True Or False...Jay’s Best Album Isn’t Better Than Nas’s Second Best Album

[ThirdAct]

Illmatic > RD
IWW > Vol 1
I Am > Vol 2
Nastradamus < Vol 3
QB's Finest = Dynasty
Stillmatic = Blueprint (production is better on BP, but rapping is better on Stillmatic...plus Nas won the battle)
God's Son > BP2
Street's Disciple < The Black Album
HHID > Kingdom Come
Untitled = American Gangster
Distant Relatives > BP3
Life Is Good > MCHG
Nasir < 4:44

Nas discography shyts on Jay's.

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

Production wise you got an argument, rapping wise HELL NO. AND OB4CL one of my favorites.

Production-wise, as Billy said, it's pretty clear that OB4CL is the superior album. Rapping wise, again it's about taste. Raekwon and Ghost perfected the recipe for slang-style mafioso rap. They were at the top of their rhyme game the same way Nas was at the top of his. So it is a case of apples and oranges.

Not to mention that OB4CL plays out like a movie, and to be consistently great over 17-18 tracks is more impressive than for 10 tracks. That said, both are A1 albums and it doesn't matter how you arrange them on your GOAT list.

 

[ThirdAct]

nikka please. Lol.

Name another verse on OB4CL that competes then...

And don't get me twisted, Rae n Ghost prolly the best hip hop tag team of all time...but they wasn't on the Nas level lyrically back then

 

[ThirdAct]

Production-wise, as Billy said, it's pretty clear that OB4CL is the superior album. Rapping wise, again it's about taste. Raekwon and Ghost perfected the recipe for slang-style mafioso rap. They were at the top of their rhyme game the same way Nas was at the top of his. So it is a case of apples and oranges.

Not to mention that OB4CL plays out like a movie, and to be consistently great over 17-18 tracks is more impressive than for 10 tracks. That said, both are A1 albums and it doesn't matter how you arrange them on your GOAT list.

Production wise...debatable. Rza in his prime vs Primo, Large Pro and Pete Rock in their prime. OB4CL might be a little more consistent in that regard but the production highs on Illmatic are fukking incredible. Personally speaking, Memory Lane is my favorite hip hop beat EVER. World Is Yours beat? Incredible. It Ain't Hard to Tell? Incredible.

And yeah I give em props for that style they were on, they were straight up trendsetters...but so was Nas, and he had a more complex style than them.

 

[Billy Ocean]

Name another verse on OB4CL that competes then...

And don't get me twisted, Rae n Ghost prolly the best hip hop tag team of all time...but they wasn't on the Nas level lyrically back then

Bro, damn near every Ghost verse on Linx is par with any Jay RD shyt. Cap killed his verses too. And don't let me even start on the esoteric, distinctive, inimitable brilliance of Rae on Incarcerated Scarfaces. We can also talk about Deck and GZA verses on the album. Plus Meth on Wu-Gambinos >>>>>

 

[ThirdAct]

Bro, damn near every Ghost verse on Linx is par with any Jay RD shyt. Cap killed his verses too. And don't let me even start on the esoteric, distinctive, inimitable brilliance of Rae on Incarcerated Scarfaces. We also talk about Deck and GZA verses on the album. Plus Meth on Wu-Gambinos >>>>>

Lol breh what? I aint' say OB4CL vs bars on RD and you know it. This is bars on OB4CL vs bars on Illmatic. fukk RD gotta do wit my argument ROFL?

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

Production wise...debatable. Rza in his prime vs Primo, Large Pro and Pete Rock in their prime. OB4CL might be a little more consistent in that regard but the production highs on Illmatic are fukking incredible. Personally speaking, Memory Lane is my favorite hip hop beat EVER. World Is Yours beat? Incredible. It Ain't Hard to Tell? Incredible.

And yeah I give em props for that style they were on, they were straight up trendsetters...but so was Nas, and he had a more complex style than them.

