One's an artist, the other is a salesman.
I remember a mate going to see Jay-Z in 2001 as part of his tour to promote The Blueprint. The crowd was 2/3rds full. Wouldn't happen now. It's only been since he said he was going to retire in 2005-ish and started gallivanting with Rihanna and Kanye West he's been talked about as the greatest ever by your mum, your aunt, your little cousin, your girlfriend etc... I can't respect him. He's a jack of all trades, master of nothing rapper who just adapts to contemporary trends to create music that sells at that particular moment in time. Good for business, bad for music quality. His albums are just disposable Hip-Pop albums which don't pass the test of time. Jay-Z has never cared about making classics, never cared about making music that can last the ages. He could live until he's 1,000,000 years old, release two albums a year and still not get close to Illmatic. People can point to Reasonable Doubt, but that was nothing when it was released, it didn't stand out at the time against the likes of OB4CL, It Was Written, Doe or Die... It's only because of Jay-Z banging on about it being a classic for years that people regard it as one.
He's a ruthless, slimy mother****er who has snaked his way to the top. I don't understand how fans of music can think this is even close.
Nas by a distance.
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