The difference between a "Legend" and a "Veteran"

[KNiGHTS]

So is lil Wayne a veteran?

*Takes bait*

Yep. Has a classic studio album, years worth of consistent verses dropped via mixtapes, and he's released enough consistent material to overshadow his worst studio album (500 Degreez).

 

[gifted]

Good thread potential but you lost points with your examples.

Em and Uncle Luke legends and Nas is not??

A legend has to be a vet

but a vet doesn't have to be legend.

You have vets (Sean Price, Mobb Deep, Redman etc) legends (Nas, Wutang, Rakim etc) and icons (Pac, Big, Jay as much as I hate to admit it).

 

[ustreet_monsta]

^ I would consider Mobb Deep to be legends for anyone up on Hip Hop like that. Mobb Deep had the 90's on smash.

Havoc's production >>>
Prodigy's rhymes on The Infamous, Hell on Earth, and Murda Muzik >>>
The beefs with Pac and Jay
Pro-tools

 

[soul rattler]

Good thread potential but you lost points with your examples.

Em and Uncle Luke legends and Nas is not??

A legend has to be a vet

but a vet doesn't have to be legend.

You have vets (Sean Price, Mobb Deep, Redman etc) legends (Nas, Wutang, Rakim etc) and icons (Pac, Big, Jay as much as I hate to admit it).

No, a legend does not have to be a vet. Vanilla Ice and Beasie Boys are legends in the sense of Caucasian contribution to the culture, but that doesn't make them (or at least Vanilla Ice) a veteran.

And for you people catching feelings cause I said Nas is a vet and not neccessarily a legend, calm the fuck down. Nas has an extraordinary catalouge but what did he do that was never done before or never needed tweaking or perfecting? Hell, in rock and roll, Elvis can be considered a legend but he ain't no damn vet, not in my eyes anyway. There's nothing wrong with being a veteran. Kanye and Lil Wayne are both bordering veteran and legend status as we speak.

And to the dumbass who said Twista isn't a legend and "fell of in 98", drink bleach and go back to Cheap Seats where your opinion is actually worth half a shit.

 

[soul rattler]

Uncle Luke is a legend but not Nas....how's that possible?

Where did I say Uncle Luke was a legend for his music? He's a business pioneer for the Southern region and no one here can refute that.

 

[qdiii55]

A legend (in the context of Hip Hop) is an individual, group, or organization whose contributions or actions create for themselves a timeless icon forever associated with the subject at hand.

Ex:

- Lauryn Hill for being the most successful female artist AND musician to craft a masterpiece and subsequently leave the industry of her own accord

- Eminem for being a long-lasting Caucasian male rapper

- Wu Tang for their ground-breaking contract negotiations

- Uncle Luke for being a business pioneer in the Southern region

- Notorious BIG for making superior music for his era and being assassinated before fully realizing himself as an artist with potential or an artist on a decline

- Deathrow Records for operating in a mainstream multi-million dollar industry while being owned by a minority and using dangerous means of obtaining goals

- Lil Kim for establishing the over-sexualization of women in the culture of Hip Hop

A veteran is an individual who has been in the the culture long enough to be respected as an elder and whose potential for artistic and monetary success has been realized.

Ex:

-Wu Tang individually

-Busta Rhymes

-Big Boi

-Nas

-Common

-Twista

Some rappers fall in both categories, and some fall in just one. Jay-Z falls in both categories for different reasons. Busta Rhymes falls in one category. Biggie falls in only one category.

discuss

Where the fuck is Tupac in your list of legends? Lil Kim? She wasn't the first in "establishing the over-sexualization of women in the culture of Hip Hop".

 

[5th Letter]

good thread however nas is a hip hop legend and not just a "vet" however nas is both a legend and veteran. a better example of a hip hop vet is someone like mc serch, foxy brown, cam'ron, ludacris etc

 

[ItzGravitation]

this thread is bullshit and there are too many failures in logic for me to cope.
Nas is Legend if Jay is.
He's also a vet somehow.
T Pain can be put at legend cuz how many Hip Hop hook singers and rapper turned singer were using Auto tune?

 

[soul rattler]

Where the fuck is Tupac in your list of legends? Lil Kim? She wasn't the first in "establishing the over-sexualization of women in the culture of Hip Hop".

Chill dude of course Pac is a legend but he doesn't need to be mentioned in every thread that Biggie is mentioned in, so I left his name alone. There are alot of legendary individuals, groups, and companies in Hip hop... stop acting like I named all of them.

And yes, Lil Kim established overtly sexual behavior in female Hip Hop. Before her was Salt N Pepa, who were nothing more than corny attention whores and terrible terrible rappers.

good thread however nas is a hip hop legend and not just a "vet" however nas is both a legend and veteran. a better example of a hip hop vet is someone like mc serch, foxy brown, cam'ron, ludacris etc

Yeah those are all veterans, and actually Camron inspired this thread in the first place. Mase is a veteran as well. Prove to me that Nas is a legend, cause I don't see where in his career he solidified himself in legendary status besides what might be a legendary battle (just because it didn't result in black men being killed).

this thread is bullshit and there are too many failures in logic for me to cope.

Nas is Legend if Jay is.

He's also a vet somehow.

T Pain can be put at legend cuz how many Hip Hop hook singers and rapper turned singer were using Auto tune?

That wouldn't make T-Pain a legend, and not even a vet unless/until people start to take his music seriously, which they don't.

What does Jay's legendary status have to do with Nas? You're the one being illogical.

 

[genocide_cutter]

Chill dude of course Pac is a legend but he doesn't need to be mentioned in every thread that Biggie is mentioned in, so I left his name alone. There are alot of legendary individuals, groups, and companies in Hip hop... stop acting like I named all of them.

