>The reason Hip-Hop originally worked is that its artists were
>
>too busy being creative to think about their place and
>context,
>etc
>
>It's why Jay-Z and Nas' work got *terrible* when they were
>competing for "King" status

Everybody wanted (and sincerely though they were) number one. And arguably the top of Jay's career (and what re-energized Nas) was their 'beef"