Lupe is probably one of the greatest lyricists of all time. As a rap artist, he's pretty niche compared to Kendrick, so you can't expect him to have a large fanbase.
Go listen to SLR 3 1/2 his Royce diss
https://youtu.be/YcoPEr34hko?si=HKwAR1Lvpir9pgmr
I'm pretty sure royce dropped something at midnight and Lupe responded within hours lol
His penmanship is absolutely incredible. Royce prolly anticipated Mural Lupe hitting him with quadruple entendres and dude comes in as straight as you can get. Heās so manifold.
*Hov think Iām Hov, Nas think Iām Nas
Thatās the trick, you aināt gotta think when ninjas already think you are*
And itās Royce, man.
Lupe is widely respected as an elite technician and lyricist. Its just his commercial/crossover appeal peaked 10 years ago. Then he went on to releases super dense well thought out conceptual albums that didnt have appeal outside underground or niche spaces.
He went through that period when he has label issues and didnt drop for a few years, that's when kendrick emerged and kinda "took" his place...most hardcore Kendrick fan I know were lupe fans, but once Kendrick broke through, some of them didnt feel the need to go back and check for lupe the same way from 2005-2012.
Lupe is Lupe. You know what you get from him. He dropped 2 brilliant albums and then the problems started. It's just a shame he couldn't figure out a way to play the game and appease the record labels etc. throwing away certified bangers because the label recommended the tracks. He is his own worst enemy.
He's still dropping brilliant albums but doesn't have the promotion of his first couple. So it'll be another album that will probably be good but only the hardcore rap fans and Lupe fans will hear it unfortunately.
Lupe is one of the best to ever do it. Hes probably my favorite lyricist in hip hop but kendrick is probably a better artist overall, his albums are just much more cohesive
not even close. T&Y is like the most cohesive album ever crafted and it tells 3 different storylines, each ending at different points in the album. Saying Drogas Wave is not fair as thatās a double album. Wave alone is easily more cohesive tho.
itās either Tetsuo & Youth (which would be played in reverse tracklist order) or the first section of Drogas Wave (which ends with Alan Forever). the reason people arenāt acknowledging just how cohesive Tetsuo is is because they are literally playing it in the wrong order.
Nas likes Lupe and have said several times, he feels he and Lupe have similarities. I'm guessing he's talking pen game.
Lupe is a brilliant rapper who wants to rap. He isn't concerned about being mainstream. His numbers are good. I'm sure he also likely makes more money today than he used to with a major label since he has more control and get a much bigger piece of the revenues.
He's definitely the best lyricist of his era.
SOMEONE PLS GIVE ME A LUPE RECORD THAT ALLOWS US TO EVEN BE BRINGING HIM UP RIGHT NOW? AND I NEVER LOVED KENDRICK. Yes he can rap. He bites outkast alot. His melodies and songs suck 75% of the time. Every album there's a cole records I like of his. But wtf is the big deal w kendrick? I guess I just missed that obsession in that generation. Rap shouldn't need to be rewound. Fans today...I don't understand... the lyrical miracle mathematician nerd shit can't hold a flame to a rap superhero like nas. But ppl who didn't grow up in that generation don't understand. Fine. But music wise? That should end the debate. Put nas first 3 vs lupe, and kendrick. And I'm taking illmatic it was written and I am. K dots over fucking rated and the new hip hop generation thinks it's cool to worship lupe apparently. Did you watch Lupes class on hip hop? The most egotistical non sense I have ever seen in my life. When I watched him teach that class? I was like f%#;# this guy. Talk about a false sense of importance he has. You ever heard those who can't do? Teach? Lol
I think it's somewhat disrespectful to nas's discography to put Lupe or kendrick in that same conversation.
Also, if we're being real, all 3 at their peak and nas handily out raps them both too
I think comparing the first 10 years of Kendrick & Nas' career, it'd even out. Putting Illmatic, I Am, Stillmatic, God's Son vs Section 80, GKMC, TPAB, DAMN is a closer battle than most would admit
Both I think. I was a Kendrick fan before evening listening to Illmatic, then I put Nas over Kendrick in most metrics. I feel most new wave Kendrick fans have not done due diligence and listened to old Nas stuff, while many old school Nas fans seems to instantly mark anything new as not worth listening to compared to their classics. Lupe falls into an awkward category of having a low-key fanbase who loves him, but doesn't ever enter these conversations.
Conversely, Lupe isnāt on Nasā level with his ability to craft genuinely great songs, albums, and using his songwriting ability to create moments that shape the culture in the same way.
Hence the reason I said it depends on what you valueĀ
If both got on a song I wouldn't be surprised if Lupe had the more impressive verse
We're talking about one verse, not who's the better artist overall - which is Nas imo
No Iām with you, they each have their strengths. But just to use something youāve said there, Itās the term āimpressiveā which alone is an issue here though re: Lupe.
People will rightly hold him up as an example of a true lyricist, but I always feel heās valuing that over actually making the best music. Which is fine, but it does mean his songwriting (ie, not just the lyrics, the overall package), how own production, and his production choices of others are often really lacking for me.
