How could Jay Z be the GOAT when he's never made a good song that wasn't about Jay Z?

madness

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he needs to drop a new disc, with fresh hard rhymes like his recent verse on we made it w jay electronica.
on breakfast club bleek said jay is too busy brokering million dollar deals to be in the studio all day wasting time making an album in a non-album selling era. i wouldn't be surprised if he didnt drop anything new in the near future.
 

Dusty Bake Activate

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Let me get this straight.

You want Jay-Z to rap about circumstances that are independent of Jay-Z? Really?

And that is supposed to detract from him?

Technically all those songs you listed are attached to the artists themselves? Ghost's song is about HIS own mother, and how important she is to him.
You are right about the Ghost song, my bad. That was a bad choice. The other 9 songs are all examples of song writing Jay could never do.

I don't want him to do anything. I'm stating factual observations. Jay Z cannot write songs about anything outside of how situations directly affect him. Even if the topic is weighty and relevant like urban decay, poverty, and the illegal drug economy it's always some navel gazing shyt about how it affected him and he gets in his feelings, writing emotional inner dialogues. And he's good at that. But he's limited.

Nas, Pac, Cube, Black Thought, Common, G Rap, Organized Konfusion, Q-Tip, Chuck D, Kendrick, even Rakim and G Rap when they felt like it, the list goes on and on all don't have that limitation.
 

Inspect Her Deck

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You are right about the Ghost song, my bad. That was a bad choice. The other 9 songs are all examples of song writing Jay could never do.

I don't want him to do anything. I'm stating factual observations. Jay Z cannot write songs about anything outside of how situations directly affect him. Even if the topic is weighty and relevant like urban decay, poverty, and the illegal drug economy it's always some navel gazing shyt about how it affected him.

Nas, Pac, Cube, Black Thought, Common, G Rap, Organized Konfusion, Q-Tip, Chuck D, Kendrick, even Rakim and G Rap when they felt like it, the list goes on and on all don't have that limitation.

I'm sorry but I just don't understand your points here.

An artist will reflect on issues as much as they can outside their individuality, but what will give the song their own twist if they don't speak about it from their perspective? There's no such thing as an objective song, unless the dude is rhyming 2+2=4 over and over again.

Now you've changed from introspective songs accusations to just "song writing Jay could never do", so you're questioning his ability to craft songs. Once again all the songs I listed plus literally albums worth of other material prove otherwise. Imaginary Player, Lucky Me, Friend or Foe, 22 Two's, Song Cry, Never Change, I Know etc. Those are fantastically written songs. I could go on forever. What you're basically saying is that Jay raps from the 1st person and you don't like it. How the fukk can you enjoy Ghostface? He's probably the most personal writer out of them all.

Some of those names are just false. Pac made a living on introspective rap, so did Nas, although he raps from the 3rd person too, and tbh I find 1st person rapping WAY better anyway. Cube, Rakim....wtf man. All of them.

The closest thing to total self-detachment is probably Chuck D, but even he fukking contextualised himself in all the stuff he was rapping about, if not him solely, then him amidst a group of brothers he felt were getting the short end of the stick in White America. His albums are personal as hell.

I don't buy your argument whatsoever. You hate Jay, it's ok to admit that.
 

Dusty Bake Activate

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I Used to Love HER is directly how Common perceived the direction of hip-hop to be going in, and how it affected his relationship with this metaphorical 'girl'. Wtf are you talking about OP? Must be drunk, or a Jay-Z hater, which is not uncommon on this site.
The larger point of the song is about how hip-hop has changed and gotten less personal to the listener though. Every Jay Z song whatever topic is dealt with is tangential to Jay Z.

But fine. Take off I Used to Love H.E.R. nuanced reasons. I can name 100 more. Wake Up by Brand Nubian.

Everybody doesn't write only self-absorbed songs like Jay Z, I'm sorry to inform you. Maybe you haven't been listening to hip-hop very long, or just don't pay attention.
 
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Inspect Her Deck

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The larger point of the song is about how hip-hop has changed and gotten more personal though. Every Jay Z song whatever topic is dealt with is tangential to Jay Z.

But fine. Take off I Used to Love H.E.R. nuanced reasons. I can name 100 more. Wake Up by Brand Nubian.

Everybody doesn't write songs only self-absorbed songs like Jay Z, I'm sorry to inform you. Maybe you haven't been listening to hip-hop very long, or just don't pay attention.

