BmoreGorilla
Veteran
I disagree. Imo Jay has:
RD, Blueprint, Black Album and American Gangsta
Kanye has his first two albums. Tbh I actually fukk with Vol 1 over any Kanye album
Can we all admit that Kanye West will leave a bigger trace in music history than Jay-Z?
- Thread starter African Peasant
- Start date
RD, Blueprint, Black Album and American Gangsta
Kanye has his first two albums. Tbh I actually fukk with Vol 1 over any Kanye album
Kanye’s catalog is full of vapid narcissistic materialism and ghost written bars.
He actually makes Jay seem downright authentic and soulful in comparison.
He actually makes Jay seem downright authentic and soulful in comparison.
grendelprime
Suits 2 for $99
Jay transcended music better, making him a more impactful musician.
Jay got brothers outta being a part of a broken criminal system and used them to further his name.
Kanye used his girl to get brothers outta a broken criminal system so she could creep with other brothers.
Which game you playin’?
Jay got brothers outta being a part of a broken criminal system and used them to further his name.
Kanye used his girl to get brothers outta a broken criminal system so she could creep with other brothers.
Which game you playin’?
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fukk that dumbass c00n
To be classic albums have to have impact influence and have most hiphop fans attention
RD and AG didn’t have that. They are good albums but not classic
I think it’s pretty impossible to have more than 3 classic albums in a rap career and 3 is very rare
African Peasant
Veteran
Jay-Z is the bigger culprit. Jay raps like an accountant.
Iverson_64
Superstar
Kanye is a POS human being but I can't disagree with the OP.
Kanye's music legacy is already more stamped than Hov's tbh. Kanye's music as a whole is far more impactful, innovative, and accessible than Jay's.
College Dropout is remembered for popularizing chipmunk soul and bringing Backpack Rap to the mainstream in the early 2000's when Gangsta and Club rap was dominating. Graduation beating Curtis marked the end of the gangsta era and it's aged very well and has become Kanye's "Thriller." 808's is one of the most influential albums of the 21st century and has so many people both in and out of rap who draw heavy influence from it. MBDTF will go down as not only a GOAT rap album contender but a GOAT album contender in general. Yeezus was arguably the most left field mainstream rap album of the 21st century and has aged well. TLOP was a lot of young people/Gen Z's first Kanye album and it was the first album do be released entirely on streaming. Donda was Kanye's last "hurrah" before going off in the deep end and it's probably the biggest Christian themed rap album that also was the first to have listening parties in stadiums as part of the rollout.
That's not even factoring the music he produced for other people like Jay himself, Alicia, Common, Pusha, John Legend, Rihanna, even Lil Nas X, etc. or his impact on the fashion and sneaker industry.
I love Jay-Z and he's a MUCH better person than Kanye will ever be. But, musically, Hov never did too many interesting things.
RD is his magnum opus and an undisputed classic but it still feels almost "diet" when you compare it to the classic albums that birthed it(Illmatic, RTD, and OB4CL). Blueprint is his most influential album and a classic too but the producers(including Ye) are the main reason it's so revered. Black Album is amazing too but what even is Black Album's concept or theme besides the retirement gimmick? Black Album, if anything, is just a more polished and modern version of Vol. 2 with a lot of slappers and crossover songs that aged better than Vol. 2's.
Speaking of Vol. 2, it's kinda crazy how that's Hov's biggest album sale wise yet it basically has no legacy in 2022. Ditto for Vol. 1 and Vol. 3. People can name individual songs of course but none of those albums has an actual legacy on their own in 2022. Part of the reason is because they're so bloated and almost come off like compilations of Jay songs rather than standout albums. Same can be said for the Dynasty which is basically a group album that Jay turned into a solo album, the R Kelly albums(well for good reason lol), and BP2 which is basically a compilation of Jay songs on a double CD that was a halfway crossover album and a halfway B side album.
But BP3 and MCHG are the worst offenders of Jay's attempts at crossing over. He tried to pull of a "Graduation" with BP3 but the hits weren't anywhere as timeless and the album was poorly mixed and overproduced. And MCHG was his attempt at "MBDTF" and it was trash and his worst album to date. Hov's rapping was the most dumbed down it's ever been and the production wasn't grand enough to save it like Yeezus(which also has simple lyrics).
Lowkey, 4:44 has caused many people to rewrite history on the narrative of Jay's catalog. Before that album, I swear everybody even on the Coli knew that Jay was inconsistent. Even the White boys on Reddit were saying that Nas had a better catalog but 4:44 changed everything. For sure, it's a great album and the only Jay album where he's entirely introspective and vulnerable but I don't think it's that much of a masterpiece and it's not even close to being innovative or groundbreaking. It was a nice change of pace for Jay in which tackles his biggest criticisms: Shallow lyricism and bloated albums. Not to dissimilar from MBDTF, 4:44 was basically an apology album to both Beyonce and his critics alike.
All in all, though, I just don't see what would have Jay's music leaving a bigger trace than Kanye's. Kanye has more hits. More streams. A bigger audience/fanbase. More critically acclaimed albums. More impact/influence both in and out of music. More diversity of sound. More praise from legends like Paul McCartney, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Elton John, etc.
