Children, Please Listen
I can’t take it anymore. I mean seriously. The next time I hear someone call Kanye West or Lil’ Wayne a “legendary” rapper, I’m going to take a copy of Nas’ “Illmatic” and crack it over their heads. Lil’ Wayne, Kanye, and Jay-Z are not “amazing” rappers. I mean, they don’t like, suck, or anything. They’re like, ok, but if you think they can even come close to the top rappers of the past 20 years, then I’m signing you up for the Vanilla Ice Fan Club.
The state of modern hip-hop is a joke. It barely even qualifies as hip-hop. It should be renamed “Storchified, Neptunian R & B Derivative Crapola”. There have only been about 5 good hip-hop albums made since 1998 and Outkast and Common combined for 3 of those. Wayne, Kanye, and Hova happen to be the best of a bad bunch, but that doesn’t qualify them for the place on rap’s Mount Rushmore that many of you 98 Degrees fans seem all too eager to give them.
Now, I don’t have the time nor interest to compile an Anthology of actual great hip-hop, but luckily some Youtube fanatic does. Split in two videos, here are the RZA of Wu-Tang Clan’s 50 Best Beats Ever. Wu-Tang has fallen off since they got successful and started doing Mountain Dew commercials, but back before they hit the zeitgest, they were the most brilliant hip-hop artists on the face of the planet. The first 6 Wu albums blast away any Kanye garbage.
Listen to these 50 RZA beats and try to tell me there is a single hip-hop producer of the last decade who could land 5 beats in RZA’s top 50.
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It would behoove you to eliminate Jay Z from your post. Jay Z will go down in everyone’s mind as one of the best rappers ever, doesnt exactly fit in with the Kanye’s and Lil Waynes
Oh god, another unfortunate result of your time spent around NY Jewbags. Jay-Z is not one of the greatest rappers ever. He is a very good rapper who has been elevated to god-like status because there were no other challengers during his tenure.
He’s basically the Lennox Lewis of rap. As I said, Jay-Z doesn’t like, suck, or anything, but back in the 90’s when there were other good rappers, he was considered 2nd tier. And that’s what he is.
You are so out of touch with rap/hip-hop music. Those legends with always be legends, but when they HAVENT PRODUCED SHIT RECENTLY, and all these other Great Rappers have (ie Weezy and Jay), then when is it time to pass the torch and stop looking back at the past greats. Quit comparing Magic and Kobe its just not a level playing field. Wu-Tang is pretty much disbanded, ODB is dead, some are in jail, quit holding on to the only rap music you know anything about and start learning about the new greats. Rap doesnt stand still, dont be so Jewish.
Yeah that’s great reasoning you’ve got there. Let’s get our panties wet over Jermaine O’Neal because Karl Malone is retired. Spare me. Average is average, no matter what era. Mediocrity doesn’t get extra points because it’s recent. And there are enough Jews with crappy taste out there listening to Jay and Weezy, so I don’t really see where you are going with that claim.
Go listen to Reasonable Doubt from beginning to end and you might start to change your mind about Jay-Z. One of the greatest. Period.
Umm, ok. Reasonable Doubt came out in ‘96 and it was considered a very good album. Ya know why? Cuz Jay-Z is a very good rapper. NOT an amazing “greatest ever” rapper. The difference is that back in the 90’s when there were actually other good rappers, Jay-Z was judged accurately. That’s my whole point, that he is overrated now because modern rap sucks my ass. Jay-Z is the Lennox Lewis of rap. Very good at what he does, but only dominates because his competition is so weak.
Jay Z is definitely within the top 15 rappers of all time. As for RZA being one of the all-time greatest producers, you are not incorrect. But your claim that no other hip hop producer could land 5 beats within his top 50 is grossly inaccurate. Do yourself a favor and listen to any J-Dilla compilation. I’d argue his top 10 beats surpass those of even RZA. Further, DJ Premier would certainly land 5 and I might even argue that Little Brother is on his way to getting 5 in there as well.
Oh yea, that other guy Dr. Dre isn’t, or more accurately wasn’t, so bad in his prime either.
Rosenblatt, please freshen up on your reading comprehension. I did not say no other producer “ever” could land 5 beats in his top 50. I said no producer of the last decade could, in support of my thesis that rap has been garbage for about 10 years now. Premier and Dre are both amazing producers, but their “primes” were in the 90’s (or even the 80’s for Premier). Dre’s work in the 2000’s with Eminem is solid, but nothing close to what he did in Dre 2000 and earlier. Those two overall are right up there with RZA, but they are not the cohort I was referring to.
As far as Jay-Z is concerned, I still contend that he is the Lennox Lewis of rap. Maybe worthy of the all-time great discussion, but a huuuuuuuggge beneficiary of ruling during a weak era.
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A wise man once said, “opinions are like a–holes, everbody’s got one.” Well, I have more than one. Opinions, that is. And for that reason I have this blog.
Topics include politics, sports, business, pop culture, and the random stuff that happens to me in my relatively entertaining life.
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