We all know what Jay Z has gone on to become: A mogul. He affects the world around him with a signature cool; a sort of protean nonchalance that often reveals a coldly calculating, terrifically ambitious mind. His music was like that, too. Always yearning into the move three, four, no five steps down the line. But for a moment there, after he came for Nas’ and a few others at the behest of his consigliore Memph’ Bleek with the classic diss record “Takeover,” he looked vulnerable when Nas’ clubbed him over the head with the completely unexpected “Ether.” There were more than a few of us there, clutching our copies of Illmatic and It Was Written and wondering where that Nasty Nas had gone. So to see him come roaring back, completely lucid, hungry and alive was a revelation. It was like going back in time.
“Ether” restarted things again for Nasir, though, which got us wondering: Who’s had the better discography since “Ether,” Jay or Nas? Here, we give you an-apples-to-apples comparison of albums in the post-“Ether” era. That means we unfortunately had to kill all those crossover collaboration albums Jay was doing in the mid aughts (Best Of Both Worlds, Unfinished Business, and Collision Course anyone?) along with his remix album Blueprint 2.1. For his conceptual, and arguably classic album American Gangster, we placed it as an outlier since it’s a relative anomaly in his career and it doesn’t match up as Nas’ made nothing in 2007 and his 2006 album is taken. No worries, we also placed Nas’ compilation and arguable classic The Lost Tapes there as well. Let the games begin.
*Ties count as votes for both parties
The Blueprint vs. Stillmatic
Release Date: 9/11/2001 vs. 12/18/2001
Metacritic Scores: The Blueprint (88%) vs. Stillmatic”(69%)
DX Scores: The Blueprint – 5 Out Of 5 vs. Stillmatic – 5 Out Of 5
Andre: We’re not sure what the reviewers were thinking when they panned Stillmatic as a sloppy, jumbled mess of ideas, but they were pretty much wrong. Any album that features “Ether,” “Got Urself A Gun,” “One Mic,” “Rewind,” and “You’re da Man” is damn near a classic and DX’s reviewer agreed, as we were one of the publications to give that album a perfect rating. Of course, we gave The Blueprint a perfect score, as well. Which just underlines how great both of these albums were. They were so different from each other, and earmarked a steep divide on what kind of music each would put out for the rest of their careers. Jay would continue to go the glossy, boss route as he separated himself from his previous Mafioso persona. Nas would double down on music and issues close to his heart, no matter what the results were.
Winner: Jay Z
Ural: Stillmatic broke Nas’ line of unsatisfactory work after Illmatic (or It Was Written for some) and part of that reason could be due to Jay Z lighting a fire under him through The Blueprint. More specifically, the ultra combo of “Takeover” had to have put Nassir in a particular mindset. The result was the comeback of a millennium in Stillmatic. Yes, “Either” was one helluva response to Hov but tracks like “Got Urself A Gun” and “One Mic” made the album more than simply just retaliation.
Winner: Tie
The Blueprint 2 vs. God’s Son
Release Dates: 11/12/2002 vs. 12/17/2002
Metacritic Scores: The Blueprint 2 (64%) – God’s Son (81%)
DX Scores: The Blueprint 2 – 4 Out Of 5 & God’s Son – 4 Out Of 5
Andre: God’s Son was Nas’ second amazing post-”Ether” record in a row, and featured tracks like “Made You Look” and “Book Of Rhymes.” While overall the critical reviews were highly favorable (New York Magazine gave it a perfect score), there was one critic who yawned and then got angry at the half-man-half-amazing emcee: future luminary Ta-nehisi Coates. He called it one large cliche´, claiming Nas had given up his role as humble watcher for being a kind of “Tupac clone.” Yikes. Still, song for song, God’s Son bodied Jay’s follow-up to his classic LP. Not only was it bloated, with a litany of throwaway efforts, but it also lacked Jay’s imagination and introspective pearls of wisdom and traded them for guest features and pop records.
Winner: Nas
Ural: Funny how Ta-nehisi Coates called Nas a “Tupac clone” in his God’s Son review when Jay’s single for The Blueprint 2 was “03 Bonnie & Clyde.” Doesn’t matter much as Hov really started to look like he was losing steam on his seventh studio album. Thankfully he made that up with The Black Album. Meanwhile Nas seemed to be on a roll with God’s Son thanks to some of Nas’ best introspection to date. Hell, “I Can” became the new hood national inspirational anthem and every rapper alive has tried their hand at the “Made You Look” beat at least once.