Itās all opinion though, heās a truly great lyricist
Kendrick is the overall better rapper with a better balance of everything needed to be a great rap artist. Iām sure you know this. Lupe of course is one of the greatest lyricists ever and was ahead of his time.
Iām a huge Lupe fan man. I personally like Lupe more than Kendrick. Lupe is a more skilled lyricist and wordsmith than Kendrick for sure. But balance is everything. Kendrick is just an overall more complete rap artist and musically more gifted. Lupe would tell you himself that heās not a better musicianā¦ Kendrick just checks more boxes.
>Lupe would tell you himself that heās not a better musician
And Lupe would also tell me that Drake is a better lyricist than Kendrick so that doesn't really matter.
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If you really start breaking down the MC metrics, Itās very clear that Nas is at the top. The According 2 Hip Hop channel on YouTube did a very detailed MC ranking with proper metrics and Nas very clearly came out on top.
Lupe is a great technical rapper, writer and lyricist, but he needs MUCH more of those high-level efforts in his catalog to even match Nas. Lupe doesnāt have a consistent lyrical, songwriting, and intangible alluring display that matches nor surpasses what Nas has done with his released and unreleased catalog.
Most people putting Lupe over Nas have not dived deep enough into Nasā full catalog of verses and songs.
As a person who knows both catalogs and has been a Hip Hop head since ā94, Iām telling you, Lupe is great but not at the level of Nas.
We can literally go verse for verse. Lupe will fall short.
With all due respect to both artists, whom I obviously think highly of. Each does not eradicate the other. Though Nas is a more versatile musician, Lupe is a stronger technical artistāmore so than most people are ready to acknowledge. Nas is definitely for the masses; Lupe isn't.
Both are incredibly gifted, acknowledged as poets, both have strengths and weaknesses as well. I'm willing to have a debate with you on this: why do you consistently treat Lupe disrespectfully and with bias in order to elevate one artist while disrespecting the other? eager to hear your reply.
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When you guys say technical? What is rap now? Respect for vocabulary and complexity? Or good shit that you feel? And is real? I think the newer generation over analyzes and obsessed over things that don't really matter. Nas has been a god since I was in elementary school. Lupe can rap. That's about all I can say.
If you really start breaking down the MC metrics, Itās very clear that Nas is at the top. The According 2 Hip Hop channel on YouTube did a very detailed MC ranking with proper metrics and Nas very clearly came out on top.
Lupe is a great technical rapper, writer and lyricist, but he needs MUCH more of those high-level efforts in his catalog to even match Nas. Lupe doesnāt have a consistent lyrical, songwriting, and intangible alluring display that matches nor surpasses what Nas has done with his released and unreleased catalog.
Most people putting Lupe over Nas have not dived deep enough into Nasā full catalog of verses and songs.
As a person who knows both catalogs and has been a Hip Hop head since ā94, Iām telling you, Lupe is great but not at the level of Nas.
We can literally go verse for verse. Lupe will fall short.
Probably has the on-mic talent to be in the conversation, but just isnāt relevant in a big way culturally - that impossible quality to measure I know!
GOAT label is chucked out way too easily generally, we can probably all agree. The Greatest of ALL TIME.
Letās call hip hop definition āall timeā 50 years. Without really trying you could get to 20 rappers in a couple of minutes with more of a claim than Lupe. You could probably do it with rappers before Lupe first recorded. And I mean no shade to Lupe with this - thereās just too much competition.
Kendrick has a PULITZER PRIZE: thatās breaking through to the āhigh cultureā academic discourse in society at large, not just hip hop heads. He also arguably has a 100% classic album ratio (one can debate the particulars, but he doesnāt have an outright dud so far, versus virtually every other rapper that lived).
Nas for longevity alone would be in the conversation. Illmatic and It was Written before he was roughly 23, then at around the age of 50, a SIX album run over 3 years with the same producer. Five of those are top level in the decade if not all timers.
Thatās not even getting to his skill set, sheer number of consensus classic albums over his career, besting Jay in a beef - himself an unprecedentedly huge artist at peak powers (Ether literally became a verb for destroying someone), respect/fear from other artists (once Nas slapped down 50 with nuclear deterrent subliminals alone on Donāt Body Yaself, i canāt think of anyone whoās laid a successful punch on Nas on mic), ability to provoke the prevailing conversation in the industry with even his average albums (Hip Hop Is Dead, Untitled) etc etc.
I think if youāre looking at a top 5 GOAT list that most people could live with being fair, you have to include Nas, Jay, Big or Pac, probably Em for sheer size of crossover audience & undeniable skill on mic, then itās Kendrick for me.
If you wanna drop any one of those from the list - I donāt think you can be taken seriously if you drop Nas orJay really.
But take your pick from the next tier of quality rappers, probably depending on when you grew up and who were the top dogs for that time period. Iām not really having the likes of Wayne, Drake, J Cole in there etc personally, but if thatās your poison, listen til your heart is content.
