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[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL
"Jay Z vs. Kanye West vs. Eminem" |
08.24.11 |
BY MIKEY MIGO
Over a year ago, I decided to take a look at certain attributes that I think make up a rockstar. With these guide lines, I went through the different categories and compared the two best modern rock stars, Jack White and Dave Grohl.
You can read that here:
The Savage Animal 6:30:10: Jack White vs. Dave Grohl
I’m going do that again, but this time hip hop.
We can look back to the 90’s and EASILY just rattle off Tupac and Biggie as being the kings of the era. In 2011, it’s hard to argue with who’s on top. I think it’s safe to say that when people think of modern rap music they think of Jay Z, Eminem, and Kanye West. I am fully aware there are others that are “up there”, but these three are the biggest and most known. There might be some flash in the pans who are making names right now, but who dominates more than these guys? There might be artists that you or I might prefer more than either of these three, but let’s be realistic here. The post gangsta-era belongs to these three gentlemen.
These artists have taken what hip hop was and is and has and continues to evolve the definition of “rapper”. Others have made an impact, but Jay Z, Kanye West, and Eminem have made a legacy. Who is the best modern rapper?
By the way, this is all subjective. No one is going to completely agree with these thoughts and assessments. We all have our own tastes, experiences, and favorites. These are mine based on my personal style and liking. Feel free to share your own thoughts.
ROUND ONE: Style
Eminem: Em hasn’t been shy about giving due credit to the MC’s that influenced his style. He’s well schooled on the history of hip hop and knows his stuff. With all of this he was able to bend words into rhyming, bust out crazy bounce rhythms, and all while having good enunciation and clear vocals. He also has the characters. “Slim Shady” is dark, Marshall is himself, and there’s more. Each of them have their own tones and personalities.
Jay Z: For Jay, its all flow. He can dictate the tone of a song just by speeding up and slowing down his flow. That sounds like a common hip hop trait, but you don’t get it. Jay Z has mastered this craft. His song structure is pretty much the traditional pop style, but done to a tee. His early style was said to more comparable to the group Das EFX. The legend is that he often writes his songs in his head and then shows up and just busts out the flows on the spot.
Kanye West: Being a producer, West has a production style and a rap style. His production is expansive. He started off with the high-vocal sample, soul sample, fast-talk Midwest beat but would evolve. Over the years he has expanded his realm of work to the point where if he didn’t have vocals it would sometimes be hard to define the genre. As a rapper, it’s different. He is a smart guy and he and write some awesome lyrics, but his delivery isn’t his strongest attribute.
The Winner: Jay Z
West is a great producer, but he made that whole album on auto-tune. That’s a shame. Eminem is a great rapper. My problem is that he seems to stick to two main methods. He’ll either be really angry or he’ll be really silly. There’s not much else going on. Sadly, he just seems more and more angry. That wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it feels like he’s lost touch with the world. Jay Z is the real deal. In recent years he’s lost a step too, but let’s not jump to any conclusions. Seriously, go watch his documentary concert “Fade to Black”. He steps into the booth with no notes or anything arranged. He just lets it flow and dominates. He can drop a brag track, a party track, or he’ll just flat out tell a story.
ROUND TWO: Influences
Eminem: Not surprising to anyone, he has said Dr. Dre and the Beastie Boys on more than one occasion. Among a lot of different muses, he cites Big Daddy Kane, Tupac, Nas, and Ice-T amongst others as his influences.
Jay Z: When Hova was a kid he got into his parents collection so he got into Marvin Gaye, R&B, and pop. A lot of the samples he’d end up using would be the stuff he was listening to during those younger days.
Kanye West: On a production side of things, West credits Wu-Tang’s RZA as an influence. Another odd influence is the horrible trip hop band Portishead (Dude, Massive Attack!), but he says his favorite rock bands include Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Led Zeppelin, The Killers, and Franz Ferdinand among others.
The Winner: Kanye West
Jay Z’s answer to this was pretty boring. Who didn’t listen to Marvin Gaye when he was young? My parents(non-rappers, by the way) have Marvin Gaye albums. Great man, great music, but that’s like saying “I like the Beatles!”. C’mon! Eminem’s influences make a lot of sense. How could you not respect BDK, Pac, Nas, and all of those guys. I go with Kanye because he has a more eclectic variety of influences. While I really don’t like Portishead, I respect his list of bands. Anyone who likes Franz Ferdinand gets bonus points with me.
ROUND THREE: Definitive Albums
Eminem: The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show
Jay Z: Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, The Black Album
Kanye West: The College Drop Out, Late Registration, Graduation
The Winner: Eminem
I hate this, but I have to be honest with myself. I loved those early Kanye albums. “Jesus Walks” is still one of the coolest songs of all time. What’s worse is not saying Jay Z here. He is king. Those albums are amazing. The three I went with pretty much cover the best of his eras, early, middle, late. “The Black Album” is one of my favorite albums of this millennium. That said, I’m not a fan of Eminem but let’s be real here. When people talk about hip hop in twenty years they’re going to go with Eminem because he’s the most commercial of the controversial. Eminem’s albums end up transcending the genre and selling tons. He has sold more albums than ANYONE else in the last decade. Jay Z has the old school cred, Kanye is more of an artist, and Eminem just has that pop status.
