It seems KRS-ONE is not as high on GOAT lists as he used to be

[mitter]

Yea in the 90s it was always Rakim 1 and KRS 2. But as time passes other rappers are gonna surpass them. Especially when you have more folks who didnt witness them in real time. It is what it is. There’s a reason we barely hear Wilt and Bill Russell discussed when talking about basketball greats these days.

I think a big part of it is that emcees who came of age in the mid-90s and later (Nas, Jay-Z, etc.) were able to have longevity that emcees from the 80s never enjoyed.

People like Nas and Jay seemed to be relevant for longer and eventually put together very deep catalogues.

If you look at 80s emcees, who had any longevity? What I mean is longevity in terms of putting out quality material and being "relevant" (receiving a certain level of mass recognition among hardcore hip-hop fans). There are a lot of albums I love that went double aluminum and generated little buzz among even hardcore hip-hop fans.

- Rakim: basically absent after 1992 except for a brief resurgence in 1997 with The 18th Letter and one or two guest spots during his Aftermath days. I try to forget about the indignity of Ra being shelved by Dr. Dre.

- Kane: basically irrelevant from the early 90s on, even though he still had skills

- KRS: has released a lot of albums, but stopped being relevant around 2000

- G Rap: never made it as big as the others in the first place (i.e., no gold albums) ... in the late 90s/early 00s it looked like he might finally get his time in the sun, but things never worked out. Is most widely known in "mainstream" hip-hop circles for being superhead's baby's daddy.

- LL: stayed relevant for a long time, but not really as an emcee held in high regard by purists

- Ice Cube: basically same category as LL


The crazy thing about this is that most of the 80s emcees I mentioned are only slightly older than Jay-Z. They were considered dinosaurs before they even turned 30!!

 

[maxamusa]

I think a big part of it is that emcees who came of age in the mid-90s and later (Nas, Jay-Z, etc.) were able to have longevity that emcees from the 80s never enjoyed.

People like Nas and Jay seemed to be relevant for longer and eventually put together very deep catalogues.

If you look at 80s emcees, who had any longevity? What I mean is longevity in terms of putting out quality material and being "relevant" (receiving a certain level of mass recognition among hardcore hip-hop fans). There are a lot of albums I love that went double aluminum and generated little buzz among even hardcore hip-hop fans.

- Rakim: basically absent after 1992 except for a brief resurgence in 1997 with The 18th Letter and one or two guest spots during his Aftermath days. I try to forget about the indignity of Ra being shelved by Dr. Dre.

- Kane: basically irrelevant from the early 90s on, even though he still had skills

- KRS: has released a lot of albums, but stopped being relevant around 2000

- G Rap: never made it as big as the others in the first place (i.e., no gold albums) ... in the late 90s/early 00s it looked like he might finally get his time in the sun, but things never worked out. Is most widely known in "mainstream" hip-hop circles for being superhead's baby's daddy.

- LL: stayed relevant for a long time, but not really as an emcee held in high regard by purists

- Ice Cube: basically same category as LL


The crazy thing about this is that most of the 80s emcees I mentioned are only slightly older than Jay-Z. They were considered dinosaurs before they even turned 30!!

do you think that had anything to do with the business of rap exploding in the 90s? the labels and shyt?

 

[mitter]

do you think that had anything to do with the business of rap exploding in the 90s? the labels and shyt?

I think that was definitely a big part of it. Being successful in the late 80s meant going gold, and being successful in the mid-late 90s meant going multiplatinum. The Nas' and Jay-Z's had bigger fan bases to give them staying power even after they had peaked in popularity.

Another issue is that in its early days hip-hop was changing at an extremely fast pace in terms of style and subject matter. A lot of golden age emcees got lost in the shuffle once the "gangsta" or "street" rap started to dominate. By the late 90s, things had stabilized a lot more.

