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Originally Posted by noisereductions
ok, so this is a prime example of 'different but overlapping tastes.' Of course, I totally disagree on Em (and I'm not sure how you wouldn't like something like "Criminal" w/ Hov, but I digress...), and while I *technically* disagree on 50 - meaning I don't see him as any sort of savior or whatever, I completely agree that he was programmed to be a star. Y'know for all the talk he did of seeing him "in the club," apparently that's not what Curtis was like at all. Meaning he was all biz. When I read Prodigy's book he talked about how if you knew Curtis you'd never see him drink or smoke because he was just too focused on work.
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I've heard this as well. He definitely has the same kind of work ethic as Jay-Z. He was all about execution: he had a vision, and he was methodical and completely driven from the beginning. I've read multiple accounts of his almost manic approach to project completion, and I think he is a lot like Hov in the sense that he alienated some of the more laid back, party rap people he worked with by being almost nothing like the public image he'd created for himself.
Problem was, he just wasn't an artistic visionary of any kind. He was an entertaining rapper, and he was business savvy and perfectly capable of being a legitimate multimedia icon, but the marketing and branding were the sources of his true talent. Unlike HOV, who has always been, at heart, a badass rapper with a very natural, innate talent for spitting fire like a motherfuckin' dragon.
Jigga took that unpolished, organic, "slam-dunk" style of rapping, and made stellar records that were so consistent and successful that they eventually brought him into this corporate, talent-scouting and label rep role... Then he built an Empire, took over the biggest label in rap, and started buying franchises.
But skill and musical talent were at the heart of his success. 50's a creature born of hype-machine marketing, and that's where his talent lies. This is why he is not going to make it through the gauntlet of time. He'll appear in movies and commercials and shit long after his rap career breathes ita dying breath. Unfortunately, if Animal Ambition wasn't that dying breath, then the next one will be.
Eminem's more talented. Eminem will be remembered. 50's more fun. For me at least.
HOV will stay relevant until he stops making music, even if his music declines (as many would say it already has) to the point of being pathetic. The critics can say shit like that all day, but he's still the most heard voice blasting from speakers in inner city neighborhoods. And he's still selling millions of albums, and he's still adored, by old farts and young people alike.
Did I mention I like Jay-Z? What about Wu-Tang Clan? Surely I mentioned them.
Oh, Kanye... Did I forget Kanye?
I like Jigga, Yeezy and Wu-Tang. *blush*