This about to get ugly.Ice cube vs nas... In thier prime

[mobbinfms]

but I guess it really comes down to what you define as Nas' "prime

This is the big problem with this thread.
Cube had one prime. 88-91. The Predator through Bow Down were dope too, but there was a clear decline.
Nas had at least two primes. Illmatic through IWW. Then he had the awful Firm album and I Am and Nastradamus were uneven to weak, at best. His second peak begins with Stillmatic and extends through the release of the Lost Tapes.
You could even argue a third prime with LIG, but I know I'll lose people with that.

So it's tough to compare these two.

 

[SirBiatch]

How many Coli brehs was alive to really remember Cube's run?

Nobody cares about runs, breh

My problem with the Nas argument is that people try to say he innovated certain styles, flows, lyricism where to me he basically expanded on what Kool G. Rap had ALREADY done. Folks try to say he sounded like Rakim but he was a G. Rap clone with better poetics. Where they is NO precedence to what Cube was doing. You could argue Ice T but they sound NOTHING alike.
and he didn't lead the East Coast renaissance by himself

Public Enemy.

Let's try this "forced Cube props" again.

 

[Losttribe]

I guess I must be east coast bias...


Even though I'm not from the east coast.


Even nas haters use saying and phrases nas made pop. Nas influenced nearly everyone today, can't say the same for cube... even though cube is a legend

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

My problem with the Nas argument is that people try to say he innovated certain styles, flows, lyricism where to me he basically expanded on what Kool G. Rap had ALREADY done. Folks try to say he sounded like Rakim but he was a G. Rap clone with better poetics. Where they is NO precedence to what Cube was doing. You could argue Ice T but they sound NOTHING alike.
and he didn't lead the East Coast renaissance by himself

All true and I agree with you.

Ice T was also very much in his own point of view and his rhyming came from a 1st person stance most of the time. His most popular song was just about him. Cube was raping as a collective of people. fukk The Police was speaking for all the black and brown people who dealt with the LAPD on a local level but it also applied to anyone coast to coast oppressed by local police forces.

Nas would absolutely crush a song like 'Halftime' from a rhyming and story telling stand point. Better than G Rap or Rakim could IMO but that's a bit of stan juice stalking I guess. Ice Cube was never was detailed with his flows/rhyming but Black Korea is a bigger record if you think about it. While it's a pretty racist/fukked up record, it's in the same vein as fukk The Police. It's raw emotion, it's like an explosion of frustration of being watched in a store which I am sure plenty of people relate to even till this day who are not white/asian.

People shouldn't confuse Public Enemy with Ice Cube directly just because they were both aggressive in their stance towards society at the time. Public Enemy wanted to start a movement, Ice Cube just wanted to be a knucklehead. It's a better future mentality vs a nihilistic one. That was the difference between an older, more educated person like Chuck D and a young kid growing up in LA while gangs blew up to an insane level in Ice Cube. Public Enemy was that 'lets build up as a community and use our numbers to change things' where Ice Cube was like 'fukk everything, burn the whole thing down'

 

[bigrodthe1]

Nobody cares about runs, breh



Public Enemy.

Let's try this "forced Cube props" again.

They came out the same year
PE's first album was NOTHING like ITANOMTHUB

 

[Kyle C. Barker]

Stray Bullet is better than I Gave You Power

Naw, and I'm a huge organized konfusion fan. So much so that I think they are the best rap duo ever. I even tried to push pharoah nonche into the top 10 rapper vote because he can match up with any emcee. Same with prince po.


As far as stray bullet vs I gave you power, again Naw. I gave you power is a straight up short story with character development, a plot, a climax, and a somber resolution. On the surface it just seems like he's personifying a gun but on a deeper level it's an allegory For some players in the drug game. You have a mid level hopper (the main character), an old head who's been in the game too long (the wrecked up tech), an the owner is the mid level manager who's basically just using these nikkas.

Sure stray bullet was the first but nas took it too a different level.

 

[Kyle C. Barker]

Eh, nah. "Stray Bullet" is a dope concept, but no one even talks about any more except to compare it to "I Gave You Power." Nas's story is better because his character has feelings, regrets, empathy, aspirations, etc. The bullets on "Stray Bullet" are sociopaths.

This man gets it

 

[bigrodthe1]

All true and I agree with you.

Ice T was also very much in his own point of view and his rhyming came from a 1st person stance most of the time. His most popular song was just about him. Cube was raping as a collective of people. fukk The Police was speaking for all the black and brown people who dealt with the LAPD on a local level but it also applied to anyone coast to coast oppressed by local police forces.

