Time To End The Narrative That Jay-Z Was Never The Top Rapper In The Game

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

been meaning to make this thread, but i gotta put my foot down now.

one of those internet narratives that have gotten way outta hand.

nobody was hotter than jay-z in the early 2000s. and dont give me any commercial rappers that didnt have the cultural relevance to match their numbers.

LOL. thats the part that really irks me. yall dont keep the same energy when talking about 2pac & biggie. yall never bring up how they were being outsold by coolio. in fact, its like he never even existed. LOL. or maybe cats just dont know.

another classic.

 

[Ziggiy]

He gets knocked down a peg or two for the 2000’s because he lost the battle with Nas.


But objectively speaking either the Hard Knock Life Era (98) or ironically 03 (Black Album) are probably the best arguments to make that the was the undisputed “Top” rapper.


“Top” rapper doesn’t just mean sales. Its sales/cultural relevance/influence/etc. Jay has ALWAYS maintained his cultural relevance and was extremely influential, alongside his sales.

 

[Juggalo Fred]

Saying jay is the best rapper is like saying Mcdonalds has the best hamburgers

 

[Robbie3000]

Eminem And Pac are the biggest rappers of all time.

Jay never eclipsed either.

Hell, DMX in his prime was bigger than Jay.

 

[noodles]

Saying jay is the best rapper is like saying Madonna is the best singer

 

[Cloud McFly]

A lot of those cats probably weren’t listening to rap or even born then that make those type of statements.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

He gets knocked down a peg or two for the 2000’s because he lost the battle with Nas.


But objectively speaking either the Hard Knock Life Era (98) or ironically 03 (Black Album) are probably the best arguments to make that the was the undisputed “Top” rapper.


“Top” rapper doesn’t just mean sales. Its sales/cultural relevance/influence/etc. Jay has ALWAYS maintained his cultural relevance and was extremely influential, alongside his sales.

even when he lost the battle to nas, he still didnt lose any steam tho.

ehh, DMX outshined him in the "hard knock life era". i was moreso talking 2000-02.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

A lot of those cats probably weren’t listening to rap or even born then that make those type of statements.

yea, thats the feeling i get from most of them.

 

[Ziggiy]

even when he lost the battle to nas, he still didnt lose any steam tho.

ehh, DMX outshined him in the "hard knock life era". i was moreso talking 2000-02.

I think its debatable if X outshined him. I mean X was a BEAST in 98 but Jay-Z sold Five Million Records and HKL was EVERYWHERE. That song and Money Ain’t A Thang we’re UNSTOPPABLE smash hits.

 

[Zero]

one of those internet narratives that have gotten way outta hand.

And it's really just the Coli trying too hard to stan for Nas after the beef.

A lot of those cats probably weren’t listening to rap or even born then that make those type of statements.

Exactly. You literally couldn't escape Jay in his prime if you were actually in tune with Hiphop.

 

[Ziggiy]

Eminem And Pac are the biggest rappers of all time.

Jay never eclipsed either.

Hell, DMX in his prime was bigger than Jay.

Eminem’s popularity should ALWAYS come with an asterisk. People who like to give Em props never want to admit that him being a white POP RAPPER (thats right I said it. Eminem is nothing more than a more skilled Vanilla Ice) who white people could latch onto was what catapulted him

 

[erker]

even when he lost the battle to nas, he still didnt lose any steam tho.

ehh, DMX outshined him in the "hard knock life era". i was moreso talking 2000-02.

He 'retired' though...

 

[Cloud McFly]

yea, thats the feeling i get from most of them.

They pretty much just parrot what they read online, but swear they know it all.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

I think its debatable if X outshined him. I mean X was a BEAST in 98 but Jay-Z sold Five Million Records and HKL was EVERYWHERE. That song and Money Ain’t A Thang we’re UNSTOPPABLE smash hits.

its close, but X ultimately wins out for 98-99. hell, one of the biggest songs on that album came courtesy of DMX & Swizzy, and jay overall rode the ruff ryder wave to an extent.

"money aint a thang" is JD's song. thats a so so def track all the way. its become more synonymous with jay, because volume 2 was dropping while it was still hot.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

He 'retired' though...

not in 00-02.