In your opinion, why is Jay Z so popular and successful?

[Shammago]

This dude seems like he will never fall off. I mean when you compare him to the all time greats like Rakim, KRS ONE, Nas, Biggie, Pac, Big Daddy Kane, Common, Slick Rick and the rest of the greats, Jay Z seems to be able to stay in the media and be relevant for oh so long.


Can an argument be made that Jay is the greatest hip hop artist ever due to his outstanding success, fame and relevance?

Rakim pioneered lyricism and is considered the greatest by many hip hop purist.

KRS ONE also considered one of the best, added a lot of consciousness, reggae and battle rhymes.

Nas considered the apparent heir to Rakim is excellent at storytelling, great lyrics and continues to shine but not with all of Jay's success.

Biggie and Pac are dead. Jay learned that trying to be the hardest street rappa may not be the wisest decision. He learned from the mistakes of Biggie and Pac and chose another route.

Biggie Daddy Kane was a combination of the aboved mentioned artists and even he had to give it up to Jay. By the way he took Jay in and mentioned him for some time.

I could go down the list and by no means am I saying Jay is better than all these artists but atleast he is on their level and has to be mentioned. Jay seems to persist and outlast a lot of the greatest rappers.

But why is Jay so popular, successful and relevant. More so than the above mentioned rappers?

Without the success and relevance, would Jay still be considered one of the best?

What is his secret?

SERIOUS DISCUSSION --- LET'S GO!!!!

 

[The Coochie Assassin]

One of the best moves he made was wife up Beyonce.

 

[MikeBrownsJob]

Real talk man, you got to love it. Diddy falls into that realm as well. Him and Hov have found a way to reinvent themselves every 3 or 4 years. It's like they study trends better than anyone in hip-hop and no matter what anyone says. HIP HOP IS TRENDY. I was thinking about this as I were driving today and saw a hubcap pop off someone's vehicle. You guys remember when the size of your rims were a status symbol? snap music? Tall t's and white nike airs? Avirex jackets? Now everything is neon colors. Shh is crazy man. And who has been there thru it all? Jigga man. God MC. Dude is incredibly smart and lucky. Beyonce added some years to him as well.

Speaking of Diddy, I always thought he had one of the best "grown man" r&b albums of the 2000's. Press Play is

 

[intilectual recipricol]

Superior rap skills.

 

[The Ruler 09]

In my opinion a mix of talent, good decision making and business moves, connections, money, street smarts, Beyonce, work rate, charisma, passion, ambition. persistence, flexibility, adaptability and a number of other factors.

 

[The War Report]

He's the master of the superficiality.

 

[blackslash]

Cuz this

 

[The Hovering Heed]

Media push is like no other.

They make it seem like he owns half of the Brooklyn Nets, he owns 15% of 1%.

The sports agent "deal", CAA does the real work and makes the real money, Jay-Z is like a hostess. But, the media makes it seem like its just him.

And Im not hating in no way, these are some examples of the Media push he has.

I agree with chefmate7days, Beyonce has a lot to do with it.

 

[Cloud McFly]

I think it's because he has continually made dope music for the most part. No matter what you think about his albums, the majority feels he is still creating music good enough to purchase/support. I can't say the same for all of the above cept for Nas, but I feel that's he doesn't have as much of the "It" factor as Jay does, so he's not as successful.

Jay's charisma and personality keeps people interested in him alot, contrary to what internet haters feel about him. Even then, they can't stop talking about him because he is always on their mind.

Another thing is his business sense. I think coming in owning his own label helped a great deal, because he really had nobody controlling his shyt. He got to do what he wanted, and through the years, he learned what worked and what didn't.

 

[Rem]

He has the best combination of talent and business smarts in hiphop. On either side of that coin you have Nas and Diddy at the top of the pyramid, but neither of them combine the two as well as he does.

 

[KillSpray]

every step of the way he made the right move, even when he lost to Nas it somehow enhanced his image

 

[DEAD7]

niqqas is really actin like he isnt talented as f*ck!

Yo coli niqqas is a trip

 

[porque]

talent doesnt make you successful

he's pretty smart, surrounds himself with people who will benefit him and is are able to get the best deal around

he also left the ghetto behavior out a long time ago which a lot of rappers should mimic

 

[Formerly known as...]

He grew up and matured when everyone else was busy 'keeping it real'. To many rappers and I mean good rappers think everyone non black or non street aren't to be fukked with which cost them in the end. Jay treated people with a level of respect and they in turn appreciated and enjoyed dealing with him. He earned his respect through music sales and just being a good dude to people!

He doesn't get twisted off weed or other drugs so he's focused a lot more and he just made the sensible moves.

DMX and some other rappers kept it too real, lost money, industry respect and friends and then hate on Jay for being successful? fukk out of here. Becoming a millionaire should better your life and if that means bouncing out the hood then bounce Brehs.

 

[Dog Based Gremlin]

So no one talks about how he single handily created rihanna?