can an artist be considered great with no classic albums?

[YamoleySensei]

Busta Rhymes...imo he has no classic albums to speak about but I do consider him an all-time great, same with Jadakiss and Ludacris.

 

[hiphophova]

sure, its your rapping prowess and hit making ability.

most these classics arent even classics, and whats good to you differs from the next.

your great if you got great abilities.

 

[5th Letter]

Yes you can be great with no classics.

 

[antarticp]

def but itll be hard for you to be greater than an artist who does have classic albums ... like there aint no way Busta will every be ranked higher than the likes of Tupac, big, jayz or Nas .......

 

[Nile Gambino]

Busta Rhymes...imo he has no classic albums to speak about but I do consider him an all-time great, same with Jadakiss and Ludacris.

when disaster strikes and anarchy are classics wtf r u talkin bout

 

[NothingButTheTruth]

Yes, most all-time great artists only have 1, maybe 2 real classics. The stans that try to act like their favorite artists have shit like 5 classics sound stupid. Classics are albums that will be played 50 maybe 100 years from now, not 10.

Basically, if an album has one wack song it's not classic. If it has more than 2 average songs it's not classic. Also, people need to stop confusing personal classics with universal classics.

For instance, Nas has 1 real, universal classic in Illmatic, and a couple other pending... but a Nas fan will say he has some outlandish number like 5 or 6 classics, which is unheard of for ANY artist.

... On topic, Jay and DMX don't have any classics and a lot of people consider them great. Same with Biggie, Eminem, Wayne, and Kanye.

 

[jono]

I suppose you could, Jadakiss is a perfect example of that but it hurts the conversation to not have a full body of work to point to and say "look at what he can do..."

Classics are developed over time anyway. Something that may not have been burnin at first may turn out to have staying power or proven to be ahead of its time (Reasonable Doubt for instance).

I also feel classic is a subjective term, everybody defines it differently.

You can compare rappers bar for bar or verse for verse and rank em but its hard without a significant solid product to compare between the two. It can be done but its not easy to argue.

 

[P. Town]

Who is to say what is classic and what isn't classic though

 

[MeekMonizzLLLLLLe14]

I can name 5 rappers without classic albums that are considered great

 

[Stew]

Can you make it to the Hall Of Fame without a ring? Yup

 

[usmarin3]

yes, look at Eminem, Busta,etc

 

[L.O.S.T.]

Yall make some good arguments. I don't consider Busta one of the greats.

 

[juan travolta]

nah not imo. they need at least one good album.

 

[Stew]

nah not imo. they need at least one good album.

A good album doesnt mean its classic.

 

[DMTxTHC]

A lot of ya'll consider Em great, and he has nothing close to a classic.

 

[blackbloc]

simple answer NO

 

[Bodhi]

Ya'll think Jay-Z is the GOAT

 

[KNiGHTS]

Busta Rhymes...imo he has no classic albums to speak about but I do consider him an all-time great, same with Jadakiss and Ludacris.

Shut it down in one. Busta's run as a feature artist is GOAT. Ludacris has some near classics, but his feature record + catalog make him a great. Jada is the only disputable one in your post. I appreciate his stuff, but his monotonous flow holds him back more than anything.

 

[gman82]

Yes, but without a classic album its nearly impossible to crack the top 10, 15.

 

[Turfaholic]

a bullet prevented this nigga fro being the goat