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

[mag357]

Hold up...

I ain't never been a Jayz fan...
Bought 1 Jayz album my entire life...

And launched that shyt out of a moving vehicle that same day...

But you trying to tell me that some has said that there was a point in time when Jay's wasnt the top rapper in hip hop



I tell ppl to this day... the nikka was so big that anything he said or did became the thing to do, wear, drink, etc...

Any female that he would have wifed would have become top bytch... just like any alcohol he promoted

 

[Izanami]

His longevity is not given enough credit, and he had a run when him on your track meant gold between hard knock life and when he dropped the black album was his height, rap wise

Jay longevity is due to him latching on to whoever was hot and getting some of their shine. From Alicia Keys to Rihanna to Wayne to Migos to Justin Timberlake to R Kelly the list goes on.

 

[CarltonJunior]

This man was so hurt by my comment in TSC that he made a thread

 

[DropTopDoc]

Jay longevity is due to him latching on to whoever was hot and getting some of their shine. From Alicia Keys to Rihanna to Wayne to Migos to Justin Timberlake to R Kelly the list goes on.

Look I’ll never be an undisputed jay-z guy, nah bruh, in any collaboration he did he shined just as bright if not more, him collaborating with folks was expanding his scope and trying different vibes

 

[bordeaux]

nobody was hotter than jay-z in the early 2000s

hotter as in more popular? there was dmx, ja rule, eminem, juvenile, 50 cent, nelly maybe even ludacris. the argument is usually that he wasnt the hottest. but one of the biggest rappers out? for sure.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Look I’ll never be an undisputed jay-z guy, nah bruh, in any collaboration he did he shined just as bright if not more, him collaborating with folks was expanding his scope and trying different vibes

This. Not to mention he helped put a lot of people on, which is the exact opposite of him latching on.

He really put his crew on. I mean The Dynasty album is not even really a Jay solo album. There are several songs Jay isn't even on, and only a couple Jay solo joints without features. He didn't fill that album up with a bunch of other big names to help beef up his crew.

And then as far as producers go, he could've just used whoever was hot at the time, but he built up a dope in-house crew of Kanye, Just Blaze, and Bink. And on top of that worked with the Neptunes early, and helped try to open the door for new producer like 9th Wonder when he was leaving the game.

Many of his big singles were just him.

I never felt like Jay tried to ride other people's coat tails to get hot (with the exception of maybe Biggie right at the beginning )

 

[malbaker86]

...And then there was X 700K first week. 5X platinum

Dynasty Roc La Familia 550K first week. 2X platinum


I’m not even going to put up Eminem and 50 numbers during that time period

Nelly numbers too

Dont forget Outkast

Ja Rule

 

[Ziggiy]

between DMX cooling off and the rise of 50 cent, theres a 2-3 year period where jay-z was clearly the hottest rapper in the game.

not no outkast, nelly, eminem, ludacris, jarule. naw mane. they were cool but thats not what folks was REALLY listening to and buzzing about like that.

Outkast has an argument for 03. THE WORLD was fukking with Speakeboxx/The Love Below. That album was undeniable.


Again i’m saying they have an ARGUMENT. Jay could def claim 03 based on the hype of the Black Album.

 

[Cladyclad]

By 2009 all his peers was washed while he had his 1st number single. None of them dudes ever sniffed plat again while he had 4 new plaques.

 

[Cloud McFly]

Jay longevity is due to him latching on to whoever was hot and getting some of their shine. From Alicia Keys to Rihanna to Wayne to Migos to Justin Timberlake to R Kelly the list goes on.

If it were that easy, how come it didn’t work for cats like Busta, 50 etc?

I don’t get why logic seems to go out of the window when it comes to dude.

 

[CrimsonTider]

...And then there was X 700K first week. 5X platinum

Dynasty Roc La Familia 550K first week. 2X platinum


I’m not even going to put up Eminem and 50 numbers during that time period

Jay was bigger than both. Album sales aren’t the end all be all

 

[CrimsonTider]

If it were that easy, how come it didn’t work for cats like Busta, 50 etc?

I don’t get why logic seems to go out of the window when it comes to dude.

Everybody tries to colab with the hot artist of that time

Never understood this analysis

 

[Izanami]

If it were that easy, how come it didn’t work for cats like Busta, 50 etc?

I don’t get why logic seems to go out of the window when it comes to dude.

50 reign would’ve last longer if he wasn’t giving his hits to other rappers. Game, Banks, ya yo etc.

I just saying Jay had help to keep him relevant.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

Camel Warriors on the internet acting like Jay was not a "pop" rapper.

next time quote me directly.

i dont think you understand what a pop rapper is.

and for the record, im pretty much the opposite of a camel warrior.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

No he wasn't. Coolio's biggest album went double platinum in 1995. The single went triple.

And on that last part, I'm only bringing this up because nobody ever mentions Coolio selling more records than Biggie and Pac because it didn't happen. And when people mention rappers bigger than Jay rarely if ever are the singles (specifically the sales of singles) rarely if ever brought up.

what do you mean it didnt happen??

i broke it all down and sliced it up for you.

you just cant admit when youre wrong - which is one thing. but you should at least learn how to quietly slide out of a convo when you dont want to take your L like a man.