"Jay-Z puts himself in the news everytime Nas drops"
Jay-Z randomly (pettily) does something to make his name viral EVERY TIME Nas releases an album . Its (almost) hilarious . When he tweeted about nobody seeing him in a VERSUZ, earlier this week, I should've known Nas was dropping something later this week. . Is this how a "slow burning soul" behaves🤣
18. "No. Jay's the better rapper. Has a better brand/career....." In response to Reply # 14
...and he is still being petty about this loss back then.
People are putting alot of assumptions into the original post. I dont want to see beef I dont hate Jay-Z . But this mofo is putting his name in the news everytime NAS drops an album
23. "Like someone already said, it's gamesmanship if anything at all." In response to Reply # 0 Mon Dec-27-21 08:45 PM by Brew
As has also already been discussed, they clearly get along now and have a healthy respect for one another, have been working together now for 15 years, etc.
But their competitive juices still flow, which is a good thing. Let us not forget that Nas used his feature on Jay's "Success" to take a lil shot at his old foe .. on his own song ! "Worst enemies, wanna be my best friend / best friends wanna be enemies like that's what's in .."
Ive been listening to Nas non stop. He mentioned something about revenge on Rare and gives hint to him playing chess not checkers.
Jays comment about nobody being able to battle him let me know instantly that he's insecure about kings disease I&II. Then right after the comment Nas drops another album.
Ive always been more of a Nas fan but I like Jay too. He's just not seeing Nas imo.
30. "This post is weird. Let’s take a leap and say Jay is " In response to Reply # 0
really doing this. He’s looking at the release schedule like “oh shit, Nas bout to drop… let me go get an interview and say something wild…”
So if he does it, are you saying there’s a significant number of Nas fans out there who WERE going to buy his album, but then don’t because “Jay-Z is in the news”???
31. "No that's not what it means" In response to Reply # 30
I do think Hov does it on purpose. I think he still has it in him to be THE GUY on top. I do think he is in friendly competition with Nas even after making up. It's not like they are BFF's after that. Dude was still fucking his baby moms behind his back and trolling him about it in songs LOL I think they can cool with eachother and laugh it up because they both rich as fuck and living lives neither of them thought they would ever live. Do I think Hov might be petty about it still? Sure. He's a guy into sports.
Anyways my point is that Hov knows that putting himself in the news can take the shine away from any other rapper or take significant shine away from them. And i think thats as far as he might think or want to accomplish. On some I'm still Hov shit.
32. "Basically...didn't Jay tweet today?" In response to Reply # 31
Something in response to Questlove about one of his albums or single releases? He definitely still wants to be seen as THAT guy, and wants to still be in the conversation.
These Nas releases are eating him up imho. In my fav song from Magic Nas says in the hook "I'm on top and I surprise em."
"Didn't Jay tweet today ?" didn't a trillion other celebrities also tweet today ?
>Something in response to Questlove about one of his albums or >single releases? He definitely still wants to be seen as THAT >guy, and wants to still be in the conversation. > >These Nas releases are eating him up imho.
LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL eating him up ?! Where did you come up with that bombshell ? You his therapist ?
Jay dropped an excellent, critically acclaimed album just 5 years ago that people still talk about. I think it'd take a lot more than his rival from 2 decades ago dropping a couple average-to-good albums to "eat him up" but call me crazy. I don't know either way but neither do you.
This post just made my morning haha thanks for the laughs.
34. "He expressed regret about Vol. 1" In response to Reply # 32
Quest tweeted that Jay was embarrassed for trying to make a monster album that didn’t end up putting up numbers, but that a lot of Jay’s best stuff was on there.
Jay said “Agreed. More so, I know what could’ve been so it haunts me. Streets is Watching was the first song made!”
The hell does any of that have to do with Nas new albums? Lolsmh.
38. "Seriously. That was such a weird reach." In response to Reply # 34
>Quest tweeted that Jay was embarrassed for trying to make a >monster album that didn’t end up putting up numbers, but >that a lot of Jay’s best stuff was on there. > >Jay said “Agreed. More so, I know what could’ve been so >it haunts me. Streets is Watching was the first song >made!” > >The hell does any of that have to do with Nas new albums? >Lolsmh.
