**Warning, long post, but MUST READ** #factsOnly
Many hail Jay-Z as the greatest rapper ever... Mostly due to consistency...
But it can be argued, that legends, of ANY KIND, all have 1 thing in common: They absolutely GALVANIZED, CONSUMED, AND DOMINATED their Sport / Art form at ONE POINT IN TIME... Where they were UNDENIABLY, UNDISPUTABLY the big dawg on the block, the shyt... the, "HOLY GRAIL", for lack of a better term....
1991 - 1998... NOBODY outshined Jordan... Nobody.
I wasn't old enough, but of course Babe Ruth had his years
Magic Johnson had his years where not even BIRD outshined him or outclassed him
Floyd Mayweather had his years... 2nd to NOBODY... Not even Pacquiao
Mike Tyson had his years...
Ali had his years.. 2nd to none
Michael Jackson had his years... 2nd to Prince? Not in a million years....
Stone Cold / Hulk Hogan may be 2 most popular wrestlers EVER.. But The Rock had his years where they were 2nd (legend)
Bob Barker 2nd to Pat Say Jack?
Coke 2nd to Pepsi?
Mario 2nd to Sonic?
Lebron 2nd to Durant?
I can go on and on forever... No matter what the platform... The TRUE LEGENDS... The TRUE GOATS... All had their time where they were 2nd to NOBODY.... (look up Kevin Durant interviews where he says "I'm tired of finishing 2nd to Lebron")...
So, this begs the Question: Regardless of his consistency and longevity, how can Jay be the GOD Emcee if he always finishes 2nd??? Over and over..... 2nd, 2nd 2nd... (or worse)...
One can make the argument, that Jay just has his consistent, loyal group of stans / fans that will buy his albums till he's 80... regardless of quality.
BUT, he never actually GALVANIZED the culture... Like Snoop in 1993... Biggie in 1994 / 1997... Pac in 1996.. Puffy in 1997... DMX in 1998... Eminem in 2000.. 50 Cent in 2003... Lil Wayne in 2008...
I can go on....
When THESE nikkaS mashed on the scene... They were 2nd to NOBODY.... It wasn't even DEBATABLE...
There was an aura in your life, whether you were a fan or not, that something BIG is going down... The feeling when Get Rich or Die trying dropped... it felt like a holiday for a month... The air smelt different... shyt just felt different when this nikka dropped that album... That's the definition of GALVANIZING the culture...
Disagree? Well, Jay said it himself: Men lie, Women Lie, Numbers dont?...
1996 - All Eyez on Me (9x Plat), The Score (6mil), It Was Written (4mil) (reasonable what?)
1997 - Life after Death, No Way Out, Wu-Tang Forever, Harlem World
1998 - Dark and Hell is Hot, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 400 Degreez (can make the Argument Vol 2 >> 400 Degreez, but its no doubt 1998 was X's / Lauryn's year.. Sales + classics wise)
1999 - Chronic 2001, And then there was X..., Slim Shady LP
2000 - Marshall Mathers LP, Country Grammer
2001* - Stillmatic, *Bluprint, Word of Mouth, Pain is Love
2002 - Nellyville, The Eminem Show
2003 - Get Rich or Die Trying, SpeakerBoxx / Love Below
2004 - The College Drop out, Encore
2005 - Late Registration, The Massacre, The Documentary
2006* - Food and Liqour, *Kingdom Come, Doctors Advocate, Hip Hop is Dead
2007 - Graduation, Curtis, T.I. vs TIP
2008 - Carter 3, Paper Trail
2009 - Relapse, Only built 4 Cuban lynx 2
2010 - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Recovery, Thank me Later
2011 - Carter 4, Take Care
2012 - Good Kid Madd City
2013 - *Soon to be Marshall Mathers LP 2 or Nothing was the same (sales wise)
The 2 years you can ARGUE for Jay?
2001, 2006:
2001: the Blueprint was outsold by Word of Mouth / Pain is love.. Plus it's the year he got "Ethered", and later ADMITTED he lost the BIGGEST RAP BATTLE IN HISTORY, "2nd place" (Stillmatic also went double platinum like the Blueprint to boot.. Advantage Nas)..
