"Virtues of Jay Z: Is there a better lyricist than him? *nah*" Wed Oct-16-13 02:45 PM by MarkVenter
i do think Jay is one of the best at lyricism and wordplay. In my opinion he only lacked in the area of saying Something For the People.
bullets I breeze by you (bayou) like louisiana
Like short sleeves I bear arms
Witty, Clever. While BIG could write amazing verses, he was pretty much dead on, leaving no mistake as to what he meant. With Jay, you had to think a minute and go "OOOOOOOH"
Now Nas, well he is the Passionate Poet.
If I had to liken each to another venerable artist:
Pac = Gil Scott Heron, Sly Stone and Rick James in one Jay is Joni Mitchell, Nas is Terence Trent Darby (and if you doubt TTD's writing prowess, youre a fool) and BIG was more like a Prince.
I had the opportunity to shake Jay's hand at the Flamingo club at Foxy's bday party when RD had dropped. We spoke for a minute. He was quite friendly, and then suddenly guarded. I knew then he was amazing, but mostly still banged Pac and BIG in the whip
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