[Music] 2pac, Eminem, or Biggy. Who do you think was the better rapper?

[Ozwaldjammer]

I would have to say of the three, B.I.G is the best, with 2pac a close second, and Eminem a very distant third. But there are so many better hip-hop artist out there. Any one with Rhymesayers is much better. Just take a look at Atmosphere, and Brother Ali, just to name a few. And on 2nd thought, since there are a lot of nerds, gamers, and geeks that visit this site daily, myself included, you all should listen to MC front-a-lot also. Very nerdy rapper, but has hella flow.

[Paranoid Android]

Eminem??? Really??? You are trying to put him in the same category as Biggie and Tupac? I would put in no particular order all these ahead of Eminem easily: Jay Z, Ice Cube, Scarface, Rakim and many more. They had much more influence in Hip-Hop then Eminem. I bet you ask Eminem he wouldn't even put his own self in top 4 or with Biggie and Pac.

To each its own and you have your favorites but please, please don't mention Eminem in the same breath as Tupac and Biggie.

P.S. You need to add another to poll. Simply label it as: OTHER

[Xyanide]

Why do people post in threads like this if they don't even like the music? I don't get it... I'd have to say that of the three, Em was the better rapper, keyword WAS... If you put all 3 in a ring and have them duke it out verbally I'd say Em wins 1st place Pac wins 2nd and Biggie wins 3rd

[Skippy88]

Out of those 3 I personally like Eminem although I like a couple of Biggie's songs. However, regarding best rappers I don't listen to Rap enough to really warrant discussion. I would say though the Beastie Boys and Run DMC should be up there. They pretty much brought Rap from the underground to the General Public back in the 80's. I will also say I get the feeling most of 2PACs and Biggy's love is because they died young not so much they were great rappers. Don't get me wrong I'm sure they were good but when they were alive they didn't attract the vibe of "OMG you have to listen to these guys it's best rap ever".

[Vestig3]

I bet you ask Eminem he wouldn't even put his own self in top 4 or with Biggie and Pac.

I think that if you would ask any rapper they wouldnt put themself in the top 3-4 or whatever even if in their mind they do they would never say it out loud mostly out of respect for the other rappers in the scene.

Rap isnt my favorite genre of music but ive listened too all 3 of them and from the 3 Eminem is the best with lyrics and his verbal dexterity its realy something else too bad his music isnt that good anymore as it was between 1998-2004.

[Paranoid Android]

Out of those 3 I personally like Eminem although I like a couple of Biggie's songs. However, regarding best rappers I don't listen to Rap enough to really warrant discussion. I would say though the Beastie Boys and Run DMC should be up there. They pretty much brought Rap from the underground to the General Public back in the 80's. I will also say I get the feeling most of 2PACs and Biggy's love is because they died young not so much they were great rappers. Don't get me wrong I'm sure they were good but when they were alive they didn't attract the vibe of "OMG you have to listen to these guys it's best rap ever".

Yes its definitely your opinion but you are wrong on Tupac and Biggie. They were some of the best lyricist around and their albums are classics, well besides all the post-albums that Puffy and Tupac's unreleased was not to be judged. If nobody is saying "you have to listen to Biggie or Pac because its the best rap ever then sorry they don't know hip-hop. I know sounds pretty snobby of me and someone may think MC Hammer is the greatest but generally speaking Tupac and Biggie are always in people's top 10 at least.

[Kraenen]

2pac sold out near the end, but had some decent tunes (just admit "The Way it is" was copied from Bruce Hornsby's). eminem always sounds angry (little breadth in themes/feeling). never heard biggy.

[Paranoid Android]

2pac sold out near the end, but had some decent tunes (just admit "The Way it is" was copied from Bruce Hornsby's). eminem always sounds angry (little breadth in themes/feeling). never heard biggy.

Luz. The song you are referring to was after Tupac had died and they released his unwritten work. Again it was a money grab. Listen to "Brenda's Got A Baby" or "Keep Your Head Up". Tupac had some very well thought out and socially conscience songs. Yes he had party songs and if you are really square some probably didn't like the words he used but you should watch the documentary; Tupac: Resurrection.

This thread to me seems like all the posts go back to 2000's at latest as far as listening to music and most even admit to having very little knowledge of Hip-Hop, which is troubling.

[Vestig3]

Luz. The song you are referring to was after Tupac had died and they released his unwritten work. Again it was a money grab. Listen to "Brenda's Got A Baby" or "Keep Your Head Up". Tupac had some very well thought out and socially conscience songs. Yes he had party songs and if you are really square some probably didn't like the words he used but you should watch the documentary; Tupac: Resurrection.

