i just think it all comes down to the bullshit east vs west rap wars of the mid nineties. the argument dominated hip hop and people tended to take sides.. and as pac and biggie were the figureheads for each side of the beef it became which one of the two was better which became which one of the two was the goat. neither of them are, and if it wasn't for the media saturation of the two of them as rivals and their deaths they wouldn't have been elevated to these levels. very few have had their impact on the mtv/non hip hop heads interpretation of hip hop up until their deaths. after them sure many have, but before no one had, the whole beef thing brought more people into hip hop than anything else ever has. as far as true hip hop heads, who had been listening before it became front page news for the beef and shootings and bullshit, i don't think anyone heard either of them and thought they where game changers. great artists sure, great mcs sure, i mean i love both of them. but if it wasn't for all the beef i don't think either of them would be what they are today.

when it comes down to it i still hate what that generation brought to hip hop, the bling bling shiny suits commercial side of bad boy, the 'you're only real if you've shot someone/have been shot' of death row gangsta shit. you had two incredible mcs who for me despite the abundance of talent, helped to ruin hip hop.