I think it's time we make a definitive coli top 10 MC list: Round 2

[Billy Ocean]

Based on your definition of spectacular, I Rep Tha West


Based on my understanding, Lethal Injection

I don't think Nas has an album as good as/better than LI other than Illmatic and IWW

But yeah respect. At least we see eye to eye on the Wu

You say I Rep the West is a "spectacular" album? You think it's in the realm of Stillmatic, Untitled, Lost Tapes, Life Is Good, or Distant Relatives?

And Lethal Injection was in 1993. That was a loooooong time ago. That dropped even before Illmatic.

 

[Billy Ocean]

Imo Cube belongs with the goats based on his first few albums but also the fact that he is Hollywood now but can still go by his MC name. If it wasn't for that dude woulda faded into hip hop's retirement home years ago

Oh, he's definitely a GOAT and needs to be in the conversation of greatest ever but in this discussion we have to bring up the fact that he hasn't had the consistency of some of the other MCs mentioned. His first few albums were spectacular and he played a large role in the cultivation of both gangsta and conscious hip hop but he hasn't had a noteworthy album, track or verse in a very long time. Some of the dudes mentioned here has been dropping gems throughout their whole careers.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Oh, he's definitely a GOAT and needs to be in the conversation of greatest ever but in this discussion we have to bring up the fact that he hasn't had the consistency of some of the other MCs mentioned. His first few albums were spectacular and he played a large role in the cultivation of both gangsta and conscious hip hop but he hasn't had a noteworthy album, track or verse in a very long time. Some of the dudes mentioned here has been dropping gems throughout their whole careers.

oh yea definitely his first 3 albums and his work with NWA makes him one of the undisputed GOATS. Plus he was able to set up a career for himself outside of hip hop by still being the same Cube.

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

You say I Rep the West is a "spectacular" album? You think it's in the realm of Stillmatic, Untitled, Lost Tapes, Life Is Good, or Distant Relatives?

And Lethal Injection was in 1993. That was a loooooong time ago. That dropped even before Illmatic.

I said based on your definition since you were giving such status to albums like Distant Relatives or Life is Good. Neither of those are spectacular.

Anyway my real answer is Lethal Injection, just like it is IWW for Nas. And LI came before any Nas album, but Cube also started rapping in 1988, not 1994. Cube was on a run and as soon as he stopped, he never quite recovered. Should have kept going.

 

[Billy Ocean]

I said based on your definition since you were giving such status to albums like Distant Relatives or Life is Good. Neither of those are spectacular.

They better than I Am the West.

Anyway my real answer is Lethal Injection, just like it is IWW for Nas. And LI came before any Nas album, but Cube also started rapping in 1988, not 1994. Cube was on a run and as soon as he stopped, he never quite recovered. Should have kept going.

Consistency matters. Nas been dropping dope sh!t since Illmatic. Life is Good got a great reception and he still drops verses that people name drop as best of the year. Can't say that about Cube.

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

They better than I Am the West.



Consistency matters. Nas been dropping dope sh!t since Illmatic. Life is Good got a great reception and he still drops verses that people name drop as best of the year. Can't say that about Cube.

Cube's second to last album was Raw Footage bro. It's not like he hasn't been releasing good stuff. He's had two great albums post-2000. He's had one dud (I Am the West), which while worse than the Nas albums you mentioned doesn't change the fact that NONE of those albums belong in the 'spectacular' category. Now we're just arguing semantics about which 'meh' album is better than which.

Life is Good is great. Not spectacular. Not IWW/Illmatic level and not even Stillmatic/Lost Tapes level either. I don't even think IWW is Illmatic level but that's another story.

Cube has released 10 solo albums (yeah don't forget his EP or great work with Westside Connect and NWA), and out of those 2 could be considered poor/average. The rest are good to obviously GOAT-level. That's pretty consistent.

I think the notion of Cube not being consistent might be true, but ONLY because his peak work was so incredible that nothing that followed would be acceptable. Cube to me had 2 Illmatics, everything else was doomed to be worse. So after his legendary run, it was inevitable he would drop off, but his drop off didn't waver into average/poor territory with the exception of two albums, one of them being his latest release.

 

[H.S.]

I think the notion of Cube not being consistent might be true, but ONLY because his peak work was so incredible that nothing that followed would be acceptable. Cube to me had 2 Illmatics, everything else was doomed to be worse. So after his legendary run, it was inevitable he would drop off, but his drop off didn't waver into average/poor territory with the exception of two albums, one of them being his latest release.

C'mon man... Cube has absolutely sucked since the mid-90s. I think he belongs on every top five list (he's actually underrated), but let's be real here.

I don't even count anything post-Westside Connection when considering Cube's musical legacy.

