Lupe was a street nikka but after Chilly got locked for decades - he moved to more revolutionary music. He didn't completely lose his edge - but he's one of the few artists that actually touched both sides of the genre in a real way:
‘It was easier for me to pose as a backpacker but I really love street nikkas’ - Kanye
- Thread starter Burned Verses
- Start date
DamienWayne
Superstar
What happened to Jean grae??
i sooo glad that era is over
that’s who’s catching feelings what Kanye said
The " Jean gray is better than Nikki Minaj era "
y'all really tried to make her and snow the product pop
I Really Mean It
Veteran
Yes.Lupe was a street nikka?
Westbama Heartthrob
Irregular Zero
What you think kick, push was really about?Lupe was a street nikka?
I Really Mean It
Veteran
Having a manager in the streets and supposedly being caught on tape brokering a drug deal on behalf of said manager does not a street nikka make. I just don’t get a “street nikka” vibe off Lupe at all, not now nor when he came on the scene.
Need to see some receipts that vouch for that.
I Really Mean It
Veteran
What you think kick, push was really about?
Hes like nikkas on here, thinking cuz they love street cats or be around em, theyre one too somehowThe only mainstream rappers to *actually* turn away from the streets to make conscious "backpack" music were Lupe Fiasco, Black Thought, and Common. Kanye was never a street nikka
Aint done no illegal shyt but listen to music about it thinking they live the shyt
Do you need him to spend time in prison for drug trafficking charges?Having a manager in the streets and supposedly being caught on tape brokering a drug deal on behalf of said manager does not a street nikka make. I just don’t get a “street nikka” vibe off Lupe at all, not now nor when he came on the scene.
Need to see some receipts that vouch for that.
At this point, making street raps in his early 20s, getting caught up in a major drug trafficking scandal, literally being on tape during the grand jury evidentiary hearings, getting sued by his partner's wife for helping move millions in assets elsewhere, etc. should be enough
Your average square nikka isn't anywhere near in this deep
Piff Perkins
Veteran
Kweli been dealing with people downplaying him for years so it's nothing new. Is he Mos or Common...or Black Thought? Hell no. But for a time he was on a very good run, and while his flow can be off putting at time you can't call him a bad rapper.
To me he's just not "that guy" the other the other rappers I mentioned are. Respiration is the perfect barometer to me. You get a classic verse (and hook) from Mos. Classic Common verse. And Kweli is kinda just there - admittedly with a solid verse. And that Kweli playbook is def the lane most "backpack" or underground rap went in. Less introspection, less emotion, less feel IMO. Think about how introspective Common is on that song, or how evocative Mos is.
To me he's just not "that guy" the other the other rappers I mentioned are. Respiration is the perfect barometer to me. You get a classic verse (and hook) from Mos. Classic Common verse. And Kweli is kinda just there - admittedly with a solid verse. And that Kweli playbook is def the lane most "backpack" or underground rap went in. Less introspection, less emotion, less feel IMO. Think about how introspective Common is on that song, or how evocative Mos is.
The " Jean gray is better than Nikki Minaj era "
jean grae look like summer walker with all them tats
Talib and Kanye are clowns.
YourMumsRoom
Black Excellence
Vandelay
Life is absurd. Lean into it.
Kanye is an embellishing-ass nikka.