Is nas versatile enough to really be a GOAT rapper?

[BrothaZay]

I had Nas number 3 after 2pac and Ice cube, but when you think about it, he's not really that versatile. He's about as versatile as waka flocka when it comes to making different kind of music.

People like Pac, Ice Cube, Jay and even Em and 50 cent can make hard ass club music,party music, then switch it up and make a deep song and all of them will be HITS.

Example:

Pac made Shed So Many Tears and Dear Mama which are both classics, but at the same time made I Get Around which is one of my favorite feel good party songs. Then he also turned around n made some hard ass shyt like Hit Em Up. And it doesnt stop there, he also made one of the GOAT love songs in I Rather Be Ya nikka, then a harder street love song in Bonnie n clyde.
I can go on for days.

Ice Cube: Make them hard ass CLASSICS like straight outta compton, to a goat story telling track in My Summer Vacation, then the goat laid back songs in You Know How We Do It and Today Was A Good Day.
Even we be clubbin wasnt that bad

Jay Z: Hard Knocc Life to Can I Live, to Big Pimpin

Nas- Just makes songs like One Love and Memory Lanes, although shootoutts is one of my favorite songs ever.

 

[Raiders]

Considering that a title like GOAT isn't based on anything objective, its your damn list, why are you asking us for your opinion?

If I must tell you how to think then yes nas is a GOAT, but I base mine on good music, not versatility.

 

[daze23]

apparently "versatile" means just following trends...

 

[JuvenileHell]

What are you talking about? Nas made different kinds of songs as well. Just look at Illmatic, IWW, Distant Relatives and Life is Good.

Nas raps about that street shyt, to partying and shyt, to grown man shyt and even collabed with a Reggae star and made an album. How is he not versatile?

 

[Bbwlover504]

Wtf are you talking bot.

He made storytelling tracks.
Has wordplay.
Poetic tracks.
Great songwriter.

What more versatile can you get? Rapping about money and bytches on every song with forced punch lines ?

 

[BrothaZay]

What are you talking about? Nas made different kinds of songs as well. Just look at Illmatic, IWW, Distant Relatives and Life is Good.

Nas raps about that street shyt, to partying and shyt, to grown man shyt and even collabed with a Reggae star and made an album. How is he not versatile?

But they're not hit songs, or even good songs. They're average at best.

The rappers I listed can rap about ANYTHING and make them classics. Nas cant.

 

[----]

I've always considered nas to be one of the most versatile rappers.. He's done almost every genre of rap: gangster, lyrical miracle spiritual shyt, mafioso, party tracks, reggae, introspective, political, story telling, etc. I mean the fukkin guy wrote a song backwards I don't understand how you could view him as anything other than versatile. Thats actually one of the things about him that makes him stand out as an artist to me.
Edit: I see you listed Jay-z as an example of a more versatile artist, I regret taking the time to respond to you.

 

[BrothaZay]

Im not saying he hasnt made different kind of songs, Im saying he DOES NOT HAVE THE TALENT TO MAKE THEM CLASSICS.

Not just good songs, or great songs, but CLASSICS.

I can list 6 totally different sounding Pac songs and they are CLASSICS.

 

[Tuling]

You're crazy for this one OP I don't know why you would say this
Sure he can't make songs that appeal to the masses most of the time, he has tried. Nothing to do with not being versatile

 

[----]

Im not saying he hasnt made different kind of songs, Im saying he DOES NOT HAVE THE TALENT TO MAKE THEM CLASSICS.

Not just good songs, or great songs, but CLASSICS.

I can list 6 totally different sounding Pac songs and they are CLASSICS.

Quality of music is to be interpreted by the listener, I can feel comfortable in saying that nas has made classic songs in many different styles. You may disagree but the fact that hes lasted this long is a testament to his versatility, its not easy to remain relevant if you can't switch your style up take a look at a lot of artists that were huge for a time and then abruptly faded away when people got tired of their sound. Nas remains.

 

[BrothaZay]

Quality of music is to be interpreted by the listener, I can feel comfortable in saying that nas has made classic songs in many different styles. You may disagree but the fact that hes lasted this long is a testament to his versatility, its not easy to remain relevant if you can't switch your style up take a look at a lot of artists that were huge for a time and then abruptly faded away when people got tired of their sound. Nas remains.

The thing is Nas isn't relevant in real life.
Sure on this message board he gets talked about alot but in person, literally no one mentions this nikka. Maybe its different on the east coast. But from everywhere I been from Cali, to Vegas, to St.Louis to Nashville to Dallas. No one gives a fucc about Nas or mentions him.
The last person I heard mention Nas was my moms, and thats cuz she first heard Ether the day before.
Before that It was my ex, and that was bacc in 2010 and we was having a convo about hoz getting too much for divorce and Kelis was bought up

 

[Tuling]

Im not saying he hasnt made different kind of songs, Im saying he DOES NOT HAVE THE TALENT TO MAKE THEM CLASSICS.

Not just good songs, or great songs, but CLASSICS.

I can list 6 totally different sounding Pac songs and they are CLASSICS.

Yes but you're especially hinting at hit songs which is true, other rappers have done them better. But what else?

 

[----]

The thing is Nas isn't relevant in real life.
Sure on this message board he gets talked about alot but in person, literally no one mentions this nikka. Maybe its different on the east coast. But from everywhere I been from Cali, to Vegas, to St.Louis to Nashville to Dallas. No one gives a fucc about Nas or mentions him.

I live in New York so my view may be a bit biased

 

[daze23]

just look at the fact that your Cube examples are also basically in chronological order

 

[BrothaZay]

Yes but you're especially hinting at hit songs which is true, other rappers have done them better. But what else?

I dont understand what you're asking me.
They're hit songs but classics at the same time.

They're not hit songs in the sense that "crank that soulja boy" is.

They're legit classics as well.