It was my assumption we were comparing them as artists and since neither had a hand in the production of their records I felt comparing them as MC's be only fitting, but I see your point.
L did keep it rather one dimensional in terms of the production his records used, but as I said Biggie obviously branched off into different directions early in his career, he wasn't just a party rapper, not just a 'thug lyf' rapper he was an unsuccessful bit of both in my eyes. Would L have switched it up in later albums, I'm not too sure. He seemed content with the style of rap he was doing.
From what we've seen his second studio release lacked progression and suffered in quality as a result of being too similar to LODPAD but his debut is more consistent and of a higher overall quality than Biggie's two records in my opinion.
If we're giving props to artists on account of production, L isn't even going to stack up to 2Chainz, but that doesn't mean 2Chainz is a better rapper.
Regarding fitting onto beats better, I feel that the production on Biggie's records were tailored to the different moods conveyed on the albums. Puffy wanted a party track he's obviously going to have a hand in creating a livelier more up-tempo beat whereas if you've got a track like Suicidal Tendencies it's going to be fitted to a darker beat.
Most of the beats on L's records don't stray too far into the obscure, many use the same instrumentation and patterns but L's records were never about the production taking centre stage, it was about hearing what he had to say.
Had Big L had the production team assembled that Biggie had, with beats tailored specifically for his style, that would have been interesting.
Regarding versatility, I think L had very much found his comfort zone but the decline in quality from his debut to his sophmore release shows that you cannot keep playing the same hand and hoping to always get a winner. Had he lived longer, he likely would have experimented in other directions but that wasn't to be.
As for what they produced, sure Biggie's style was more varied however I don't think that's necessarily a good thing. Sure he was a jack of all trades, but that doesn't mean he mastered them all. Hence the amount of filler tracks on his records. For every Big Poppa or Juicy you have a Friend of Mine or Machine Gun Funk.
LODPAD is solid throughout. L keeps the same style throughout and has a much more consistent record as a result.
It helped give Biggie more of a character, as a person Lamont Coleman was pretty dull. It wasn't until he stepped behind a mic and became Big L that he burst to life. Biggie obviously had more character, I'm not doubting that but had L worked with the right people, he could have been brought out of his shell more. He was regarding in life as a rather shy human being, had Puffy been behind him it could have been a different story. L was the better of the two when it came to raw MCing ability, Biggie was able to triumph him in terms of presence and personality. But I guess it depends on what you look for in music, if you want the greater lyricist who has the superior raw talent and mind for rap, L's your man; if you prefer the charismatic story teller who can captivate the audience, you'd go for BIG.
I consider L a straight up legitimate rapper because that's what he did, he just rapped. He had no gimmick, no alter ego, nothing to distract from the primary focus of his music, which was to lay solid verses. I guess this appeals to underground fans who just want to hear a nigga who can rhyme good without centre focus on who has the best production, superior marketing, better backstory or larger personality. When it comes down to who's better on the mic, that's what being a legitimate rapper is about. Who can rhyme better, who has better lyrics; who is nicer on the mic. That's at least how I'd define legitimate rapper. L didn't have top production, marketing, a fake back story or an exaggerated personality. Look at today's rappers:
A$AP Rocky - Great production
Nicki Minaj - Great marketing/Crossover appeal
Rick Ross - Great (fake) back story
Danny Brown - Massive Personality
are any of those guys superior to Big L as an artist because they have those range of benefits going for them?
P.S. In regards to the videos, they're subjective. I'm not too familiar with either artist so couldn't tell you which is more legitimate. You'll know yourself as you posted them
