100. "Well that's my point..it's about perception" In response to In response to 95
It's not truly about skills but instead it's about Rakim or KRS being seen as "old". Add to the fact that many in Hip Hop just always want the new guy from when they truly got into the music to be considered the best even if it's not true. I also hear people saying shit like "oh that's so typical to pick KRS & Rakim I like to be different". So they'll throw someone in there just to not go along with with what the masses say even if it's true. If someone is being universally lauded as the best decades after they were hot then that says something about their skills.
>Jay-Z could be Rakim's age, but because Ra peaked before some >kids were born, and because some Rap fans stopped liking >everything after 96...both sides deal with it. Folks who don't >like any new rap, regardless of the artists' age (2 Chainz and >Juicy J are old too)...and young folks who just don't like >older eras of Rap as much.
You're a lot more likely to hear an old head give it up to someone like Em or Black Thought or someone who came to prominence after the golden era than you are to hear younger heads acknowledging people like G Rap, Slick Rick, etc.
>I actually agree with this, and this is exactly what I mean. I >mean for real, I am not gonna say Kendrick is better than >2Pac, Cube, or even Snoop..but he was for sure better than 95% >of the L.A. rappers in the 90's. The music they made was >completely different, so it's hard to compare. But for >somebody to act like he ONLY gets attention because he's >"above average in a game full of wack rappers" shows exactly >what I'm referring to.
As far as being an MC I'd honestly say that lyrically Kendrick had a better debut (not counting mixtapes) than every LA MC besides Cube & Snoop. He can spit, tell stories and just write a damn song with the best of them. I think if he had come out in 1990 he would have got a lot more love from the east coast than West Coast MC's were getting back then because lyrically he can hang with anyone and he's not all "gang banged the fuck out".