Are Jay-Z and Nas the only rappers ever that have been relevant for 15+ years?

[grock2727]

While I respect everyone's opinion ya'll can't be serious breh. Hov career > LL's career in every sense of the word! Sales, catalog, relevancy, fan base, etc. LL hasn't been hot since Mr. Smith.

Honestly I get it @ this point Hov is like the Yankee's, u either love him or hate him. However to deny that Hov has the single greatest rap career we have ever seen or may ever see is crazy.

No disrespect to any of the aforementioned MC's, but Jay is the only rapper with #1 Platinum albums and headlining arena tours spanning 3 different decades, think about that for a minute.

You can give the "longevity" title to whoever you been feeling the most for the longest amount of time, and you can blame his "relevancy" on whatever reason you choose be it hate or love, but the bottom line is no one has done it at the highest level consistently for this long, no one.

And just think, he's still not done. I can imagine the field day on these forums when Jay inevitably drops his first album to not debut at #1 or go platinum. It's gotta happen sometime right? Of course I said the same thing ten years ago also and here we are.

 

[bigbadbossup2012]

the keyword being "relevant", meaning when their albums drop it's an event and the whole rap world wants to check for it and sh!t like that. a lot of rappers have been "around", just lingering and sh!t, but they're not really relevant like that. i don't think people realize how rare it is to be a focal point for that long, especially in rap, sh!t is crazy. i'm sure some of yall will say LL but keep it funky, his albums aint been events since when? 93-95? dre been around too, and his albums are absolutely events, but he hibernates, he's basically inactive for 10 year gaps, ha

I dont agre with LL being subtracted. Nas albums are no more an event NOW than LL 2002. maybe on the internet.

 

[Harry B]

Every solo Nas album has went gold or platinum going back to 1994. If he's not relevant, no one is.

He's as relevant as LL was from 86-2000 or even 05 since he was still going gold by then. But he was going gold the same way B.o.b. was going gold. So he wasn't really relevant to hiphop.

So I don't see how you can say Nas and not LL.

 

[Harry B]

I dont agre with LL being subtracted. Nas albums are no more an event NOW than LL 2002. maybe on the internet.

Hiphop Is dead wasn't an event?
Untitled wasn't an event?
Nas = internet


I agree on that he's got a bunch of fukk boy 4 eyed never been outside of the house ass stans on the net, but he's far from an internet character.
Not in the Chi, not in NY. Maybe in Texas and Montana.

 

[Mr. 1nighter]

Jay z is hip pop. He stopped being hip hop a long while ago. it's his hustle now to keep white folks believing he's hip so he can make bread with them. Oh well. It's a good look for him but i don't consider him Nas like in any shape or form

 

[H.S.]

He's as relevant as LL was from 86-2000 or even 05 since he was still going gold by then. But he was going gold the same way B.o.b. was going gold. So he wasn't really relevant to hiphop.

So I don't see how you can say Nas and not LL.

I never said LL wasn't relevant. LL had one of the longest runs ever, obviously.

Going gold like BOB? What does that even mean? Rick Ross and Nikki Minaj struggle to go gold, and they're two of the most popular rappers on the planet, so for Nas to sell so consistently 20 years in is impressive by any measure.

 

[Harry B]

I never said LL wasn't relevant. LL had one of the longest runs ever, obviously.

Going gold like BOB? what does that even mean? Rick Ross and Nikki Minaj struggle to go gold, and they're two of the most popular rappers on the planet, so for Nas to sell so consistently 20 years in is impressive by any measure.

Not Nas, I'm saying when LL Cool J was going gold in 2005 no one really cared except girls and shyt. Like B.o.b.. But when Nas went gold we all knew and cared.
I don't really care, but I wonder if Nas can go gold this time around. Cause this album is without controversy, both HHID and Untitled were fueled by controversy.
The buzz was more about the controversy than the actual music or at least equal, until they dropped obviously.

 

[H.S.]

Not Nas, I'm saying when LL Cool J was going gold in 2005 no one really cared except girls and shyt. Like B.o.b.. But when Nas went gold we all knew and cared.

Okay, I got you. No doubt. The last LL album I remember being popular is Mr Smith, but I could be forgetting something.

 

[Ziggiy]

Okay, I got you. No doubt. The last LL album I remember being popular is Mr Smith, but I could be forgetting something.

The GOAT album and his album 10 had nice buzzes and were somewhat anticipated from my recollection.

 

[H.S.]

The GOAT album and his album 10 had nice buzzes and were somewhat anticipated from my recollection.

I definitely remember those albums dropping and the ad in magazines. But I can't remember any individual songs or singles for some reason.

 

[Non Sequitur]

He's always been relevant through different avenues though, straight hiphop, to more experimental hiphop to gnarls barkley to solo singing.
So yeah maybe not relevant as a rapper for 15 years, but as an hiphop figure.

Totally.

 

[HoLLaBaCK]

People can use whatever they like to discount Hov's success, no one has done it as big for as long as Hov. shyt if you wanna go outside of hip-hop there are only a handfull that u can put in that discussion. This dude has more number 1 records than ANYONE, only the Beatles (a group) have more.

This dude ain't making hip-hop history anymore...he is just making history!

This got the sales, the status, and the catalog.

 

[Pop123]

There is zero buzz in the streets when Nas drops an album now. Stop it

the whole rap game is abuzz when nas and jay-z drop albums, those are rap events, i can't think of any other veterans who cause that type of electricity in the rap world when they drop. who buys the album and who doesn't exceeds the rap world, other sh!t is involved with that, I'm talking about something else. lol @ "in the streets", FOH, everybody's "streets" are different, theres only one rap world. "in the streets" of St Louis the St Lunatics probably got buzz in the streets when they drop.

 

[bigbadbossup2012]

the whole rap game is abuzz when nas and jay-z drop albums, those are rap events, i can't think of any other veterans who cause that type of electricity in the rap world when they drop. who buys the album and who doesn't exceeds the rap world, other sh!t is involved with that, I'm talking about something else. lol @ "in the streets", FOH, everybody's "streets" are different, theres only one rap world. "in the streets" of St Louis the St Lunatics probably got buzz in the streets when they drop.

smh @ you acting like nas & jay are equal as far as buzz,jay passed him quite some time ago

 

[bigbadbossup2012]

Hiphop Is dead wasn't an event?
Untitled wasn't an event?
Nas = internet


I agree on that he's got a bunch of fukk boy 4 eyed never been outside of the house ass stans on the net, but he's far from an internet character.
Not in the Chi, not in NY. Maybe in Texas and Montana.

Nas is a legend but he is not mr popularity trust me. Last time i personally heard someone riding by bumpin a nas song it was JUST A MOMENT,which was a single.Last time i heard someone bumpin a non-single nas song it was some stillmatic shyt When bp3 dropped i'd hear people cruising by bumpin numerous songs from that album. Nas (18 yrs later) is either = or <<< than llcoolj (17 yrs later 2002). ALSO,LET'S NOT ACT LIKE HEADSPRUNG AND LOVE YOU BETTER WERE NOT POPPIN MORE THAN ANY NAS SINGLE IN MANY YEARS. I bump nas,i think his catalog is better than ll's but the truth is the truth