This thread to me seems like all the posts go back to 2000's at latest as far as listening to music and most even admit to having very little knowledge of Hip-Hop, which is troubling.

Realy hope your not one of those "Tupac isnt dead" type of person.

[Dasffion]

Realy hope your not one of those "Tupac isnt dead" type of person.

He said "The song was released after Tupac had died". Not "The song was released after Tupac faked his death."

[Kraenen]

Luz. The song you are referring to was after Tupac had died and they released his unwritten work. Again it was a money grab. Listen to "Brenda's Got A Baby" or "Keep Your Head Up". Tupac had some very well thought out and socially conscience songs. Yes he had party songs and if you are really square some probably didn't like the words he used but you should watch the documentary; Tupac: Resurrection.

This thread to me seems like all the posts go back to 2000's at latest as far as listening to music and most even admit to having very little knowledge of Hip-Hop, which is troubling.

Then why does everyone always attribute it as his best song, using it to prop up his fame and skill?

[Dasffion]

(just admit "The Way it is" was copied from Bruce Hornsby's).

This is what is called Sampling. If you're not familiar with it or think it's an odd occurrence you're not familiar with the genre at all. You'd be hard pressed to find a rapper that hasn't sampled another song at least once.

[grandpab]

I had to sit and think about it for a second...

I listened to a lot of Eminem back in middle school, about 12 years ago, and never got into Tupac or Biggy

Now at this point in time I find Eminem absolutely annoying, his voice is just bad. I couldn't think of a single Biggy song off the top of my head either, so I voted Tupac. He's got more songs that I can sit back and enjoy.

[nyc81991]

Not a lot of people have heard Eminem's older music which is better in a lot of ways than his newer stuff. And when I say "older" I don't mean the Slim Shady Lp.

[notorious98]

Here's the problem with this particular poll. First, 2pac wasn't the best lyricist, but he talked about shit many mainstream rappers didn't, had an awesome flow, and wrote songs so quickly. Eminem is great lyrically, but has had some seriously poor albums (Relapse and Encore) so he hasn't maintained greatness. Biggie was great lyrically and had a sick flow, but he wasn't around long enough to leave enough of a mark and couldn't prove that he could maintain longevity. The same could be said about Big L. Two albums, in my opinion, aren't enough to make that determination.

In my opinion, Redman is an under-appreciated rapper. As another poster said, Mos Def is awesome. A few others would be Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5'9", and Crooked I.

---------- Post added 2013-06-07 at 03:23 PM ----------

Though Tupac's a legend in his own right, and Eminem had a fairly spotty start in my opinion, in recent years, I've consistently been impressed by his skill. Not to mention he'll probably be remembered by future generations as the first white rapper that anyone ever actually took seriously. Prior to him, they were mostly gimmicks.

This actually isn't true. The Beasties are the first white rappers that anyone took seriously. Not to mention MC Serch from 3rd Bass. Eminem is the only white solo artist to be taken seriously by the mainstream.

---------- Post added 2013-06-07 at 03:27 PM ----------

Luz. The song you are referring to was after Tupac had died and they released his unwritten work. Again it was a money grab. Listen to "Brenda's Got A Baby" or "Keep Your Head Up". Tupac had some very well thought out and socially conscience songs. Yes he had party songs and if you are really square some probably didn't like the words he used but you should watch the documentary; Tupac: Resurrection.

This thread to me seems like all the posts go back to 2000's at latest as far as listening to music and most even admit to having very little knowledge of Hip-Hop, which is troubling.

That song was called "Changes" and, you're right, it was released after he died. Not just that, but many of the lyrics are pulled straight from "I Wonder if Heaven Got A Ghetto" which was released on "R U Still Down?" which also came out after he died. You don't even have to go back as far as the two songs you listed. "Shorty Wanna Be a Thug" was on his 2nd to last CD (pre-death) along with others.

---------- Post added 2013-06-07 at 03:32 PM ----------

I bet you ask Eminem he wouldn't even put his own self in top 4 or with Biggie and Pac.

He already addressed this on The Eminem Show.

"I got a list, here's the order of my list that it's in/It goes Reggie (Redman), Jay-Z, 2Pac, and Biggie. Andre from Outkast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas, and then me."

