Surell

Maaanky pussed out.


























but seriously, this was getting a little circular. I will agree that Big and Pac definitely have more citations from their contemporaries as greats and as influences, and it is pretty visible (Rakim and Ghostface flow similar to BIG, punchlines are valued akin to Big's (though that is also a large trait of L), Pac's consistent consciousness and versatility and prolifiacy has become a staple of seriously considered Hip hop (Kendrick Lamaar, Immortal Technique, here I go Wayne (he got political if you like it or not)). How much weight their death's had on this is hard to determine, perhaps you could check interviews from their era and see how much their name came up among more famed peers or peers in general.

But Jay Z has stayed relevant, and where pop rap today is concerned has had great success and more transparent influence, lyrically, musically, probably even in how we think of a good mainstream rap album. His persona is closely connected to BIG's, though, so I think that is a good indicator of influence.

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