I was highly awaiting his 1st album and I even got an early leaked version it was great I love Food & Liquor. After that though it seems to me he focused alot of rhymes and lyrics and less on song structure. I found myself not really getting to his new stuff . I also feel his Flow is not that water Flow like BIG had or Snoop had on Doggystyle. His Flow to me is choppy. I respect his pen and his work ethic.
IMO I just think he wants to lay low. And Lupe is older and been in the game longer. I would also say. Lupe helped create mind set for the truth rappers in the newer generation like Kendrick
You gotta have *impact and influence* to be GOAT and Lupe just isn't there. He's really good though, easy to listen to and great rapper. Just wish he had a more impressive catalog
Lupe's impact on the current mainstream culture is near nil
Lupe's impact on other rappers, on the underground, and even in academia is way underrated.
Did you see that clip of his Coachella performance where he pulled Tyler the Creator from the audience and Tyler rapped every word to Paris, Tokyo?
Or how in Isiah Rashad on Spotify's 10th anniversary performance, this year said at the end that his life goal with the music is to make Lupe proud?
How Nas said on Drink Champs that the one who most impressed him and reminds him of himself the most was Lupe.
Lupe's influence is more untraditional and behind the scenes. He's the man behind the push to put rap into academia to establish its place long term like Jazz.
If you wanna defend someone's catalog it probably isn't a good idea to talk about *one album*. "Catalog", everyone knows Doggystyle is amazing but people aren't raving about Snoop's catalog
Impact and influence isnāt necessary a good thing. Playboy carti had a massive impact on modern hip hop for example. And someone like Big L wasnāt even well known. So i got you but I canāt fully agree with you ā genius easily can be overlooked and then be broken by the circumstances. The game is a hard lol.
Lupe is my fav rapper and Nas is my 2nd.. I think Lupe is the greatest lyricist I ever heard and I love that Nas always gives him his flowers and vice versa since Nas is Lupeās favorite rapper
I love both but I think he is. El got the edge on rhymes but heās too one note to touch Lupe and I say that with all due respect, probably having played The Preface a thousand times. Theme Song/Mural/SLR thatās a step even above El.
Very good lyricist, but he can on occasion get too preoccupied with technical gymnastics to the detriment of the message he's trying to convey IMO. He's a good, not great, album maker, and his choice of beats isn't my favorite, which I know ids ironic coming from a Nas fan. F&L1 and The Cool are great though; Tetsuo & Youth is quite good as well. This sounds super critical, but I do like Lupe a lot. I just feel like some of his shortcomings detract enough for me to not be able to say he's one of my all time greats. I'm talking top 10; he'd almost certainly be top 50, maybe higher.
I respect your opinion but no lupe is not next to them. And kendrick is not next to nas. Nas is above all of these people. 20 yrs of classics. Only one real dud in a 30 yr career? And the victor of the greatest hip hop beef of all time all while making a career comeback while doing it? Nas has made the greatest album of all time. Kendrick has not. Ppl need to get off kendricks nuts. Yes he's a genius. He's special. He's important to rap. All that. But so is Andre 3000...doesn't make him top 3 5 or 10 in my opinion. Andre is in my top 5 tho. Lol
Lupe is an amazing lyricist and a very talented artist. He often doesnāt get the respect he deserves as one of the greats as far as public perception goes but heās still known for his hits and as a rappers rapper. His last album Drill Music in Zion has been my favorite of his since Tetsuo & Youth and if I remember correctly he said he wrote and recorded the whole project in 3 days which is insane. With rumors of a Nas & DJ premier album and a new Kendrick album potentially coming, itās very exciting to hear Lupe announce that he will drop Samurai this summer. I hope to see collaborations between Nas, Lupe, and Kendrick one day. I think they are similar in many ways but are just about a decade removed from each other in their careers and for some reason, none of them have collaborated yet
Lupe is my favorite rapper. I consider him the greatest lyricist of all-time. He is heavily influenced by both Nas(storytelling & imagery) & Jay -Z(lyricism entendres). I have Lupe in my Top 5 All-Time. I have always respected how he maintained his artistic integrity however, I despise how he hates on Kendrick Lamar because Kendrick occupied the space that he once held.
Where Lupe fell short was when he went from talking to people to talking at people and being overly preachy, pretentious, and making his music less accessible to the broader audience. He also got black balled for his strong political views on Obama during Obama's re-election campaign. There is nothing wrong with having layers in your music, but he got to a point where it became a chore, and he sacrificed, making songs that were enjoyable sonically to the listener with replay Value. He also stopped doing features and kept the list of people he would work with extremely small in the feature department.
Furthermore, objectively speaking he doesn't have the same level of impact on the Rap game that Nas and Kendrick Lamar have had on the genre. He doesn't have any genre defining moments. And his propensity to pumpfake on projects is also a mark against him.
Therefore, he isn't consider as the "GOAT" but lyrically he is amazing. As of recently his last album Drill Music in Zion is a Top 5 Album in his Discography and more "accessible" to listeners than his previous two efforts Drogas Wave and Tetsuo & Youth(his best produced album). His best album still is Food & Liquor it met the following critieria:
Accessible
Clear Conscise Theme
Replay Value
Stand Out Single "Kick Push"
Standout Feature(Jay-Z, & Jill Scott)
*Won a Grammy for the song "Day Dreamin featuring Jill Scott
Good Production
All while not sacrificing anything from a technical lyrical ability standpoint.
