Hot 97’s Ebro Darden had Twitter in a frenzy Friday afternoon when he sent out a tweet explaining the differences between Tupac and Biggie, Jay Z and Nas. Specifically, what separates a lyricist from a rapper.
What started as an opinion to ignite discussion turned into instant clickbait. Here’s what got Twitter up in arms:
As expected, reactions ranged from staunch disagreement to vehement support though proponents of the latter side seemed to be more vocal. Fans especially took umbrage with Ebro’s labeling of Nas as just a rapper and not a lyricist.
Nas dabbles in a number of different styles, but his penchant is streetwise first-person narratives. Sometimes they come in the form of a story (“One Love”; “Rewind”), and other times it’s just bars on bars (“It Ain’t Hard To Tell”; “If I Ruled The World”). He is a master of the craft and inspiration for dozens of today’s artists. On the other hand, he doesn’t frequent the puns or double entendres like Jay does. Nas, like Raekwon and Ghostface, touts an impressive vocabulary of SAT words and criminal slang (“Verbal Intercourse”). However, according to Ebro’s definitions, this makes Nas “lyrical,” which is not to be confused with being a “lyricist”:
Nas gets discredited here for not having concrete punchlines in his bars. He doesn’t abandon the style completely, though. Tracks like “Queens Get The Money” are loaded with wordplay: ““Nasty Nasdaq / Y’all going to bow holmes, it’s Dow Jones.” Rhymes like these aren’t what made him famous (“When I was 12, I went to hell for snuffin’ Jesus), but he’s still capable. In the end, Nas’s ability to articulate a message or story with descriptive imagery and word choice should qualify him as a lyricist.
The wordplay and word choice dichotomy, however, is an important outlier to this discussion. Ebro is right when he says Nas and Tupac are great with their choice of words. Towards the end of his life, Tupac was increasingly prophetic with his rhymes. He spoke bluntly and spiritually about good and evil, but his rhymes were never loaded with metaphors. They were, however, profound and poetic: “Institutionalized, I live my life a product made to crumble / But too hardened for a smile, we’re too crazy to be humble.” In making The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Tupac utilized numerous biblical undertones and themes in his rhymes to convey a vibe. It worked. The album went Platinum five times and we’re still validating Tupac’s prophecy years after his death.
Perhaps the most controversial element of this debate is that according to Ebro, metaphors and wordplay fall under the umbrella of lyricism, while storytelling and delivery do not. The fact of the matter is, they are all of equal importance; different ends of the same totem pole. Lyricism should encompass each of the aforementioned facets, regardless of personal preference.
In the meantime, we certainly haven’t heard the end of this discussion. Though, Ebro had this to say:
I feel alot of what he’s saying but he’s dead wrong nas is a lyricist and rapper period
Nas is king of this shit..pidd
Analysis paralysis by Ebro… Nas, PAC, Biggie, Jay Z are all of the above. They adapt and use different styles as they see fit …
Jayz sack as hell..
What does it mean to be lyrical or a lyricist? Has anyone even tried to look up the definitions? Although Ebro is trolling, I don’t even think he knows what it means. These rap-industry people seem to be a bunch of illiterate idiots.
The whole argument is pointless, and I’m glad he finally came down off his self-anointed, hip hop pedestal to admit there’s no difference b/w lyricist and lyrical (aka the noun and an adjective version of the same root word, smh). The discussion didn’t advance the culture, but it sure enough divided and distracted us…yet again.
The only winner is Ebro, who (once again) advances his own relevancy at the cost of hip-hop regression…a trend that we should all be familiar with by now.
Which makes him a dick head..pidd
we’ll remember & hold him accountable for this B.S next time
This dude could not be more off fuckin idiot
Jay Electronica wrote “Queens Get The Money”.
Stfu, nas wrote all his shit you stupid Fuck gay-z cum sucker
If that is the case Nas wrote for PAC and Big! Shut up stupid!
Everyone hoping for a Jay co-sign or some cash,Nas too real,Nas is king,,
Ebro wants controversy..
Just saw the slaughterhouse interview wit him. You could tell none of them wanted to b there. It was so obvious Rosenberg commented on the fact. No respect for this dude he is all about trying to stir drama for ratings. Buckshot roasted them about being fake had him looking stupid
HHDX really needs to learn the definition of “trolling”
This cat tried a cop out…he tryna educate but left out that lyricism isnt, only defined by puns and double entendres ….nigga$ just reaching for controversy these days. Does the system explode when overloaded with fuckery
Ok if its about more than puns and double entendres please elaborate…..
