Originally Posted by rakinem
I really don't want to defend myself. None of this content makes me feel at all threatened re: my lack of hip-hop knowledge, but I'll probably start to pick apart your ideas and then just go off typing...
What has he done in his short career that earns him the right to have that status bestowed upon him? He produced the same number of quality albums as the other icons of hip-hop: Jay-Z and Nas. The difference between Pac and them is twofold: his content was of a much higher quality, and all his albums were classic. llmatic and Reasonable Doubt are considered classics because they were gritty and realistic. They portrayed a complete and vivid picture of life in poverty, of gang violence, and hustling..and they were very, very good at it. Both spoke from experience--Brooklyn, QB--and Nas, who I always felt was just a notch below Tupac (and the second best rapper of all time) was ****ing 19 when Illmatic was released.
This is absolutely incredible, and the reason why Illmatic might be the best rap album ever released. And his methodology was genius. People so commonly associate rap with stupidity, arrogance, lavishness, drugs, violence, and white women. It's hard to appreciate modern rap with this understanding. But Nas rapped first-person narratives from the POVs of a ghetto child or a ****ing hand gun. He was ridiculous at his craft; he is, by all means, a poet/rapper. And most impressive, at his young age he was bright enough to paint pictures of a more complete life, of growing from ghetto life--becoming stronger--and using that experience towards something good. He never swayed from this trend. He was a soft-spoken dude too. He didn't come off brash. He was easy to relate to. My favorite voice in hip-hop too, fwiw.
Jay was different. He was always more involved in the business aspects of hip-hop. He grew up a hustler, and that's what he knew. Reasonable Doubt was ridiculous because he created a ridiculous album; Jay has always been loved because of his ridiculous flow (listen to super early Jay), his creativity, lyrics that always portrayed his knowledge of the streets and gave him instant cred., and a cockiness the hip-hop culture could relate to. But he had his own record label from the start (which I do credit him for building for nothing), and he succeeded in part because he hooked up with the right people--Dam Dash, basically--to make the enterprise happen, and he had the content and skills to support his big ideas. He was rapping with Big L and ODB when he was "underground." He set himself up for success. It's the reason a lot of people in the culture love him--he epitomizes the hustle, the ability to come up from nothing and make it to the top, specifically for a black male. I didn't listen to Jay till I was older because of his business orientation; to me, it took away from what I liked about hip-hop. This is why I preferred Nas. And he always stuck to his guns. He has plenty of singles that are no doubt mainstream, but he never changed his purpose behind the raps. I love him for that.
So both are ridiculous lyricists. Different styles--I prefer Nas's--but each appeal to urban culture in their own, very strong way. The groundwork was laid for them to do this, with NWA, Beastie Boys, etc. and they took the reigns on the movement. They took it in a new direction. They appealed to the masses of black culture because they attached success to the badass lifestyle.
Both were also discovered really quickly, and they took off because of it. Again, not taking anything away from them--maybe right place at the right time? just like my Jordan/Kobe argument--but they were nonetheless smart, super-talented, and driven. And to be honest, that's probably the trend no matter what craft or enterprise you pick apart to the foundation. I suppose I just like the underdog... anyway, DJ Premiere hopped onto both of them as soon as they started to come up. Nas dropped Halftime, and the rest is history. Idk what got Jay off, tbh. But I do know they had the best producer in the business producing their tracks from the start. And regardless of lyrical content--see Pharoah Monch, KRS-ONE--you're not jumping off without beats. And it makes sense. Rap was born from a dozen different genres of music, but they were all most influentially created through basic drum patterns brought to America thru slavery (I created this into a minor at my college; we had a professor who was a well-known bass player in NYC Jazz circles for decades). Everything that came after incorporated this simple structure. I don't recall how it grew, or the terms attached to the different methods and whatnot, but this seems to be common knowledge. Anyway, beat is important...especially in hip-hop.
I wrote so much, and I'm just starting Pac. Dang.
Basically, I don't want to go into more detail. I could talk about Pac for hours over blunts and brews, and I'd love every minute of it. But just know that Pac came from Black Panther roots, that he lived a way unconventional life, in the midst of homelessness, extreme poverty, and the gang violence of Baltimore, accompanied by an education at an elite school of performing arts. Funny, I don't have the link, but I do have a DVD with an interview given by Pac at age 17. And honestly, he is one of the most thoughtful, well-spoken 17 year-olds I've ever seen interviewed. And this lifestyle extended to his family--his mom was, at times, the best mother a kid could have...giving her last penny to get him this education (raising him on his own), and just a short time later, turning into a crack addict.
He was honest. He tells stories of attempting to sell drugs, and joking about his failures. When he was young, dude, drug dealers took care of him because they thought he was so cool... he was already into rapping in his late teens, and more, they supportive his ****ing cause. Drug dealers, gangsters, etc. Amazing. Because he was true. True to himself, the culture, all people. He rhymed through poetry--far superior to Nas's, hate to say it--and he rhymed with a cause. From the very beginning, he pointed out all the ****ed up **** going on in the world, and it usually had a racial theme. Whether or not you liked it, he didn't change. He did pour wine over women's asses in his videos, he did flash money in front of cameras when he started raking dough in with Death Row, and he did brag about stupid ****, like ****ing Biggie's wife. But he talked about the deepest **** any rapper has attempted to, and he moved people. A lot of people. He referenced God, he refered the hard life of people in the ghetto, even hard life for a kid growing up into a man, a kid without a dad, a girl knocked up at 13, with no dude around, he referenced love for his mom, women, his friends...and how important they were to him. He was a real mother ****er...and what makes him the best is that he was so smart, and so emotional, that he ripped thru to your ****ing heart when he rapped. Death Row was huge, but he was the major player in making it huge (credit to Snoop, tho). And he did it all with West Coast beats... a style that a majority of the rap community never really cared for. But he made you like that sing-song ****, and those beats that drifted from the basic drum line/horn **** that had been (and still is) dominant in rap. And he did it cause he was the greatest rapper of all-time.
Closing thoughts: I went off on a tangent, but my point was that the combination of content, purpose, knowledge, and ability make Pac untouchable by all standards of measure. Jay and Nas go down as heavyweights, and with all due respect, they changed the game into a new era--and imo, the best era to date for hip-hop fans. But it was short-lived, unfortunately.
For your safety, try not to compare 50 to Pac anymore, too. I think people are justified in taking offense to that.
No e-fame for you--sorry I had to shatter your dreams, brah.