Nas would absolutely crush a song like 'Halftime' from a rhyming and story telling stand point. Better than G Rap or Rakim could IMO but that's a bit of stan juice stalking I guess. Ice Cube was never was detailed with his flows/rhyming but Black Korea is a bigger record if you think about it. While it's a pretty racist/fukked up record, it's in the same vein as fukk The Police. It's raw emotion, it's like an explosion of frustration of being watched in a store which I am sure plenty of people relate to even till this day who are not white/asian.

People shouldn't confuse Public Enemy's stance with Ice Cube's just because they were both aggressive in their stance towards society at the time. Public Enemy wanted to start a movement, Ice Cube just wanted to be a knuckhead. That was the difference between an older, more educated person like Chuck D and a young kid growing up in LA while gangs blew up to an insane level.

Powerful postings right here most these cats in here replying and voting have no clue about this other than they feel Nas has better rhyme schemes than cube
and as you stated Cube and PE/Chuck D were nothing alike at all

 

[tuckgod]

Nobody cares about runs, breh

Of course they do.

 

[SirBiatch]

They came out the same year

Who's they? Public Enemy and Ice Cube?

even NWA dropped after PE. so I'm gonna send that dahell right back to you.

Spoiler

PE's first album was NOTHING like ITANOMTHUB

Nothing is an over-statement. PE came out the gate on some conscious, hard shyt. I agree that Nation of Millions took things to a whole other level, but there were seeds of that on Bumrush. Tracks like Public Enemy No 1, Timebomb and Rightstarter.

Let's not forget that Criminal Minded had its impact all over NWA's shyt.

All I'm saying is that acting like Ice Cube's shyt had no precedence is silly.

Of course they do.

you wish.

 

[Knicksman20]

This is way overstated due to BIG's death, but I won't fight you on it because it's off topic.

Nah fam. Compare their bodies of work & guest features when they were alive & there's a huge difference in skill level. But you're right we're gonna get off topic

 

[bigrodthe1]

Who's they? Public Enemy and Ice Cube?

even NWA dropped after PE. so I'm gonna send that dahell right back to you.

They dropped within 2 months of each other no way they were influenced by each other.

Nothing is an over-statement. PE came out the gate on some conscious, hard shyt. I agree that Nation of Millions took things to a whole other level, but there were seeds of that on Bumrush. Tracks like Public Enemy No 1, Timebomb and Rightstarter.

Let's not forget that Criminal Minded had its impact all over NWA's shyt.

All I'm saying is that acting like Ice Cube's shyt had no precedence is silly.

Like @OnlyInCalifornia said in his post, Cube and Chuck were NOTHING alike other than the aggressive content. Sorry

 

[Kyle C. Barker]

Nas in his prime was unquestionably the better rapper.
As far as albums, you got Straight Outta Compton, AMW, Kill At Will and Death Certificate vs. Illmatic and IWW. Illmatic is the best to me but Cube takes albums pretty easily. How do you account for that second run Nas had with Illmatic and Lost Tapes though?
Better music? Unless I'm missing something, isn't that the same thing as better albums?
Who was more important? The obvious answer would seem to be Cube, but an argument could be made for Nas

damn I thought I replied to this yesterday. my bad

imo, (and just my opinion) I just see IWW and illmatic as amazing albums that are better than anything that cube has put out. Obviously the early part of cube's run was legendary but I find myself skipping over more tracks on AMW, kill at will, and death certificate than I do on IWW and illmatic which I can damn near play straight through. just personal preference.

I also hold god's son, stillmatic, and lost tapes in really high regard as well.



importance in hip hop, man it's really hard not to give it to cube since he was such a well known face in pop culture.

 

[SirBiatch]

They dropped within 2 months of each other no way they were influenced by each other.

what in the fukk are you talking about?

P.E's debut dropped at least a full year before NWA's debut.

Like @OnlyInCalifornia said in his post, Cube and Chuck were NOTHING alike other than the aggressive content. Sorry

You wish

Nothing alike except for the fact that Cube's debut album is patterned after Chuck D on some Bomb Squad shyt, among other things.

You really need to cut down on your use of the word 'nothing'.

 

[Still Benefited]

I guess I must be east coast bias...


Even though I'm not from the east coast.


Even nas haters use saying and phrases nas made pop. Nas influenced nearly everyone today, can't say the same for cube... even though cube is a legend

Cube is arguably the reason you say nikka