Rapper Ranking Project: Rapper #4 - Nas

[Like Water]

Illmatic alone should give him a 5 in impact.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Illmatic alone should give him a 5 in impact.

Illmatic is as iconic as an album can get, but from a rules standpoint, Impact is about more than just the reception of his work.

 

[Ear2DaSt]

This may be the perfect rapper

I disagree on subject matter he deserves a 5

 

[The Lonious Monk]

This may be the perfect rapper

I disagree on subject matter he deserves a 5

To be honest, that was one of the areas I thought I was too hard on him. That said I do believe that there are rappers that have explored more topics than him or have gone deeper into certain topics. So I don't think I'm completely out of line to hold back that .5. If others feel like he deserves it back or if there is a good argument for changing it, I'll definitely put him up.

 

[power_wisdom]

Good rating, but I have a few inquires. You gave him a 4.5 in subject matter. Nas has talk about everything from street shit, politics, social issues, parting,Black history, the music history, honoring other rappers (Rakim ) the problems with hip-hop as a whole (which he did on Hip-Hop is dead), sell outs, being married, being divorce, being a father, his father, his mother, dealing with his mother death, Africa, Obama, Aliens (We are not alone). I don't know many rappers who touch on as many issues as Nas. Nas has Collabo with Snoop, Luda, R Kelly, Ron Issly, Ameri, Mary J, Jr Gong on a whole album too, but I see your point. Impact I think people forget nas started the super producers all on one album. He was the first east coast artist to work with Dr. Dre. He had everyone talking the hip-hop being dead out side of just hip-hop fans. He made major noise with the idea of calling an album nigger. I think he made more than a dent in the culture.

 

[Ear2DaSt]

just cuz you cover more topics don't mean those topics fit the essence of Hip Hop

because Hip Hop is subjective to opinion any rapper can decide i'll beat out these other rappers with a wider base of subject matter ... sometimes the subject matter is forced or out of pocket

They see a rapper like Nas and they wanna out do em some way so they force vast subject matter

someone like me would dismiss as wack rap but because Hip Hop is subject to opinion it leaves it open for people with corny taste in rap to say MF Doom covers more subjects in rap just using him as an example ... but 9 out of 10 it's nerd shit.

Not only that non of those mcs with more subject matter may ever be ranked ... your just comparing him to all the rappers ... when you may compare a J-Z to only the big rappers .....

Im sure an aspiring artist can make a larger variety of styles of paintings

but it could never be at the level of a rembrant or picasso ...

same with subject matter a rapper can rap a larger variety of topics but never reach the level of Nas

concerning the catagfory of subject matter

(thank you, thank you)

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Good rating, but I have a few inquires. You gave him a 4.5 in subject matter. Nas has talk about everything from street shit, politics, social issues, parting,Black history, the music history, honoring other rappers (Rakim ) the problems with hip-hop as a whole (which he did on Hip-Hop is dead), sell outs, being married, being divorce, being a father, his father, his mother, dealing with his mother death, Africa, Obama, Aliens (We are not alone). I don't know many rappers who touch on as many issues as Nas. Nas has Collabo with Snoop, Luda, R Kelly, Ron Issly, Ameri, Mary J, Jr Gong on a whole album too, but I see your point. Impact I think people forget nas started the super producers all on one album. He was the first east coast artist to work with Dr. Dre. He had everyone talking the hip-hop being dead out side of just hip-hop fans. He made major noise with the idea of calling an album nigger. I think he made more than a dent in the culture.

Ya'll are right. I'm trippin. I'll put his subject matter score up.

As for the Collaboration score, it's limited to other rappers, so I haven't given anyone too much credit for what they've done with R&B singers. Like I said in the breakdown, he's got a good history of working with people, but not the extent of others. Like Jay does a better job of working with the best of the best than Nas. I didn't give Jay a 5 either because I don't think he performs as well alongside others as someone like Nas, but there are certainly rappers who work with other strong rappers from a greater variety of backgrounds than Nas, so that's why I held back .5.

