Sustained interest=cult fan base like you said.
We aren't speaking the major labels, Im speaking on you calling Mac Dre the GOAT and that moniker wasnt derived til after his death.
This has nothing to do with "liking" him at all, but everything with sudden popularity that had arisen after his death.
And if you are speaking on standards far as the Bay goes, Mac Dre's popularity would had been more prevalent and notarized, prior to his demise.
I like said, If you where actual in the life, you would understand this.
I've yet to see a credible publication mention Mac Dre as the GOAT but that doesn't negate the argument in itself, such an assertion would be a fallacy because you're requiring validation from a source that isn't a proper barometer.
I don't think I'm saying Mac Dre is the GOAT and it's beside the point that he's a personal favorite that I revere, I will always put that aside when discussing rappers because I place a premium on a clear head evaluation that is strictly impartial in judgement and rooted in a comprehensive design of evaluation. If that can't be maintained then we have to weigh the credibility of the arguments, I try to remove that all together by having a willingness to understand the other person's position and how they've reach that conclusion. When you do this in life you'll find yourself arguing less and understanding more.
We can buck heads about who's "better" and this is what most discussions on rappers amount to but there won't be an understanding until we both are perceptive of the fact that the standards that we use to evaluate who's better won't be consistent in criteria. If we go by the numbers we lead ourselves in the direction of quantified data for direct comparison and with that you would account for tenure in the game. The same way you wouldn't compare the batting average of a baseball player who has 10 at bats vs. someone who's been playing all season. The player with 10 at bats may have the higher batting average but in now way he he qualified for comparison to the player who played all season, because there's a disparity as far as tenure between the two statistics, which is why the player with 10 at bats isn't going to be ranked in the league leaders column.. Artists don't disappear because they lost their love for music, they disappear because they aren't able to sustain a career in music. They aren't able to maintain influence and that makes any money you invest in them finding itself in the same danger that a coin in a ripped pants pockets. They don't have the brand power or they've lost their fanbase over time, often by failing to deliver a viable product to attract the marketplace, also to sustain your fans you're required to release music that is of a standard that is congruent with your brand, this is what your fans have come to expect from you. and if you're not able to put out a viable product you won't sustain your fans and you'll have a short lived buzz that retained non of the monetary investment in the marketing that went into building said brand.. This is why so many artists have short careers. Tenure is the most rigorous test of success in the business. Mac Dre has achieved status, sustained achieved status, drawn super fans and showed himself to be an influential figure to a large region noted for it's own inclusive economy of underground artists. That's why you would look at the Bay Area as an inclusive market. His exceptional career span is evidence of a brand of music that has sustained it's viability, and I would argue that is has done that in a notable way since you are to this day seeing the enduring influence of Mac Dre without any monetary investment. Mac Dre's only concern entering the mainstream was that he was ahead of his time by at least 10 years so the resulting introduction to the mainstream is a high risk/high rewards situation. Which is the case with anyone who puts forth their own style, you remove the general consumers ability to evaluate you to the standard of the mainstream sound, so if they don't like it but they'll be adverse to it because there's no familiar aspect for you evaluate. It's a much safer route to fit in, there's nothing objectionable about that - you can encounter less friction on your way to a short lived career of mediocrity with a dissipating fan base by going with the current style and being good at it. Being the proprietor of your own style requires market testing and you lose the benefit of appealing to the consumer's familiarity, but you run the potential of reaching greatness by cementing yourself as an archetype of style that could prove to be an evolution in the genre. This happens if your influence gives you the ability to dictate trends. Examples of this would be Dr. Dre with the release of
The Chronic - Rakim bringing the next level of technical proficiency to the game. Putting forward your own style means that you have a unique product that separates from the bunch - we value innovators more than those who follow the trends. Is that to say Mac Dre would've succeeded on all of these levels? There's no guarantees (aka the root of all capitalist investment) but he has a unique product and a style that has proven to be viable in a major test market. So it's very possible and a good assumption that he would do well when introduced to a larger market. Since we have success in a verified test market the dismissal of the potential he would've had isn't rooted in a logical basis.
And I'm not saying this is a subjective matter, Whether you like him or not is but if we were debate his (status separate from your taste) I would present a quantifiable argument that would place him above rappers that are mentioned in these discussions more often. There's a bold line between a list of favorites and a list for the top 10 greatest of all-time, I will not blur that line, everyone should have a distinction between the two. But I will show undoubtedly how his legacy outweighs other rappers that are mentioned in these magazines top. Now bringing up examples will immediately result in a defensive response because you've already been told by sources you trusted that said rapper is an all-time great and you have no collection of memory that ties Mac Dre to being a figure that can be validly placed among the greats.
But if we were to compare the careers of Mac Dre and Big Pun are you really going to be the one that tries to make the case that Big Pun's 2 albums even warrant a discussion against a man who has the catalog depth of Mac Dre? There just isn't a comparison, one has placed himself above the other in longevity and output so despite all of your previous feelings about Big Pun's legacy, everything you've been told over the years by mainstream sources as far as how to evaluate his success, we have a clear case that there is an argument (one that I see is very conclusive because catalog should be the highest priority in the evaluation of an artist's greatness). Even if you are of the belief that Big Pun's albums are so great that they outweigh someone else's there's no basis for comparison because Big Pun hasn't been proven over such a long tenure
So now we can agree that there's a valid argument for Mac Dre being in Big Pun's realm. You might not agree with your personal tastes but the material he makes is consistent with what his following expects from his brand.
Now with the above contrast exercise you should be able to make a better consideration on Mac Dre's status. What you knew 30 minutes ago is completely reevaluated because you now have a new standard of evaluations that removes the fault of considering your own personal taste in that artist's legacy. A better measure would be to remove your partiality and try to understand whether the work is meeting the standards of that artist's following
Simply dying is not going to sustain a following. A following is a platform (this amounts to the entirety of the value of your brand as a rapper as far as the industry is laid out, your influence is your monetizable asset. That's what the label is building and that is the root of your job) and you have to have the material to uphold that platform. Mac Dre was a notable figure in Bay Area hip-hop, He was a 15 year veteran and his career was in music, as he was the spearhead of a viable business in independent music. In those later Thizz years he was beginning to bubble up again, He was building a following and was a chief architect in a movement that would put a new sound to the door of the mainstream
Mac Dre's success is readily evident when you recognize the influence he has in a region, when you see unique aspects of his character introjected into the young men of the area. When you see the way they choose to dance every time a Mac Dre song comes, this is a common occurrence. He has, as a result of his material, has proven to be a viable act
. . because, once again, your ultimate success as an artist is your command of influence. . you can earn more money but without success in accumulating and sustaining brand influence your career in music will die . . no matter how many Rolls Royce's you show up to the club with. This is why 50 Cent was no longer treated like a top priority artist
Being that Mac Dre's music has undoubtedly proven to be a viable product on a regional level there's less basis for saying it wouldn't be if it were exposed to more people
#WallyWisdom
You know Sweets?
say he was GOAT.