Winner: Nas
The Black Album vs. Street’s Disciple
Release Dates: 11/14/2003 vs. 11/29/2004
Metacritic Scores: The Black Album (84%) – Street’s Disciple (80%)
DX Scores: The Black Album – 4.5 Out Of 5 & Street’s Disciple – 4 Out Of 5
Andre: The Black Album was one of the best albums of Jay’s career, and a much-needed “comeback” from his kind of debacle The Blueprint 2. There were too many moments on that album to really call it anything less than a classic for Jigga, and it was also rumored to be his swan song. Of course, it wasn’t, since the Brooklyn emcee was ending his relationship with Dame Dash and needed a cultural moment to symbolically represent his taking over the organization he built with his partners. On the other hand Street’s Disciple saw Nas go super-big the way he wanted I Am to be originally but Columbia hated. Too bad it was a bloated, spread out, bleeding canvas of an album.
Winner: Jay Z
Ural: Jay Z ended his “once a year” album string with The Black Album and it was a helluva then perceived swan song. More so than any other album in his career, Hov damn near managed to make every track a hit song. Those who thought the Brooklyn native couldn’t even remotely come close to the greatness of The Blueprint were in for quite a shock. In terms of Streets Disciple, it felt like a middle of the road project for Nas. Then again, “Bridging The Gap” featuring his father Olu Dara was almost a full circle moment for the Queens emcee.
Winner: Jay Z
Kingdom Come vs. Hip Hop Is Dead
Release Dates: 11/21/2006 vs. 12/15/2006
Metacritic Scores: Kingdom Come (67%) – Hip Hop Is Dead (79%)
DX Scores: Kingdom Come – 3.5 Out Of 5 & Hip Hop Is Dead – 4.5 Out Of 5
Andre: Yeah, I heard Kingdom Come was rushed through because of L.A. Reid, but there was really no excuse for an album that Pop from Hov. He’d been experimenting for years now, and this was his comeback and he squandered it like a virgin all over the sheets of his would-be-lovers-bed. Then there was Hip Hop Is Dead, and God it felt like Hip Hop’s essence was being sucked out of it during a wafish 2006. Nasir came out of nowhere with “Black Republicans,” which low-key saved Mr. Carter that year (that and “Beach Chair”), “Carry On Tradition” (which is a terrible beat despite Nas’ superior penmanship) and the crown-jewel and Kanye assisted “Still Dreaming” that featured a heavenly sounding Chrisette Michelle. Why Kanye and Nas don’t realize they’re just perfect for each other is truly beyond my understanding but whatever, Nas wins this one hands down.
Winner: Nas
Ural: Kingdom Come and Hip Hop Is Dead were black eyes in both careers. In terms of Jigga, his comeback album following his short-lived hiatus was severely disappointing. Then again, Kingdom Come served as the first time many got a look at mogul Hov thanks to the dreaded “30 Something,” “Hollywood” featuring Beyonce and “Beach Chair” collaboration with Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Hip Hop Is Dead wasn’t any better as Nas didn’t make anything as entertaining as the new crop of artists he proclaimed killed the culture. Both albums were “mid-life crises” albums for Hip Hop’s greatest emcees.
Winner: Tie
The Blueprint 3 vs. Untitled
Release Dates: 9/8/2009 vs. 7/8/2008
Metacritic Scores: The Blueprint 3 (65%) – Untitled (71%)
DX Scores: The Blueprint 3 – 4 Out Of 5 vs. Untitled – 4.5 Out Of 5
Andre: The Blueprint 3 was an interesting mess, yeah? Jay was bombastic as ever with illuminati styled videos and the like, but the thing lacked any real cohesion and raison d’etre. It was a star-studded cliche´, though, and it felt like it. Like a club you hung out in front of hoping you’d get in but the bouncer was a dick and no one knew your name. But, he did try to restore a semblance of sanity to the game with “Death Of Autotune,” which was admirable. It also had four bonafide hot-as-fuck singles in the above mentioned, “Run This Town,” “On To The Next One” and the now annoying-as-hell “Empire State Of Mind.” Untitled was equally ridiculous with “Queens Get The Money” as the opening deadeye bullet on a preachy album with almost no mainstream connects. A quiet listen, each song was a lot of what Nas had been talking about from the beginning. But, God, it had so much soul.
