And I listen to both a significant amount.
Elite Eiht: Rakim vs. Nas
- Thread starter Wacky D
- Start date
Slaimon Jr
Rookie
Nas owns Rakim in every category b, any category u can think of he wins, flow, stories, ideas, impact, lyrics, wordplay, Lookin 17 at 40...Nas wins, the poll shows it as so....
Stuckinthe90s
Pro
Nas., obviously.
Stop pretending you enjoy listening to 95% of Rakim's catalogue in 2015.
Stop pretending you enjoy listening to 95% of Rakim's catalogue in 2015.
nas has made a lot of shyt but his best work is like gold dust..rakim set the tone..
picking one over the other, only if my eyes are closed and I pick the name out of a hat!
picking one over the other, only if my eyes are closed and I pick the name out of a hat!
UpAndComing
Veteran
I agree that Paid in Full is more versatile in the way that you described, but that doesn't factor in much for me.
I'll say this, Nas didn't have 4 albums of that caliber, in a row, the way Rakim did with his first four. But It Was Written is as good as any Rakim album not named Paid in Full, then when you factor in the run of Stillmatic to Lost Tapes, Rakim never returned to past glory the way Nas did. Then when Nas dropped another near classic in Life is Good
Not to mention all the classic guest appearances.
Slaying Jay in the battle. Imagine if Ra had gone directly at Kane and killed him
At the end of the day, I'm fine with anyone saying "Ra's first four albums are amazing and Nas was never that consistent" I just look at everything and for me I'm going with Nas.
Exactly. And Rakim basically only had like a 7 yr career
UpAndComing
Veteran
Hate when people say this. Kool G Rap created the Blueprint for rappers today
definition
im not a cool guy anymore
G rap was not the blueprint for nas. Rakim was.
I'm not sure I could even choose ... rakim, nas and common are my favorites.
But, i truly believe Nas wanted to be the next rakim. So that's a nod to ra.
UpAndComing
Veteran
Are you kidding me?
Kool G Rap is the definite blueprint. Nas said himself how he was greatly influenced by G Rap. Said listening to "Ill Street Blues" inspired him to rap
It Was Written was basically a ode to Kool G Rap
Kool G Rap laid the foundation for lyricism and multi-syllabic rap for future generations. The main thing Rakim contributed was the cadence of rap. nikkas before him would scream on the record (Run DMC, Early LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee, etc.). Rakim and Nas have similar cadence's, that's about it
UpAndComing
Veteran
Double post
intilectual recipricol
Killin fake hip hop
neither one of them nikkaz has good wordplay
Foxmulder
Superstar
Yeah I never got the Rakim comparison. If you listen to the demo track version of It Ain't Hard to tell and Just Another Day in The Projects he sounded just like G Rap.
I went with nas but it was a close battle. Both are right next to each other in my top five. Was tough decision. Maybe even touched for me than the Pac and big battle. Rakim basically revolutionized the flow and changed the game. I think his quotables and changes to his lines are still being used. Didn't nas bite one of his nasir lines from him? Anyways yes while rakim is a legend and his flow is smooth, I feel nas is better. He learned from rakim and just took it a step further. Both great lyricists.
Nope, I wouldn't say that, lyrics Rakim to me, also flow, voice, delivery, energy, presence, multies, lyrical songs, smoothness, impact certainly not, Nas had an impact yes, a meaningful 1, but not like Rakim did at the time he came, he revolutionized shyt, infact he had such an impact he inspired Nas himself. Nas even made a tribute record to Rakim. And polls on The Coli don't matter in Hip Hop, 80 percent of people here aren't Hip Hop and aren't even qualified to vote.
That being said, I voted Nas, due to the body of work, they are both elite level MC's/artists so the fact Nas has more work sways it to me, it isn't a case of quality vs quantity, it's a case of who has the more quality. But to say Nas is better in every category is kind of wild to me, like Rakim is just some nobody MC who isn't elite in every way, when he's arguably the greatest pure rapper of all time, I'd certainly rather hear a Rakim verse than a Nas verse, Rakim is a wordsmith, his rhyme schemes are better and more intricate usually too. Rakim is incredible.
And do I listen to Rakim in 2015? Absolutely, I'll be listening to Rakim in 2025, and 2035 and so on too. Rakim is 1 of the greatest Hip Hop artists of all time, therefore he is 1 of the greatest artists period off all time. Rakim is phenomenal, he is unique, an untraceable 1 off. I wish he would make more music as he's still brilliant.