You’re entitled to your opinion of course. But nah. Jay has proven over time to have a much better, more consistent ear for production than Nas. When Nas gets it right, you’re correct, he fukking nails it. When he misses tho, it’s either boring or jarring our just flat out trash.
Even when he worked with Kanye, Nas picked two of the most boring beats from Ye I’ve ever heard. It worked. But fukk... THIS is what the long awaited Nas/Kanye pairing sounds like?
Now think about the beats Jay chose from Ye. Same with Timbo. Same with Swizz and a lot of the producers they’ve shared, with the very notable exception of Premo.
To say Jay is average at choosing beats means Nas is below average. Because he’s definitely a level better at it than God’s Son. I still rank Nas ahead of him (might have to change it soon tho), but facts are facts.
This.
When Hip Hop Is Dead was about to drop, I remember thinking tthis album has to be Nas's best produced album with that line up. It was far from it. I think a lot of Nas's worst beat selections are ones where he tries to have the producer fit a concept. Like why get Scott Storch to produce a song like "Carry On Tradition"? Why get a banger type beat like "Hustlers" from Dre? Something like "Minority Report" or Snoop's "Imagine" would've been perfect for an introspective or reminisce joint. With Kanye I was expecting a more grittier, soul sound in the vein of a "Guess Who's Back".
cot damn come on now