To continue to with this trend of Jay-Z, I want to pose a question that has always been part of the discussion when talking about Jay-Z's status in the game, but take it a little deeper. So, people always wonder what would have been of Jay's career had the Notorious B.I.G. lived. I think we can all agree that he probably would not reach the level that he is at now and, for all we know, he may have always been in the shadow of Biggie, being highly praised only by those (semi)underground hip hop heads. But, this being the case, I ask what would have been of hip hop had all of this transpired and Jay-Z had not become what he is today.

Now, I don't want this to be mistaken as me saying that I am glad that Biggie as gone because that is NOT what I am saying IN ANY WAY. Nor is this me saying that without Jay-Z hip hop would not have flourished, however I am saying that, love him or hate him, there is no denying that Jay has probably had the biggest hand in helping hip hop to be so successful and accepted throughout the nation and world. Some people would say that is a bad thing, but it's not. That was the point of hip hop was to show others the struggle that we as a people and as individuals were going through and to have that voice. The problem is that people have now started to take advantage of it, but that is a separate issue. What I want to know is whether or not it is possible that had B.I.G., who is considered by many the greatest of all time, lived, hip hop would not be where it is today.?And I don't mean in terms of lack of creativity, but rather artists having all kinds of business ventures, endorsement deals, acknowledgment of political figures, etc.?

The reason I ask this is because we know that Jay-Z has been able to reach his stature mainly through his  business savvy and his high IQ when it comes to business dealings. I don't know if Biggie was in tune with the corporate side of things as Jay is. I'm not saying that is a bad thing at all, but it definitely would make for a different outcome in hip hop had Big continued to be the biggest name. Didddy was more the brains of the operation in terms of all the business that needed to be handled and even though he has definitely done his share in terms of taking hip hop to the next level, Jay's rhyme skills matched with his business sense gives him the edge over Diddy.

Obviously, this is something that can only be left to the imagination, but I would love to know at least what would have come had Biggie (and Pac for that matter, but Pac didn't have anybody on the west at his heels like Big did with Jay) continued to live. Many argue that we would not be in this state of minimal creativity and originality, which is definitely plausible. However, would hip hop have been able to reach the masses the way it has? We never will know, but I'll leave up to y'all to decide.

Post any thoughts or comments below or you can email at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.