2006: Kingdom come was the best selling rap album that year... But that was a HISTORICALLY weak year for albums.. Many would say Kingdom come is one of (if not) Jays worst albums and that Doctors advocate was a close classic that year, and Food and Liqour was an actual classic. Complex calls kingdom come Jays worst solo album: http://www.complex.com/music/2013/07/ranking-jay-zs-albums-from-worst-to-best/kingdom-come
Nas "Hip Hop is Dead" was also a huge deal in 2006... (Kingdom Come being his worst album but one of his best selling can be attributed to a weak climate and Jay-Z doing Budwiser / HP commercials that year to promote it.)
But, it goes beyond albums, lets look at singles:
Nelly - 4 #1 hits (many with him singing hook)
50 Cent - 3 #1 hits (2 with him singing hook)
Luda - 2 # 1 hits (1 with him singing hook, the other he's half of the hook)
Eminem - 4 #1 hits (3 with him singing hook)
Kanye - 2 #1 hits (2 with him singing hook)
Lil Wayne - only 1 #1 hit (with him on hook, Lolli Pop)... But it don't matter, since he surpassed Elvis Presley with the most hits on the Bill board hot 100 chart in history.
Jay-Z - 1 #1 hit in 20 years (Empire state of mind with Alicia on the hook... His other biggest song ever was Hard Knock Life... So his 2 biggest songs of his career had bytches carrying the song.. Shout out to Annie)
*Biggie / 2pac: Both had 2 #1 singles each... (In all 4 songs, someone else did the hook..[hypnotize, mo money mo problems, how do u want it, california love).. But we know they died at 24, Jay has had till he's 43 and still hasn't charted 2 #1 singles)
===============
When you look at all this factual evidence... Do you still look at Jay-Z in the same light?
He basically got Silver / Bronze medals (or often times worse) for 15 years... Michael Phelps is a Legend in the Olympics... NOTHING BUT GOLD BABY.. That's WHY he's a legend... So why does Jay get a pass?
Interesting...
ps GOD is 2nd to no one... So GOD MC?? ..... My point exactly. Speak on it. #factsOnly
Many hail Jay-Z as the greatest rapper ever... Mostly due to consistency...
But it can be argued, that legends, of ANY KIND, all have 1 thing in common: They absolutely GALVANIZED, CONSUMED, AND DOMINATED their Sport / Art form at ONE POINT IN TIME... Where they were UNDENIABLY, UNDISPUTABLY the big dawg on the block, the shyt... the, "HOLY GRAIL", for lack of a better term....
1991 - 1998... NOBODY outshined Jordan... Nobody.
I wasn't old enough, but of course Babe Ruth had his years
Magic Johnson had his years where not even BIRD outshined him or outclassed him
Floyd Mayweather had his years... 2nd to NOBODY... Not even Pacquiao
Mike Tyson had his years...
Ali had his years.. 2nd to none
Michael Jackson had his years... 2nd to Prince? Not in a million years....
Stone Cold / Hulk Hogan may be 2 most popular wrestlers EVER.. But The Rock had his years where they were 2nd (legend)
Bob Barker 2nd to Pat Say Jack?
Coke 2nd to Pepsi?
Mario 2nd to Sonic?
Lebron 2nd to Durant?
I can go on and on forever... No matter what the platform... The TRUE LEGENDS... The TRUE GOATS... All had their time where they were 2nd to NOBODY.... (look up Kevin Durant interviews where he says "I'm tired of finishing 2nd to Lebron")...
So, this begs the Question: Regardless of his consistency and longevity, how can Jay be the GOD Emcee if he always finishes 2nd??? Over and over..... 2nd, 2nd 2nd... (or worse)...
One can make the argument, that Jay just has his consistent, loyal group of stans / fans that will buy his albums till he's 80... regardless of quality.
BUT, he never actually GALVANIZED the culture... Like Snoop in 1993... Biggie in 1994 / 1997... Pac in 1996.. Puffy in 1997... DMX in 1998... Eminem in 2000.. 50 Cent in 2003... Lil Wayne in 2008...
I can go on....
When THESE nikkaS mashed on the scene... They were 2nd to NOBODY.... It wasn't even DEBATABLE...
