Big Gipp has disputed the notion that JAY-Z is the greatest rapper ever, arguing 50 Cent and DMX were both bigger in their prime.
The Goodie Mob rapper shared his candid feelings about Hov in an interview with The Art of Dialogue after the Brooklyn-bred billionaire was ranked No. 1 on Billboard and VIBE’s Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list.
Gipp said that JAY-Z’s music simply “stopped playing” when 50 Cent broke through with Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003 and claimed that the G-Unit general — who was ranked No. 17 on the list — gets overlooked by New York publications because of his ties to the West Coast.
“When 50 came out, I ain’t hear no JAY-Z music — it just stopped playing,” he said. “Come on, bruh! I was there When 50 came out, he shut everything down. And the reason why they didn’t give it to 50, you know why? Because the West Coast did his music. New York has never crowned 50 Cent because the West Coast did his music: Dr. Dre.”
The Atlanta native then made similar comments about DMX, claiming his emergence in 1998 with It’s Dark and Hell is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood — which made him the first living rapper to drop two No. 1 albums in the same calendar year — eclipsed JAY-Z’s own success with Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life.
“To me, DMX was bigger than shawty all day,” he continued. “Shawty put out two albums in one year that smoked anything he put out! And you still said he was the best? Fuck this industry, man, ’cause y’all still want who y’all want to be the best, but the numbers say DMX is the biggest thing walking round here. And when it wasn’t no DMX, it was 50 Cent. It was still somebody else.”
He added: “The movement that Ruff Ryders had was totally different than all of the shit that ever came through New York. It was just totally street. Nobody had seen a dude from New York sleep on bitches with dogs roof-roofing at the camera, ride motorcycles and shit, and then pray on stage and cry. DMX was a muthafucking true artist because he never cared about money.”
Big Gipp even questioned the impact of Jigga’s Roc-A-Fella Records, arguing Murder Inc. was a hotter label during its heyday.
“I still think Murder Inc. was bigger than Roc-A-Fella,” he said. “When you go back and look at them numbers, Ja Rule was nothing but on the radio, [Ashanti] was nothing but on the radio. If you go back and look at the Roc-A-Fella roster, it was Beanie Sigel and them; it wasn’t Ashanti.”
While Gipp acknowledged Hov’s “genius” and pedigree as “one of the best technical and baddest rappers that has ever come from New York,” he believes his lack of crossover appeal in other regions makes him unworthy of the G.O.A.T. title, and that the only reason he’s propped up as the greatest of all time is because of New York bias.
“JAY-Z ain’t never been on the radio here hella crazy. No!” he said. “He has big records, but all the records that people probably heard in New York, they never heard them records down here. Same goes out West. They probably heard the big records with Beyoncé, ‘Big Pimpin,’ but if you go back, they never heard a lot of shit that people love Jay for in New York.
“Out here on the West Coast, they love Eazy-E and Cube. In Texas, they love [Scarface], the Geto Boys. In the South, they love who they love. My thing with Hip Hop is: stop all this ‘who’s the best?’ Ain’t nobody the best! You just the best in your region.”
As for who he believes is the greatest rapper of all time, Big Gipp gave the crown to 2Pac.
“To me, 2Pac number one. I don’t care what nobody say,” he declared. “Nobody did what that man did. That man had more albums in death than most people have living.
“That man had a transitional time of coming out a revolutionary rapper to turning into a certified movie star then coming back and dropping Me Against the World and then coming back and dropping the double album [All Eyez On Me]. Come on, man!”
“Half the people that y’all say is number one took songs from him to make them popular after he was gone,” he added, taking another dig at JAY-Z, whose 2002 hit “’03 Bonnie & Clyde” sampled ‘Pac’s 1996 song “Me and My Girlfriend.”
“When half yo raps were another man’s raps — it’s great that you can take it and use it, but at the same time, you gotta look at Biggie, Pac and all that as the Top 5 because they set the standards. You got two dead superstars that you could sit back and listen to their music, look at what they doing, how they doing it to formulate your own.
No body was bigger than prime 50 Cent, NOBODY
I’d say Eminem and Lil Wayne both were on that 50 cent hype level. All 3 of them had some of the biggest first week sales in hiphop history. I hated Lil Wayne’s music while it was popular, I was more into old-school at the time. But he was like 50 was in 2003. And Em actually has 2 of the top 10 selling albums, including having 3 of the top 10 top first week sales, so Em was huge too. Snoop could’ve been there possibly but his second album flopped.