 

[Yoda]

Jay Electronica
Killah Priest
Blu
Canibus
Nas

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Cube's second to last album was Raw Footage bro. It's not like he hasn't been releasing good stuff. He's had two great albums post-2000. He's had one dud (I Am the West), which while worse than the Nas albums you mentioned doesn't change the fact that NONE of those albums belong in the 'spectacular' category. Now we're just arguing semantics about which 'meh' album is better than which.

Life is Good is great. Not spectacular. Not IWW/Illmatic level and not even Stillmatic/Lost Tapes level either. I don't even think IWW is Illmatic level but that's another story.

Cube has released 10 solo albums (yeah don't forget his EP or great work with Westside Connect and NWA), and out of those 2 could be considered poor/average. The rest are good to obviously GOAT-level. That's pretty consistent.

I think the notion of Cube not being consistent might be true, but ONLY because his peak work was so incredible that nothing that followed would be acceptable. Cube to me had 2 Illmatics, everything else was doomed to be worse. So after his legendary run, it was inevitable he would drop off, but his drop off didn't waver into average/poor territory with the exception of two albums, one of them being his latest release.

Cube set the bar real high for himself with his first 3 albums. The one thing I noticed is that the less angry he became the quality of his music went down. Him being so involved in the East vs West thing was kinda corny

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

C'mon man... Cube has absolutely sucked since the mid-90s. I think he belongs on every top five list (he's actually underrated), but let's be real here.

I don't even count anything post-Westside Connection when considering Cube's musical legacy.

idk how the hell you made it a Billy Ocean quote, it was mine

and anyway, if you think Laugh Now, Cry Later and the War & Peace material and Raw Footage 'suck', I don't know what to tell you. Early 90s Cube spoiled y'all, and now if any album didn't live up to the first 4, it is considered a failure. Nah bro. Only one album sucked (Rep that West) and the other was distinctly mediocre (one of the War & Peace discs)

 

[Tommy Sheppard]

Jay Electronica
Killah Priest
Blu
Canibus
Nas

 

[Billy Ocean]

Cube's second to last album was Raw Footage bro. It's not like he hasn't been releasing good stuff. He's had two great albums post-2000. He's had one dud (I Am the West), which while worse than the Nas albums you mentioned doesn't change the fact that NONE of those albums belong in the 'spectacular' category. Now we're just arguing semantics about which 'meh' album is better than which.

Life is Good is great. Not spectacular. Not IWW/Illmatic level and not even Stillmatic/Lost Tapes level either. I don't even think IWW is Illmatic level but that's another story.

Cube has released 10 solo albums (yeah don't forget his EP or great work with Westside Connect and NWA), and out of those 2 could be considered poor/average. The rest are good to obviously GOAT-level. That's pretty consistent.

I think the notion of Cube not being consistent might be true, but ONLY because his peak work was so incredible that nothing that followed would be acceptable. Cube to me had 2 Illmatics, everything else was doomed to be worse. So after his legendary run, it was inevitable he would drop off, but his drop off didn't waver into average/poor territory with the exception of two albums, one of them being his latest release.

None of those Nas albums I mentioned are "meh" and had receptions that states so. Stillmatic, Untitled, Lost Tapes, Life Is Good, Distant Relatives...ALL had better receptions than any Cube album post 1993. These are facts. Not anything I'm pulling out my ass.

And I already stated that Cube first 3 albums were unbelievable. Everything else after has been unspectacular. He hasn't been consistent and you even say so so I don't see what the dispute is. I'm gonna keep it real simple...Nas still dropping dope sh!t, Cube...not so much.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Jay Electronica
Killah Priest
Blu
Canibus
Nas

Did you vote?

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

Cube set the bar real high for himself with his first 3 albums. The one thing I noticed is that the less angry he became the quality of his music went down. Him being so involved in the East vs West thing was kinda corny

That's what I mean. But how long is he gonna stay angry socio-political Cube for. Death Certificate is arguably the greatest album in music history. Anything after was bound to be worse, and we saw ever so slight declines from DC to Predator to Lethal Injection (the g-funk route). Then he took a small break, did the Westside Connect album (great) but it would be a while since he released a solo. He came back with that Don Mega phase which marked the beginning of the end of prime Cube. Doesn't mean the material wasn't banging tho. Most artist would cry for a discog of Cube post 1998 tbh. It was really good. Just not exceptional like his early stuff.

 

[Billy Ocean]

C'mon man... Cube has absolutely sucked since the mid-90s. I think he belongs on every top five list (he's actually underrated), but let's be real here.

I don't even count anything post-Westside Connection when considering Cube's musical legacy.

That's what I've been trying to say. I'm not trying to sh!t on Cube. He's been one of my GOATS for a very long time, but let's call a spade a spade...he hasn't really done anything good in a fvcking long time.