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APIDTA
But would you rather be underpaid or overrated? :feelings:
basically u are saying that people who are more knowledgeable and sophisticated abut rap hold j to a higher artiistic standard and thats bad?
his output has been in comparison to his prime.jay should be pushing himself. imagine if he was as dedicated to the craft these past 10 years as he was 96-03. dude would be the goat probably.
instead now he is a dude who was in the conversation and is now pretty much 6-10 all time at best, if that.
No, that's to you. When you reach a certain point, you can only enhance your legacy, you can't hurt it unless you do something completely left field to the point where all fans don't look at you the same. You guys whine about this shyt all the time on the internet, but in the grand scope of things, legends are legends and that cannot be taken away. If Jay-Z isn't in your top 5 all time right now, then that must mean someone's body of work surpassed him, otherwise you're holding him to a standard that no one is held to in music regardless of the genre.
No one who had the Beatles at the top took them off because latter records weren't as good. No one is taking MJ off his spot because he couldn't duplicate his early success later in his career. No one is out here saying Mariah Carey isn't Mariah Carey because her most recent album didn't sell as well. No one does this shyt in any other genre except hip hop and it's strange. You don't lose your position all time because you're not what you were at your peak. You lose it because someone can along and surpassed you.
No, i'm saying that he's a victim of nostalgia.
Has nothing to do with sophistication or any of that other bullshyt, a lot of people only listen to new Jay Z material just to compare it to his old shyt which in my opinion is starting off on the wrong foot. Ice cube is an automatic top 10 nod, top 5 depending on who you ask regardless of howhis output has been in comparison to his prime.
Jay only gets that extra scrutiny because he's still a front runner which people think he's somehow undeserving of...and one of the reasons he is, is because he has learned to switch up his sound/subject matter and approach, which will always clash with the nostalgia of prime Jay Z.
If you are that invested in the the artistry of emcee you should be pushing yourself to create something instead of postulating what Jay should or shouldn't be doing with his artistry...this is where I think fans have overstepped their boundaries especially when/if they aren't creatives themselves and haven't had to throw a piece of themselves into their particular medium.
It's funny because you have this idea that he should be pushing himself but I doubt you have really outlined what all that entails...what more syllables? Social commentary? should he be sipping herbal tea so that his voice doesn't sound so different from how it used to?
IMO, the only thing Jay should be doing, if he is going to choose to continue to rap...is to express himself honestly, I think he's done that.
The bold is exactly what I'm getting at...this craft, to me is about expressing yourself honestly, I think for the most part he has done that.
To some he already is the "goat" or in that goat conversation, and whoever it is you have in that bracket above him probably won't be universally accepted as such if they aren't named 2pac or nas...if he does nothing for you at this point in his career listen to someone else.

yea his crew is full of a bunch of spineless men acting hard on camera because but take orders like children
ovo, ymcmb , we the best every other crew in hip hop operate themselves better everybody holding their own weight
g unit is a joke at this point and its cause of 50
...and because of this, I don't think he holds himself to "prime Jay-Z standards".
I mean, take "Ni--a What, Nicca Who", which is a cut off his not-even-best album. Or "22 Two's"
Jay ain't goin' in those chambers to rap anymore, just for the sport of it...

50 03-05 was the most overrated rapper ever.
That's why you see 12 million (overrated) to 47k.
Jay stays consistent. That's why he's king of the Mecca
#Factsonly
I see jay z has really got 50 and his fans feeling some type of way

notice Mic ONLY capes for artists that are ''CURRENTLY'' selling... you never hear him say anything about lyrics or the music itself.. all he says is ''___ is still going PLAT & GOLD'' thats how you know that fatherless fakkit is a dicc hoping culture vulture
cac was in that Gucci Mane thread knowing damn well gucci aint selling shyt but said ''i respect his work ethic''.... but see the way he capes for Hov & Eminem ( i wonder why)
expose yourself as a culture vulture that bases his hip hop stand based on stats... bytch
powerful post
Cause of Jay's recent output people like Nas and others are going way ahead of him to me, when before they were closer.
Jay, Nas or any other legend is putting out material as great as their earlier material, but like others have said, it seems like Hov is the only one that gets penalized for it.
Cats like Ice Cube, Snoop, Scarface, KRS etc. most recent releases are nowhere near the quality of their best, but it never harms their standing, unlike with Hov.