Winner: Nas
Ural: Both emcees were past that “mid-life crisis” point, and both Jay and Nas went two totally different directions. Corporate Hov literally started forming his Roc Nation roster while Nasty Nas transitioned into the most political he’d been to that point. The Blueprint 3 ended up breaking Elvis’ record for most number one albums as “On To The Next” one was Jay flexing to the max thanks to the last great Swizz Beatz production. Considering the controversy around Untitled and its original title Nigger, it made total sense for Nas to attack Fox News through “Sly Fox” or Jay Electronica’s amazingly produced opener. Even though Nas failed a few times throughout its dark 54 minute runtime, it felt a lot more vibrant than The Blueprint 3.
Winner: Nas
Watch The Throne vs. Distant Relatives
Release Dates: 8/8/2011 vs. 5/14/2010
Metacritic Scores: Watch The Throne (78%) & Distant Relatives (73%)
DX Scores: Watch The Throne – 4 Out Of 5 & Distant Relatives – 4.5 Out Of 5
Andre: If Watch The Throne was 1% rap featuring the best production money could by, Distant Relatives was made to feel like the exact opposite. For every Kanye or Swizz Beatz beat on WTT, Distant Relatives featured jungle production from Damian and Stephen Marley themselves. Looking back, it was remarkable the album sounded that good despite not having any major producers or collaborators but it soldiered on and became more of a reggae/rap marriage than the conscious rap masterpiece people hoped for. Meanwhile, WTT was a seesaw of obsessively magnificent moments buttressed by down in the gutter ones. “Welcome To The Jungle” is arguably Swizz’s worst produced record, and no matter how hot it would go on to be, “Illest Motherfucker Alive” almost two minutes of silence is unconscionable. Overall, though, it’s high points were higher than Distant Relatives, but its low points were too egregious for the hall-of-fame duo.
Winner: Nas
Ural: Having Kanye West and Jay Z create a body of work together felt like the super collaborative album everyone wanted. As both would say, Watch The Throne presented black economic excellence. There wasn’t anything more controversial and aspirational as “Niggas In Paris” or “Made It In America” featuring Frank Ocean. A year earlier and hype more concentrated within core Hip Hop was Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives, which at times flew the flag of black intellectualism. It was about the glory of the entire African diaspora. Though Distant Relatives lacked the sonic flair of Watch The Throne, it doubled down on something a little more soulful.
Winner: Jay Z
Magna Carta… Holy Grail vs. Life Is Good
Release Dates: 7/4/2013 vs. 7/13/2012
Metacritic Scores: Magna Carta… Holy Grail (60%) vs. Life Is Good (81%)
DX Scores: Magna Carta… Holy Grail – 4 Out Of 5 vs. Life Is Good – 4 Out Of 5
Ural: Despite Jay’s adaptation of the #newrules mantra, Magna Carta…Holy Grail was a commercial product disguised as high concept art. Honestly, let’s not pretend going platinum before getting a physical release via Samsung deal was as impressive as being a good album. The album was a powermove for Hip Hop’s legendary mega mogul. In contrast, Life Is Good was Nas’ most complete and honest album since Stillmatic. Mr. Jones equally pulled every emotional and lyrical muscle to deliver something that was strictly for Hip Hop connoisseur.
Winner: Nas
Andre: Magna Carta… Holy Grail sold a- milli before it ever hit a shelf, and Jay’s a diabolical genius because he got Samsung to pay for it all. And then there was the debacle with the app thing, but nevertheless MCHG had its moments, though they were mostly overblown. The single, “Tom Ford” sounded weathered and soulless, as though Jigga-man could barely find the energy to keep going and then there were the songs that got less great with each listen like “Picasso Baby,” “Oceans” and “F.U.T.W.” Of course, “Holy Grail” will live forever. Still, Life Is Good saw Nas at a biographical high he hadn’t shown in sometime with all the conceptual work he’d been doing. From there, and because of its cohesiveness and energy it’s an easy win for the Queens emcee.
Winner: Nas
The Outlier Section:
Release Dates: 9/23/2002 vs. 11/6/2007
The Lost Tapes vs. American Gangster
Metacritic Scores: The Lost Tapes (81%) vs. American Gangster (83%)
DX Scores: The Lost Tapes – 4.5 Out Of 5 vs. American Gangster – 4.5 Out Of 5
Andre: Talk about a christmas full of presents under the tree and you’d be talking about both The Lost Tapes and American Gangster. Lost Tapes was Nas no filter, just pure unadulterated bars and rhymes. American Gangster was the most pure Jay-mafioso since Reasonable Doubt and with the Brooklyn legend as Frank Lucas he gave us an extremely well-produced story driven album of epic proportions. Both are beautiful examples at Hip Hop at its finest, but only one was a complete project and so Jay gets the win.