ANYONE that’s finished high-school or had a critical thinking conversation in their lifetime KNOW that Nas is NOT very intelligent or finished school vs. Jay-Z’s EXTREMELY sharp witty character & rhyme style! NO ONE will EVER accuse Nas of being intelligent! He’ll ONLY be viewed as SOUNDING smart, while saying NOTHING much!! FACTS!! I’m glad someone finally sad something about this because this is the REAL argument of MC’s/lyricists vs. RAPPERS!!! Nice Ebro, you’ve gained some of my respect back!!
You are stupid! Nas is the greatest rapper, greatest lyricists, and the greatest lyrical rapper ever. No one messing with Nas ever. Without nas rhymes where would Jay be or any bother rapper. If Big and PAC were living they would tell you! Nas is that dude!
Nas put out illmatic at 21yrs old compare the lyricism on that album to what kids these days are putting out. Then you have the nerve to put him in the same category as these “rappers”.
You and ebro should get a room and go fawk yourselves
Are you saying that Nas is not intelligent because he didn’t finish school? Nas may not have finished school but he is street smart which can go a very very long way. Have you seen his documentary? Nas has always kicked knowledge. Get your facts straight and stop typing in caps you little girl
lame Jay z wish he was nas how the hell u stay in the game for 23 yrs and be stupid.these new spool bums kill me
Well I’ve been a fan of nas.. He’s a great story teller, a lot of he’s songs have specific themes or subject matter and he drops a lot of knowledge but I do agree that he ain’t too strong when it comes to punchlines, he does use metaphors I suppose but he’s just not that type of rapper, a punchline rapper. Using metaphors or puns nah that aint his thing,, he is lyrical though
You must never listen to Nas catalog! No other rapper is goes deep than Nas! No one! It is not even a debate! Plus this guy does not understand anything because what is he? You feel me! Everyone wants to be a rapper broh but does not know crap about real hip hop! And… That is Nas all day and every day!
Nas is King and “F” what you heard!
Don’t let the wolf pack fans of Nas of 4.4 million followers come and roast that fat butt Ebro. Nas is the greatest rapper, the greatest lyrical rapper and the greatest Lyricism rapper period, bar none! No rapper can measure a stick the Nas’s catalog!
If you think nas is someone that just puts words that rhyme you don’t listen to nas Ebro is a fucking idiot
“Cause he wear a Kufi it don’t mean that he bright. Cause you don’t understand him it don’t mean that he nice/ it just means you don’t understand all the bullshit that he writes.”
– Jay-Z on Nas
…but if you do understand, you notice the craft….and Jay-Z went from bragging about never reading the Bible into someone who went back and did his knowledge.
Jay-Z understands now…. He recanted that a long time ago and gave Nas his respect.
in 88 u was getting chased throu ya buildin ,callin my crib and I didn’t even give u my number…nas on Jay z
I never put much thought into opinions from someone who’s never spit a bar in his life. Stick to gossiping SheBro.
All of you need to educate yourself on hip-hop culture. Who cares who’s lyrical and who’s a rapper. They are all emcees. But nas is one of the top five greatest of all time. That’s just one person’s opinion why does everyone need to fly off the handle. Jay-Z is not he is just a business man making money not real music.
I’ve listened to his shit bro trust me, and as I said he is lyrical, just not a punchline rapper! Dropping Punchlines is just not his style.. Punchline rappers are jayz, eminem, royce, big pun, big L, crooked I etc….
Naps is The Greatest rapper lyricist on the planet .Ebro don’t know what his talking about
Opinions cant be looked up to substantiate information. Ebro is entitled to his opinion so who gives a f*ck, its just his opinion not a fact. I disagree 100% on the Nas issue btw….
Ebro is in idiot, of course and is a lyricist, less wordplay in no way diminishes that
Well ebro needs some word enlightening , LYRICAL and LYRISICT is the same just contextual usage, Nas said “My 1st album has no famous gangster appearances, am crowned the best Lyricist ” , Ebro surely is a big fan of meek,drake, Lemar and as deep as them but not blessed with ILLMATIC state of mind. The dude is new skool.
If somebody says Nas doesn’t have or use Wordplay then they clearly have not studied his catalog. Go to listen to It Was Written… ie: Take It In Blood, I Gave You Power, Live Nigga Rap, Shootouts, Suspect….Immaculate Wordplay by Nas on all these records. We have too many critics in Rap and not enough knowledgeable people who are rightfully entitled speak on these subjects.
they praise R2D then criticize IWW
Ebro’s arguments are credible but his mentions & categorizations of artists will always prolong the arguments (a modification of the goat argument)
Personally, I see this as free promo for NAS, Pac, Reakwon & GFK! + where does Gza feature in this list?