Dime: Is it safe to say we can give Hov that Michael Jordan title?YG: Then where would you put Big? Where would you put Pac?
Dime: Good point.YG: I’m just asking a question. If you’re asking me, then yes. He’s definitely the Michael Jordan of the rap game. But then, it’s like, where do you put certain people? Where would you put a 2Pac? who may not have been as lyrical as Jay. Lyrically Pac can’t see Jay, but you have to take into account Pac’s influence. You gotta look at how many people loved Pac. He may not be as poetic or have the couplets that Jay-Z has but Pac emotion was so powerful. That’s the essence of poetry – being able to move people. If you’re going to ask people who can outrhyme who, you’re going to say Jay-Z. But if you say, who’s going to kill the mood, like which emcee could move the people? Pac would have the whole nation moving with him. That’s why I ask those questions like where do you put Big? Where you do put Pac?
Dime: If you ask me my Top 5, not even basketball-related, but I would go out and say, Pac, Big, Jay, Nas, and Eminem. That’s not in order.YG: Oooooh, ok. Now as much respect that I have for Pac. Pac’s not in my top 5.
Dime: But it’s like what you just said. The influence he’s had over not only the genre of music but on the world was crazy. He has murals in South America!YG: Nah you don’t gotta tell me that. I hear you. But I’m a realist. Here’s my top 5. You ready? If you ask me whose the most influential is. I’ve been around the world and Pac’s face is on all walls. He influenced the world better than any other emcee. But still, I don’t have Pac in my top 5. I don’t feel like he was the most skillful rapper. Then Em, I can’t put that in my top 5.
Dime: If you’re talking about the double- and triple-entendres, he got that if you’re talking about the mechanics.YG: In what though? OK so is Eminem better than Kool G Rap? Is Eminem better than Rakim? I could keep going. We’re talking about top 5 of all time. We’re talking about the best emcees ever.
Dime: I agree. But you have to look at it like this. Eminem – just like Hov – may have 100 to 200 different flows. They both deliver you a new flow on a new track.YG: Don’t get it wrong. Eminem is one of the greatest emcees we’ve ever had, but top five is hard for me because I was there when Eminem was sleeping on the couch with the outsiders and they basically took certain emcees flows and incorporated theirs all together. And, I don’t relate to Eminem. When he rhymes, I don’t feel the relation. When I hear Mos Def rhyme, and he says certain words, I could relate to that. Mos says stuff that I relate to. It’s a perfect description of my environment. When Em says stuff, it’s like, “Ok. That was cute, but that’s not realistic. You just made that up.” You’re not really throwing your girl in the back of the car. You’re not doing that. That’s a fairy tale. That’s fiction. He’s a great ficition writer. But that’s not really what’s going on. There are really certain emcees that I would have to put in front of Em. Rakim has to be above Eminem. He has to be. To me, Melly Mel gotta be above Eminem. I’m big on the old school. Like dudes wouldn’t be here if these dudes didn’t invent that. I think Black Thought is a better emcee. I think Mos Def would kill Eminem in a rhyme battle.
Dime: Kill is a strong word man.YG: That’s my personal opinion. Mos Def would kill Eminem. I think people give Eminem too much credit. Again, this has nothing to do with the boy being white or none of that. It has nothing to do with that. I’m looking at his artistry. You gotta take away the hype of who Eminem is. You gotta take away the controversy with Marilyn Manson, and all that. I’m talking about listening to a record and what you say on the record is the type of feeling you get. All the other stuff is frivolous to me. That’s a small part of it. He has a bunch of influence power that is based off media. That’s why Pac is high to me on that list. I’m going based off the music. It’s like when you’re talking MC. When you’re talking about Microphone Controller; somebody that moves a crowd, or you talking about somebody putting together songs, or presentation of albums, I don’t know I gotta put a bunch of emcees ahead of Em. Top 5?! That’s five. That’s saying Jay-Z, Big, Pac. That’s three already.
Dime: What about Nas?YG: Now here’s my problem with Nas. Nas is probably one of the illest writers that we ever had but Nas picks wack beats. Now, I feel like Nas is getting into his mold where his last album was exactly what I wanted from Nas. He made a grown hip-hop album. He doesn’t always pick a hot beat. That’s my thing with Nas. Then it’s like ok, if you look at complete bodies of work, how many complete bodies of works did Nas have? He had 2.
Dime: Ouch. I’m assuming you mean Illmatic and Life Is Good, but what about Stillmatic?YG:Stillmatic wasn’t a complete body of work too me.
