Now let me preface this by saying that Biggie is on my personal top five MC's list (mainly off of his features and work on Life After Death) and that I have a high level of respect for his skill, and being that Jigga is my favorite rapper of all time I have a high level of bias going into this, but going through and listening to both of these albums side by side leaves me baffled as to how i'm supposed to conclude that RTD is in any way shape or form the superior product.
I mean their are a lot of things we could discuss about this project, production is one but i'll leave that alone considering it isn't relevant to their actual skill besides how they flow on a beat.
But if we're talking about comparing the rapping ability of the two, Biggie sounds incredibly rough on this album (compared to his appearance on Life After Death) and even simplistic for a large portion of the time, when if you compare that to Hov, his flow is already at (what could be considered as but probably isn't) it's zenith, there's no choppiness or roughness in the rhymes, and if we're going to compare who's more clever between the two Jay Z ultimately has much better punchlines and metaphors/entendres and other technical measurements.
(This isn't to say Biggie didn't flow his ass off on this album, but compared to LAD?)
And I understand from reading on here, that Biggie's roughness is apart of the appeal of the album, but skill wise between the two there's a clear gulf in my honest opinion.
And when were looking at the albums as pieces on their own, obviously they're both going for two different goals, Biggies is more geared towards basic "street goonery" for the most part, and the struggles the people around him would go through (like with Everyday Struggle) or the "street level" heights of being a dealer/hustler.
While RD alternates between Jay Z's heavy mafioso themes/images like with Politics As Usual, and New York "street" influenced records like 22 Two's, so I could easily see RTD connecting with the every man more especially with the party record.
But I certainly feel like in terms of having a message/theme to get across from beginning to end and how they show it off from beginning to end is at the very least equal (the contrast from Can't Knock The Hustle and Regrets is seriously great).
And when we're talking songs I believe this really comes down to which songs you believe are more powerful/superior out of the well "serious" ones in conjunction with the throwaways or "for fun" tracks.
So if we were to compare them side by side how would this go:
Things Done Changed vs Can't Knock The Hustle (A toss up though I prefer CNTH by far)
Gimme The Loot vs Politics As Usual (One of the best storytelling songs of all time vs another track I prefer which is why I'm also giving this a toss up, either way is fine)
Brooklyn's Finest vs Machine Gun Funk (another toss up, probably the closest so far though i'd go with BK)
Warning vs Dead Presidents (Is their really a question here? Most definitely DP)
Ready To Die vs Feeling It (two very different types of song, though I'd say Feeling It is at minimum as well written as RTD, and is definitely more proficient/skill lyrically in all categories)
One More Chance vs D'Evils (is their really a question once again?)
The What vs 22 Two's (22 Two's is definitely more lyrical and superior in concept/execution and impact)
Juicy vs Can I Live (Juicy is without a doubt the more iconic song but any beyond surface level hip hop listener knows the greatness of Can I Live, but i'll give it a toss up even though I love CIL much more and think it's better)
Everyday Struggle vs Ain't No nikka (Clearly Biggie)
Me & My bytch vs Coming of Age (COA easy)
Cashmere Thoughts vs Big Poppa (BP wins, not to diminish CT's place on the album or Jay's skill)
Respect vs Bring It On (possibly a topic but i'm going to have to go with mixed like a mulatto easily)
Friend Of Mine vs Regrets (Regrets obviously)
And then there's Unbelievable and Suicidal Thought's and Unbelievable is another great song, but doesnt really tip anything but Suicidal Thoughts certainly gives Big an extra point.
If I'm going to compare these two albums from the songs I listed Biggie had a lot more rapping just for the sake of rapping without an actual direction songs or crude or basic songs talking about clits and dikks and techs with simple language compared to Jay.
Can someone explain to me where i'm supposed to see this gulf in quality? Because if there's anything it's probably in the other direction as far as I can see.
I mean their are a lot of things we could discuss about this project, production is one but i'll leave that alone considering it isn't relevant to their actual skill besides how they flow on a beat.
But if we're talking about comparing the rapping ability of the two, Biggie sounds incredibly rough on this album (compared to his appearance on Life After Death) and even simplistic for a large portion of the time, when if you compare that to Hov, his flow is already at (what could be considered as but probably isn't) it's zenith, there's no choppiness or roughness in the rhymes, and if we're going to compare who's more clever between the two Jay Z ultimately has much better punchlines and metaphors/entendres and other technical measurements.
(This isn't to say Biggie didn't flow his ass off on this album, but compared to LAD?)
And I understand from reading on here, that Biggie's roughness is apart of the appeal of the album, but skill wise between the two there's a clear gulf in my honest opinion.
And when were looking at the albums as pieces on their own, obviously they're both going for two different goals, Biggies is more geared towards basic "street goonery" for the most part, and the struggles the people around him would go through (like with Everyday Struggle) or the "street level" heights of being a dealer/hustler.
While RD alternates between Jay Z's heavy mafioso themes/images like with Politics As Usual, and New York "street" influenced records like 22 Two's, so I could easily see RTD connecting with the every man more especially with the party record.
But I certainly feel like in terms of having a message/theme to get across from beginning to end and how they show it off from beginning to end is at the very least equal (the contrast from Can't Knock The Hustle and Regrets is seriously great).
And when we're talking songs I believe this really comes down to which songs you believe are more powerful/superior out of the well "serious" ones in conjunction with the throwaways or "for fun" tracks.
So if we were to compare them side by side how would this go:
Things Done Changed vs Can't Knock The Hustle (A toss up though I prefer CNTH by far)
Gimme The Loot vs Politics As Usual (One of the best storytelling songs of all time vs another track I prefer which is why I'm also giving this a toss up, either way is fine)
Brooklyn's Finest vs Machine Gun Funk (another toss up, probably the closest so far though i'd go with BK)
Warning vs Dead Presidents (Is their really a question here? Most definitely DP)
Ready To Die vs Feeling It (two very different types of song, though I'd say Feeling It is at minimum as well written as RTD, and is definitely more proficient/skill lyrically in all categories)
One More Chance vs D'Evils (is their really a question once again?)
The What vs 22 Two's (22 Two's is definitely more lyrical and superior in concept/execution and impact)
Juicy vs Can I Live (Juicy is without a doubt the more iconic song but any beyond surface level hip hop listener knows the greatness of Can I Live, but i'll give it a toss up even though I love CIL much more and think it's better)
Everyday Struggle vs Ain't No nikka (Clearly Biggie)
Me & My bytch vs Coming of Age (COA easy)
Cashmere Thoughts vs Big Poppa (BP wins, not to diminish CT's place on the album or Jay's skill)
Respect vs Bring It On (possibly a topic but i'm going to have to go with mixed like a mulatto easily)
Friend Of Mine vs Regrets (Regrets obviously)
And then there's Unbelievable and Suicidal Thought's and Unbelievable is another great song, but doesnt really tip anything but Suicidal Thoughts certainly gives Big an extra point.
If I'm going to compare these two albums from the songs I listed Biggie had a lot more rapping just for the sake of rapping without an actual direction songs or crude or basic songs talking about clits and dikks and techs with simple language compared to Jay.
Can someone explain to me where i'm supposed to see this gulf in quality? Because if there's anything it's probably in the other direction as far as I can see.
