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

[Ill-Mind]

Cuz hes the GOAT

 

[jilla82]

it has to be a combination of the relationships he's cultivated in the industry, and Beyonce.
Nobody in the media says anything bad about dude...and being w/ Beyonce put him on the spotlight for a whole new fan base.

Ive been wondering for awhile how he became this large figure in pop culture because IMO his music hasnt been good in awhile.
When he was making his best music he was really big in the hip hop world, but he wasnt known as the hip hop icon.
It was like over night every white person knew dude...and I think it has to do w/ one of those Beyonce songs. Yea I know Hard Knock life was a big hit, but even during that time he wasnt the big name he is now.

 

[OG Talk]

Who brought up Nas this time?

 

[Harry B]

Nice to see that Hov's #1 dikkriders are going hard at everyone who fukks with Jay

 

[MBwithadream]

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!!!!

 

[god=nature=we'reFUCKED]

I represent the lifestyle of those who thirst cream

A buck fifty a shot, Louis the Thirteenth
Jay-Z, Roc-A-Fella yo, know the name
I ain't a player get it right, I'm controllin' the game
From now until they blow holes in my frame
I'mma stand firm, holdin my aim, feel me?
I'm the focal, point like Biggie in his prime
On the low though - shhhhh, the city is mine!
steviej:

 

[MBwithadream]

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.

http://cdn.necolebytchie.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Kelis-4.jpg

 

[Jerz-2]

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.

Damn this sums it up perfectly.

 

[Blackout]

Jay is talented....at pleasing the popular crowd.

 

[Vertigo_Black]

John Meneilly is the reason why JayZ is successful. Look him up..Jay calls him his "Consigliere"...


Dame and Biggs Hoffa use to be one of the reasons with the fact with them he put out consistently dope music but after The Black Album something happened.... during his "retirement" he did a little restructuring in his staff hired Meneilly, cut out Dame and Biggs by selling Roc-A-Fella to keep his Reasonable Doubt masters, formed Roc Nation (yet later on ended up getting the Roc-A-Fella name back) and ya'll know what happened after that, plus marrying Beyonce brought more spotlight to him as well.

All his business deals (Samsung, Live Nation etc) was the result of team up with Meneilly.

And yes..Meneily is Jewish.

 

[Illuminatos]

Jay-Z is the greatest rapper ever. He transcends Hip-Hop.

How did that line go again?

"I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man."

 

[Illuminatos]

jay took every upcoming trend in hip hop and made it his own. from the producers he rocked with, to embracing the south when noone did; dude knew how to stay in the conversation ALL THE TIME

he stayed on the radio which is very important. he had the skill to get props from the heads and the commercial appeal to stay in the mainstream. this is a man who BIGGIE cosigned and when biggie died, definetely filled the void while nas/method man/other top nyc mcs let him have it pretty much.

he always worked with the hottest producers, created names for his label to work with. im sure he paid a lil to get mentioned with the greats because pre hard knock life i was seeing magazines say "whos the best nas biggie or jay z" with me thinking who the fukk is jay z cause dude wasnt even big like that til vol 2.

oh, and the beyonce thing made him a household name outside of hiphop. every woman who reads gossip mags and such now know who he is at that point.

jay is the perfect hip hip business man while being an artist.

Not one person dapped this post. What a shame.

 

[JMurder]

He's obviously had some help from the Illuminati

 

[Wild self]

Cause heads don't want to admit it, but people look up to flashy rappers like their fathers. They looked up to Kane, they looked up to BIG, and they now look up to Hov. The public (especially women) want a man that brags about outrageous shyt that involves money and he filled the void of BIG perfectly. He came from the streets, that intrigued women, he was a hustler, which dudes looked up to, and he has that flow that attracted commercial hits.

 

[Big Boss]

Beyonce