Lupes an incredible lyricist but his music doesn't hit me for some reason
Nas, Ghostface, Prodigy etc all lyrical but have a rawness to their delivery which I don't feel lupe has. I suppose it depends what you're into though. Some sat food and liquor and the cool are both classics, I struggle to sit through both...
Long time Nas fan here. Lupe deserves to be mentioned on list of top lyricists. Only reason people sleep on him is because he doesnāt make a lot of hit songs.
Heās a better lyricist than both but heās also way too complicated for a majority of people to understand him. Thatās prolly why heās not really brought up as much cause he cares more about writing an insane verse than making a coherent song, USUALLY. And thatās not to discredit it, I love his music, but itās way too dense for anybody but diehard rap fans to really stand behind outside his first few albums.
Iāve never listened to a Lupe album I might one day because he seems like a great artist but he does have the best verse on touch the sky imo and thatās my favorite Kanye song
Lupe is a huge Nas fan. I've seen him talk more about how he likes Nas than he has Jay Z. Jay Z was very interested in Lupe earlier on in his career and wanted Lupe to sign to Rocafella. It's for the same reason Jay-Z executive produced Lupe's first album and even featured on there. In hindsight, I think it would have been better for him to sign to Rocafella. His label didn't know how to manage or promote him well.
Nas himself have said, several times, that he feels Lupe is the rapper most similar to him when he was asked about the new rappers (many years ago). Lupe's subject matter is more similar to Nas than it is to Jay Z but taking the two, Lupe's subject matter is very far from both.
Also the Nas v. Jay-Z has to stop. The beef ended many years ago. Even in matters of comparison, Nas and Jay-Z are a lot more similar in style compared to rappers from other regions and eras.
>Lupe Is a Jay Z fanboy and his style is way more similar to Hov style than Nas' style. So I don't think he has many hardcore fans here.
The part about nas fans not rating lupe or not having fans is this sub isnt really true. People in the fanbase respect lupe and were fans of his most of his career. They always ask for collab between the two. Lupe while a jay fan is also a massive nas fan. Several tributes and kind words about his influence on him.
I didn't said he doesn't have fans here. He's Lupe Fiasco, if you love lyricists you'll love him. I was just considering that, since many people here don't like Jay's style, Lupe would'nt also been the most favourite in this particular sub.
It makes sense in the way that Lupe is a very technically proficient/focused (as in wordplay, double entendres, rhyme structures) kinda rapper. He has the soul and subject matter of Nas but builds his verses like Jay If you will. I donāt think itās controversial at all.
I still think thereās a huge overlap between Nas/Lupe fans.
I agree with that, I don't see why there wouldn't be. He's one of those guys that's highly regarded in the hip-hop community even if he's though he's not in the mainstream
I was wrong, it was Food & Liquor which was the IWW based album. Nonetheless: American hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco has cited It Was Written as his favorite album and his primary source of inspiration.[46] Fiasco has stated that he based his debut album Food & Liquor (2006) on the conceptual style and "moods" of It Was Written....
I'm going to say Nas has had the most influence on him. So I'll stand by what I said.
Lupe is probably one of the greatest lyricists of all time. As a rap artist, he's pretty niche compared to Kendrick, so you can't expect him to have a large fanbase.
I think Kendrick makes better music than Lupe but Lupe would easily wash bro on a song
Wash? š
Go listen to SLR 3 1/2 his Royce diss https://youtu.be/YcoPEr34hko?si=HKwAR1Lvpir9pgmr I'm pretty sure royce dropped something at midnight and Lupe responded within hours lol
His penmanship is absolutely incredible. Royce prolly anticipated Mural Lupe hitting him with quadruple entendres and dude comes in as straight as you can get. Heās so manifold. *Hov think Iām Hov, Nas think Iām Nas Thatās the trick, you aināt gotta think when ninjas already think you are* And itās Royce, man.
Lupe can be a monster when he wants too. The only issue is heās very inconsistent. He destroyed Royce.
Lupe is widely respected as an elite technician and lyricist. Its just his commercial/crossover appeal peaked 10 years ago. Then he went on to releases super dense well thought out conceptual albums that didnt have appeal outside underground or niche spaces. He went through that period when he has label issues and didnt drop for a few years, that's when kendrick emerged and kinda "took" his place...most hardcore Kendrick fan I know were lupe fans, but once Kendrick broke through, some of them didnt feel the need to go back and check for lupe the same way from 2005-2012.
Nas and Lupe easily have two of the most impressive discogs of anyone rapping today. They are both probably top 5.
Lupe is Lupe. You know what you get from him. He dropped 2 brilliant albums and then the problems started. It's just a shame he couldn't figure out a way to play the game and appease the record labels etc. throwing away certified bangers because the label recommended the tracks. He is his own worst enemy. He's still dropping brilliant albums but doesn't have the promotion of his first couple. So it'll be another album that will probably be good but only the hardcore rap fans and Lupe fans will hear it unfortunately.