There was an aura in your life, whether you were a fan or not, that something BIG is going down... The feeling when Get Rich or Die trying dropped... it felt like a holiday for a month... The air smelt different... shyt just felt different when this nikka dropped that album... That's the definition of GALVANIZING the culture...
Disagree? Well, Jay said it himself: Men lie, Women Lie, Numbers dont?...
1996 - All Eyez on Me (9x Plat), The Score (6mil), It Was Written (4mil) (reasonable what?)
1997 - Life after Death, No Way Out, Wu-Tang Forever, Harlem World
1998 - Dark and Hell is Hot, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 400 Degreez (can make the Argument Vol 2 >> 400 Degreez, but its no doubt 1998 was X's / Lauryn's year.. Sales + classics wise)
1999 - Chronic 2001, And then there was X..., Slim Shady LP
2000 - Marshall Mathers LP, Country Grammer
2001* - Stillmatic, *Bluprint, Word of Mouth, Pain is Love
2002 - Nellyville, The Eminem Show
2003 - Get Rich or Die Trying, SpeakerBoxx / Love Below
2004 - The College Drop out, Encore
2005 - Late Registration, The Massacre, The Documentary
2006* - Food and Liqour, *Kingdom Come, Doctors Advocate, Hip Hop is Dead
2007 - Graduation, Curtis, T.I. vs TIP
2008 - Carter 3, Paper Trail
2009 - Relapse, Only built 4 Cuban lynx 2
2010 - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Recovery, Thank me Later
2011 - Carter 4, Take Care
2012 - Good Kid Madd City
2013 - *Soon to be Marshall Mathers LP 2 or Nothing was the same (sales wise)
The 2 years you can ARGUE for Jay?
2001, 2006:
2001: the Blueprint was outsold by Word of Mouth / Pain is love.. Plus it's the year he got "Ethered", and later ADMITTED he lost the BIGGEST RAP BATTLE IN HISTORY, "2nd place" (Stillmatic also went double platinum like the Blueprint to boot.. Advantage Nas)..
2006: Kingdom come was the best selling rap album that year... But that was a HISTORICALLY weak year for albums.. Many would say Kingdom come is one of (if not) Jays worst albums and that Doctors advocate was a close classic that year, and Food and Liqour was an actual classic. Complex calls kingdom come Jays worst solo album: http://www.complex.com/music/2013/07/ranking-jay-zs-albums-from-worst-to-best/kingdom-come
Nas "Hip Hop is Dead" was also a huge deal in 2006... (Kingdom Come being his worst album but one of his best selling can be attributed to a weak climate and Jay-Z doing Budwiser / HP commercials that year to promote it.)
But, it goes beyond albums, lets look at singles:
Nelly - 4 #1 hits (many with him singing hook)
50 Cent - 3 #1 hits (2 with him singing hook)
Luda - 2 # 1 hits (1 with him singing hook, the other he's half of the hook)
Eminem - 4 #1 hits (3 with him singing hook)
Kanye - 2 #1 hits (2 with him singing hook)
Lil Wayne - only 1 #1 hit (with him on hook, Lolli Pop)... But it don't matter, since he surpassed Elvis Presley with the most hits on the Bill board hot 100 chart in history.
Jay-Z - 1 #1 hit in 20 years (Empire state of mind with Alicia on the hook... His other biggest song ever was Hard Knock Life... So his 2 biggest songs of his career had bytches carrying the song.. Shout out to Annie)
*Biggie / 2pac: Both had 2 #1 singles each... (In all 4 songs, someone else did the hook..[hypnotize, mo money mo problems, how do u want it, california love).. But we know they died at 24, Jay has had till he's 43 and still hasn't charted 2 #1 singles)
===============
When you look at all this factual evidence... Do you still look at Jay-Z in the same light?
He basically got Silver / Bronze medals (or often times worse) for 15 years... Michael Phelps is a Legend in the Olympics... NOTHING BUT GOLD BABY.. That's WHY he's a legend... So why does Jay get a pass?
Interesting...
ps GOD is 2nd to no one... So GOD MC?? ..... My point exactly. Speak on it. #factsOnly
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#factsOnly
terrible.
