Is it fair to say that Nas is a better writer than Jay-z but Jay-z is a better rapper than Nas?

[up in here]

Jay is a savant. He has a natural ability to rhyme and his memorisation is not normal by any stretch. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a photographic memory. Dude has an innate way with words that he can see double meanings and string them together to create verses filled with multiple entendres. He is naturally gifted in that way.

Jay’s biggest flaw is that he is just not very artistic. He is incredibly talented, but he doesn’t have the natural creativity to push boundaries. So he just spits dope rhymes that are conceptually pretty standard. Whenever he does try get artistic it comes across as corny.

Nas is the opposite. Nas has a horrible memory. Dude forgets his own rhymes, gets times, dates and names and sometimes historical facts wrong. He often writes his rhymes based on conversations he has with others, rather than his own memory and his own memories might be triggered by conversations and interactions rather than just sitting by himself.

But Nas has an incredible creative ability. And from this creative ability he can take a basic story from a conversation and add minute details, colors, smells, character back stories and motivations, that make the story sound real. He fleshes out these stories into something cinematic. He sees the bigger picture and deeper meaning that the rest of us just won’t even think about.

And Nas is a natural artist. He clearly enjoys pushing the boundaries. Sometimes it misses but more often it hits. His artistry is grounded in a love of black history, black music and black people. He clearly has a deep passion for hiphop and loves creating music that represents his life and his roots. Nas artistry is one of his biggest strengths.

They are both great rappers and great writers. Just with different skills. The only reason they are comparable is because despite these differences, they both have the same conversational flow and often have similar subject matter because they have very similar environments both before and after the game. But they bring very different things to it

Damn, I wasn’t even planning on writing all that

 

[Mag Wheel]

Not gonna lie I think the concept thing can be a detriment. It’s like a movie, you only get away with a twist ending a couple times before audiences are trained to reject your shyt or think it’s lame. One Love and I Gave You Power are classics that reverberate to this day but most of the others are kind of lame. There are a couple on Untitled, including one about fried chicken and another about a roach. Nah. Each one is less poetic than the last and then you get to that werewolf one which is terrible.

To his credit though, Nas is gonna try shyt and take risks because he’s an artist to the core. Sometimes you’re gonna get killed for it, sometimes you’re gonna hit. But the effort is what matters and I think that separates the greats from others. It’s why Prince has mixed or disappointing albums that are better than the entire catalog of a variety of big 80s stars.

I actually liked the werewolf concept. The beat was just too trash. Like super trash. I appreciate Nas more for trying to do different shyt though. Jay Z’s idea of doing different shyt is songs like “forever young”

 

[DontEemTry]

I think it's fair to say that 2001 was 22 years ago

 

[Ziggiy]

I don’t give a fukk what NOBODY say. This joint is FIRE

 

[Budda]

Not gonna lie I think the concept thing can be a detriment. It’s like a movie, you only get away with a twist ending a couple times before audiences are trained to reject your shyt or think it’s lame. One Love and I Gave You Power are classics that reverberate to this day but most of the others are kind of lame. There are a couple on Untitled, including one about fried chicken and another about a roach. Nah. Each one is less poetic than the last and then you get to that werewolf one which is terrible.

To his credit though, Nas is gonna try shyt and take risks because he’s an artist to the core. Sometimes you’re gonna get killed for it, sometimes you’re gonna hit. But the effort is what matters and I think that separates the greats from others. It’s why Prince has mixed or disappointing albums that are better than the entire catalog of a variety of big 80s stars.

Queens wolf was ok not great not bad

 

[Ziggiy]

Queens wolf was ok not great not bad

Its a good 1-2 time listen because conceptually its interesting but there’s not much “meat” there if you know what i’m saying.

Fried Chicken, Project Roach, and Beef are MUCH better and have infinite replay value, especially Fried Chicken. I fukking LOVE that song

 

[Pop123]

If you just had the text of their rhymes and couldn't hear them, imo I think the average person would say Nas is better...that's kind of how I take the "Nas is a better/stronger writer" outlook. But when you can hear them and the cadences and delivery and presence on the mic and how they effortlessly kick that ish...and you can actually hear the wordplay/wit, which makes it easier to catch for most people than just reading it...and you can see them on stage puttin on, etc... I think more people would say Jay-z is better...which ties into the "Jay-z is a better rapper".

Jay-z (and Biggie before him) is really excellent at being able to "Dumb down" without sounding like he's dumbing down, which is fire. Nas, when he "Dumbs down" it just sounds madd simple, lol, that's why it usually doesn't work, he's not good at that. I seen madd other people in here touch on this, that ish is madd true. I'm still, overall, much more of a Nas guy than a Jigga guy tho, not really close...but I recognize the stuff Jay-z does (a lot) better than son and I can understand why dudes like Lupe, for example, have Jigga at #1

 

[TheHonorableOmarSharif]

Perfect example of what your barber was saying, OP

 

[Ziggiy]

If you just had the text of their rhymes and couldn't hear them, imo I think most would say Nas is better...that's kind of how I take the "Nas is a better/stronger writer" outlook. But when you can hear them and the cadences and delivery and presence on the mic and how they effortlessly kick that ish...and you can actually hear the wordplay, which makes it easier to catch for most people than just reading it...and you can see them on stage puttin on, etc... I think more people would say Jay-z is better...which ties into the "Jay-z is a better rapper".