Jay's not a shytty person like Ye, is married to Beyonce, and is a much better rapper and that's basically it. I don't think that's enough to musically overshadow Kanye though. I know Kanye is a trash person but you can literally write a thesis paper on his impact on music, fashion, and pop culture. Jay's a top 10 DOA emcee but that alone isn't enough to overshadow Kanye just like how Jadakiss being arguably just as great of an emcee as Jay won't stamp him in the history books as much as Jay.
Kanye's music legacy is already more stamped than Hov's tbh. Kanye's music as a whole is far more impactful, innovative, and accessible than Jay's.
College Dropout is remembered for popularizing chipmunk soul and bringing Backpack Rap to the mainstream in the early 2000's when Gangsta and Club rap was dominating. Graduation beating Curtis marked the end of the gangsta era and it's aged very well and has become Kanye's "Thriller." 808's is one of the most influential albums of the 21st century and has so many people both in and out of rap who draw heavy influence from it. MBDTF will go down as not only a GOAT rap album contender but a GOAT album contender in general. Yeezus was arguably the most left field mainstream rap album of the 21st century and has aged well. TLOP was a lot of young people/Gen Z's first Kanye album and it was the first album do be released entirely on streaming. Donda was Kanye's last "hurrah" before going off in the deep end and it's probably the biggest Christian themed rap album that also was the first to have listening parties in stadiums as part of the rollout.
That's not even factoring the music he produced for other people like Jay himself, Alicia, Common, Pusha, John Legend, Rihanna, even Lil Nas X, etc. or his impact on the fashion and sneaker industry.
I love Jay-Z and he's a MUCH better person than Kanye will ever be. But, musically, Hov never did too many interesting things.
RD is his magnum opus and an undisputed classic but it still feels almost "diet" when you compare it to the classic albums that birthed it(Illmatic, RTD, and OB4CL). Blueprint is his most influential album and a classic too but the producers(including Ye) are the main reason it's so revered. Black Album is amazing too but what even is Black Album's concept or theme besides the retirement gimmick? Black Album, if anything, is just a more polished and modern version of Vol. 2 with a lot of slappers and crossover songs that aged better than Vol. 2's.
Speaking of Vol. 2, it's kinda crazy how that's Hov's biggest album sale wise yet it basically has no legacy in 2022. Ditto for Vol. 1 and Vol. 3. People can name individual songs of course but none of those albums has an actual legacy on their own in 2022. Part of the reason is because they're so bloated and almost come off like compilations of Jay songs rather than standout albums. Same can be said for the Dynasty which is basically a group album that Jay turned into a solo album, the R Kelly albums(well for good reason lol), and BP2 which is basically a compilation of Jay songs on a double CD that was a halfway crossover album and a halfway B side album.
But BP3 and MCHG are the worst offenders of Jay's attempts at crossing over. He tried to pull of a "Graduation" with BP3 but the hits weren't anywhere as timeless and the album was poorly mixed and overproduced. And MCHG was his attempt at "MBDTF" and it was trash and his worst album to date. Hov's rapping was the most dumbed down it's ever been and the production wasn't grand enough to save it like Yeezus(which also has simple lyrics).
Lowkey, 4:44 has caused many people to rewrite history on the narrative of Jay's catalog. Before that album, I swear everybody even on the Coli knew that Jay was inconsistent. Even the White boys on Reddit were saying that Nas had a better catalog but 4:44 changed everything. For sure, it's a great album and the only Jay album where he's entirely introspective and vulnerable but I don't think it's that much of a masterpiece and it's not even close to being innovative or groundbreaking. It was a nice change of pace for Jay in which tackles his biggest criticisms: Shallow lyricism and bloated albums. Not to dissimilar from MBDTF, 4:44 was basically an apology album to both Beyonce and his critics alike.
All in all, though, I just don't see what would have Jay's music leaving a bigger trace than Kanye's. Kanye has more hits. More streams. A bigger audience/fanbase. More critically acclaimed albums. More impact/influence both in and out of music. More diversity of sound. More praise from legends like Paul McCartney, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Elton John, etc.
Jay's not a shytty person like Ye, is married to Beyonce, and is a much better rapper and that's basically it. I don't think that's enough to musically overshadow Kanye though. I know Kanye is a trash person but you can literally write a thesis paper on his impact on music, fashion, and pop culture. Jay's a top 10 DOA emcee but that alone isn't enough to overshadow Kanye just like how Jadakiss being arguably just as great of an emcee as Jay won't stamp him in the history books as much as Jay.
Jay-Z just put a black man in jail for profits
Iverson_64
Superstar
Still no worse than what Ye is doing.
Jay has his dark side but he's way more calculated and handles his PR much better than Kanye which will take him far.
Child_Of_God
Love is a long road.
That’s how I feel too. Reasonable Doubt was Jay Z at his peak.I like quite a bit of Jay's music he's dropped over the years, but IMO the uncomfortable truth is Reasonable Doubt was his apex in regards to quality from head to toe.
The life of Pablo was Kanye’s last good album. He needs to go take a break and hop off from music
Nope Kanye’s catalog is way more memorable.