[Chingylol]

One thing about 2pac I always found that was amazing is that he recorded quality songs so fast. All Eyez On Me was recorded in two weeks and the Makaveli album was recorded in less then ten days. I can't think of any rapper or any musician in any genre for that matter who could pump out the amount of songs in that short time that are recognized as classics. There's alot of interviews with the sound engineers and producers he worked with on youtube and all of them were amazed how 2pac could literally write a song in fifteen minutes and have it recorded in another fifteen minutes with only using two or three takes. He did his wrote and recorded his verses for "Krazy" which is one of his best songs in under forty minutes.



Another thing is that 2pac accomplished so much more then Eminem and Jay-Z did such a shorter time.

2pac died at 25 and solidified his legacy, while Jay-Z didn't even put out his first album until he was 25, and Eminem didn't get recognized until he dropped The SLim Shady LP when he was 25 also. 2pac already had already had many classic records by then.

[Paranoid Android]

He already addressed this on The Eminem Show.

"I got a list, here's the order of my list that it's in/It goes Reggie (Redman), Jay-Z, 2Pac, and Biggie. Andre from Outkast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas, and then me."

Hmmm? Even Eminem's own list is bad. Now where I can't say too much about people's opinion, on Eminem he left out Ice Cube, who's work with NWA and then solo was far superior to Eminem. Also there is Rakim, KRS ONE, Scarface and Nas I could easily put ahead. Now the OP's poll is not reflecting all these artist, which is his choice but the are far better than Eminem. Eminem may had more record sales and is more popular because let's face it his raps were about silly crap that more suburbia white kids flocked too. Don't get me wrong, Eminem kept it real at least instead of trying to be a "wannabe" gangsta rapper talking about drugs and pimpin hoes. He did have more mass appeal than most.

[notorious98]

Hmmm? Even Eminem's own list is bad. Now where I can't say too much about people's opinion, on Eminem he left out Ice Cube, who's work with NWA and then solo was far superior to Eminem. Also there is Rakim, KRS ONE, Scarface and Nas I could easily put ahead. Now the OP's poll is not reflecting all these artist, which is his choice but the are far better than Eminem. Eminem may had more record sales and is more popular because let's face it his raps were about silly crap that more suburbia white kids flocked too. Don't get me wrong, Eminem kept it real at least instead of trying to be a "wannabe" gangsta rapper talking about drugs and pimpin hoes. He did have more mass appeal than most.

Completely disagree about Ice Cube. I don't think he's particularly great. Rakim and KRS One, I'd agree with. Scarface, to a point. He also listed Nas ahead of him. And his list is actually very, very good. Kurupt and Redman are extremely underrated MCs. Andre 3000 is good, not sure if he's great, but he's good. Or, at least, he was before the Outkast split. The one missing that surprises me is Big Daddy Kane. Especially considering the credit he gives to Kane for some inspiration in one of the songs on Encore.

---------- Post added 2013-06-07 at 04:28 PM ----------

Another thing is that 2pac accomplished so much more then Eminem and Jay-Z did such a shorter time.

2pac died at 25 and solidified his legacy, while Jay-Z didn't even put out his first album until he was 25, and Eminem didn't get recognized until he dropped The SLim Shady LP when he was 25 also. 2pac already had already had many classic records by then.

2Pac had a benefit that Jay-Z and Eminem did not. Starting out as a dancer for Digital Underground when The Humpty Dance dropped allowed for him to have a foot solidly in the door at an early age. Eminem had to work the underground scene for a while, releasing albums and doing battles, before he got noticed. Jay-Z had to hook up with Biggie before it happened for him. The credit there is due to opportunity.

[Shinzai]

I think Notorious98 pretty much has everything covered.

I'd say it's impossible to rate who is the superior rapper, even between just those 3. Biggy had the slickest flow, 2Pac was a genius writer and felt like more of a poet on his true, best songs. Eminem is an amazing freestyler, with a schizophrenic style and is a good all rounder. The problem with 2Pac and Biggy is that they were both killed so early in their lives, that we'll never know how their styles would have progressed over time.

[Deleted]

I don't want to sound like a complete douche but none of them were/are the better rapper. Tupac realeased 5 official albums before he dissapeared/got killed. Only 2 of them were original, had a good message and lyrically decent. Many Pac fans happen to be somewhat blindfolded. They simply can't or won't see how much Nas inspired Pac. Short after dropping "Illmatic" and "It Was Written" Pac chose to make very similar songs lyric wise.
If we are to pick the "best" rapper of all time, eventhough its impossible, Nas would be the only candidate. He has realeased more than 10 great albums (Illmatic as many consider the best album of all time at the age of 20 - no guests appearances other than the unknown AZ back then. 2 years later It was written)
But saying that Nas, Tupac, Biggie or Em is the better rapper is like saying oranges are better than apples.