Official Hip Hop Madden Ratings WEEK 1: Legends

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So in my head I'm always rating the music I'm listening to. As most of you can tell hip hop is my choice of music and it is something I am very passionate about. I decided that every Monday I am going to give a run down of probably 5-6 rappers, and give them a rating from 0-100 similar to what is done in Madden. I will also compare them to an athlete either past or present, who their career is similar to. My 99 overall rapper will get a detailed description, and everyone else will just have their stats shown. It is a long process to do all this, so if there is an artist that you want me to give a full breakdown on please let me know, and I will try to do it as soon as I can.

The skill sets I use to determine these ratings are: LYRICS, DELIVERY, ALBUM CATALOG, MAINSTREAM IMPACT AND PERSONAL OPINION. My personal opinion will be the category that weighs the least in the overall rating. Let the games begin...We're gonna start this week with legends, and I have chosen Tupac, the Notorious B.I.G, Jay-Z, Eminem and Nas. I know there could of been options like Big Pun, Rakim, Big L, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Run DMC etc, but the above are the people I feel fit the "Legend" billing.
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JAY-Z - OVERALL RATING 99

LYRICS: 96
I'm not gonna lie when Jay came in the game with Reasonable Doubt lyrically it was obvious that he was a force to be messed with. But in 1996 that was an era where to be considered a great rapper you actually had to spit so he wasn't really doing anything different. When Jay in my eyes separated himself is when he continued to deliver thought provoking lyrics, and still top the charts in an industry that had become watered down with mindless lyrics. Add to the fact that Jay has more double entendres than any other rapper I can think of...for example on D'evils, "So I kept feeding her money 'til her shit started to make sense."

He describes the human body and how it takes food through the digestive system...in the process the body takes the nutrients that it needs and excretes the rest through what we know as doo doo. So he goes on to say....the line above describes the metaphorical process of digesting a dollar bill. The body takes what it needs and excretes the few cents left over. ---> TOO FUCKIN DOPE!!!

DELIVERY: 99
As far as delivery Jay has switched up his flow just as good if not better than anyone else in the game. From his quick paced lyrical onslaught style on Reasonable Doubt, to his relaxed kick back and talk some shit style on Blueprint 3, Jay's delivery has never been a question. From the fast flow "Nigga what, nigga who" to the laid back delivery "Girls, Girls, Girls", Jigga got it all in the arsenal.

ALBUM CATALOG: 97
From 1996-2010 Jiggaman has dropped 11 studio albums, every which one has topped the Billboard charts. His catalog possesses "Reasonable Doubt", which many people see as one of the greatest albums of all time, and "The Blueprint" which many actually see as his greatest work. In between you got gems like "Vol.2 Hard Knock Life" and "American Gangster", you will be seriously hard pressed to find an artist with as an extensive a catalog of consistently quality material. The only reason his catalog isn't given a 99 by me is there definitely was some filler material on some albums (to be expected), most notably "Vol.3 Life and Times of Shawn Carter" and "Kingdom Come", still I consider these to be solid albums. When I debated between Jay-Z and Biggie as my G.O.A.T. it was Jay's overall body of work that gave him the slight edge, since Biggie obviously never got to finish his career.

MAINSTREAM IMPACT: 99
From throwback jerseys, button-up shirts, to Maybachs and drinking Cristal...Jay has started and at his own will killed these same trends that he started. On the Blueprint Jay said "Jump on the track like duhn, duhn, duhn/ With the throwback jersey and the fitted" everyone was runnin out and coppin. I'm sure Mitchell and Ness stock began to skyrocket, just as quickly as it plummeted on the Black Album when Jay said "And I don't wear jerseys I'm 30 plus/Give me a crisp pair of jeans nigga button ups."

Besides all the trends he set, the label he and partner Dame Dash founded, Roc-A-Fella Records literally ran the rap game for a good 4-5 years, boasting one of the best rosters in recent memories (Jay-Z, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel, Freeway, Cam'Ron, Young Gunz just to name a few).

Jay is obviously looked up to by almost all aspiring rappers, and is one of the favorites of many of the most currently successful artists in the game. Although it's said that Dame Dash was really the one who gave Kanye a chance to rap, there is a reason that Ye' decided to side with Jay when the Roc split.

Outside of music Jay has proven to be a savvy businessman. He owns the masters to his entire catalog, except for "Reasonable Doubt" which he owns half of. Jay has opened numerous businesses and in 2009 his net worth was over $500 million. Oh yeah and he bangs out Beyonce!!!

