Does Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, And T.I Prove That...

[bogey_j]

if you keep telling people you're the best rapper alive--if you keep beating them over the head with it--eventaully they'll believe it? its weird, they kinda just willed it into existence on some mind over matter type shyt

it took jay the longest. he was saying he was the best since reasonable doubt and eventually people bought into him being the all-around best around the black album

I remember in 04 wayne saying 'i'm the best rapper alive since the best rapper retired' and I laughed like GTFOH and then the carter 2 came out and crushed buildings and wayne had an amazing run where he really was considered the best rapper during that stretch

T.I saying he was king of the south when he was a nobody and lo and behold he was considered the king of the south a year later

makes me think if you say something enough times with conviction, eventually people will buy into it

 

[Sad Bunny]

Wayne said it. Then proved it.

And he's still killing the game after all these years

 

[Pool_Shark]

What rapper doesn't say they're the best alive?

 

[Ninjaz In Paris]

cuz the average fan is a sheeptard and believe whatever artists tell them...

 

[Jhoon]

What rapper doesn't say they're the best alive?

ive always felt canibus sold himself short with the greatest died on march 9th line. as for rappers and their claims

 

[Harry B]

The same people calling Jay best raper alive were saying it before he started saying it, which is obviously why he started saying it.

Same with a lot of rappers like Biggie, Nas etc.. Or Jeezy and other people as "realest nikka".


T.I. and Wayne however.. I didn't hear anyone say the shyt they were saying before they said it.
Wayne however backed his shyt up, he actually put himself in the discussion as the best rapper in the game between 2004 and 2008.

 

[Amestafuu (Emeritus)]

Jay Z was up there for a while as an elite rapper.

Weezy was just really popular not ever the best maybe most entertaining for a period. (Drug fueled)

T.I. claimed king of the south which was different to me and really it was up to southern MC's to come at him if they felt otherwise

 

[bogey_j]

What rapper doesn't say they're the best alive?

but how many rappers repeat it in their rhymes ad nauseam like they did? how many say it with the same conviction?

in their own minds they truly believed they were the best and imo that confidence/arrogance eventually made other people believe it too

T.I. claimed king of the south which was different to me and really it was up to southern MC's to come at him if they felt otherwise

T.I. proclaimed himself king of the south at the height of the south's dominance on hip hop, so in a sense it was like saying he was the top of the food chain, best rapper alive.

kinda like how in the 90's the label 'king of NY' was really understood as a euphemism for best rapper alive

 

[Existential]

I think the people who'd believe this only listen to a small pool of mainstream rappers, and have no exposure to either the many prime rappers of the finer eras in hip hop or the variety of excellent underground artists. If you're only listening to the top 10 or 20 mainstream rappers in rotation at any given time, then those few prominent artists might very well be the best rappers you've ever heard because you don't know any better.

Just speculating here.

 

[Eastside Get The Money]

I'll say what Lil Scrappy said
T.I. said he was the king of the south and no one said anything
Except Lil Flip, and well..

 

[bogey_j]

I'll say what Lil Scrappy said
T.I. said he was the king of the south and no one said anything
Except Lil Flip, and well..

T.I. deaded leprechaun man's career

 

[lutha]

but how many rappers repeat it in their rhymes ad nauseam like they did? how many say it with the same conviction?

in their own minds they truly believed they were the best and imo that confidence/arrogance eventually made other people believe it too



T.I. proclaimed himself king of the south at the height of the south's dominance on hip hop, so in a sense it was like saying he was the top of the food chain, best rapper alive.

kinda like how in the 90's the label 'king of NY' was really understood as a euphemism for best rapper alive

naw, he proclaimed himself that on his 1st album, people just didn't care cause he wasn't well known....

as for the topic:

I think it has more to do with popularity than the rapper actually saying it.....cause in most cases, people dont say that until the rapper is the most popular at that moment...prime ex: wayne...no one was saying it about wayne until he blew up....and even after he blew up, people really weren't saying he was the best rapper alive cause of his lyrics....where as, people were thinking jay was one of the best to do it before he started saying it...and like I mentioned above, ti was saying he was the king from the beginning.....

 

[WheresWallace]

I agree with OP. Nas started saying that hip hop is dead and guess what people started saying after that?...everyone was saying it. I guess this is why Maino is calling himself the K.O.B. now.

 

[SmokinNLiftin]

Wayne is a legend... Only hate I ever see him get is from the same dudes running around throwing Em in their top 5