Nas is Deeper

Jay is Slicker


The funny thing is you can actually look at their diss tracks to one another to highlight this point. Takeover and Supa Ugly are full of slick jabs and stinging one liners. Ether is a full no holds barred character assassination that dives into Jay’s personal insecurities and exposes the roots of his flaws. Blueprint 2 is again, slick with word play and one liners whereas Last Real nikka Alive is an expose on what brought both Nas and Jay to the point in time where they’d be trying to lyrically murder each other.


The reason Nas is better is simply because Nas inspired EVERYBODY to step their rap game up after Illmatic. Common, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Prodigy, Biggie, DMX, and Jay-Z himself. ALL of them are on record stating that Nas changed Hip Hop. 2pac isn’t on record personally but his closest friends and companions have stated that 2Pac studied both Illmatic and It Was Written. The elite OF the elite were all inspired by Nas. Even Jay’s closest associates Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel are on RECORD stating that Nas inspired them. Nobody from his era speaks about Jay-Z in that manner. Its always his business and his hustle they admired, not his skills, because even though he’s certainly skilled its not prodigious in the manner Nas is. Nas wrote One Love when he was 19 years old. It took Jay-Z TWELVE YEARS to even attempt a similar track and it was this





Jay at 36 pen ain’t fukking with 19 year old Nas. And Nas only got BETTER as he aged. Rewind, One Mic, Get Down, Sekou Story, Live Now, Fried Chicken, etc. the ONLY other artist writing on that level is Lupe Fiasco

 

[Pop123]

Nas is Deeper

Jay is Slicker

Facts

 

[Awesome Wells]

Nas is Deeper

Jay is Slicker

I love Nas's sh*t, but I never found him deep, at all, lol. I think he's tried to be. But when he does, if you fact check, a lot of sh*t he's said doesn't even make sense, whether in regard to history or other topics. When he was trying to go that route a lot, it was actually when he started making his worst music.

Jay is more personable. Always has been. His flow is way more diverse than Nas's, and he can do a million types of tracks, without sounding like he's not authentic. Nas is better at descriptive and narrative songs. If he wants to, he can tell stories way better than Jay, along the lines of what G Rap used to do, just not as great as G Rap did it. But when he tries to push himself to be more personable, he comes across as uncomfortable with it.

They both have their strengths and weaknesses. And the truth is, each is better at the thing the other lacks and doesn't do well. But when they both try to force themselves into the box that the other has mastered, that's when they f*ck up. Jay can't do what Nas does, and Nas can't do what Jay does. But they're both GOAT's for a reason, because no one does what each does best, better than they do.

 

[Ziggiy]

I love Nas's sh*t, but I never found him deep, at all, lol. I think he's tried to be. But when he does, if you fact check, a lot of sh*t he's said doesn't even make sense, whether in regard to history or other topics. When he was trying to go that route a lot, it was actually when he started making his worst music.

Jay is more personable. Always has been. His flow is way more diverse than Nas's, and he can do a million types of tracks, without sounding like he's not authentic. Nas is better at descriptive and narrative songs. If he wants to, he can tell stories way better than Jay, along the lines of what G Rap used to do, just not as great as G Rap did it. But when he tries to push himself to be more personable, he comes across as uncomfortable with it.

They both have their strengths and weaknesses. And the truth is, each is better at the thing the other lacks and doesn't do well. But when they both try to force themselves into the box that the other has mastered, that's when they f*ck up. Jay can't do what Nas does, and Nas can't do what Jay does. But they're both GOAT's for a reason, because no one does what each does best, better than they do.

Deep doesn’t necessarily mean dropping knowledge. Dance is a “Deep” song to me. Beautiful Life is a “deep” song to me. Heaven is a “deep” song. Even what I said regarding their diss tracks to one another, Ether and Last Real nikka Alive dive deeper into the heart of the conflict, unearth history that might not have been previously known, and examine Jay’s flaws as not just a rapper, but a man. Its why Ether was such a kill shot.

Again, when you examine their writing on certain subjects, Nas explores the themes in more intricate and even more emotionally complex manner than Jay does. Jay can’t make One Mic. Jay can’t make Project Windows. Jay couldn’t make If I Ruled The World the hit it was. Jay couldn’t make I Can the hit it was. Hell would Jay even have the balls to make Hip Hop Is Dead? Even though he was in AGREEMENT with the statement at the time?

 

[Awesome Wells]

And Nas only got BETTER as he aged. Rewind, One Mic, Get Down, Sekou Story, Live Now, Fried Chicken, etc.