PERSONAL OPINION: 99
For a long time the Notorious B.I.G. was my clear G.O.A.T, but a heated debate amongst hip-hop heads at the 1st Yeezy campout made me go back and relisten to Jay-Z's entire catalog, album by album, word by word. The process took me about a month and when I was done I came to the realization that this man just had too much classic material, and has been too good for too long for him not to get the crown. If I was stranded on a deserted island and could only listen to one artist, it would simply be Jay-Z.

ATHLETE COMPARISON:
Although on the Blueprint Jay said "I'm Michael, Magic, and Larry all rolled into 1", I could only pick one athlete for him, and that would obviously be Michael Jordan. Both of them changed the game and are considered by many as the G.O.A.T in their respective crafts. Pretty simple and easy comparison with this one.

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NOTORIOUS B.I.G. - OVERALL RATING 98

LYRICS: 98
Big's wordplay was absolutely ridiculous and ahead of his time. See 10 Crack Commandments, "Money and family don't mix like 2 dicks and NO bitch, you find yourself in serious shit"

DELIVERY: 99
Big obviously had the slow, smooth, layed back delivery but when "Notorious Thugs" came out Big went bar for bar with Bone-Thugs-and-Harmony who were known for their quick paced delivery.

ALBUM CATALOG: 94
Only reason catalog is not a higher rating is because Big's life was cut short. This obviously isn't his fault, but I can't justify giving a higher ranking when he only had 2 albums (I don't count Born Again), even though "Ready To Die" and "Life After Death" in my mind were classic.

MAINSTREAM IMPACT: 99
Big was the face of east coast hip-hop in an era where territory was everything. He topped the charts with many #1 hits, and was the major reason that Bad Boy Records garnered its early success.

PERSONAL OPINION: 98
For a long time Big was my clear cut G.O.A.T but like I said earlier Hov slightly surpassed him simply due to a larger catalog. Something I do note is that for Big to be even mentioned in the same breath as Jay with only 2 albums is crazy!

ATHLETE COMPARISON: Ken Griffey Jr.
Big just like Griffey took his respective craft by storm when he began. They both were already being compared to the all time greats, and both had the primes of their careers cut short by injury. Although Griffey never had a career ending surgery, his numerous injuries made him a shadow of his former self. Both Biggie and Griffey's respective declines were not of their own choice.

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EMINEM OVERALL RATING 96

LYRICS: 99
In my opinion simply the greatest lyricist hip-hop has ever seen. Em packs more in 1 bar than any other rapper. Although Em's subject matter is not as wide as some of the other greats, his vivid imagery he uses and witty wordplay more than makes up for this. Add to the fact that he gives listeners such an in depth look into his mind, the listener has to respect this type of honesty. One more quick tidbit, I don't care what anyone says Em completely out-shined Jay-Z on "Renegade", and Jay came with a dope ass verse.

DELIVERY: 99
I would love to hear someone name me any rapper that has a smoother, more versatile flow than Em. It is not an opinion, but a FACT that this man has a flawless delivery. Em never sounds off beat and knows how to emphasize the right words to get his lyrics across.

ALBUM CATALOG: 91
The Slim Shady LP a near classic in my eyes, and the Marshall Mathers LP is a classic to me. The Eminem Show was a great album in my eyes, but that is where it stops. For whatever reason it's like Em had a mid-career crisis, and the quality of his albums began to slightly diminish. It's not that Em was dropping complete garbage albums, it's just that the tracks would either be outstanding or unlistenable. Encore was quite the lackluster effort in my eyes, especially for an Eminem album. It then took him 5 years to drop Relapse which was much improved, but seems like it could of been much better had Em taken it more seriously (see annoying ass Borat voice on more than half the album).

MAINSTREAM IMPACT: 95
I don't know if anyone noticed but Em is white! Eminem has sold the most albums of any rapper within the last 10 years. Please note that he took a 5 year hiatus! This is crazy and Em has developed a loyal following that will not only support him, but more importantly purchase his music. Em's sometimes homophobic and obscene lyrics also caused a bit of an uproar when he first came out, which just added to his popularity.

PERSONAL OPINION: 95
To me Eminem could have been the G.O.A.T had he not had the personal issues he had. This caused him to take extensive breaks from music, and caused him to get a sense of complacency which led him to releasing some subpar music. Although I do love Eminem's catalog to me it's strictly music I can listen to in headphones, and not something I can ride around to. Regardless, dude is the greatest lyricist of all time and as you can see he is far from done, as he completely outshined everyone in his B.E.T. Award cypher...See below


ATHLETE COMPARISON: Larry Bird
Yeah, yeah I know what everyone's gonna say here white guy for white guy. But it really is a fair comparison when you look at the way people looked at Bird when they first seen him on the court, just like they seen Em the first time they seen him spit. People doubted these white guys that came into a craft that was dominated by blacks, and showed they could not only hang but be one of the greats.

