Nas hasn't tried to hit the mainstream ever since nastradamus.
Nas came in with his storytelling lane saying his views on everything staying away from the lane of money cars and hos. He was the one standing out from the rest and saying hip hop was dead while jay followed the crowd with his usual shyt.
Jay jumped into biggie and puffy and rides off of biggie even after he was gone, he also jumped onto Swiss beatz as well and went or the usual money cars and hos topic and even made a label amd rode on dame dash and not to mention he married beyonce of all people. All of this was him riding on trends.
Don't even bring up pac when 2pac wasn't riding the mainstream lane as much as jay.
only difference between nas and jay with swizz in 98 is.
jay knew how to make a swizz track permeate, and nas did not.
one of nas's best records ever and definately his best popular producer record from that era is a swizz record.
it is one of my favorite nas records, ever.
nas: nikkaz, salute me,...bytches salute.. you salute me,..i'm the motherfukking general.
that is a swizz banger with cuss'n on the hook.
that did not permeate because it was a white label turned single that never drew.
jay, took swizz bangers and got better everything business wise.
plus, placement as the lead banger on the ruff ryders with jigga my nikka.
while also lifting his own artist bean's skillset, and used it to draw.
jay just executes better from a mainstream based draw than nas does.
yet, nas makes exactly the same moves if not more than jay.
they just do not draw because nas has a culturally based draw.
that will typically cancel out his jiggy/pop/mainstream attempts and ideals to draw.
both him and jay do the same sellout shyt.
nas's sellout shyt is worse because he comes from a foundation that he knows better.
jay comes from a will smith sellout base,..so you already know from off top what the demo is.
so, jay will not pander to the culture in the same vein that nas does.
art barr