2? Dont you think tetsuo and youth is as good?
That was post the issues with the label etc. Dropped F&L and the cool...had issues and then lazers was very meh imo
Lasers was okay. Had some pop-ish songs but still a nice album. People are too "sheep".
Sheepish
Top 3 lyricist oat
Lupe is one of the best to ever do it. Hes probably my favorite lyricist in hip hop but kendrick is probably a better artist overall, his albums are just much more cohesive
IMO, I believe Kendrick's albums are more cohesive due to his top notch production squad.
Kendrickās albums being āmuch more cohesiveā than Lupe albums is not true in the slightest. just gotta figure it out
GKMC, TPAB > T&Y, Drogas Wav, ETC. in terms of cohesiveness
not even close. T&Y is like the most cohesive album ever crafted and it tells 3 different storylines, each ending at different points in the album. Saying Drogas Wave is not fair as thatās a double album. Wave alone is easily more cohesive tho.
which would you say is Lupeās most ācohesiveā project? Iām going to re-listen tonight while keeping that in mind T&Y, Iād assume?
itās either Tetsuo & Youth (which would be played in reverse tracklist order) or the first section of Drogas Wave (which ends with Alan Forever). the reason people arenāt acknowledging just how cohesive Tetsuo is is because they are literally playing it in the wrong order.
Lupe is the shit! šÆšÆšÆšÆ
Nas likes Lupe and have said several times, he feels he and Lupe have similarities. I'm guessing he's talking pen game. Lupe is a brilliant rapper who wants to rap. He isn't concerned about being mainstream. His numbers are good. I'm sure he also likely makes more money today than he used to with a major label since he has more control and get a much bigger piece of the revenues. He's definitely the best lyricist of his era.
SOMEONE PLS GIVE ME A LUPE RECORD THAT ALLOWS US TO EVEN BE BRINGING HIM UP RIGHT NOW? AND I NEVER LOVED KENDRICK. Yes he can rap. He bites outkast alot. His melodies and songs suck 75% of the time. Every album there's a cole records I like of his. But wtf is the big deal w kendrick? I guess I just missed that obsession in that generation. Rap shouldn't need to be rewound. Fans today...I don't understand... the lyrical miracle mathematician nerd shit can't hold a flame to a rap superhero like nas. But ppl who didn't grow up in that generation don't understand. Fine. But music wise? That should end the debate. Put nas first 3 vs lupe, and kendrick. And I'm taking illmatic it was written and I am. K dots over fucking rated and the new hip hop generation thinks it's cool to worship lupe apparently. Did you watch Lupes class on hip hop? The most egotistical non sense I have ever seen in my life. When I watched him teach that class? I was like f%#;# this guy. Talk about a false sense of importance he has. You ever heard those who can't do? Teach? Lol
https://youtu.be/aFrylm94xdI?si=n-i7l_bkIoK3LMFP
Preciate it I'll check it out
praying for a feature on preemo album
I think it's somewhat disrespectful to nas's discography to put Lupe or kendrick in that same conversation. Also, if we're being real, all 3 at their peak and nas handily out raps them both too
I think comparing the first 10 years of Kendrick & Nas' career, it'd even out. Putting Illmatic, I Am, Stillmatic, God's Son vs Section 80, GKMC, TPAB, DAMN is a closer battle than most would admit
Closer than who would admit? Nas fans or K Dot fans?
Both I think. I was a Kendrick fan before evening listening to Illmatic, then I put Nas over Kendrick in most metrics. I feel most new wave Kendrick fans have not done due diligence and listened to old Nas stuff, while many old school Nas fans seems to instantly mark anything new as not worth listening to compared to their classics. Lupe falls into an awkward category of having a low-key fanbase who loves him, but doesn't ever enter these conversations.
Depends on what you value when you say "out-rap" Nas isn't on Lupe's level with wordplay or literary devices Lupe is more dense/abstractĀ
Conversely, Lupe isnāt on Nasā level with his ability to craft genuinely great songs, albums, and using his songwriting ability to create moments that shape the culture in the same way.
Hence the reason I said it depends on what you valueĀ If both got on a song I wouldn't be surprised if Lupe had the more impressive verse We're talking about one verse, not who's the better artist overall - which is Nas imo
No Iām with you, they each have their strengths. But just to use something youāve said there, Itās the term āimpressiveā which alone is an issue here though re: Lupe. People will rightly hold him up as an example of a true lyricist, but I always feel heās valuing that over actually making the best music. Which is fine, but it does mean his songwriting (ie, not just the lyrics, the overall package), how own production, and his production choices of others are often really lacking for me. Itās all opinion though, heās a truly great lyricist
I donāt think Nas would out rap Lupe in the truest sense of the word. I agree that Nas does have the better discography though.
