I don't get it. Sure he writes nice rhymes (not much that I can really relate to though). So do a lot of other people. Does Jay-Z touch on a common thread that runs through society? Did he play the game smart? How exactly did he become the mogul he is today?

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transitioned relatively well to new sounds
positioned himself w/ the right people.

.

but they have nowhere near the success of jay-z.

its more than just that i believe.

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and he doesn't target clubs.

Jigga man makes club songs but he can rap and he put out albums from 96 to what 2003 every year.

he is able to get the respect of the hardcore rap fan and the casual rap fan. he is able to find that balance and a lot of people can't. but really, he is just a good business man and takes advantage of his opportunities. once he got going, he just kept rolling.

not too many other rappers were able to do that.

and realized if people buy your shit, doesn't matter if the actual record is good they'll still buy it as long as everyone else does

>and realized if people buy your shit, doesn't matter if the
>actual record is good they'll still buy it as long as everyone
>else does

and realized if people buy your shit, doesn't matter if the actual record is good they'll still buy it as long as everyone else does

Duke is king of the above ground...his success comes from having God given talent, coupled with drive/motivation to be successful...don't like A LOT of his music, especially these days, but gotta respect what he has done....

More consistent than the next guy

More club bangers than the next guy

Smarter than the next guy

Better beat selection than the next guy

Ladies fuck with him...always a plus




basically...were u under a rock from '98 thru mid-2000s??

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easy and accessible.

any body could have had his career.

>easy and accessible.
>
>any body could have had his career.
>
>

Geez. I shoulda got on that.

Think it's too late for me? I'm pretty lazy, so that's a plus!

Why is he the only person with a career like his?

>easy and accessible.
>
>any body could have had his career.
>
>

all long careers and better artists than lay z, one percent ownership of the nets doesn't count.

just checkin'.

He's been an excellent liquor spokesman, but trendsetter?

Bleek

1.) He makes good albums, pretty consistently. His catalog isn't perfect, but his good material outnumbers his bad.

2.) He's able to leverage his relationships really well. Whether they're with Biggie, The Neptunes, Timbaland, The Roots, Kanye West, Jaz-O, Eminem, Linkin Park, Oprah, dream hampton, Denzel Washington, even Beyonce - anytime he has an ally, he almost always utilizes everyone's skills in a way that highlights his own talents, but that doesn't compromise his collaborators' integrity.

3.) He's ably reinvented himself the right ways, and at the right times. Whether it was the "hard knock life" transition, to the Blueprint transition, to the "living legend" persona on The Black Album; even when Kingdom Come was wack, he was able to establish the "grown up" persona well enough to use it on later records and for later press.

4.) He can make different types of songs. Girl songs, gutter songs, storytelling songs, a good diss song or two, shit-talking songs, etc. He's a pretty complete artist.

>1.) He makes good albums, pretty consistently. His catalog
>isn't perfect, but his good material outnumbers his bad.

Nas is the same. But he's actually a better emcee.
>
>2.) He's able to leverage his relationships really well.
>Whether they're with Biggie, The Neptunes, Timbaland, The
>Roots, Kanye West, Jaz-O, Eminem, Linkin Park, Oprah, dream
>hampton, Denzel Washington, even Beyonce - anytime he has an
>ally, he almost always utilizes everyone's skills in a way
>that highlights his own talents, but that doesn't compromise
>his collaborators' integrity.

Nas weakness? Though he has plenty of connections.

>3.) He's ably reinvented himself the right ways, and at the
>right times. Whether it was the "hard knock life" transition,
>to the Blueprint transition, to the "living legend" persona on
>The Black Album; even when Kingdom Come was wack, he was able
>to establish the "grown up" persona well enough to use it on
>later records and for later press.

Nas has consistently reinvented himself, more or less kept up with the times, but with less club hits.

>4.) He can make different types of songs. Girl songs, gutter
>songs, storytelling songs, a good diss song or two,
>shit-talking songs, etc. He's a pretty complete artist.

Nas can do all this and more.

And he's better looking/more sex appeal.

So why hasn't Nas had the same success? The relationship part? Lack of club bangers?


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f you want quiet reflection you listen to Nas. If you want to hear that fly shit, it's Jay.

Sure they cross over into each other realms from time to time but that's about the crux of it. People like to chill out and party and talk shit, so Jay wins.

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>Nas is the same. But he's actually a better emcee.

Nas is a better emcee, Jay-Z makes better (IMO) and more accessible songs, with much better production.

>Nas weakness? Though he has plenty of connections.
Nas has connections, but he doesn't use them very often. Aside from a few exceptions, he has often stuck to his same crew. He'll appear on a song for someone else, but he doesn't make it a habit of enlisting these connections for his own works. Plus, his collaborations with others that are for his own work don't always highlight his own talents as brightly.

>Nas has consistently reinvented himself, more or less kept up
>with the times, but with less club hits.

Him keeping up with the times hasn't always resulted in fruitful music that doesn't alienate his fan base. It was cool for It Was Written, Distant Relatives and Life Is Good, but wasn't as heralded for his other work. Matter of fact, some of the biggest blemishes of Nas' career, in many peoples' minds, came from unsuccessful attempts to reinvent himself.

>
>>4.) He can make different types of songs. Girl songs, gutter
>>songs, storytelling songs, a good diss song or two,
>>shit-talking songs, etc. He's a pretty complete artist.
>
>Nas can do all this and more.

He's more versatile than people give him credit for, I'll give you that. But I don't think he's more versatile than Jay-Z.

>So why hasn't Nas had the same success? The relationship part?
>Lack of club bangers?

He could've utilized his relationships better, and as you said, he could improve with his club bangers. But I'm personally still pretty satisfied with his career as a whole. Still one of the GOATs.

are two projects that did great things for him. They both garnered gim a lot of credibility and solidified him amongst entirely new crowds.

;)

Or drastically minimized. I can already see it.

folks is already forgetting about him.

a Springsteen-esque songbook and a fantastic knack for starting trends and dumping them before they get stale.

>a Springsteen-esque songbook

y'all niggas and this hyperbole shit is really out of hand

catapulted him into the international limelight and cemented his face on the Mt. Rushmore of Rap

hes a good business man
his lyrics are aiite.
he has good delivery tho

i got on red lipstick

He only owns 10%

that nigga number one skill is how easily he floats from bandwagon to bandwagon. you barely notice until you go back and listen to some of his old shit and you're like "oh yeah... that was hot at the time"

it really dates some of his older material to me.

But no, seriously.........
Jay-z is so successly for the same reason entities likeTarget, McDonalds, and Disney are successful.
People think its just hard work, being "smart", and consistancy.
Its not.