Lastly, I still think Nas impact is felt mostly by people who like his music. Again, you take away the beef from Jay, and I don't think that he as widely known as he is now. Also, a having a controversial album name isn't really an significant impact, especially when you change the name when it's released.

 

[5 Grand]

Lyrics - 5 He's the best lyricist in the history of Hip Hop. Melle Mel and Rakim came first but Nas took the baton and ran with it. Nas has way more material than Melle Mel and Rakim.

Delivery - 5 if I could give him a 6 I would. His flow on If I Ruled The World let everybody know there's a new sheriff in town.

Language - 5 His use of slang and ordinary words was unique when Illmatic dropped

Storytelling - 5 His third verse in One Love had everybody saying he was the illest MC when Illmatic came out.

Catalog - 5 Dude's been around for 25+ years. There aren't too many rappers that have a catalog that can match Nas's. Even Lost Tapes was a bunch of throwaway songs that didn't make his albums and he released those. Lost Tapes is better than most rappers albums.

Subject Matter - 5 He's covered just about every topic. Illmatic was unique because he balanced so-called positive rap with gangsta rap. That was unique at the time, back in 94 you were either a gangsta rapper or a positive rapper. There weren't too many people that fit into both categories

Creativity - 5 "When I was 12 I went to hell for snuffing Jesus". Eric B and Rakim had a song called Let The Rhythm Hit Em Where Rakim was rapping in 16ths. In other words he was putting 16 syllables into every bar when every other MC was putting 4 or 8 syllables into every bar. It wasn't speed rap, he was rapping on time with the beat but there was no space to put any extra syllables. Eric B and Rakim had that one song but Nas made a career out of rapping like that.

Also Nas has a lot of songs with unique subject matter, even Ether was different in the way he approached the battle.

Collaboration - 5 He's worked with just about everybody. You could make a CD-R/Greatest hits album of all songs that Nas was featured on and it would be better than most rapper's albums.

Impact - 5 Everybody seems to agree that the MT Rushmore of Hip Hop is 2Pac, Jay, Nas and Biggie.

Overall Score - 45 A Perfect Score

You guys might say I'm a stan or I'm caping for Nas but I had Illmatic when it first dropped. A lot of people heard It Was Written before they heard Illmatic. But I heard Illmatic and played it for two years before It Was Written came out. Nas was on a different level than the rest of New York. The only people that were in Nas's league in 94 was Wu Tang. Even Big wasn't quite there until he came with One More Chance/Stay With Me, but that came out in the summer of 95, a full year after Illmatic

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Nas is pretty close to the perfect MC, but he doesn't deserve a perfect score.

Take Catalog for instance. He's got a big catalog and that is due to his longevity, so he deserves credit for that, but not every album in that catalog is strong. Nastradamus is pretty weak as albums from good artists go. And I personally think Double CDs are a bad decision in general, but even in the context of measure Street's Disciple against other Double CDs, it's one of the weaker ones. Compare that to someone like Pac. Sure, Illmatic is arguably better than any of Pac's albums, but all of Pac's studio albums are good. I don't believe he has the low points that Nas had which is why I gave him a 5.

 

[AZTG]

Before I give my score, Its impossible to give Nas less than a 5 for impact. Nas changed the way everyone who came after him rhyme. Illmatic was the first impactful album where you had a bunch of producers work on an album, it wasnt the first, but it was the album that made it cool and normalize it.

Your impact analysis is wrong, Nas sold more records before his beef with Jay if thats what you want to base it on.

I can go on and on, but I don't understand how a hip hop fan can sit and say Nas is not on the list of the top 10 most impactful artists in hip hop.

 

[Weazel]

Impact 3???

"eat a dick"

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Before I give my score, Its impossible to give Nas less than a 5 for impact. Nas changed the way everyone who came after him rhyme. Illmatic was the first impactful album where you had a bunch of producers work on an album, it wasnt the first, but it was the album that made it cool and normalize it.

I can go on and on, but I don't understand how a hip hop fan can sit and say Nas is not on the list of the top 10 most impactful artists in hip hop.