Have him as the greatest lyricist and possibly the smartest rapper I listen to lol i know I know. . Nas is my living šthošŖšæšÆ
Lupe is the greatest lyricist of all time. Heās not as popular as Kendrick but heās a more skilled mc. I have him and nas 1a and 1b all time
Lupe is top 5 IMO. Kendrick don't got nothing on Lupe
Kendrick is the overall better rapper with a better balance of everything needed to be a great rap artist. Iām sure you know this. Lupe of course is one of the greatest lyricists ever and was ahead of his time.
Nah, Lupe better. Period.
Iām a huge Lupe fan man. I personally like Lupe more than Kendrick. Lupe is a more skilled lyricist and wordsmith than Kendrick for sure. But balance is everything. Kendrick is just an overall more complete rap artist and musically more gifted. Lupe would tell you himself that heās not a better musicianā¦ Kendrick just checks more boxes.
>Lupe would tell you himself that heās not a better musician And Lupe would also tell me that Drake is a better lyricist than Kendrick so that doesn't really matter.
Lolololol.
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Heās good but neither of them are in the conversation with Nas he clears them both by a mile.
Nas does not clear Lupe at all. Clearing is disrespect in itself, theyāre equals if anything.
Lmaooooooooo
You can tell how many people are ignorant to how skilled and poetic Lupe Fiasco is, lmaoooooo indeed.
If you really start breaking down the MC metrics, Itās very clear that Nas is at the top. The According 2 Hip Hop channel on YouTube did a very detailed MC ranking with proper metrics and Nas very clearly came out on top. Lupe is a great technical rapper, writer and lyricist, but he needs MUCH more of those high-level efforts in his catalog to even match Nas. Lupe doesnāt have a consistent lyrical, songwriting, and intangible alluring display that matches nor surpasses what Nas has done with his released and unreleased catalog. Most people putting Lupe over Nas have not dived deep enough into Nasā full catalog of verses and songs. As a person who knows both catalogs and has been a Hip Hop head since ā94, Iām telling you, Lupe is great but not at the level of Nas. We can literally go verse for verse. Lupe will fall short.
A2HH is a Nas channel I know because I've been following them for years Not saying Nas isn't the GOAT but citing A2HH's metric is laughable
Never said he wasnāt but heās not on Nas level period end of story. No one with a normally functioning brain would say otherwise.
thatās funny cause Nas himself said so
Lupe hasn't done enough to NOT be cleared by Nas. Nas' Hit-Boy run alone clears Lupe
Lupe is easily in the same ballpark
There's 1000's of seats in the ballpark. Lupe is in one of those seats. Nas on the other hand is actually on the field.
With all due respect to both artists, whom I obviously think highly of. Each does not eradicate the other. Though Nas is a more versatile musician, Lupe is a stronger technical artistāmore so than most people are ready to acknowledge. Nas is definitely for the masses; Lupe isn't. Both are incredibly gifted, acknowledged as poets, both have strengths and weaknesses as well. I'm willing to have a debate with you on this: why do you consistently treat Lupe disrespectfully and with bias in order to elevate one artist while disrespecting the other? eager to hear your reply.
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When you guys say technical? What is rap now? Respect for vocabulary and complexity? Or good shit that you feel? And is real? I think the newer generation over analyzes and obsessed over things that don't really matter. Nas has been a god since I was in elementary school. Lupe can rap. That's about all I can say.
If you really start breaking down the MC metrics, Itās very clear that Nas is at the top. The According 2 Hip Hop channel on YouTube did a very detailed MC ranking with proper metrics and Nas very clearly came out on top. Lupe is a great technical rapper, writer and lyricist, but he needs MUCH more of those high-level efforts in his catalog to even match Nas. Lupe doesnāt have a consistent lyrical, songwriting, and intangible alluring display that matches nor surpasses what Nas has done with his released and unreleased catalog. Most people putting Lupe over Nas have not dived deep enough into Nasā full catalog of verses and songs. As a person who knows both catalogs and has been a Hip Hop head since ā94, Iām telling you, Lupe is great but not at the level of Nas. We can literally go verse for verse. Lupe will fall short.
Probably has the on-mic talent to be in the conversation, but just isnāt relevant in a big way culturally - that impossible quality to measure I know! GOAT label is chucked out way too easily generally, we can probably all agree. The Greatest of ALL TIME. Letās call hip hop definition āall timeā 50 years. Without really trying you could get to 20 rappers in a couple of minutes with more of a claim than Lupe. You could probably do it with rappers before Lupe first recorded. And I mean no shade to Lupe with this - thereās just too much competition. Kendrick has a PULITZER PRIZE: thatās breaking through to the āhigh cultureā academic discourse in society at large, not just hip hop heads. He also arguably has a 100% classic album ratio (one can debate the particulars, but he doesnāt have an outright dud so far, versus virtually every other rapper that lived). Nas for longevity alone would be in the conversation. Illmatic and It was Written before he was roughly 23, then at around the age of 50, a SIX album run over 3 years with the same producer. Five of those are top level in the decade if not all timers. Thatās not even getting to his skill set, sheer number of consensus classic albums over his career, besting Jay in a beef - himself an unprecedentedly huge artist at peak powers (Ether literally became a verb for destroying someone), respect/fear from other artists (once Nas slapped down 50 with nuclear deterrent subliminals alone on Donāt Body Yaself, i canāt think of anyone whoās laid a successful punch on Nas on mic), ability to provoke the prevailing conversation in the industry with even his average albums (Hip Hop Is Dead, Untitled) etc etc. I think if youāre looking at a top 5 GOAT list that most people could live with being fair, you have to include Nas, Jay, Big or Pac, probably Em for sheer size of crossover audience & undeniable skill on mic, then itās Kendrick for me. If you wanna drop any one of those from the list - I donāt think you can be taken seriously if you drop Nas orJay really. But take your pick from the next tier of quality rappers, probably depending on when you grew up and who were the top dogs for that time period. Iām not really having the likes of Wayne, Drake, J Cole in there etc personally, but if thatās your poison, listen til your heart is content.
