Although both share(d) pinnacle hip hop popularity, how come Nas never mainstreamed as well as jay?

[bkzkurse]

No offense to anyone- i just remember both Nas and jay being at the top of their game around the same time (give or take a few years) and of course theirfamous clash , yet how come Jay-z seemed to incorporate himself very sucessfully into mainstream American popularity (cover of gq, got with beyonce - sharessame media coverage/popularity as media icons actors Brad and Angelina, pop star musicians etc. ) yet Nas didn't.

I mean to offend NO ONE - i've just always wondered this

 

[executive76]

Is it "Black Girl Lost"or shorty owe you for ice?

 

[m16]

Well, look at the music they are making; and look at their personalities.

Nas is more lowkey, stuck to just the making music side, and put out material for hip hop heads pretty consistently.

Jay is much more public, branched out beyond just rapping, and put out more radio friendly brag rap music for white teens consistently.

Very easy to see why Jay is more successful mainstream wise.

 

[Master Zik]

Nas just didn't. It's a combination of personal problems(with fam) so he never got the opportunity and I'm sure the shh going on in rap at the timemade him decide to do otherwise.

He was on his way after IWW and the R&B acts he collaborated with. I figured he just didn't want to go that route. His content clearly shows that. Hemessed with the commercial watered down shh a bit and went the mainstream route when it came to that mafiaso shh everybody was doing on IWW but dude justpulled over while everyone else kept going.

I'm happy he did.

 

[ninjahood]

2 things easily...

1. jay-z dropped every year, Nas dropped every 2 years...doin that made jay-z a household name..its like everyone know Madden but that didn't mean theyweren't other

good football games.

2. Nas is reclusive by nature.....when ether dropped he was on top AGAIN and he took his foot off jay-z's neck and went away.

 

[gone in 60 seconds]

Jay dropped albums more frequently & he had more control imo (marketing etc) of his career being that he had part ownership label. & I believe bothartist want that guap but not that attention. Plus Jay was more radio friendly.
Or maybe I'm off & the real reason is Jay had DAME DASH on his team!!!!

 

[inspektahdeck]

this will not end well



Jay made club music and esco never really bought into that

 

[danikerhino]

Originally Posted by inspektahdeck

this will not end well



Jay made club music and esco never really bought into that

Hit the mark. Jay music is more commercial.

 

[delete1234]

Originally Posted by inspektahdeck

this will not end well



Jay made club music and esco never really bought into that

 

[MajinZuub]

Originally Posted by M16

put out more radio friendly brag rap music for white teens

Race has nothing to do with it. Only maybe 1/2 out of my friends that aren't white don't like Jay, and honestly, none of my white friends likehim.
Nas just doesn't make mainstream music it's as simple as that. He tried with Oochie Wally and we saw how that turned out, compare "BigPimpin'" to "Got Yourself a Gun," and there's your answer.

 

[jthagreat]

Originally Posted by inspektahdeck

this will not end well



Jay made club music and esco was never successful at his club attempts really bought into that

 

[inspektahdeck]

Originally Posted by jthagreat

Originally Posted by inspektahdeck

this will not end well



Jay made club music and esco was never successful at his club attempts really bought into that

successful or not that's not esco's style

 

[m16]

Originally Posted by zube42

Originally Posted by M16

put out more radio friendly brag rap music for white teens

Race has nothing to do with it.

There are ignorant rap fans of all races, but white teenagers are something like 70% + of all rap consumers (probably much higher IMO). It's also a factthat appealing to them (because they tend to be ignorant suburbanites just looking for a "hot beat" or MTV play) like Jay-Z did is how you get yoursales and popularity up post '97. Nas's music was aimed more towards the urban crowd and he rarely deviated far beyond that with complete sell outgarbage like Jay; and with albums like Untiled, a lot of his music is aimed specifically at urban minorities. Not something Kate and Tom in Idaho can blast intheir new whip daddy bought them on the way to the tanning salon.

 

[hellaones]

Nas' work ethic was lacking

 

[blackmagnus514]

Nas was/is an intorvert. He in a KIng interview said that cuz he was so young and just getting used to fame, he'd keep to himself. Said he didn't likeindustry events and he wouldn't tour for #%@.

Touring is major for artists so that's one reason....

 

[optimusprimeaphia]

"oh you wanna kick knowledge?" - Jay-Z

Nas flip-flops too much and I just realized this not too long...dude is making pro-black songs then going an making robbing anthems and club songs withB-words... not that it matters to me, but I realized why the average person might be turned off by that... He has always held himself to be an underdog, evenwhen he arrived.

Jay always knew he was hot but didn't have to talk like he was an underdog. If you come in saying you won, who is going to doubt you much longer afterthat? Jay-Z is just consistent. The flow, the aura, the style, the lyrics, the voice, his connection to people...

 

[putting in work]

Yo imagine NaS with like Lil' Wayne's work ethic...

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Although both share(d) pinnacle hip hop popularity, how come Nas never mainstreamed as well as jay?


Because Nas never made a video like Sunshine or sampled Annie in his songs to scoop up the lowest common denominator.

