Best Rapper Alive - 1997 (IF YOUR MVP CHOICE ISN'T ON POLL, MAKE A REQUEST IN THREAD)

[Redwood]

He was?

That's what their beef was over apparently. NORE made a sequel to Halfway Thugs dissing Tragedy.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

true

I mean you had Wu fans upset at Wu Forever because it sounded different to the grimy 36 Chambers even though that album was hip hop in its purest and most luxurious form in terms of authentic production and high level lyricism.

I can only imagine what reception Biggie would have received had he stayed alive for a while after its release.

I cut class to cop Forever when the store opened. The anticipation for that album was the biggest I ever saw at the time other than LAD and IWW. Even tho I think its the best double album ever I was disappointed at first in those digital ass beats

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

I definitely would vote for him based solely on the lyrical ability he exhibited on all the features and freestyles he did during that time. They clearly showed how ahead of the game he was.

yeah breh the rule is you gotta release some kinda project in a certain year, so Canibus ain't eligible for this year

 

[Taadow]

no it doesn't change...but we haven't encountered the whole posthumous situation till now, so I'm addressing it

If I put Pac now, I'm gonna put him for so many albums down the line and same with Biggie. I'm sticking to their official studio albums that they had a hand in releasing, not just writing songs. Again, you know what the difference between RUSD and LAD is...you're playing dumb.

But according to your criteria, the only thing that mattered in this discussion to this point was an album release in the calendar year.
And that's the only thing that has been static in these threads.

I put Will Smith on because someone requested to vote for him.

But you know that's not congruent with you saying previously that your trying to determine who were the best rappers of the year,
not the most popular or successful. Nobody anywhere would say Will Smith was one of the "best" rappers of 1997, not even Jada Pinkett.

If you don't like it, you can leave. Nobody forcing you to stay.

I'm trying to - but you keep replying to me. lol

EDIT: under your rule, I might as well start adding compilation albums and 'Best of' albums. What happens if I put Ice Cube's greatest hits in a certain year? He should be the MVP for sure...

This wouldn't make sense in my argument because R U Still Down was not an album of previously released material like a "Best Of" or "Greatest Hits" album would be.

The "Best Of" albums would only be an obstacle here if said "Best Of" albums were the most popular albums of those years...
...but that doesn't matter here, right?

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

I cut class to cop Forever when the store opened. The anticipation for that album was the biggest I ever saw at the time other than LAD and IWW. Even tho I think its the best double album ever I was disappointed at first in those digital ass beats

that's how most people felt I think

anticipation high....too high, and they were disappointed

but that album today has aged exceptionally and the rapping is A1...made 36 Chambers sound amateurish

@Ayo!-BEZ is obsessed with this joint and argues it's the greatest rapping ever recorded...I'm inclined to agree

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

But according to your criteria, the only thing that mattered in this discussion to this point was an album release in the calendar year.
And that's the only thing that has been static in these threads.



But you know that's not congruent with you saying previously that your trying to determine who were the best rappers of the year,
not the most popular or successful. Nobody anywhere would say Will Smith was one of the "best" rappers of 1997, not even Jada Pinkett.



I'm trying to - but you keep replying to me. lol



This wouldn't make sense in my argument because R U Still Down was not an album of previously released material like a "Best Of" or "Greatest Hits" album would be.

The "Best Of" albums would only be an obstacle here if said "Best Of" albums were the most popular albums of those years...
...but that doesn't matter here, right?

Thing is I can't anticipate all obstacles ahead of time so in the beginning, there was only one rule about the album. Then I ran into some objections and questions (what about mixtures especially for later years or EPs etc.) so I changed albums to PROJECTS

so I'm making changes as I go along, so long as it doesn't infringe on past polls, and so far, we're straight.

now I've never come across a posthumous situation before. So since this is the first one (you asking me about Pac), I have to make a rule about it. And I don't think it's right to put any Biggie album past LAD or Pac album past Makaveli for contention. You brought up the thing about LAD coming after Big's death, but I retorted with the argument about "creative input" and you know what I mean by that.

Let's put it like this. Big and Pac knew about LAD and Makaveli respectively. Pac did not know about RUSD, or at least didn't have a say in its release or release any singles for it or big it up/promote it and so on. I hope you see what I'm talking about.

Yeah you right about the Best of and popularity. That isn't a determining factor here.

As for Will Smith, I actually didn't have him on the initial poll, but I cannot deny someone requesting to vote for him because he is ELIGIBLE for 1997 (he released an album). My PERSONAL criteria is not to go for most popular but some people have focused on popularity and "real-life" MVP appeal or sales and so on. Each individual can choose on what factors to rate on.

I only have one rule: project must be released that year to be eligible for selection. And now my second rule: no posthumous works (and you know what I mean by that).

 

[Redwood]

that's how most people felt I think

anticipation high....too high, and they were disappointed

but that album today has aged exceptionally and the rapping is A1...made 36 Chambers sound amateurish

@Ayo!-BEZ is obsessed with this joint and argues it's the greatest rapping ever recorded...I'm inclined to agree

Inspectah Deck's lyricism was outta this world in '97. I also like how Ghost was moving towards his Supreme Clientele flow.

 

[NoHalfWay]

This one's easy just like Pac taking 1996.

 

[MidnightMercenary]

Poll is pretty much over by now

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

Inspectah Deck's lyricism was outta this world in '97. I also like how Ghost was moving towards his Supreme Clientele flow.

Deck improved
Meth improved
Rae improved
Ghost improved
RZA improved
Masta Killa and U-God both improved and had more prominent roles on this album
ODB kinda stayed the same
GZA didn't participate much in album but his lyricism is always A1

just all round improvements and each Wu member were reaching their lyrical and stylistic primes.

 

[kingofnyc]

#bracoli

#tpc

@Illeye buckmatic @mobbinfms @Deltron @ISO @JayOne @MidnightMercenary @Billy Ocean @smitty22 @BmoreGorilla @A Tribe Called Quest ™ @kingofnyc

sorry if I'm forgetting people

hashtags don't work so gotta tag y'all

I think the answer is quite obvious despite this person only being present for 3 months of the entire year

but I'm gonna hold on voting just to explore the other options, especially my namesake, who dropped verse of the year and maybe of a lifetime

its only 1 answer .....................

 

[BmoreGorilla]

That's what their beef was over apparently. NORE made a sequel to Halfway Thugs dissing Tragedy.

that would explain why he regressed from War Report to his debut

 

[mobbinfms]

This one's easy just like Pac taking 1996.

:pdahell:

 

[BmoreGorilla]

that's how most people felt I think

anticipation high....too high, and they were disappointed

but that album today has aged exceptionally and the rapping is A1...made 36 Chambers sound amateurish

@Ayo!-BEZ is obsessed with this joint and argues it's the greatest rapping ever recorded...I'm inclined to agree

Lyrically Forever was miles ahead of 36 Chambers. Ghostface alone was a completely different rapper by than

 

[Redwood]

Deck improved
Meth improved
Rae improved
Ghost improved
RZA improved
Masta Killa and U-God both improved and had more prominent roles on this album
ODB kinda stayed the same
GZA didn't participate much in album but his lyricism is always A1

just all round improvements and each Wu member were reaching their lyrical and stylistic primes.

We didn't deserve to have Black Shampoo though,