 

[maxamusa]

I think that was definitely a big part of it. Being successful in the late 80s meant going gold, and being successful in the mid-late 90s meant going multiplatinum. The Nas' and Jay-Z's had bigger fan bases to give them staying power even after they had peaked in popularity.

Another issue is that in its early days hip-hop was changing at an extremely fast pace in terms of style and subject matter. A lot of golden age emcees got lost in the shuffle once the "gangsta" or "street" rap started to dominate. By the late 90s, things had stabilized a lot more.

a lot of 80s legends switched up styles chasing the bag. it was sad 2 see.

 

[mitter]

a lot of 80s legends switched up styles chasing the bag. it was sad 2 see.

Yeah. Rakim was even speaking on how Dr. Dre wanted him to do gangsta shyt and that was the root of the creative differences that caused Ra's Aftermath stint to end without an album being released.

 

[Po pimp]

Anybody that doesn't rank KRS highly isn't actually listening to the REKKIDS

This legit made me LMAO

 

[maxamusa]

Yeah. Rakim was even speaking on how Dr. Dre wanted him to do gangsta shyt and that was the root of the creative differences that caused Ra's Aftermath stint to end without an album being released.

Dre just lost a lot of respect for that BS.


If Dre really understood what G shyt Iz he would know Ra wear the crown.

 

[WIA20XX]

Yeah. Rakim was even speaking on how Dr. Dre wanted him to do gangsta shyt and that was the root of the creative differences that caused Ra's Aftermath stint to end without an album being released.

I've read rumors that Rakim was heavy in the streets in LI. If true, that's even more respect to The God for not putting that BS on wax.

 

[maxamusa]

I've read rumors that Rakim was heavy in the streets in LI. If true, that's even more respect to The God for not putting that BS on wax.

Eric B's name rings out. You can watch the videos I posted and trace it back to the time how he was rocking. I can't call it but I'm not stoopid either.

 

[WIA20XX]

Eric B's name rings out. You can watch the videos I posted and trace it back to the time how he was rocking. I can't call it but I'm not stoopid either.

I'm the person least able to judge that type of credibility.

Only street I rep is Sesame.

 

[Art Barr]

Bro, I heard him say “if you go to college you can’t be hip hop” or some shhit like that…I was on the floor, . Nigs be saying anything and because of name recognition/being old alone, idiots will co-sign it.

Dud krs say this goofie ass shyt.

I hope not

As Scott larock whole claim to fame was being a college student and college radio dj.

Krs been on some devil worshipper shriner Mason bullshyt publically for a while. That his pedo enablin and puff sellout endorsement.
Make it hard for krs to walk This back.


Like till krs serve bambaata. The culture has no protection mechanism, mores or norms to be credible. It is imperative that krs do his job. He asked for.




Art Barr

 

[maxamusa]

I'm the person least able to judge that type of credibility.

Only street I rep is Sesame.

Respect; cause I've noticed on here a lot of fanboys Ryde or die for who they're fans of when they were never that. That shyt is lame. shyt was way before my time....but you don't earn a rep that transcends generations for nothing.

 

[maxamusa]

Dud krs say this goofie ass shyt.

I hope not

As Scott larock whole claim to fame was being a college student and college radio dj.

Krs been on some devil worshipper shriner Mason bullshyt publically for a while. That his pedo enablin and puff sellout endorsement.
Make it hard for krs to walk This back.


Like till krs serve bambaata. The culture has no protection mechanism, mores or norms to be credible. It is imperative that krs do his job. He asked for.




Art Barr

Scott got clapped up and had a college degree

 

[maxamusa]

ayo @Art Barr I don't remember what thread it was but u said juice was #1....you talking about battle rapper juice?

 

[Ku$h Parker]

Alot of the 80s guys arent mentioned anymore, unless its Rakim....

They been replaced by Nas, Jay Z, Biggie, Tupac, Eminem, Scarface, etc.

Id like to think L does,even his 90s stuff kept him going over Kris & Rah