Winner: Jay Z
Ural: One was inspired by the cinematic adaptation of Frank Lucas’ days as one of America’s biggest drug dealers. The other was a collection of tracks that Columbia were initially going to shelve. Lost Tapes featured Nas spitting some of his best bars to date while American Gangster is essentially Hov’s first fully realized concept album. Both had their faults. Despite being Nas’ best display of lyricism, Lost Tapes felt like a glorified mixtape. Then again, American Gangster had a few disappointments, including the Lil Wayne catastrophe “Hello Brooklyn 2.0.”
Winner: Tie
Overall Winner: Nasir Jones ( 10 votes to 8)
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
Ural Garrett is an Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.
Pretty accurate on my board as well. Great points, fair rating…Solid!! Well done!!
hahaha typical hhdx… always on nas’ jock….
Definitely Nas. Jay fans will hate this but American Gangster is the only dope album he dropped after blueprint. Gods Son,HHID and Life is Good are very solid albums
I agree with the conclusion but I would saw that its probably more of TKO than a win on points that this review was making it out to be. Almost all of the tie votes should have went to NAS IMO.
Well, at least Jay has all the Grammy’s, Beyonce money to fall back on.
Exactly!! The ties should have definitely gone to Nas. His albums were better in those cases.
Nas wins this easily. Only good Jay albums post-Ether are The Black Album and American Gangster. The rest were trash. Even the worst Nas album post-Ether (Street Disciple) is better than at least 3 of Jay’s albums post-Ether (BP2, Kingdom Come, MCHG).
How is Street’s Disciple his worst post Ether album? That album was incredible. Live Now, Just a Moment, Reason, Message to the Feds, These Are Our Heroes, Suicide Bounce, etc A lot of people slept on it, but it was great. I think it’s better than all of Jay-Z’s albums.
Solid write up. Got the winner correct.
Completely agree
Good write up these are the articles that I love to see.
Culture Vulture Alert!!!
I don’t trust or except this article. You have geeky non-real hiphop writers talking. The same dudes that think Drake, Lil Wayne, and Rick Ross were the kings of hiphop. I see right through your B.S. You want to give Jay-Z an L because he doesn’t pay to play with your site. You and your writers are the true culture vulture in hiphop!!!
Eminem>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Of course, Relapse, Recovery and Encore are all classics, on the level with Cuban Linx, The Score and Me Against the World…especially the track where he raps like Triumph the insult dog..If you add that to his overhyped first three albums, he is the most overrated MC in the Wooooorrrlllllddd!!
Eminem’s been wack most of his career, and wasn’t even that good at his peak. GTFO
this is just pathetic hhdx for some reason you guys always have a blatant bias towards nas…. lets be real jay may not be dropping classics since bp1 BUT most of those nas albums are 3/4 garbage with a just enough hot songs (roughly 3-4) to have people not throw it away on first lesson… these nas stans are even worse though…. you guys call this the stupidest site ever whenever the articles are praising artists like young thug, drake, rick ross, or lil wayne, just to name a few… but once they talk about that accident murder nas y’all all jump on the bandwagon….
fuck him and all his stans straight up
you’re out of your element. Go take a seat somewhere youngin
look at this old ass bum ddot talking trash… keep talking shit from your retirement home old man hahahahahaha
Dude you are completely BIASED if you think most of Nas’s albums post Stillmatic were forgettable. They are a powerful body of work that will be remembered for a long time. Jay meanwhile was getting more and more commercial. I dont even know how you can argue that Kingdom Come didnt suck or the blueprint 3 wasnt commercial as fuck.
hahaha oh lord another stan has came to defend the most OVERRATED rapper of all time… just because YOU think every thing he has done is an all time album doesn’t mean everyone outside of the nas stan community does… you act like all these albums were solid that is the most biased thing i have ever heard… btw asshole i do agree that kingdom come and bp3 are garbage but untitled and streets disciple were just as wack so maybe i am not so biased after all…
Black album was Jays last good album to me blueprint 2 was mediocre and Nas flow was more consistent. Even if you fast forward to life is good Nas never failed to capture his fans.