Nas is also not better than he was from '94-'98.

That's his prime. He's still dope though. The fact that he's doing what he is, at damn near 50 is crazy. But mid to late 90's Nas was untouchable. We're talking about a giant amongst men, back then. He was hungry, and the culture was way more competitive at the time, so there was no slacking. His beats were also dope as f*ck back then. But once the quality of beats started to decline, and he started f*cking with Salaam too heavily, I think he lost his inspiration. Salaam was good for a couple joints, but he didn't deserve to be Nas's damn music director, lol

Nas needs quality production and the right people around to keep him sharp. When he was working and recording alone, his sh*t wasn't the same. He needs to be around other great MC's. From '94-'98, he spent mad time around other legends, and that moved his pen better than any other time in his career.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Deep doesn’t necessarily mean dropping knowledge. Dance is a “Deep” song to me. Beautiful Life is a “deep” song to me. Heaven is a “deep” song. Even what I said regarding their diss tracks to one another, Ether and Last Real nikka Alive dive deeper into the heart of the conflict, unearth history that might not have been previously known, and examine Jay’s flaws as not just a rapper, but a man. Its why Ether was such a kill shot.

Again, when you examine their writing on certain subjects, Nas explores the themes in more intricate and even more emotionally complex manner than Jay does. Jay can’t make One Mic. Jay can’t make Project Windows. Jay couldn’t make If I Ruled The World the hit it was. Jay couldn’t make I Can the hit it was. Hell would Jay even have the balls to make Hip Hop Is Dead? Even though he was in AGREEMENT with the statement at the time?

I never liked Heaven. The flow he used on that always sounded unnatural to me, for him. And lyrically, I didn't think it was deep. God's Son was full of songs that just felt like he as trying to be the anti-Jay. LOL!! His best sh*t has always been songs that sound natural for him to make. His new sh*t sounds like Nas. On that album, you could tell he enjoyed recording "Made You Look". That sounds like Nas. The real Nas.

And that's my guy, but he spent 3-4 albums trying to push himself into territories that don’t really work for him. When he just sticks to his strengths, like what he's been doing since 2020, then he wins. Because that's his lane. All that other sh*t just made him sound like he was reaching for a sound that never really hit for him.

I don’t think Jay would want to make those kinds of records though. And he shouldn't. Those are Nas records. Same as Nas can't make a Big Pimpin' or PSA, or 99 Problems, or Where I'm From, or Can't Knock The Hustle, or Politics As Usual, or Dead Presidents. These are tracks that can only be made by the people that actually made them. That's why they're classics.

 

[spliz]

I love Nas's sh*t, but I never found him deep, at all, lol. I think he's tried to be. But when he does, if you fact check, a lot of sh*t he's said doesn't even make sense, whether in regard to history or other topics. When he was trying to go that route a lot, it was actually when he started making his worst music.

Jay is more personable. Always has been. His flow is way more diverse than Nas's, and he can do a million types of tracks, without sounding like he's not authentic. Nas is better at descriptive and narrative songs. If he wants to, he can tell stories way better than Jay, along the lines of what G Rap used to do, just not as great as G Rap did it. But when he tries to push himself to be more personable, he comes across as uncomfortable with it.

They both have their strengths and weaknesses. And the truth is, each is better at the thing the other lacks and doesn't do well. But when they both try to force themselves into the box that the other has mastered, that's when they f*ck up. Jay can't do what Nas does, and Nas can't do what Jay does. But they're both GOAT's for a reason, because no one does what each does best, better than they do.

There’s shyt that Nas says that people felt like was false until they fact check it as well. Nas can be very deep and he’s poetic. As far as the Nas vs Jay simplicity thing. Neither one are simple. And Jay def doesn’t always sound good simple. He tried that with the Ha Remix verse. He tried that with Magna Carta. We all see how that turned out. It’s his least quotable album cause he dumbed it down. Another thing. Jay doesn’t have photographic memory. What he does was exercise. I’ve actually done it with some of my verses. Write it in ur head. That shyt is something that takes practice. And most people with a decent memory can do it. Jay’s most lyrical shyt is the shyt he’s admitted to writing down. Majority of that ended up on RD. Nas’ memory was at his worst when he was a heavy smoker. And he was a heavy drinker too. Nas also didn’t like to listen to his own music over and over again. Jay on the flip side doesn’t smoke at all. And barely drinks. Jay likes being sharp and aware. Nas preferred being high and out of the way. Neither one is great when they try to dumb it all the way down. Both can be great when they dumb it down a little bit. Jays flow saves him in spots where his lyrics aren’t trying to be the most crazy. Jay kinda started off with a triplet and playful flow. Alotta people like that can flow their ass off when they slow it down. See Twista. See Busta. See Krayzie Bone. The rapper with the most natural flow is Biggie imo. As u said tho. Both Nas and Jay have their strengths and weaknesses. Both are pretty much good at everything so even where they are weak at it’s better than alotta nikkas. That’s why they are GOATS.