43. "Did yall not read what I wrote?..." In response to Reply # 34
Again, Jay wants to be THAT guy and in the conversation. How often does Jay tweet? Thats the firat question I have.
To response to a comment about his album gives opportunity for analysis from fans,critics, and artists alike.
That's what he wants...to be discussed, his music and catalog to be discussed especially NOW. It helps his ego and makes him feel he's not losing his grip if people are analyzing his past music currently.
Yall have to look at the bigger picture and read between the lines. Again, how often does Jay tweet?
>Quest tweeted that Jay was embarrassed for trying to make a >monster album that didn’t end up putting up numbers, but >that a lot of Jay’s best stuff was on there. > >Jay said “Agreed. More so, I know what could’ve been so >it haunts me. Streets is Watching was the first song >made!” > >The hell does any of that have to do with Nas new albums? >Lolsmh.
54. "He is allowed to do what he wants.." In response to Reply # 45
But when his biggest competitor has a new release and is currently at the top of the hip hop charts with his new album a person like me, who reads between the lines, will think its suspicious that he responds to a comment on twitter about an album of his when he doesnt even tweet.
Yeah, Quest probably tagged him but if yall don't think Jay is tagged multiple times a day then I'm not into convincing you.
37. "Kingdom Come had some of the lowest lows of his career." In response to Reply # 36
But the highs were among his highest highs, too. The title track, Do U Wanna Ride, Lost One, 30 Something, The Prelude ... all absolute bangers. There's a couple more good tracks too.
But yea shit like Beach Chair and Hollywood are total and complete butt.
47. "I liked more of it than I didn't like." In response to Reply # 37
But I agree it's weird.
I think that even by the mid '00s, rappers were struggling with what it meant to make a "mature" hip-hop album. Both Kane and De La Soul had also tried it with decidedly mixed results ("Taste of Chocolate" and "AOI: Bionix," though I generally like the latter).
Full disclosure (and shameless plug), I wrote a tribute for its 15 anniversary late last year. I agree that "Hollywood" is awful, maybe the worst song of his career. But I like "Beach Chair." However, I'm not a fan of "Anything."
40. "Yeah, I couldn’t get into it" In response to Reply # 39
>4:44 is very meh to me. I thought Life is Good was a lot >better as well as No I.D. production on it. > >I'd take all 3 Nas/Hitboy collabs over it as well
Maybe because a lot of my favorites have been making music in that lane for years, and I just didn’t really care about it coming from Jay? Many really felt it though, so it is what it is.
41. "I absolutely love 4:44. To me he accomplished the goal of " In response to Reply # 39
what he attempted with Kingdom Come - to make a “grown man” rap album covering mature topics that still knocks.
I view Jay’s career in terms of eras, through Black Album and post Black Album. I think of Black Album as an actual retirement from his new album every year pace, with every album having a goal of being a number 1 seller. Post “retirement” I feel like his focus should have completely shifted away from sales and being the “biggest” rapper in the game to reinforcing his overall legacy by making great albums without regard for having the biggest single or having strong commercial performance.
His best post retirement joints were American Gangster and 4:44, and in those I feel like he focused on making great albums. Kingdom Come was an attempt at this, as was BP3, but he has a tendency of letting commercial sensibilities creep in with trying to appeal to wider audiences on some songs, and that took away from the cohesiveness of those albums. That being said, as mentioned above both of those albums still have some really great material on them. Magna Carter, on the other hand…meh. That album felt like he was trying to continue the themes and sound of Watch the Throne, but without Kanye’s involvement, and it just didn’t work.