Difference is Em was hella popular on WHITE radio top 40 and white media. He was super lyrical, so he got his respect amongst hardcore hiphop heads, and Im not suggesting that from a technical standpoint he wasnt one of the best ever,but nobody in the streets or club was bumping Eminem like that. 50 was EVERYWHERE. Radio, clubs, streets, white, black, overseas. East Coast, West, down south, Chicago, Detroit. 50 was the last dude to have a whole MOVEMENT with that G-Unit wave. The way he was killing the mixtapes, Dre AND Eminem cosigns…and MOST importantly…Fifty had the compelling backstory and the charisma( shot 9 times, could die at anytime, edgy,gangsta persona 0lus phenomenal ear for beats and a southern flow with and Eadt Coast attitude. There was never or will ever be anything as hot as PRIME 50. Bro was like a real live ghetto superhero
Lil Wayne was bigger than 50 ever was. He changed pop culture. He was pop culture. 50 was famous as 50 Cent but Wayne was music, pop culture.
Nope I am not. Dr Dr, Diddy, JayZ, there notoriety and impact are unparalleled
If you’re talking greatest ever, how can 50 be in the conversation with only one great album? DMX, as much as I loved him when he came out, had 2 classics, but by the 3rd he was already falling off and making shittier music. Plus, neither one of those dudes were very lyrical, so that immediately takes them out of the convo of “greatest ever”
one great album? Have you not heard Guess whos back? thats a underground classic my guy get rich the album and the soundtrack is classic also and lets not even go there with mixtapes do your research on 50!
You must be going by personal opinion by saying one great album..50 has to albums that sold over 10 million..I don’t think that’s no accident.
@RYN – in what world would a mixtape and one great album put anyone at the top of the list? And the soundtrack? really? It’s not even his own album, but various artist. 50 is mostly a one or two trick pony. Nearly every song is about the same thing over and over and over again.
@D – are you saying that MC Hammer’s “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em” was a great album? Because it sold 10 million, so by your logic, he’s one of the greatest.
50 Cent By Far was bigger than JayZ in his prime and i respect 50 for staying true to himself and not collabing with big artist like wayne drake and kanye to try and stay relevnt 50 and Nas are the best to come from Queens no disrespect to Run DMC and LL or Mob Deep!!!
Maybe it’s just my age, but I’d prefer Mobb over 50. Infamous + Hell On Earth + Mobb Muzik to me are better than any three 50 albums. Hammer in his prime was bigger than Jay Z in his prime. Hammer sold 10M albums in 1990. Shit, Vanilla Ice too, he sold 7M. Most Jay ever had was 5M. So take numbers with a grain of salt
50 Cent By Far was bigger than JayZ in his prime and i respect 50 for staying true to himself and not collabing with big artist like wayne drake and kanye to try and stay relevnt 50 and Nas are the best to come from Queens no disrespect to Run DMC and LL or Mob Deep!!!
he ain’t wrong!
The point is consistency, yes 50 was big on that time then it was it, Jay still firing on all cylinders, Blue Print, Black Album, Niggas in Paris come one old head don’t be a hater yes Tupac was good but he ain’t here, we talking about those above ground. Sour pussy..
Ye made JayZ career flourish
DMX 1998-2003 run was better than JAy z based on music numbers and the movies was dmx in
Peak 50 and DMX were bigger than jay-z but you can’t discount longevity.
Peak 50 and DMX were bigger than jay-z but you can’t discount longevity.
Nas catalog better and longer than any other artist. On top of more creative than any MC you can name. Nas been declared the best MC from his first album. FACTS. FROM ILLMATIC to KD3. Nasir Jones is RARE!!
Nas as always been source of inspiration to young rappers….Nas is the realist
THEY TRYING HARD TO ERASE JAY-Z HISTORY… KILL JAY-Z THE IRONY OF THAT SONG🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
BLACK PEOPLE WE HATE OURSELVES SMH
DMX Was in a Totally Totally Separate CLASS Of His Own
50 is & Has Always Been “THROW UP TRASH 🤮🤮🤮” &
JAY Z is On “OVER HYPE & SOOPED” But i Love How His
Brain Wash Got His FAN BASE & The industry Thinking He
The Best When Never “HE NOT” 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Shut yo punk ass up
just because DMX was hot in 1998 doesn’t mean Jay-Z was not hot too infact I can’t name any rap song that’s bigger than Hard Knock Life and Can I Get A… in 1998 and not to talk of the fact Hov sold more than DMX that same year. Jay and DMX ruled ’98. and 2009 was another Jay’s year with the release of Blueprint 3, trying to deny Hov of 2009 is pure hatred towards him. Empire State of Mind, Young forever, Run This Town were the biggest and famous songs of that year without doubt. Jay-Z is the greatest for so many many many reason
These dudes need to accept reality. They can argue #2 through 10 all day but Jay did that, hands down. The first black man with a billy who makes the people around him into black billionaires. He’s the last man standing from the greatest era rap has ever seen.
