Is Kanye West Having the Best Run in Rap History? (Complex Article)

[StillFaggyAF]

Are y'all really saying 808s is better than Nastradamus? Or even equal? The auto tune wanna be Cudi album?

Kanye's first 4 albums still aren't fucking with Ghostface, Outkast, Ice Cube, Nas (yes including Nastradamus)..

can't cosign Nas's first four.

How not?

Illmatic >>>>>>>>> CD by leaps and bounds.

IWW >>>> LR (Ye's best)

I Am... >>>>>> Graduation

Nastradamus = 808's

However you wanna cut it.

Nastradamus is just too weak for me

Even if Nastradamus is the weakest of all 8 albums, Nas first 2 albums are better than anything Kanye put out and personally I feel I Am... is much better than 808's and Graduation (which I have the unpopular opinion is not all that).

its difficult to compare then because 808s isn't what i call a hip hop album

 

[CJ]

Ye first 6 solo's>>>

 

[Nah Son]

Yo it aint funny how hard Complex be on Kanye dick n/h. Shit is annoying as fuck, I had about 15 Kanye updates today alone on my FB timeline cause of their fuckin stanning. They must get paid for that shit.

 

[buttuh_b]

Ye first 6 solo's>>>

He only has 5.

 

[usmarin3]

What Dr. Dre did is easily way more impressive than what Kanye is doing

Straight Outta Compton

Niggaz for Life

No one can do it better

The Chronic

Doggystyle

All 5 projects are genre changing classic albums and put a whole coast on the map.

As for Kanye, i feel he is a genius for his skills more as a producer, i don't think you could put Kanye in a top 30 rapper off technical skill. I think him being able to produce makes up for the fact he isn't really a great rapper, he just knows what sounds good.

As a producer rapper his run is probably 2nd or 3rd to Dre and RZA.

As a rapper, he doesn't hold a candle to Jay, Nas, Pac, Rakim,Face, Outkast,etc. You will never convince me Kanye is a great rapper.

 

[P. Town]

Kanye West can't even rap though

 

[Nah Son]

Hes not among the best on the mic, but he definitely improved and stepped his game up over the years.

Just compare his flow and delivery on "The Bounce" off of BP2 with his current shit.

 

[Lab Baby]

Meh. They make it sound like Kanye is the vanguard of rap.

Maybe i'm wrong. And someone can prove me wrong, but Kanye's earlier production work with the soul stuff, up until Graduation (maybe), was somewhat lazy in his soul-sampling and beat sampling. His production sounds were pretty obvious where the beat was from. In a lot of cases, he doesn't change too much between the original sample (if anything at all) and really just added an appropriate drum or 808, and a bassline with the scratched-in hook.



It sounded dope, but i can't point really point to many beats where you listen to the sound and think "that's incredible how he flipped a small sample beat sample into something totally in left field.

Sometimes i think his music is made out to be more than it really is, just b/c it's Kanye. Especially with the "bringing soul samples back". If you check samples of music, it's always been around, just not as obvious as in Kanye's production.

Just Blaze, IMO, did more for soul-sampling on The Blueprint than Kanye. Kanye just stuck to that sound and sorta made it his trademark.

And RZA was the one to bring the style of sampling Kanye uses. I've seen numerous times on Reddit and a couple other places, where people treat him like some kind of musical god for "inventing chipmunk sampling". When infact, RZA's been doing that sampling style since Shadowboxin'. And perfected the chipmunk sound on 'For Heaven's Sake' in 1997.

Also, Puff's No Way Out had plenty of soul sampling. Mos Def's had that sorta sound.

Not to take a great deal away from Kanye, or to diminish his accomplishments. But I think his influence in terms of changing the sound is overblown a lot. He's a dope producer, and an average rapper. But I wouldn't put him as some kind of vanguard of the genre like too many people do.