ROUND FOUR: Business Ventures
Eminem: Yikes. Eminem doesn’t seem to really have much else going on. He has his “Shady Records”, there’s his D12 project, a little acting, and that’s about it. No odors, buildings, or beverages.
Jay Z: He has his record companies, clothing lines, Rocawear, 40/40 Club, beauty products, Budweiser Select, part owner of New Jersey Nets, property, AEG, etc. etc. etc.
Kanye West: He had some burger joints in Chicago, does fashion, had a shoe, and continues to keep doing random creative things. I think he designed scarves.
The Winner: Jay Z
Did you read what I just wrote? Jay Z is part-owner of the New Jersey Nets. He owns part of a NBA basketball team. There are tons of other things too, but that just stands out to me the most. Eminem sticks to his own personal life. Kanye goes the artsy route. Jay Z is a mogul.
ROUND FIVE: Collaborations
Eminem: Dr. Dre, Jay Z, D12, 50 Cent, Dido, Rihanna, Snoop, Kid Rock, DMX, Missy Elliot, Method Man, TI, Busta Rhymes
Jay Z: Notorious B.I.G., Kanye West, Eminem, U2, Beyonce, Linkin Park, Pharrell, R. Kelly,
Kanye West: Jay Z, Jamie Foxx, Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, John Legend, Common
The Winner: Jay Z
Eminem has some great connections. His work with Dre is part of who he is, but the other spots have been good stuff. It’s just it’s like he sticks to a certain group of people. Kanye’s coolest collaboration IS Jay Z. I don’t want to drop the “Biggie Trump Card” because it’s unfair to compare ANYONE to Biggie. So then it would basically come down to U2 or Jamie Foxx. I’m a fan of U2 and a apologist for Bono’s pretentiousness, but he’s still WAY less douchey than Jamie Foxx.
ROUND SIX: Street Cred
Eminem
Jay Z
Kanye West
The Winner: Eminem
I feel weird judging one’s “street cred”. I’m not THAT guy and I’m not going to claim it. I’m just going to use a process of elimination. Kanye is eliminated because he’s too weird and artsy for most hardcore hip hop fans. He has his thing, but people still roll their eyes at him and talk crap about him. He makes himself an easy target and it’s mainly intentional. Jay Z is “Black Elvis”. He is loved by everyone. He’s considered “the best” and has been for so long that he has a certain folklore/mysterious thing going for him. He’s larger than life. He’s someone you stop in awe at as opposed to approaching with fandom. This is why I go with Eminem here. He’s still pretty grounded. He’s not out buying clubs or sports teams. He’s not getting into feuds with teenage country pop singers. He’s living a real life of real problems. That kind of stuff is relatable to more real people than the other two at the moment.
ROUND SEVEN: Rivals (Former and Current)
Eminem: Eminem came in and made a lot of enemies. He attacked the TRL crowd in the day, but he had some more known run ins. He beef with ICP, gay people, Everlast, Ja Rule, Benzino, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon, and Moby.
Jay Z: Nas.
Kanye West: George Bush, Taylor Swift, Evel Knievel, Matt Lauer, Barack Obama, Country Music, 50 Cent, The World.
The Winner: Jay Z
Kanye West. He’s a monster! He’s a horrible person! He sucks! Whatever. He’s playing people and making dumb gullible people the supporting cast in his own reality show called life. Maybe it’s the wrestling guy in me, but I see a lot of his antics as storylines and wrestling promos. In that aspect, I respect it. He got two US Presidents to publically comment on him in a negative way. That’s cool. Comedian Steve Harvey said Eminem lost his “ghetto pass” after going after Michael Jackson. I’m pretty sure Steve Harvey lost his “comedy pass” years ago so who cares. His feuds got attention, but is it me or did his Moby feud get way more attention that needed? I go with Jay Z. The Jay Z/Nas feud was a real hip hop feud. It was the “non-fatal” version of Biggie and Pac. This feud gave us “Ether” from Nas, “Takeover” from Jay Z, and tons of back and forth. In reality it was silly, but it brought out some really good work from both guys. I’d take that over “rapper vs. random pop culture” any day of the week.
THE VERDICT
The Score: Eminem(2-0) – Jay Z(3-0) – Kanye West (1-0)
The Winner: Jay Z
It felt like Jay Z dominated this list. That wasn’t my intention. I went into it with an open mind and was just being honest about it. I’m a bigger fan of West than Jay Z and I am not a fan really at all of Eminem. So it’s weird. I go out of my way to avoid Eminem’s music. It just irks me in the wrong ways. I’ve not been all that big on Jay Z since he came back after “The Black Album”. Kanye’s first few albums were great, then he did autotune, and then he did a crazy art album. I can get behind the weird artsy stuff really easily, but I’ve just not connected with West’s work in awhile. I respect all three, but Jay Z is clearly the best modern hip hop artist.
Who do YOU think is the king of modern hip hop?
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