Dime: Oh come on Guru.YG: That album reminded people of the old Nas. You gotta remember I’ve been with this thing forever. People be like, “Oh my god. Nas made a song about he’s a gun.” But Pharoahe Monch did that originally. Nas isn’t the first person to rap about that. This new generation be giving credit to people but they’ve never heard the Pharoahe Monch story. Nas is one of my greats. I definitely have him top 10, but top 5? He’s not better than Rakim. He’s not.
Dime: Who would you give the Kobe and LeBron to for this Hip-Hop generation?YG: For Kobe – because Kobe had to come before Bron – the LeBron I would give to Kendrick [Lamar]. That’s probably Kendrick because he’s the new guy that when you see him, even in his high school stage, you were like, he’s a man amongst boys. When I first heard Kendrick – this is going back to “Overly Dedicated,” before “Section 80” – I was like, “Oh. Who is this kid?” I kind of got introduced to GBE through Jay Rock. Like Jay Rock was the first person I heard out of that camp that they were pushing. The only reason I clicked on a Kendrick song was because I knew he was down with this click. And then when I heard Kendrick, I knew this kid had everything. He got everything. I knew there was something special about this kid. I would give him the Lebron. Who’s the Kobe?
Dime: I have a feeling you might say Wayne.YG:Ahh. I wouldn’t be mad at that. For the simple fact that he’s been in it long enough for No. 1. For No. 2, he was at one level and was so concerned with getting better, that he went through things like “Back that Thang Up”, “Bling Bling”, and all that to start doing mixtapes, and you could tell he was concerned with getting better. He was giving you songs where you could tell lyrically he was getting better. At that particular time, he was murdering his verses, his mixtapes and all other shyt. I was like, “Oooh. He’s getting there.” He in fact, made Young/Cash Money, the best rap label ever because they’ve had the longest run ever. Baby and Slim have been here since ’99. They’ve had a longer run than Death Row, a longer run than Bad Boy, a longer run than Rocafella, a longer run than Murder Inc. You can’t name a label who had a better run than them. They’re still going. MMG still gotta come in. TDE still gotta come in Cash Money is still out here moving units. You can’t deny that they’ve had the longest run.
What do you think?
Follow Carl on Twitter at @TheRealCL24.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
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shyt is a couple years old but I never seen it posted.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/uproxx.com/dimemag/dime-qa-young-guru/amp/
Dime: Good point.YG: I’m just asking a question. If you’re asking me, then yes. He’s definitely the Michael Jordan of the rap game. But then, it’s like, where do you put certain people? Where would you put a 2Pac? who may not have been as lyrical as Jay. Lyrically Pac can’t see Jay, but you have to take into account Pac’s influence. You gotta look at how many people loved Pac. He may not be as poetic or have the couplets that Jay-Z has but Pac emotion was so powerful. That’s the essence of poetry – being able to move people. If you’re going to ask people who can outrhyme who, you’re going to say Jay-Z. But if you say, who’s going to kill the mood, like which emcee could move the people? Pac would have the whole nation moving with him. That’s why I ask those questions like where do you put Big? Where you do put Pac?
Dime: If you ask me my Top 5, not even basketball-related, but I would go out and say, Pac, Big, Jay, Nas, and Eminem. That’s not in order.YG: Oooooh, ok. Now as much respect that I have for Pac. Pac’s not in my top 5.
Dime: But it’s like what you just said. The influence he’s had over not only the genre of music but on the world was crazy. He has murals in South America!YG: Nah you don’t gotta tell me that. I hear you. But I’m a realist. Here’s my top 5. You ready? If you ask me whose the most influential is. I’ve been around the world and Pac’s face is on all walls. He influenced the world better than any other emcee. But still, I don’t have Pac in my top 5. I don’t feel like he was the most skillful rapper. Then Em, I can’t put that in my top 5.
Dime: If you’re talking about the double- and triple-entendres, he got that if you’re talking about the mechanics.YG: In what though? OK so is Eminem better than Kool G Rap? Is Eminem better than Rakim? I could keep going. We’re talking about top 5 of all time. We’re talking about the best emcees ever.
Dime: I agree. But you have to look at it like this. Eminem – just like Hov – may have 100 to 200 different flows. They both deliver you a new flow on a new track.YG: Don’t get it wrong. Eminem is one of the greatest emcees we’ve ever had, but top five is hard for me because I was there when Eminem was sleeping on the couch with the outsiders and they basically took certain emcees flows and incorporated theirs all together. And, I don’t relate to Eminem. When he rhymes, I don’t feel the relation. When I hear Mos Def rhyme, and he says certain words, I could relate to that. Mos says stuff that I relate to. It’s a perfect description of my environment. When Em says stuff, it’s like, “Ok. That was cute, but that’s not realistic. You just made that up.” You’re not really throwing your girl in the back of the car. You’re not doing that. That’s a fairy tale. That’s fiction. He’s a great ficition writer. But that’s not really what’s going on. There are really certain emcees that I would have to put in front of Em. Rakim has to be above Eminem. He has to be. To me, Melly Mel gotta be above Eminem. I’m big on the old school. Like dudes wouldn’t be here if these dudes didn’t invent that. I think Black Thought is a better emcee. I think Mos Def would kill Eminem in a rhyme battle.
