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