Again, ya'll dudes are only looking at the Impact category from the perspective of how important his music is. That's only part of it. He is high there. It's the other areas where he's not as significant.

First I don't think what you're saying about producers is true. Pretty much every rapper that didn't have a specific producer in his crew had to use multiple producers, and I don't think that trend changed much after Nas. People who have inhouse producers still largely use those producers. People who don't have to mix and match. I also don't see how Nas changed the way people rhyme. Can you name some rappers who rhymed one way before Nas and then suddenly rhymed another way after Illmatic dropped?

Nas is one of the greatest rappers ever for sure, but his impact in general is not like Jay's, who is a five. Jay's music is more widespread and sells more. Jay doesn't start trends, but his name alone makes them more popular. The industry as a whole adjusts itself based on moves that Jay makes. Nas isn't really on that level. His music is great, but past that he plays the cut a lot. Again, the only reason Nas' presence is what it is is because he beat Jay in the beef. Nas said himself that before that he was much more low key.

 

[AZTG]

Lyrics - 5 - Nas is in the top tier of hip hop lyricists, he is not as potent as he once was with the words, but he has gotten better at getting his message across.

Delivery - 3.5 - Dont get me wrong, Nas' flow and delivery work for him, but I cant sit here and give him a higher score when you have rappers with much better and diverse flows and deliveries.

Language - 5 - If Nas wasnt a rapper, he would be a poet. He has a way with words that not many rappers can emulate. Most rappers, including elite ones always rap by using the words I or me and always talk about something they are gonna do. Nas is one of the few artists that can rap about a subject without ever bringing himself into it.

Storytelling - 5 - "

Then I rose, wiping the blunts ash from my clothes

Then froze only to blow the herb smoke through my nose"

Catalog - 5 - I always say the hardest thing to achieve in hip hop is longetivity. Not saying everything Nas did was great, but to be rappong 20+ years later and still spit memorable rhymes is just incredible to me.

Subject Matter - 5 - Nas has rapped about almost everything.

Creativity - 5 - dude rapped from the perspective of a gun, wrote a letter to friends in jail, told a story in reverse, rapped about the black mans plight comparing it to a project roach, died and begged god for a second chance, i mean i could keep going.

Collaboration - 5 - Rhymed with elite rappers and either did better or held his own.

Impact - 5 - Cmon man.

Other than flow and delivery, I cant take a point away from any of the catagories listed.

Total - 43.5

 

[Beta]

Nas is all 5's except

Catalog (4)

Collabs (4)

 

[Ibex]

The Nas-Non IC God worship score.

Lyrics - 5

Delivery - 4

Language - 5

Storytelling - 5

Catalog - 4

Subject Matter - 5

Creativity - 5

Collaboration - 3.5

Impact - 4

Score : 40.5

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

Impact (3) - There aren't too many true HipHop fans out there who don't know Nas and appreciate what he means to the game. That said, he hasn't made as big of a splash as others. He sell well, but isn't breaking any records. He hasn't really set any trends or anything. Probably, the period he was most significant in the game was when he was beefing with Jay. In fact, if not for that, he'd probably be one of those great rappers that never quite got the shine they deserved.

This is my only gripe. It's more to having impact than setting trends or breaking Thriller album sells record. Jay once say "I should #1 on everybody's list", well Nas usually is. Hell Jay's own artist wasn't concerned about letting him down, but Cole didn't want to let Nas down. It's been said numerous times but there aint' no Takeover reaction or a Hit Em Up reaction but there is an Ether which is now synonymous with getting dissed.

Nas' impact is at least a 4.

 

[AZTG]

Before I give my score, Its impossible to give Nas less than a 5 for impact. Nas changed the way everyone who came after him rhyme. Illmatic was the first impactful album where you had a bunch of producers work on an album, it wasnt the first, but it was the album that made it cool and normalize it.

I can go on and on, but I don't understand how a hip hop fan can sit and say Nas is not on the list of the top 10 most impactful artists in hip hop.

Again, ya'll dudes are only looking at the Impact category from the perspective of how important his music is. That's only part of it. He is high there. It's the other areas where he's not as significant.