Tech N9ne is better than both of them because he has a sexy bald head.
Glad they got an opinion from both coasts. They’re both legends though
Nas over jay , hiphopdx are y all fuckin crazy
This ia non sense
Bp2 and Kingdom come was right
After y all were talkin alot of shit
I can see dat u guyz hate jay but its okay
He’s the best rapper since tupac and biggie
That was a very well balanced article. Except for the point where Ural said Nas didnt make anything better than the competition with Hip Hip is Dead. That is damn stupid. Hip hop is Dead is a hard core hip hop album. Almost a classic.
But yeah, Nas wins!
Hip Hop Is Dead destroys Kingdom Come, while Distant Relatives is a classic compared to that major motion picture blockbuster dud that was Watch the Throne.
Lmao
Agreed
Nas has a couple of classic albums, Illmatic and It Was Written. As far as I’m concerned, Jay-Z doesn’t have any classic albums. Reasonable Doubt is close to a classic but not quite because the beats are wack. Jay’s lyrics were good but I can’t stand any of the beats on Reasonable Doubt. The rest of Jay’s catalog is corporate radio mainstream garbage.
You sound dumb, Reasonable Doubt and Blueprint are undeniable classics! The Black Album was close to a classic, Vol. 1 was underrated bc it had the horrible Sunshine on it, Vol. 3 was solid but I think tracks like NYMP, Come And Get Me, There’s Been A Murder, Watch Me, Dopeman all get over looked bc of Big Pimpin’. All in all their careers were neck and neck before Ether as well. Now I agree Nas has a slight edge post Ether but not before.
Reasonable doubt didn’t even get that much attention until he went mainstream.
Great article. Found myself agreeing with a lot of this. Props.
Next up: Game vs. 50 Cent
I didn’t even finish the article and I had to make a Comment. WHO THE HELL IS URAL?? I agreed with every thing until he flatout dropped the ball on hip hop is dead. MID-LIFE crisis? Hip Hop is Dead is one of my favorite Nas albums you must be deaf if you think that album sucked. Kingdom come fine. But seriously Lost me at saying HIP HOP is Dead sucked.
Agreed
lol
Pre-battle: Illmatic is better than Reasonable Doubt, It Was Written is better than Vol. 1 and I Am… is better than Vol. 2. I’ll give Vol. 3 the edge over Nastradamus, even though its more of a tie. One more thing: while Blueprint clearly has better production than Stillmatic (It’s Kanye and Just Blaze in their primes, how could it not be?), Stillmatic still has the better rap performance.
Given how the comparisons were mostly born out of the date of the releases I’d assume It Was Written would be compared to Reasonable Doubt, I Am… to Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life & Nastradamus to Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter.
I would’ve liked to have seen them do that comparison too.
how could kanye had been in his prime during that time if we was a rookie? the average person didn’t know who kanye was when the album came out. i’m a big fan of both and one thing people don’t think about is influence on pop culture in which jay is the easy winner of that and you have to take that into consideration when doing those comparisons. I love Nas music like the next fan, but Jay is clearly the winner of the post ether albums. Hands down.
I guess its all a matter of opinion… I personally thought nastradamus was dope. Projects windows, shoot em up, ect. I still bump that on some of my current playlists to this day
Influence on pop culture? It’s mostly negative, let’s be honest. Money, Cash, Hoe’s alone has done enough damage. He has average young men thinking everyone can be a Jay Z which isn’t true. Okay, it’s true that Jay Z music might be more catchy to the majority of folks but what the heck does he be talking about? Yelling out name brands that most of the people that listen can’t even afford. That’s not Hip Hop it’s Rap. Jay Z is a rap artist, Nas is a hip hop artist.
Nas no Question GOAT
For the record, Nas was better before the beef too
this argument is one sided … u left hardknock lifee, in my life time … and u put kingdom come. why didn’t you compare escobar/nastradamus with hardknock life. plus hhdx you cant tell us what we know … just share news only
“Post-Ether discography”
The article clearly stated “Post Ether” albums, which is why they started with The Blueprint and Stillmatic.
Nas has clearly made better work. The scores/reviews used don’t indicate the truth behind it.
i agree about one thing you said and that is “the scores/reviews used don’t indicate the truth behind it.” because to be honest the completely overrated every nas album besides maybe one or two….
I like how Nas downshifted into full concept album mode for the past decade. That’s tough to do. Thank you for the comment, NAS STAN ALERT.