“Then hang the banner up /
That reads you can’t proceed without being conceived /
By one album in the 90’s…”
jay z is not the first black man with a billion , do some research
they right gayz is the defintion of a house nigga. 50 and dmx are real niggas.
The Hate is real we talking lyrically financially impact and longevity then aint none of these clowns yall named fucking with Jay like literally not even close yall all morons all these dudes fizzled out in 3 or less albums dude really said 50 and DMX lmfaoooo deserve to be over hov for all time like I know thats his opinion but that’s straight up hatred ain’t no truth in it hov was still.doing BIG numbers while DMX was on his lil run they was neck and neck and by the time 50 dropped his albums my boy was still dropping heat but on to bigger and better hence he is a billionaire now and still spitting true fire not no shooting barking shit after you rich but still fronting shit no real bars that speaking to the youth and old dumb niggaz and yall still hate its just sad
DMX 1998-2003 run was better than JAy z based on music numbers and the movies was dmx in
50 Cent 2002-05 run is bigger than JAY Z
the fact is the two i menitoed were global icons,, jay z not so much
I not from the west coast but love their music.I’m from Jersey I learn jay-z music from the radio.love Dmx 50 cent he alright he’s nowhere one of the best kanya put him out of Commission 24 grammies out did all give him his props. I’m not knocking no one I listen to them all they all had they shine I still listen to them every dam day. I’m not going to hate on either
There is no best and no way to actually quantify such. It’s all about preferences. The fact that Fif is even in a discussion with Jay proves that but you like what you like. People on here talking about individual albums. Hell Tip got more hot albums than Curtis. He knocking it out the park with TV though. Just saying
Absolutely
Let’s be real, i can look at PAC, Wayne, Drake, Snoop, Nelly, Ja rule, Biggie, Eminem, 50, and so many others who dominated while Jayz made music. Jayz is a great business man but the best rapper naw, Gipp was right and had the balls to call a spade a spade.
Yea Big Gipp! Speak the Truth!!! Fuck Gay z…he has bit everyone style he ever worked with, especially Big L. Beanie Sigel cousins Isiah and Sioni showed me. Jayz along with Harvey Levin, Jeff Seymour from Asbury Park nj and earl f Jackman d. Obgyn…need to be on a boat, plane trump tower or bezos/musk rocket by now. Fuck Jay z and everything he stands for with his fake fraudulent ass
Yea Big Gipp! Speak the Truth!!! Fuck Gay z…he has bit everyone style he ever worked with, especially Big L. Beanie Sigel cousins Isiah and Sioni showed me. Jayz along with Harvey Levin, Jeff Seymour from Asbury Park nj and earl f Jackman d. Obgyn…need to be on a boat, plane trump tower or bezos/musk rocket by now. Fuck Jay z and everything he stands for with his fake fraudulent ass
Yea Big Gipp! Speak the Truth!!! Fuck Gay z…he has bit everyone style he ever worked with, especially Big L. Beanie Sigel cousins Isiah and Sioni showed me. Jayz along with Harvey Levin, Jeff Seymour from Asbury Park nj and earl f Jackman d. Obgyn…need to be on a boat, plane trump tower or bezos/musk rocket by now. Fuck Jay z and everything he stands for with his fake fraudulent ass…just saw the Big Gipp interview on Biggie death…fuck Puffy too with his murdering ass…you know the TRUTH Gipp…speak on it
Lyrically Nas and Em are way better than Jay and career sales wise Em outsold him by more than a 100 million records in the US alone…
People have to understand that one era doesn’t mean you’re the greatest. jay been consistent for a long time. Even though he wasn’t as big as them in the prime he still had impact in that and ongoing. Many have come and dominated during the top persons reign but have the consistency. I am a huge fan of DMX though.
People have to understand that one era doesn’t mean you’re the greatest. jay been consistent for a long time. Even though he wasn’t as big as them in the prime he still had impact in that and ongoing. Many have come and dominated during the top persons reign but have the consistency. I am a huge fan of DMX though.