42. "I agree with basically all of this." In response to Reply # 41
>what he attempted with Kingdom Come - to make a “grown >man” rap album covering mature topics that still knocks. > >I view Jay’s career in terms of eras, through Black Album >and post Black Album. I think of Black Album as an actual >retirement from his new album every year pace, with every >album having a goal of being a number 1 seller. Post >“retirement” I feel like his focus should have completely >shifted away from sales and being the “biggest” rapper in >the game to reinforcing his overall legacy by making great >albums without regard for having the biggest single or having >strong commercial performance. > >His best post retirement joints were American Gangster and >4:44, and in those I feel like he focused on making great >albums. Kingdom Come was an attempt at this, as was BP3, but >he has a tendency of letting commercial sensibilities creep in >with trying to appeal to wider audiences on some songs, and >that took away from the cohesiveness of those albums. That >being said, as mentioned above both of those albums still have >some really great material on them. Magna Carter, on the other >hand…meh. That album felt like he was trying to continue the >themes and sound of Watch the Throne, but without Kanye’s >involvement, and it just didn’t work.
46. "I get that. And that’s one description that many people would" In response to Reply # 44
give what I wrote up above about his post Black Album approach of grown man rap anyways. And yes as I mentioned he shifted his objectives with his albums post retirement.
That’s kind of the point - post Black Album he moved away from making albums with broad appeal that everyone would like, towards joints that felt good to him as “albums”. That means you’re going to have some people who don’t dig it. There’s some folks who didn’t like American Gangster too, I remember hearing complaints about him going back to drug rap (I did a long post in the Lesson back in the day arguing that that was his entire point, pretty clear when you hear Ignorant Shit and I Know which beyond surface are about the exact same thing but opposite sides of the same double entendre.)
But anyways - I feel like Jay HAD to move on to more “adult” type topics post Black Album. There’s different approaches to this, and he did that a few different ways - some unsuccessfully. I love 4:44 because in addition to the theme being “personal and introspective”, the beats knock and sound cohesive together thanks to No ID, Jay’s lyrical skill is on point without any corny experimentation like Beach Chair or some of the joints on Magna Carter, and because he actually stuck to the theme and didn’t try to throw something on there trying to pander a broad audience to get sales.
52. "I'm not denying the reason he went that route" In response to Reply # 46 Tue Jan-18-22 12:39 PM by Heinz
It's still not even close to being his best music nor is it even groundbreaking the way people from our generation try to make it out to be. It's just old fans of rap being OH SHIT OUR GUY IS STILL RAPPING and the subject matter is relatable. That's all it is. WHY we can't admit that our fav artists are in their Adult Contemporary eras of their career's? Ionno. The fast your do the better the expectations you will have on their actual albums. Hov is the one of the only guys from that era I don't mind hearing new music from. Busta and Ghost too.
I don't have high hopes for that Black Star album, maybe a little more than originally did after hearing that snippet from Chappelle.
I want someone to bring back Vol 3 and the Neptunes sound back. I've been saying this for years. I wanna see Drake bring it back and finally have a proper posse cut joint of guys trading verses. I need Hov and Drake doing a Put Ya Hands Up. Quest was recently tweeting about this sound needing to come back and he's right it's time.
53. "If it didn't resonate with you, that's fine - I get it. But it definitel..." In response to Reply # 52
did with me - and I DO put it up there with some of his best music. In fact I personally have it in his top 5 albums, with Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint being clearly ahead of it, and then some order of American Gangster, Black Album, and 4:44 at 3 through 5. The order changes for me depending on the day. But 4:44 has ZERO skips for me. It's an album I listen to from front to back relatively often. Black Album and American Gangster probably have higher highs - but both those records have several tracks that I skip (Change Clothes, Justify My Thug, Hello Brooklyn, Blue Magic, etc.)
Again as I keep saying - 4:44 doesn't have as broad of an appeal as some of his earlier work where he was going for HITS. But I personally have it higher than some of his huge albums like Volume 2 and Volume 3.
51. "check reply #4 then #6….it’s not just interviews and tweets" In response to Reply # 30 Tue Jan-18-22 10:03 AM by nativesun07
….he’s actually getting less obvious
and no, I’m not “saying” whatever it is you’re asking if I’m “saying” Check the original post to see what I’m saying
There’s no Jay hate or prophesizing about sales….it’s just something I’ve noticed from being a fan of both of these guys enough to see patterns over the years
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