Didnt nas sign under Jays def jam imprint after the beef? He It a hot line I made it a hot song
No they partnered with each other, you absent minded dickrider
@jae he absolutely did!!! don’t let these nas stans tell different…
Any unbiased fan knows that L.A. Reid is the sole reason Nas signed to Def Jam. Nas discussed this in interviews around that time. Jay was nothing but a face at DefJam. None of Nas’ DefJam albums say “Carter Administration” on them. Not one. But you can find Carter Administration printed on the back of the Ghostface and Roots DefJam albums, among others. Good night.
my oh my another nas stan to the rescue!!! you guys grow from the ground i swear…. anyways im gonna make this real simple for you retards twisting facts…. jay was running (as in head, leader, or whetever title you dummies wanna call it) the label that signed nas… therefore he was ahead of nas in the food chain… also meaning he was higher in the hiearchy…. night night little punk bitch
Not a stan at all, but you sound like a hater. You think Jay called up Nas one day and said come work for me. FOH. Nas said himself that LA Reid was the main reason why he went to DefJam. No stanning, this is a FACT. Only Jay stans think Nas went to work for Jay. LA Reid had more clout over at DefJam than Jay did. Jay was a rapper with zero experience as a music exec when he was hired has “president”.
Man let’s be real. Nas has made the same type of music while jay takes chances. Most of those nas albums don’t get any spins from most people but they get rode because nas made him.
Niggas don’t even bump nas bro. When jay dropped mchg, every body and they mama was bumping that joint for at least 2 months straight. The hood don’t even fuck with nas no more.
It’s the opposite bro. Jay may take more chances with his sound, but creatively and in terms of subject matter Nas takes way more chances than Jay. Jay’s album are more about his progession of wealth and stature. Hip Hip is Dead in terms of content is nothing like Untitled, Distant Relatives sounds absolutely nothing like Life is Good. MCHG ranks as one of Jay’s worst albums easily.
Man, Jay take chances? Dude is one of the safest pop-making dudes ever. Nas make controversial statements like Hip Hop is Dead, Distant Relatives, and naming his album after the N-word.
I like both, but you made yourself look stupid saying that.
What hood you talkin you talking about cause the hood ain’t bumpin Jay either no in area was bangin Magna after the 1st day because it was wack I like both but Jay but like said Fox kept you hot like Bey, Kanye and business keeps him hot everyone is always saying Nas felt off they be aint it was 2-3 albums He never felt I Am was bootleg but near classic and nastradamus was ok but the who say this never listen to I Am or nastradamus so when you ask when Nas felt off they don’t know because they listen to hater go back and listen both of those albums are better than what out now .
Hands down Nas. Here’s why nas has been scrutinize since day on. All these main stream teeny bopper editors and writers have never gave credit to nas on the sole basis of record sales. In my opinion and again my opinion after listening to a nas album you can feel the authenticity of how a true Mc should put out music. He’s rapping about kids benefiting their lives by becoming kings and queens. He raps about true things that are going down all over the world. He’ll rap about his struggles and he makes you feel like you’re apart of something bigger than just rapping about money. When you listen to Jay it’s the same spit money money and the fact that he’s the boss. Nas doesn’t even think of himself as a mainstream artist because he doesn’t have to rap to a mass audience. Fans who listen to nas favor him because of the fact that he’s spitting different things at you and you never know what he’ll spit. You can always count on Jay to rap about money and bosses. Hands down NAS.
Ma nigga. Couldn’t of said it better myself.
I would enjoy this article if it wasn’t PRO-NAS… whatever NAS did, Jay-Z always came out better when it comes to influence… I feel like you are trying to remind us that Nas is still alive and will release a album that only 5000 people will buy even tho is the so acclaimed GOAT… Well i think he is overrated and JZ might be one of the few old timers that can make hits without a feature from migos, 2 chainz rae sreeeemmm whatever the name it is…
The article is rating albums, not influence. They actually cut Jay a little slack. Regarding wealth Jay is hands down more successful. But when you keep the conversation on music, especially post-ether its no contest
wow you’re an idiot
Nope… I would say musically and rhyme wise more hip hop artists take stuff from Nas. Maybe Jay has more pop culture influence ie what products to buy, wear etc… but for real hip hop head Nas wins hands down.