 

[seven30]

I think it just comes down to lyrical content. I'm a fan of both BTW but Jay makes more radio friendly music while Nas is more of a lyrical dude IMO. Jayis better at the punchlines and battle type raps IMO but Nas is better at the thought provoking storytelling type rhyming and we all know that's notgetting any radio play nowadays.

 

[lazy b]

If you were to ask Nas he wouldn't care. He's pretty comfortable with his current standing. Like it was said earlier, it was in his nature to not seekthe spotlight. Additionally, while Nas did have some really bad commercial songs, these songs weren't his focus hence them being the way they were. If hereally wanted to blow he could have during the mafioso rap era as well as the beef with Jay in 01-02.

 

[Gordonson]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrimeAPhiA

"oh you wanna kick knowledge?" - Jay-Z

Nas flip-flops too much and I just realized this not too long...dude is making pro-black songs then going an making robbing anthems and club songs with B-words... not that it matters to me, but I realized why the average person might be turned off by that... He has always held himself to be an underdog, even when he arrived.

Jay always knew he was hot but didn't have to talk like he was an underdog. If you come in saying you won, who is going to doubt you much longer after that? Jay-Z is just consistent. The flow, the aura, the style, the lyrics, the voice, his connection to people...

Then how would you explain 2Pac's success?

And since the post-Black Album era began, Jay's been anything BUT consistent.

 

[jthagreat]

Originally Posted by Gordonson

Originally Posted by OptimusPrimeAPhiA

"oh you wanna kick knowledge?" - Jay-Z

Nas flip-flops too much and I just realized this not too long...dude is making pro-black songs then going an making robbing anthems and club songs with B-words... not that it matters to me, but I realized why the average person might be turned off by that... He has always held himself to be an underdog, even when he arrived.

Jay always knew he was hot but didn't have to talk like he was an underdog. If you come in saying you won, who is going to doubt you much longer after that? Jay-Z is just consistent. The flow, the aura, the style, the lyrics, the voice, his connection to people...

Then how would you explain 2Pac's success?

And since the post-Black Album era began, Jay's been anything BUT consistent.

i disagree. KC wasnt anyones favorite, but it was wasnt just straight wack.

and Sunshine is what put me on to Jay's music...

 

[antonlavey]

Originally Posted by hellaones

Nas' work ethic was lacking

It's simple Jay-z music is more commercial

Nas made an album called #$%%$# for heaven's sake.

 

[t0xicman]

jay dumbed it down

 

[harlem on the rise]

Jay Z & NaS represent 2 totally different things... If you look @ their last albums, American Gangster & Untitled... Where Jay Z is trying toreclaim his spot as a coke rapper and i guess double or triple cement his legacy in being one of the first cats on the hustler tip... NaS just views the worldwith a broader view, and it shows in the music he makes. I mean with each album NaS puts himself of the cross for hip hop, he takes A LOT of risks, only forthe sake of speaking truth to power... Jay even refrences takin a half step in the direction on "D.O.A." ("I might upset my politicalconnects")... NaS has never gave a *+!! about that... Listen to his verse on "Live @ The BBQ"

Since he came out he would always have politically driven subject matter that left you thinking far beyond the 3 1/2 minute�song... Look @ IWW I'm prollythe #1 hater of this album on this board, but this album dropped during the PEAK of the East Coast vs West Coast battle, there was a lot of infighting withEast Coast artists, something we never really knew till a few years later (Courtesy of Nas - "Last real N Alive")... The single NaS chooses to drop,"If I Ruled The World" not only is it one of the BEST hip hop records of all time, its EXTREMELY thought provoking to this day... He later droppedthe "Streets Dreams" Remix, lyrically he was tackling a bigger subjects than a coastal fued... he was speaking to a nation. His music transcneded thestreet oreintated hip hop that rules the 90s... This N stood for something much greater...

As far as popularity goes... I mean this is a conversation that comes up a lot, and it makes me

�almost everytime... (I'm frontin, It makes me

�EVERYTIME)... I'm gonna explain to you why...

Illmatic - Released: April 19th 1994 ... Debut @ #12 - Certified Platinum
It Was Written - Released: July 2nd 1996 ... Debut @ #1 (stayed there for a month) 2x Platinum
I�Am... - Released: April 6th 1999 ... Debut @ #1 - 2x Platinum
Nastradamus - Released: November 23rd 1999... Debut @ #7 - Platinum
Stillmatic - Realeased: December 18th 2001... Debut @ #5 - Platinum
God's Son - Released: December 13th 2002... Debut @ #12 - Platinum
Streets Disciple - Released: November 30th 2004 - Debut @ #5 - Platinum (according to wiki ... I'm pretty sure it went gold, but it was a double disc)
Hip Hop Is Dead - Released: December 19th 2006 - Debut @ #1 - Gold
Untitled - Released: July 15th 2008... Debut @ #1 - Gold

IMO thats a great deal of mainstream success... He doesn't have the many multi platinum albums that Jay has, but IMO the million or so people that boughtthe NaS albums came away with much more then those who bought the Jay albums... NaS music just overral serves a bigger purpose than Jay... It speaks volumesthat of ALL the records NaS has made, from the commercial @*+% that made you scratch your head, to the lyrical genuis we heard on Illmatic... His HIGHESTchartist single of his career...











#12 song in the country...

NaS is the G.O.A.T.