Dime: Kill is a strong word man.YG: That’s my personal opinion. Mos Def would kill Eminem. I think people give Eminem too much credit. Again, this has nothing to do with the boy being white or none of that. It has nothing to do with that. I’m looking at his artistry. You gotta take away the hype of who Eminem is. You gotta take away the controversy with Marilyn Manson, and all that. I’m talking about listening to a record and what you say on the record is the type of feeling you get. All the other stuff is frivolous to me. That’s a small part of it. He has a bunch of influence power that is based off media. That’s why Pac is high to me on that list. I’m going based off the music. It’s like when you’re talking MC. When you’re talking about Microphone Controller; somebody that moves a crowd, or you talking about somebody putting together songs, or presentation of albums, I don’t know I gotta put a bunch of emcees ahead of Em. Top 5?! That’s five. That’s saying Jay-Z, Big, Pac. That’s three already.
Dime: What about Nas?YG: Now here’s my problem with Nas. Nas is probably one of the illest writers that we ever had but Nas picks wack beats. Now, I feel like Nas is getting into his mold where his last album was exactly what I wanted from Nas. He made a grown hip-hop album. He doesn’t always pick a hot beat. That’s my thing with Nas. Then it’s like ok, if you look at complete bodies of work, how many complete bodies of works did Nas have? He had 2.
Dime: Ouch. I’m assuming you mean Illmatic and Life Is Good, but what about Stillmatic?YG:Stillmatic wasn’t a complete body of work too me.
Dime: Oh come on Guru.YG: That album reminded people of the old Nas. You gotta remember I’ve been with this thing forever. People be like, “Oh my god. Nas made a song about he’s a gun.” But Pharoahe Monch did that originally. Nas isn’t the first person to rap about that. This new generation be giving credit to people but they’ve never heard the Pharoahe Monch story. Nas is one of my greats. I definitely have him top 10, but top 5? He’s not better than Rakim. He’s not.
Dime: Who would you give the Kobe and LeBron to for this Hip-Hop generation?YG: For Kobe – because Kobe had to come before Bron – the LeBron I would give to Kendrick [Lamar]. That’s probably Kendrick because he’s the new guy that when you see him, even in his high school stage, you were like, he’s a man amongst boys. When I first heard Kendrick – this is going back to “Overly Dedicated,” before “Section 80” – I was like, “Oh. Who is this kid?” I kind of got introduced to GBE through Jay Rock. Like Jay Rock was the first person I heard out of that camp that they were pushing. The only reason I clicked on a Kendrick song was because I knew he was down with this click. And then when I heard Kendrick, I knew this kid had everything. He got everything. I knew there was something special about this kid. I would give him the Lebron. Who’s the Kobe?
Dime: I have a feeling you might say Wayne.YG:Ahh. I wouldn’t be mad at that. For the simple fact that he’s been in it long enough for No. 1. For No. 2, he was at one level and was so concerned with getting better, that he went through things like “Back that Thang Up”, “Bling Bling”, and all that to start doing mixtapes, and you could tell he was concerned with getting better. He was giving you songs where you could tell lyrically he was getting better. At that particular time, he was murdering his verses, his mixtapes and all other shyt. I was like, “Oooh. He’s getting there.” He in fact, made Young/Cash Money, the best rap label ever because they’ve had the longest run ever. Baby and Slim have been here since ’99. They’ve had a longer run than Death Row, a longer run than Bad Boy, a longer run than Rocafella, a longer run than Murder Inc. You can’t name a label who had a better run than them. They’re still going. MMG still gotta come in. TDE still gotta come in Cash Money is still out here moving units. You can’t deny that they’ve had the longest run.
What do you think?
Follow Carl on Twitter at @TheRealCL24.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
AROUND THE WEB
JOIN DISCUSSION
shyt is a couple years old but I never seen it posted.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/uproxx.com/dimemag/dime-qa-young-guru/amp/
certain nikkas try so hard to discredit Pac that it aint even funny
- like stop comparing pac to any of these nikkas he was ahead of his time and made better music than their best by the age of 25!!! the nikka is the undisputable GOAT 
Great read!