap, and can still crush any m'c on the mic, new or old, he is entitled to the title of "best raper alive.
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