agree with everything except untitled being better than blueprint 3, you would have to be a fucking idiot to think that
Untitled is up there as one of the best hip hop albums of all time, that album is just too powerful comparing it to BP3 does it a grave injustice. The only Jay album that comes close to untitled is The Black Album, that was Jay’s most powerful album too
everything king d says is dumb, the only cool song on untitled is the intro and that song about Louis Farrakhan
Bad has had the better body of work. Bad actually knows how to make albums that are cohesive and he is very creative with his work. But man I can’t knock Jigga’s hustle, that man is a go getter and you’ve got to respect that. You don’t find true artists that are sound business men, he is no diddy, so props to Jay
Jay z never responded to “Ether” cause it was so hot! He smoked jay-z. I like both artist and they both brought classic material to the table.
See: Jay Z – “Super Ugly”
The actual song “blueprint 2” was a response. “Superugly” was a response.
Yeah he did about a day or two later. It was called super ugly!! Nas never responded to that!! #Factsstraight! And ot took months for nas t I respond with Either vs takeover!! #Justsayon
The Nas I’AM album is a classic by the way.
boy stop with that bullshit… has aint inspiring shit but a bunch of hipster wanna be thugs like yourself…. your boy watched it from his window scribbling in his notepad….. softest most overrated artist ever!!!
Ural is retarded and bias as hell
NaS all day!
Ural is an idiot, hip hop is dead was not that much better than kingdom come? ???? U smokin my nigga
The blueprint, the black album and bp3 are the better jay albums then the nas counterparts but the rest go to nasty. American gangster, wtt and kingdom come were sub par at best. Mchg and untitled are the worst albums in both there discogs. Bp2 and streets disciple are both decent offerings and if slimmed down to the best songs would both be classics
The Last Temptation >>> God’s Son
Pain is Love >>> Blueprint + Stillmatic combined
Blood in My Eye >>>>>>>>> Black Album
R.U.L.E. >>>> Hip Hop is Dead
The Mirror >>>> American Gangster
PIL2 >>>> Life is good
Damn ryt, Nas wins hands down. Great take Dx.
Your article is biased, if you had given points for each album and not just set the winner and count the wins, Jay would have win because he has two indeniable classics post-Ether, Nas 0.
To me it’s more important to have less good albums but some classics than more good albums but no classic.
Damn bra. Your the biased one . How you gonna tell me nas has no post stillmatic classics. Smh
Thanks for the joke there… lol… Jay had two classics post ether… lol… did Jay really have any good albums since that time except for maybe Watch the Throne with Kanye?
His next biggest album was known for having Justin Timberlake on it… lol
Nope.
Yall smoking crack. Hov has hands down been better than nas post beef. Sales alone arent even close
We are not talking sells has has stayed true to him y I choose nas!!
What utter KAK
Again?!!! please move on already..you aint got nothin to write about…same shit every year Nas VS Jayz nigga please
I’m a big HOV and NAS fan so get over this shit. They’re like brothers and always laugh at you guys for always bringing the past
nas is deep n has made his bed so he’s sleeping deep. but Hov is every much awake. thanks
@least NAS aint sold His Soul for riches
Have u seen his Hennessey commercials recently*LoutL*& this is coming from the same dude back in like 02 tht said he wouldn’t endorse alcohol*
You got that right ..He made songs with Damian Marley talking about fuck selling his soul and fuck alcohol. Now he is doing the opposite.
How y’all gonna put blueprint over stillmatic. Smh
so its official nas had d better post-ether discography.its a good think hip hop dx still respects artistry over record sales.but imo jay’s discography peaked wit d black album.nd nas never really had a great album since God’s son
Hip hop is dead is a classic, same with untitled not to mention life is good. These three albums have cultural relevance and artistry. It’s Nas bro. Even Nastradamus is better than many wack albums out there but because it came from Nas it was crucified. People always look at Nas as perfection personified forgetting he is just a man.
So everything after ether jay is discredited for. Its a waste of time talking about this subject, people hate jay and love the underdog nas. “Men lie, Women lie, numbers dont.” Is what im going with. Tell nas to get relevant and let go if the excuses, no one buys his music for a reason.
Despite all the praise and hype of Jay, beat stealing, lyric snitching, remixes of popular songs, Nas still edges him. Jay cannot make the songs Nas make. Jay produces hit songs which eventually dies down while Nas produces classics which lives forever. This is not discredit Jay in anyway but to say that Nas is unbeatable.
This not even close jay z definitely had the better post ether takeover just look at the sales