First I don't think what you're saying about producers is true. Pretty much every rapper that didn't have a specific producer in his crew had to use multiple producers, and I don't think that trend changed much after Nas. People who have inhouse producers still largely use those producers. People who don't have to mix and match. I also don't see how Nas changed the way people rhyme. Can you name some rappers who rhymed one way before Nas and then suddenly rhymed another way after Illmatic dropped?

Nas is one of the greatest rappers ever for sure, but his impact in general is not like Jay's, who is a five. Jay's music is more widespread and sells more. Jay doesn't start trends, but his name alone makes them more popular. The industry as a whole adjusts itself based on moves that Jay makes. Nas isn't really on that level. His music is great, but past that he plays the cut a lot. Again, the only reason Nas' presence is what it is is because he beat Jay in the beef. Nas said himself that before that he was much more low key.

Not gonna sit here and say Nas is as impactful as Jay Z. Thats impossible. But if you say Jay is a 5 and hold that as your standard, no one else can get a 5. Its kind of like Jordan is gets a 10 as a basketball player, no one else is good as Jordan, but players like Lebron, Kareem, Bird, Kobe, are still also 10s.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Alright. Impact is in contention and I want to be fair about that score, so let me make clear the argument for the score and give people the chance to refute the score.

Here is a list of the reasons:

+ He's universally recognized as one of the best rappers ever

- His record sales are not exceptional for a good rapper

- He's not really responsible for setting any trends

- His presence in the industry is not exceptional when compared to other good rappers especially when you take away the status boost he got from his beef with Jay

Where am I wrong? Can people point out trends that Nas started in the industry? Can people point a time when artists were changing release dates according to when Nas was dropping? Can people name specific rappers who have gotten famous imitating Nas or following his path? Some of this has to be true for him to be a 5 because that's what we've seen from others who get a five in that Category like 2Pac and Jay.

If you can't really make the argument for a 5, but still think 3 is too long, just give me a good argument that is actually true.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Impact (3) - There aren't too many true HipHop fans out there who don't know Nas and appreciate what he means to the game. That said, he hasn't made as big of a splash as others. He sell well, but isn't breaking any records. He hasn't really set any trends or anything. Probably, the period he was most significant in the game was when he was beefing with Jay. In fact, if not for that, he'd probably be one of those great rappers that never quite got the shine they deserved.

This is my only gripe. It's more to having impact than setting trends or breaking Thriller album sells record. Jay once say "I should #1 on everybody's list", well Nas usually is. Hell Jay's own artist wasn't concerned about letting him down, but Cole didn't want to let Nas down. It's been said numerous times but there aint' no Takeover reaction or a Hit Em Up reaction but there is an Ether which is now synonymous with getting dissed.

Nas' impact is at least a 4.

Damn. lol That's a hell of a point. I know the people that think he's a 5 want a 5, but would me pushing it up to a 4 be a fair compromise?

 

[power_wisdom]

Nas is pretty close to the perfect MC, but he doesn't deserve a perfect score.

Take Catalog for instance. He's got a big catalog and that is due to his longevity, so he deserves credit for that, but not every album in that catalog is strong. Nastradamus is pretty weak as albums from good artists go. And I personally think Double CDs are a bad decision in general, but even in the context of measure Street's Disciple against other Double CDs, it's one of the weaker ones. Compare that to someone like Pac. Sure, Illmatic is arguably better than any of Pac's albums, but all of Pac's studio albums are good. I don't believe he has the low points that Nas had which is why I gave him a 5.

2 bad albums out of 11 isn't a bad record. And Street Disciple wasn't as bad as Gift and a Curse. He had a lot of bangers on it too. Theif Theme, These are our heroes, Street Disciple, Disciples, Rest of my life, Moment in time, Nazereth Savage, U.B.R, War, Getting Married. I don't think it was that bad. I like it. And Nas have whole albums with themes. Hip-Hop is dead had a theme. Untitled, and God son had a theme and so did Life is good. There are not too many rappers with 9 really great albums mix with at least 4-6 classic or critical acclaimed albums in their discography.