(i'm prepared for negative reactions)

Kanye does do a lot of unoriginal sampling (albeit still dope), but there comes times (especially around LR/Graduation period) where his chop game is sick. Especially his drums. He found like 6-7 ways to chops The Gaturs' Cold Bear in so many patterns, to the point where he pretty much owns that patent sound. Peep Common's Be and Finding Forever, look up the samples and peep the different ways he chops them. Best example of his chop game:



And the way he chops Funky Drummer... crazy.

 

[juan travolta]

nah not to me..his music is hit or miss now.

 

[Cutler 26 INT's LOL!]

Outkast first 4 albums >>>>

 

[jono]

His catalog is extremely strong considering his time in the game. He easily has a top 10 catalog, but as an MC....nah. As a producer he makes a strong argument, considering he pretty much made the soul sampling underground mainstream again but I dunno.

I fuckin hate Complex because they are the epitome of a suburban hip-hop mag/site. They dick ride anyone who spins.

 

[cobbland]

No.

He's not even the best rapper in Chicago (Common or Lupe are).

He's not the best producer from Chicago (NO ID is).

He wasn't even the best producer on Roc-a-fella.

He's not even the best producer in the Midwest (that's BlackMilk or Hi-Tek)

He's not even the best overall artist from Chicago (Curtis Mayfield, R. Kelly, Donny Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls, Quincy Jones, Minnie Ripperton, Sam Cooke, etc).

So how has he had the best run in rap's short history?

 

[StillFaggyAF]

No.

He's not even the best rapper in Chicago (Common or Lupe are).

He's not the best producer from Chicago (NO ID is).

He wasn't even the best producer on Roc-a-fella.

He's not even the best producer in the Midwest (that's BlackMilk or Hi-Tek)

He's not even the best overall artist from Chicago (Curtis Mayfield, R. Kelly, Donny Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls, Quincy Jones, Minnie Ripperton, Sam Cooke, etc).

So how has he had the best run in rap's short history?

Compare his discography to other rappers, not Curtis Mayfield.

 

[RichPorterOfTheIC]

complex is known kanye stans

 

[tompetrez3]

Nigga fuck Kanye West. He not even worthy to wipe RZA ass. FOH with this article before I throw this laptop against the damn wall. Kanye's best production cant even come close to shit RZA did 20 years ago. Jay Z ran with that GOAT rapper shit but i aint letting the gayfish think he can one up RZA

RZA TRACK RECORD DURING HIS PRIME. HE EITHER FULLY PRODUCED OR EXECUTIVE PRODUCED THESE ALBUMS

36 Chambers-1993 3X PLAT

Tical-1994 3X PLAT

6 Feet Deep-1994 GOLD

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx-1995 PLATNIUM

Return To The 36 Chambers-1995 PLATNIUM

Liquid Swords-1995 PLATNIUM

Ironman-1996 PLATNIUM

Pick Sickle Shovel-1997 GOLD

Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars-1997 GOLD

Wu Forever-1997 4X PLATNIUM

The Pillage-1998 PLATNIUM

Bobby Digital In Stereo-1998 PLATNIUM

Tical 2000-1998 4X PLATNIUM

Immobilarity-1999 GOLD

Uncontrolled Substance-1999 GOLD

Redemption-1999 GOLD

Supreme Clientele-2000 PLATNIUM

The W-2000 PLATNIUM

What fuckin album does Kanye got that can fuck with any album listed above. Kanye aint no fucking messiah to sampling. half second sample of Bing Crosby on Ice Water>>>>>any of them gay ass co produced so called bangers or masterpieces Kanye got. Fuck Kanye West

 

[Lab Baby]

God. Damn. Fuck outta here though with The Pillage going platinum.

 

[Tommy bilfiger]

Only Jigga and maybe Ghostface have a better catalogs than kanye west

 

[And_So_It_Burns]

One of the many reasons i hate complex magazine. They Stan Wayne, Jay and Ye all too much. Anyway Kanye has had an impressive run. Great catalog and production. He's simply not a great rapper. So he'll probably never get mentions with the g.o.a.ts.

 

[Lebong James]

kanye catalog is top 5 catalog for sure...he already is one of the goats imo..been on top of the game since he came out

 

[unspoken_respect]

I bought all his albums, so I have to agree.