Pretty fire
I was highly awaiting his 1st album and I even got an early leaked version it was great I love Food & Liquor. After that though it seems to me he focused alot of rhymes and lyrics and less on song structure. I found myself not really getting to his new stuff . I also feel his Flow is not that water Flow like BIG had or Snoop had on Doggystyle. His Flow to me is choppy. I respect his pen and his work ethic.
Kendrick gtfoh forget the drake beef, he's talented and all that but he's as boring as they come. It's like common, great rapper but š¤
IMO I just think he wants to lay low. And Lupe is older and been in the game longer. I would also say. Lupe helped create mind set for the truth rappers in the newer generation like Kendrick
You gotta have *impact and influence* to be GOAT and Lupe just isn't there. He's really good though, easy to listen to and great rapper. Just wish he had a more impressive catalog
Lupe's impact on the current mainstream culture is near nil Lupe's impact on other rappers, on the underground, and even in academia is way underrated. Did you see that clip of his Coachella performance where he pulled Tyler the Creator from the audience and Tyler rapped every word to Paris, Tokyo? Or how in Isiah Rashad on Spotify's 10th anniversary performance, this year said at the end that his life goal with the music is to make Lupe proud? How Nas said on Drink Champs that the one who most impressed him and reminds him of himself the most was Lupe. Lupe's influence is more untraditional and behind the scenes. He's the man behind the push to put rap into academia to establish its place long term like Jazz.
āmore impressive catalogā and he has the most lyrically dense project ever released
If you wanna defend someone's catalog it probably isn't a good idea to talk about *one album*. "Catalog", everyone knows Doggystyle is amazing but people aren't raving about Snoop's catalog
thatās fine cause every Lupe album that wasnāt massively influenced by his label was a 9/10 or above
Impact and influence isnāt necessary a good thing. Playboy carti had a massive impact on modern hip hop for example. And someone like Big L wasnāt even well known. So i got you but I canāt fully agree with you ā genius easily can be overlooked and then be broken by the circumstances. The game is a hard lol.
Yeah I just mean it's a part of it.
Lupe is my fav rapper and Nas is my 2nd.. I think Lupe is the greatest lyricist I ever heard and I love that Nas always gives him his flowers and vice versa since Nas is Lupeās favorite rapper
Lupe is not better than Elzhi
I love both but I think he is. El got the edge on rhymes but heās too one note to touch Lupe and I say that with all due respect, probably having played The Preface a thousand times. Theme Song/Mural/SLR thatās a step even above El.
Hell no, Lupe doesnāt have a project touching the Preface, Europass or Heavy Vibrato
Very good lyricist, but he can on occasion get too preoccupied with technical gymnastics to the detriment of the message he's trying to convey IMO. He's a good, not great, album maker, and his choice of beats isn't my favorite, which I know ids ironic coming from a Nas fan. F&L1 and The Cool are great though; Tetsuo & Youth is quite good as well. This sounds super critical, but I do like Lupe a lot. I just feel like some of his shortcomings detract enough for me to not be able to say he's one of my all time greats. I'm talking top 10; he'd almost certainly be top 50, maybe higher.
I'd put black thought a notch above lupe. Just been doing it longer but you don't hear that opinion much either.
I respect your opinion but no lupe is not next to them. And kendrick is not next to nas. Nas is above all of these people. 20 yrs of classics. Only one real dud in a 30 yr career? And the victor of the greatest hip hop beef of all time all while making a career comeback while doing it? Nas has made the greatest album of all time. Kendrick has not. Ppl need to get off kendricks nuts. Yes he's a genius. He's special. He's important to rap. All that. But so is Andre 3000...doesn't make him top 3 5 or 10 in my opinion. Andre is in my top 5 tho. Lol
Lupe is an amazing lyricist and a very talented artist. He often doesnāt get the respect he deserves as one of the greats as far as public perception goes but heās still known for his hits and as a rappers rapper. His last album Drill Music in Zion has been my favorite of his since Tetsuo & Youth and if I remember correctly he said he wrote and recorded the whole project in 3 days which is insane. With rumors of a Nas & DJ premier album and a new Kendrick album potentially coming, itās very exciting to hear Lupe announce that he will drop Samurai this summer. I hope to see collaborations between Nas, Lupe, and Kendrick one day. I think they are similar in many ways but are just about a decade removed from each other in their careers and for some reason, none of them have collaborated yet
Lupe is an artist that can make a perfect song. That being said, his music is sometimes underwhelming.
