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

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Nas is better rapper and artist but Jay is the better marketer. Like Kendrick and Cole are better than Drake when it comes to rapping and the artistry of their music but Drake knows how to package that shyt and make you love it. The marketing is built into their music making it easier to digest and move to


This isn’t necessarily true when it comes to Drake/Kendrick/Cole because both Cole and Kendrick have INCREDIBLE marketing teams behind them especially Kendrick. The marketing for Damn was so extensive it segwayed into ANOTHER separate project altogether (Black Panther Soundtrack)

Drake’s music is more geared towards the masses so he’s naturally going to get “bigger” marketing looks because the music translates well with commercials, jingles, and product placement but i’d say for “conscious “ rappers Kendrick and Cole have both maximized the commercial potential of their brands.

With Nas and Jay the difference is more discernible because its CLEAR that Nas, through his own choice, doesn’t maximize his own marketing potential. Not to say that he DOESN’T because ESPN plays his music throughout their programming whenever he drops a new album. But Jay-Z ALWAYS (and rightfully) makes an event out of all his projects. The marketing for Kingdom Come/American Ganster/ and Magna Carta especially were incredible feats of rap music marketing, no matter what you think of the projects themselves. I remember even 50 Cent saying at the time that he’d never seen anything like the marketing Jay had for Kingdom Come
 
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I mean. And this is no knock to Nas cause he’s a great songwriter. But an incredible lyricist doesn’t equate to great songwriting. Like “Crazy” by gnarls barclay is an incredible example of brilliant songwriting. The fact that Jay was able to pen other artist biggest records is testament to his songwriting


I mean if we’re going there Nas wrote Will Smith’s biggest solo hit Gettin Jiggy With It. He also wrote on three other songs from the accompanying album that went 9X Platinum.
 

BlueHeffner

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I 100% agree with OP


Hov conveys his message through his bars in a better/easier way to digest for the listener than Nas. And im not talking nursery rhymes either


Listen to his verse on DDA. shyt was filled w entendres, crazy wordplay, and painted the picture that his audience can easily understand
 

Piff Perkins

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Dope line 👍🏿 Jay’s is better

Jay is speaking about what he felt. His emotions, his internal struggle. Nas, in this case, is just telling us what happened. There’s nothing intricate about it

See the problem with this discussion is there’s not enough completely objective fans of both Nas AND jay. Too many of y’all love Nas and act like jay is trash. I can’t take that type of fan seriously at ALL. They have no credibility

So don’t just post any ol Nas line like that make him better. Sometimes Nas will have better lines than jay, but jay will have some lines better than Nas.

Are you really trying to say NAS isn't a master of introspective lyricism about his thoughts and feelings while championing Jay? You can't be serious. Both do introspective lyricism, but you can literally go song for song across albums and count more introspection from Nas, talking about how he feels or his emotions. Which is why the reception of 4:44 featured so many fans and critics noting it was a departure from his previous work when it came to introspection and emotion...

There are things Jay is better at than Nas. There are things Nas is better at than Jay. I wouldn't be mad at anyone picking a side as their GOAT, and despite my obvious preference I'm never gonna be mad at someone saying one is better than the other. But let's not rewrite history when it comes to lyricism and inner struggle.
 

Braman

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Really? One of the biggest reasons I'm a Nas fan is because he taps into his personal life deeply. I mean Life Is Good he talked about his divorce and his relationship with his daughter, God's Son he talked about his mom passing, Beautiful Life he talks about his other brother besides Jungle that had problems, Composure he talks about having jaundice as a baby, My Way he talks about seeing Ill Will get shot, Hate Me Now and Rise & Fall are about his career, other songs like Poppa Was a Playa, Fetus, One Love, Nothing Lasts Forever, Gangsta Tears, plus all the songs about growing up in QB. Jay on the other hand finally got a little more personal on 4:44 after just rapping about how much richer he was than everyone else for years.
See, this is what I’m talking about. Regardless of who you like better, ‘Jay just rap about money’ is a causal take and you lose all credibility

Not to mention we can list Jay’s personal songs just like we do Nas; Soon you’ll understand, daddy where you been, can’t be life, lucky me, song cry…
 

Braman

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I 100% agree with OP


Hov conveys his message through his bars in a better/easier way to digest for the listener than Nas. And im not talking nursery rhymes either


Listen to his verse on DDA. shyt was filled w entendres, crazy wordplay, and painted the picture that his audience can easily understand
And the reason why is bc he’s talking about his actual life and experiences. He’s cutting out the middle man he’s not ‘painting a picture’ or just being the hood reporter. He’s retelling and /or basing things on his OWN life. It’s different
 

Braman

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You said he taps into his life better than Nas...Nas was with Stretch the day Stretch was killed...this is hip hop history...the same stretch who was with pac when he was shot at the Quad...exactly one yr later, Nas is riding with Stretch and Stretch gets killed later that day

Jay telling you how he feels...Nas telling a story that is actual & factual

No. Jay will tell you an actual story AND how he felt, the internal monologue, etc. Ie first verse on Regrets.

Whereas in this example, Nas is simply telling you I was with stretch that night. It’s no different than jay saying ‘I put Preme in my truck told him leave the streets alone’

Both are cool lines but it is NOT what made either of them great.
 

SunZoo

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They're neck and neck for me but Jay will always have a slight edge because of the general idea behind the thread.

If you told them both to make a song about the pitfalls of fame, youd get these songs:




Pretty much same subject matter but completely different outcomes. They're both super dope, but you can tell that which one would be more appealing to a larger crowd. Jay gets the edge because he has always been able to find that wider appeal while still being a great MC.
 
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