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TUPAC: OVERALL RATING 95

LYRICS: 92
Pac strength as a lyricist was his story-telling ability. Why his lyrics rating was lower than everyone else so far is because of his lack of any thought provoking lyrics. When you listen to Pac you kind of get what you get, and there really isn't much hidden meaning behind his lyrics. He also contradicted himself quite a bit in his lyrics. This is not to knock him because a 92 is still a strong rating. Pac's biggest strength was the fact that he really only rapped about things he actually did, and this realness is universally respected amongst all fans.

DELIVERY: 90
There is no doubt that Pac could ride a beat, but he loses points here because of his inability to show a lot of vocal range on tracks, and lacked the versatility that some of the greats in this category display. His delivery was a bit choppy at times and other than his strong voice nothing wows me about his delivery or rhyme scheme.

ALBUM CATALOG: 97
This is one of the categories that boosts Pac's rating up the most, and what I respect about him the most. The man was an absolute workaholic, plain and simple. The fact that unreleased Tupac material exists almost 15 years after his death is simply amazing. Pac also has "All Eyez on Me" in his catalog, which many view as the greatest double disc album of all time. My personal favorite is "Makivelli: 10 Day Theory" album.

MAINSTREAM IMPACT: 99
Pac's personality was infectious and the people that listened to his music felt they knew him. This led to him having arguably the largest fan following of all time. Pac was the face of the West Coast during the East/West beef of the mid 90s'. People were rockin bandanas and screaming "Thug life!" because Pac did. Almost 15 years after his death, Pac albums are still coming out left and right, and are still to this day selling well.

PERSONAL OPINION: 92
I just personally don't mess with Pac's music like that. Now growing up in elementary and middle school he was my favorite rapper, but as my music tastes matured I realized that there were some more talented artists that I began to listen to more frequently. It's mainly Pac's lack of witty wordplay that knocked him down my scale.

ATHLETE COMPARISON: Gordie Howe

Both were considered one of the best at what they did, and both were known as dirty players doing it. Howe loved to fight and take cheap shots to get a competitive edge, just like Pac lived a thug life, and loved to take shots at his peers (mostly through diss tracks). Although Howe played till the age of 50, and Pac's life was taken away prematurely, I have a feeling that Pac would of been rapping until he died because he loved music so much.
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NAS: OVERALL RATING 94

LYRICS: 97
Many regard Nas as the greatest lyricist of all time. There is no doubt that Nas can rap for days, and he often teaches great lessons and often times provides great moral messages in his music. The reason Nas doesn't get the perfect rating in this category is because he sometimes seems to get off track and off subject and go on talking about topics irrelevant to his song.

DELIVERY: 93
Nas can no doubt ride a beat, and even with the word filled bars he spits, he manages to stay on beat. Nas loses some points because the lack of versatility in his delivery. I blame this mostly on Nas' beat selection over the course of his career, and I feel this has severely held his delivery back.

ALBUM CATALOG: 93
Nas created "Illmatic" which is seen by many as the G.O.A.T in regards to rap albums. I personally don't agree with this sentiment, but I respect the album because it is so truly ahead of its time. Nas only really has 2 albums that stand out to me as great albums: "Illmatic" and "Stillmatic". There was about a 10 year gap between the two and all of the albums in between were subpar, and "It Was Written" which was below average. Nas no doubt had some classic tracks on these albums, but there was too much filler material for them to be considered classic.

MAINSTREAM IMPACT: 89
Nas has never really been a chart topper like the rappers previously mentioned, and has not shown the business sense of a Jay-Z. Nas' main influence has been among the hip-hop community that respect his thought provoking, lyrics, and vivid story telling.

PERSONAL RATING: 94
When I was in the 7th grade, I somehow stumbled upon "Stillmatic" and could not get the album out of my headphones. I remember getting grounded for getting suspended from school and having no TV in my room, just a stereo and this "Stillmatic" album. I listened to every single word, memorized every line, and I feel that album helped me develop a more sophisticated taste in music. "Rewind" is still to me one of the most clever/creative and well executed rap songs ever created.

ATHLETE COMPARISON: Mario Lemieux
Both were great as soon as they came into their respective crafts. Lemieux came out as a flashy rookie and wowed everyone in his sport by his overall skillset. Nas debuted with "Illmatic", an album that truly revolutionized what a classic rap album would be. They are both seen as one of the greatest of all-time, but in my opinion both were overshadowed by other greats in the same generations (Lemieux by Gretzky, and Nas by Jay-Z).

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