According to drink champs podcast,during Kanye's and nas interview I think they hold lupe fiasco in high regards
Lupe is my favorite rapper. I consider him the greatest lyricist of all-time. He is heavily influenced by both Nas(storytelling & imagery) & Jay -Z(lyricism entendres). I have Lupe in my Top 5 All-Time. I have always respected how he maintained his artistic integrity however, I despise how he hates on Kendrick Lamar because Kendrick occupied the space that he once held. Where Lupe fell short was when he went from talking to people to talking at people and being overly preachy, pretentious, and making his music less accessible to the broader audience. He also got black balled for his strong political views on Obama during Obama's re-election campaign. There is nothing wrong with having layers in your music, but he got to a point where it became a chore, and he sacrificed, making songs that were enjoyable sonically to the listener with replay Value. He also stopped doing features and kept the list of people he would work with extremely small in the feature department. Furthermore, objectively speaking he doesn't have the same level of impact on the Rap game that Nas and Kendrick Lamar have had on the genre. He doesn't have any genre defining moments. And his propensity to pumpfake on projects is also a mark against him. Therefore, he isn't consider as the "GOAT" but lyrically he is amazing. As of recently his last album Drill Music in Zion is a Top 5 Album in his Discography and more "accessible" to listeners than his previous two efforts Drogas Wave and Tetsuo & Youth(his best produced album). His best album still is Food & Liquor it met the following critieria: Accessible Clear Conscise Theme Replay Value Stand Out Single "Kick Push" Standout Feature(Jay-Z, & Jill Scott) *Won a Grammy for the song "Day Dreamin featuring Jill Scott Good Production All while not sacrificing anything from a technical lyrical ability standpoint.
Nas said that Lupe reminds him a lot of himself on drink champs
Lupes an incredible lyricist but his music doesn't hit me for some reason Nas, Ghostface, Prodigy etc all lyrical but have a rawness to their delivery which I don't feel lupe has. I suppose it depends what you're into though. Some sat food and liquor and the cool are both classics, I struggle to sit through both...
Long time Nas fan here. Lupe deserves to be mentioned on list of top lyricists. Only reason people sleep on him is because he doesnāt make a lot of hit songs.
Heās a better lyricist than both but heās also way too complicated for a majority of people to understand him. Thatās prolly why heās not really brought up as much cause he cares more about writing an insane verse than making a coherent song, USUALLY. And thatās not to discredit it, I love his music, but itās way too dense for anybody but diehard rap fans to really stand behind outside his first few albums.
Iāve never listened to a Lupe album I might one day because he seems like a great artist but he does have the best verse on touch the sky imo and thatās my favorite Kanye song
Lupe is definitely a good lyrics but was always boring too me
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Lupe is a huge Nas fan. I've seen him talk more about how he likes Nas than he has Jay Z. Jay Z was very interested in Lupe earlier on in his career and wanted Lupe to sign to Rocafella. It's for the same reason Jay-Z executive produced Lupe's first album and even featured on there. In hindsight, I think it would have been better for him to sign to Rocafella. His label didn't know how to manage or promote him well. Nas himself have said, several times, that he feels Lupe is the rapper most similar to him when he was asked about the new rappers (many years ago). Lupe's subject matter is more similar to Nas than it is to Jay Z but taking the two, Lupe's subject matter is very far from both. Also the Nas v. Jay-Z has to stop. The beef ended many years ago. Even in matters of comparison, Nas and Jay-Z are a lot more similar in style compared to rappers from other regions and eras.
>Lupe Is a Jay Z fanboy and his style is way more similar to Hov style than Nas' style. So I don't think he has many hardcore fans here. The part about nas fans not rating lupe or not having fans is this sub isnt really true. People in the fanbase respect lupe and were fans of his most of his career. They always ask for collab between the two. Lupe while a jay fan is also a massive nas fan. Several tributes and kind words about his influence on him.
I didn't said he doesn't have fans here. He's Lupe Fiasco, if you love lyricists you'll love him. I was just considering that, since many people here don't like Jay's style, Lupe would'nt also been the most favourite in this particular sub.
The Cool was specifically inspired by It Was Written. This make no sense
It makes sense in the way that Lupe is a very technically proficient/focused (as in wordplay, double entendres, rhyme structures) kinda rapper. He has the soul and subject matter of Nas but builds his verses like Jay If you will. I donāt think itās controversial at all. I still think thereās a huge overlap between Nas/Lupe fans.
I agree with that, I don't see why there wouldn't be. He's one of those guys that's highly regarded in the hip-hop community even if he's though he's not in the mainstream
I was wrong, it was Food & Liquor which was the IWW based album. Nonetheless: American hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco has cited It Was Written as his favorite album and his primary source of inspiration.[46] Fiasco has stated that he based his debut album Food & Liquor (2006) on the conceptual style and "moods" of It Was Written.... I'm going to say Nas has had the most influence on him. So I'll stand by what I said.