And yes, Lil Kim established overtly sexual behavior in female Hip Hop. Before her was Salt N Pepa, who were nothing more than corny attention whores and terrible terrible rappers.

Yeah those are all veterans, and actually Camron inspired this thread in the first place. Mase is a veteran as well. Prove to me that Nas is a legend, cause I don't see where in his career he solidified himself in legendary status besides what might be a legendary battle (just because it didn't result in black men being killed).

That wouldn't make T-Pain a legend, and not even a vet unless/until people start to take his music seriously, which they don't.

What does Jay's legendary status have to do with Nas? You're the one being illogical.

You got to kidding me right?

 

[wordsRweapons]

Soulja Boy is also a legend because he was the first rapper blow from an internet fanbase. He laid the ground rules down for all you twitter/youtube rappers out there.

And Nas is a hiphop legend because he has an undisputed classic album (Illmatic)

 

[soul rattler]

You got to kidding me right?

NO nigga and no Razkael ain't a damn legend either. She might as well be the third member of Salt N Pepa.

Soulja Boy is also a legend because he was the first rapper blow from an internet fanbase. He laid the ground rules down for all you twitter/youtube rappers out there.

And Nas is a hiphop legend because he has an undisputed classic album (Illmatic)

So all it takes is for someone to make a classic album to be a legend? So J. Cole is a legend for The Warm Up? 50 Cent is a legend for GRODT? Jay Electronica is a legend for Act 1? No. That just means they made some really good music. If Nas had not made an album after Illmatic, he wouldn't be a vet and you wouldn't be calling him a legend.

 

[wordsRweapons]

NO nigga and no Razkael ain't a damn legend either. She might as well be the third member of Salt N Pepa.

So all it takes is for someone to make a classic album to be a legend? So J. Cole is a legend for The Warm Up? 50 Cent is a legend for GRODT? Jay Electronica is a legend for Act 1? No. That just means they made some really good music. If Nas had not made an album after Illmatic, he wouldn't be a vet and you wouldn't be calling him a legend.

The Warm Up is not even close to being classic and neither is Act 1.

And yes 50 cent is a legend. He was the first gangsta rapper to go Diamond( and he did it with a classic album).

Nas did more than drop a classic album though, he dropped 2 of them.

 

[soul rattler]

The Warm Up is not even close to being classic and neither is Act 1.

And yes 50 cent is a legend. He was the first gangsta rapper to go Diamond( and he did it with a classic album).

Nas did more than drop a classic album though, he dropped 2 of them.

@ J. Cole and Jay Elec, yes they are classic... but 'classic' is subjective believe what you want.

@ 50 Cent, Don't come at me with that dumbass numbers argument. There is nothing legendary about 50 Cent's music and I couldn't give a fuck if he sold a billion albums.

@ Nas, by that logic, Eminem is not a legend and Ludacris is.

 

[ItsBboy!]

What's LL Cool J? and Will Smith?

 

[soul rattler]

What's LL Cool J? and Will Smith?

LL's a vet and a legend, hands down. Will Smith is 'legend-ish' for parlaying an ok music career into a legendary acting career.

 

[Food & Liquor]

For me, a legend is someone who's been in the game and made a massive impact which will see them remembered for it. A veteran is someone who's been in it a long time and been at a consistent level without being groundbreaking for a large amount of time. I don't even think you have to have been making a lot of albums or whatever to be named a legend if you've done something memorable for time in the future. I don't even think it comes down to personal classic albums either because the impact someone has can still be recognised even if you don't enjoy the persons music. You have to have been in the industry for a long time though before becoming a veteran though.

I suppose it's one of those things though where opinions can have a massive impact on what people decide on whether someone is a legend or not.

 

[soul rattler]

For me, a legend is someone who's been in the game and made a massive impact which will see them remembered for it. A veteran is someone who's been in it a long time and been at a consistent level without being groundbreaking for a large amount of time. I don't even think you have to have been making a lot of albums or whatever to be named a legend if you've done something memorable for time in the future. I don't even think it comes down to personal classic albums either because the impact someone has can still be recognised even if you don't enjoy the persons music. You have to have been in the industry for a long time though before becoming a veteran though.

I suppose it's one of those things though where opinions can have a massive impact on what people decide on whether someone is a legend or not.

The bolded is what a veteran is. A legend is when your name gets often times exaggerated or your accomplishments turn into what some consider mythical. That's what seperates Nas from Pac/BIG/Jay-Z. Even Tompetrez can tell yall that Jay-Z's accolades are stretched out so far by fans and hip hop historians that he's a legend for better or worse. Nas' path has been 100% realistic.

 

[Calii Comfort]

its all opinion u have people saying waka is a legend.

 

[Food & Liquor]

The bolded is what a veteran is. A legend is when your name gets often times exaggerated or your accomplishments turn into what some consider mythical. That's what seperates Nas from Pac/BIG/Jay-Z. Even Tompetrez can tell yall that Jay-Z's accolades are stretched out so far by fans and hip hop historians that he's a legend for better or worse. Nas' path has been 100% realistic.

See, I'd have Nas as a legend for the impact he's had on Hip Hop. He's still relevant now after such a long time. I think the only thing that does stop Nas being one is the fact that the other ones who would probably be considered legends have been seen as icons at their peaks (of popularity) and I don't know if Nas ever did. I was only just born and beginning to group up when he first released Illmatic and began to get more relevant so I don't know what his status was like back then so I can't really say, whereas I can say someone like Jay-Z is seen as an icon right now and has been for ages which will place him as a legend.