What about Imaginary Player? People cannot relate to that outside of Jay. It's addressing fake rappers who portray themselves as something they aren't. What about Where I'm From? A brutal analysis of exactly where he comes from, people of that area can certainly relate. D'Evils is about how money and power can corrupt and its relation to the devil's temptations. That's the LARGER POINT of the song. So once again, I don't buy your argument. Stop.
 

Chip Skylark

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When I see you in the hood I don't see none of that/damn playboy where the fukk is the hummer at/those ain't roles diamonds what the fukk you done to that. . He made that specifically for haters like you.

Go listen to meet the parents, soon you'll understand, or some shyt
 

Dusty Bake Activate

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I'm sorry but I just don't understand your points here.

An artist will reflect on issues as much as they can outside their individuality, but what will give the song their own twist if they don't speak about it from their perspective? There's no such thing as an objective song, unless the dude is rhyming 2+2=4 over and over again.

The point is quite simple. The topic and overriding thesis of every Jay Z except for probably Minority Report and Meet the Parents (maybe I'm forgetting 1 or 2) is the same...Jay Z.

Now you've changed from introspective songs accusations to just "song writing Jay could never do", so you're questioning his ability to craft songs.

I didn't change anything. But I will explain whatever you're not understanding.

Once again all the songs I listed plus literally albums worth of other material prove otherwise. Imaginary Player, Lucky Me, Friend or Foe, 22 Two's, Song Cry, Never Change, I Know etc. Those are fantastically written songs. I could go on forever.
They are good songs. But they're all about the same thing...Jay Z. Brenda's Got a Baby is not about 2Pac. Doorags is not about Nas. Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa Claus is not about De La Soul...
What you're basically saying is that Jay raps from the 1st person and you don't like it.
Um...no I'm not. But go on.

How the fukk can you enjoy Ghostface? He's probably the most personal writer out of them all.

When did I say I didn't enjoy Jay Z?

Some of those names are just false. Pac made a living on introspective rap, so did Nas, although he raps from the 3rd person too, and tbh I find 1st person rapping WAY better anyway. Cube, Rakim....wtf man. All of them.

You're all over the place. They made good introspect rap, and as I stated earlier, Jay Z makes good introspective rap. I'm saying unlike them, Jay Z is limited only to introspective, self-absorbed, often myopic rap. Nas is the perfect of example of someone who transcends Jay Z's artistic limitations and excels in a realm he cannot reach. The "project window" aspect of what Nas can do is something Jay Z has never been able to do.

The closest thing to total self-detachment is probably Chuck D, but even he fukking contextualised himself in all the stuff he was rapping about, if not him solely, then him amidst a group of brothers he felt were getting the short end of the stick in White America. His albums are personal as hell.

You're making a false binary counterargument. You don't have to be self-detached. Jay Z's music is just always self-absorbed. If you weren't being so knee-jerk, you'd see that I'm right. And it doesn't make Jay Z not a great artist, but it's a limitation worth noting.

I don't buy your argument whatsoever. You hate Jay, it's ok to admit that.
lol...yeah, that's why I own his whole catalog.
 

Dusty Bake Activate

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What about Imaginary Player? People cannot relate to that outside of Jay. It's addressing fake rappers who portray themselves as something they aren't. What about Where I'm From? A brutal analysis of exactly where he comes from, people of that area can certainly relate. D'Evils is about how money and power can corrupt and its relation to the devil's temptations. That's the LARGER POINT of the song. So once again, I don't buy your argument. Stop.
Why do y'all keep mentioning Imaginary Player? :mjlol: I love Imaginary player, but it's the ultimate cocky, shyt-talking fukk you song. He's bragging about himself the entire time, just like most of his songs. He's dissing imaginary players to boost himself up and talk about how much money he has in contrast.

Choose a better example camel stans...geez. :heh: I guess there are none.
 

Pifferry

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:ahh:

Also now relating to your argument Fallin' isn't about him and it's fantastic.
And how about the third verse of Empire State of Mind? Also fantastic.
"Lights is blinding, girls need blinders
Or they could step out of bounds quick, the sidelines is
Lined with casualties, who sip to life casually
Then gradually become worse, don't bite the apple, Eve
Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in style
Anna Wintour gets cold, in Vogue with your skin out
City of sin, it's a pity on a whim
Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them
Mommy took a bus trip, now she got her bust out
Everybody ride her, just like a bus route
Hail Mary to the city, you're a virgin
And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end
Came here for school, graduated to the high life
Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight
MDMA got you feelin' like a champion
The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien":banderas:
 
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