Why does complexity make for a better lyricist? Are we gonna say Pharoah Monche or Big Pun are better lyricists than Nas because they were more proficient from a technicality standpoint? Are we gonna diminish Cube's lyrical abilities because he didn't spit "lyrical miracles" and preferred to pack a punch with a more direct, coherent approach? Nas was excellent at what he did, so were Rae and Ghost. At this point, you're picking hairs over who's better. For the record, many verses on OB4CL stand up to Nas' shyt e.g. Raekwon on Glaciers of Ice, Ghost on Verbal Intercourse...the entire Guillotine (Swordz) song etc etc.

Production-wise, I can point to production highs like Rainy Dayz, Criminology, Ice Water, Ice Cream, Verbal Intercourse...I mean damn near the whole album.

 

[Billy Ocean]

Lol breh what? I aint' say OB4CL vs bars on RD and you know it. This is bars on OB4CL vs bars on Illmatic. fukk RD gotta do wit my argument ROFL?

My bad, bro. Posting while on the move. Thought you was talking bout RD.

 

[Bolzmark]

Illmatic > RD
IWW > Vol 1
I Am > Vol 2 NO
Nastradamus < Vol 3
QB's Finest = Dynasty NO
Stillmatic = Blueprint (production is better on BP, but rapping is better on Stillmatic...plus Nas won the battle) NO
God's Son > BP2
Street's Disciple < The Black Album
HHID > Kingdom Come
Untitled = American Gangster NO
Distant Relatives > BP3 Shouldn't it be compared to WTT? If so, HELLL NO
Life Is Good > MCHG
Nasir < 4:44

Nas discography shyts on Jay's.

 

[ThirdAct]

Why does complexity make for a better lyricist? Are we gonna say Pharoah Monche or Big Pun are better lyricists than Nas because they were more proficient from a technicality standpoint? Are we gonna diminish Cube's lyrical abilities because he didn't spit "lyrical miracles" and preferred to pack a punch with a more direct, coherent approach? Nas was excellent at what he did, so were Rae and Ghost. At this point, you're picking hairs over who's better. For the record, many verses on OB4CL stand up to Nas' shyt e.g. Raekwon on Glaciers of Ice, Ghost on Verbal Intercourse...the entire Guillotine (Swordz) song etc etc.

Production-wise, I can point to production highs like Rainy Dayz, Criminology, Ice Water, Ice Cream, Verbal Intercourse...I mean damn near the whole album.

Look, you'll get no argument from me that OB4CL is an immaculate album production wise and lyrically. shyt is a masterpiece and in my top 3 hip hop albums with Illmatic and The Infamous. But the reason I put Illmatic and The Infamous above them is because Nas performance on Illmatic and P's performance on Infamous are just on another level. Chef, Ghost and the rest of the Wu were killers on OB4CL but just not quite on that same level.

And it goes beyond complexity. Nas and P had something to their styles that I almost can't explain. But I think it's the vividness. They had that ability to literally make it feel like you were living inside their rhymes. Rae and Ghost got that too, but just not quite on the same level.

Production wise you might be right. Memory Lane still my personal GOAT beat tho.

 

[ThirdAct]

@Bolzmark Not one song on Vol 2 is better than NY State of Mind Pt 2, Hate Me Now, Small World, Nas Is Like or Undying Love.

 

[Conscious Pilot]

I prefer RD over Illmatic have them both in my top 5’s. As I also have both emcees in my top 5.

Jays discography >>> Nasir’s

 

[I'm Blackman]

This is all opinion.

But in my opinion IWW>>>>>>>RD

 

[Marc Spector]

Reasonable Doubt is better than Illmatic IMO. By a hair but better.

I'm just shocked at all this IWW slander

Its EASILY Nas second best album and honestly rivals Illmatic.

 

[Marc Spector]

I'm also gon keep it a buck and say Nas hasnt dropped a hot album since HHID