MalikX
Superstar
Drake will never be as big as Jay. He's popular but even Kanye and Eminem were bigger at their peaks. Lil Wayne also.
Eminem was bigger, for sure. No to Kanye and Wayne.
Drake will never be as big as Jay. He's popular but even Kanye and Eminem were bigger at their peaks. Lil Wayne also.
You didn't say either of these things. Actually, you said Jay was never big.I never said Jay-Z didn't sell records. I said....the way you see Drake being the undisputed top artist in rap.....Jay-Z never the undisputed top artist in rap. Like ever
In 1998 Eminem hadn't released the SSLP yet.In 1998, Eminem was selling 20 million records so how exactly was Jay-Z the biggest rapper
No he didn't. IDAHIH was only certified at two times platinum and I think Flesh did over 500k the first week. So let's say 3 million to be generous.DMX sold 7 million records that year with two records,
He did 8 times plat in 18 months.Then Nelly sold 9 million records in 2000
GRODT is 6x plat.then 50 Cent came out in 2003 selling 12 million records
Receipts?Rule's biggest selling album: 6x platinum
Eminem's biggest selling album: 30x platinum

DMX's biggest selling album: 6x platinum (7x platinum on two albums in 98)
Ja Rule's biggest selling album: 6x platinum
Nelly's biggest selling album: 9x platinum
50 Cent's biggest selling album: 12x platinum
Eminem's biggest selling album: 30x platinum
Jay-Z's biggest selling album: 5x platinum
He's clearly behind the other dudes
So how was he the "Drake" of his era?He wasn't the hottest rapper. Just consistent. Career longevity. Outlasting everybody else and putting out hot music for a long period of time but, the other artists at their peak were more popular than Jay-Z ever was. If anybody was "Drake" back then, it was Nelly or Ja Rule.
(32), and have been listening to rap since 1987.
You never said anything about being the absolute top artist, only that he was never big at all, which is obvious bullshyt, and anyone who really lived through it would know better to ever try to pass that off as fact.
As said before, Vanilla Ice was the top rap artist at one point too. Doesn't mean he should have been compared to cats like LL, Rakim, and Big Daddy Kane.
Because you're not making sense.
You're comparing Jay-Z to the biggest rapper out right now and saying the biggest rapper out right now isn't on his level, so that implies that Jay-Z was once bigger than Drake was and he wasn't. That's bullshyt. Back then 50 Cent, DMX, Em, Ja and Nelly were bigger than Jay. I was 14 in 2002. I remember it very well. Jay-Z was kinda in that J Cole lane where he had a core audience, sold his records and had hits but, he wasn't the biggest rapper out. The same era you trying to plug Jay-Z as the king of rap, Nelly was going diamond, Em was going triple diamond, X was in all the movies and Ja had all the middle school and high school girls singing his songs and was in a million remixes, which is eerily similar to the trance Drake has on girls and the clubs now, so I can't agree with you.


Not taking nothing away from X, as he was an incredible talent, but his biggest album went 5x Platinum just like Hov's biggest.
Also, Ja Rule's biggest album went 3x Platinum, and not 6x as you are saying.
Looking over the rest, it seems as though you are pulling the numbers out of thin air, as the only one you got right was Nelly's.
Receipts?
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Jay-Z was in J. Cole lane?
I've heard it all now. Not only are you making a bunch of clearly false claims with no way to back them up, you have the audacity to say this bs?
This rap shyt isn't for you![]()
Receipts?
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bring back repPain Is Love sold 6 million worldwide
Pain Is Love
1 1 6 3 38 24 1 28 3 1
- Released: October 2, 2001
- Label: Murder Inc., Def Jam
- Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital download
White people were buying Eminem's records like bottled water
The Slim Shady LP
2 49 7 9 52 51 39 23 25 10
- Released: February 23, 1999[40]
- Label:Aftermath,Interscope,Web
- Format: CD, LP, cassette,digital
download
The Marshall Mathers LP
- RIAA: 4× Platinum[44]
- ARIA: Platinum[45]
- BPI: 3× Platinum[46]
- IFPI: Platinum[47]
- IFPI SWI: Gold[48]
- MC: 2× Platinum[49]
- RMNZ: Platinum[50]
1 1 1 1 2 3 52 1 2 1
- Released: May 23, 2000[51]
- Label:Shady,Aftermath,Interscope,Goliath
- Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital
download
The Eminem Show
- RIAA: Diamond[44]
- ARIA: 4× Platinum[45]
- BPI: 8× Platinum[46]
- BVMI: 2× Platinum[54]
- IFPI: 6× Platinum[55]
- IFPI SWI: 4× Platinum[48]
- MC: 8× Platinum[49]
- RMNZ: 5× Platinum[56]
- SNEP: 2× Platinum[57]
1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1
- Released: May 21, 2002[58]
- Label:Shady,Aftermath,Interscope,Goliath
- Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital
download
Encore
- RIAA: Diamond
- ARIA: 9× Platinum[60]
- BPI: 7× Platinum[46]
- BVMI: 2× Platinum[54]
- IFPI: 5× Platinum[61]
- IFPI SWI: 3× Platinum[48]
- MC: Diamond[49]
- RMNZ: 9× Platinum[62]
- SNEP: 2× Platinum[63]
1 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 1
- Released: November 12, 2004[64]
- Label:Shady,Aftermath,Interscope,Goliath
- Format: CD, LP, cassette, digital
download
Yeah I'd like to know about the 30x platinum thing. Those are thriller numbers.


Not taking nothing away from X, as he was an incredible talent, but his biggest album went 5x Platinum just like Hov's biggest.
Also, Ja Rule's biggest album went 3x Platinum, and not 6x as you are saying.
Looking over the rest, it seems as though you are pulling the numbers out of thin air, as the only one you got right was Nelly's.
You can sell less overseas and get certain certifications but, that has nothing to do with the total units sold. For example, Eminem sold 30 million records worldwide on Eminem Show and the Marshall Mathers LP. If they say you sold 30 million records worldwide, than you sold 30 million records. You can go platinum in Canada selling 80,000 records but, if you ask for total number units sold, they'll say it was only 80,000 records sold. They're not going to say 8 million. That wouldn't make sense. They'll say the nikka sold 80,000 records and went platinum in that country. When they say a nikka sold 8 million records worldwide, it's because he literally sold 8 million records worldwide. You confusing certifications with physical units sold.