“If rap was alive/we’d be tryin’ to be the best rappers ever, not the best rapper alive.” This issue goes back to another post I did a few months back about whether or not it was even fair to still consider Biggie and Tupac the greatest rappers ever. To this day, many of the top artists, that are arguably better than Biggie and Pac, still hail them as the greatest. I feel that this is because they are trying to preserve their legacy, which is very admirable and should be done. However, striving to be the best at what you do doesn't diminish somebody else's legacy. 

In hip hop, calling yourself the best dead or alive is like the ultimate sin. Remember Jay-Z's line "And if I'm not better than Big, I'm the closest one" and on "Ether", Nas retaliated with "Then you got the nerve to say that you better than Big"? Of course it's a diss record so Nas can say would say one way or another that Jay wasn't the best rapper. Yet, we all know that the line meant more than that. It was representative of how protective the hip hop culture is of their pioneers (although we don't do a good enough job of passing along the history) that to say you are the best is not allowed. For most people, as a way of paying respect to the greats, we only consider a handful of names to be thrown around as 'the best". In turn, artists, for fear of being outcasted by fans and the industry, have resorted to the mantra (made very popular by Lil Wayne and Jay-Z) "best rapper alive".

As time has gone on, Jay-Z has said publicly that he considers himself to be the best rapper ever for a number of reasons. Regardless of whether I or anybody else agrees with that statement, doesn't he have a right to say that if he feels that it's true? Although we don't have playoffs or championship match, hip hop itself is competitive. So isn't your competitive nature supposed to tell you to strive to be the best and then compete as if you are? Since making these statements, Jay has caught a lot of heat for saying it, not just because people disagree, but because the feel as if it is disrespectful for him to ever say that he is better than Big, Pac, or any other pioneers (although he is a pioneer in his own right).

None of this is to argue that Jay-Z is the best rapper ever. It is only an example because he is one of the few that at least had the guts to say how he felt, and it's okay. At the end of the day, all things are subjective, but for so many artists to remove themselves from the discussion when they either are or are close to deserving of the discussion doesn't help hip hop move forward. Joe Budden's line makes it plain; artists not striving to be the best ever (an fans not allowing them to do so) limits how far we can take culture and if that point has already been reached, we may never get there again.

Perhaps we ended up with all the dance songs, party songs, and lack of creativity in hip hop because too many people bought into the fact that they wouldn't ever be labeled the greatest. Maybe we brought this upon ourselves. As a culture, we so often reserve that "top spot" for so few that, perhaps unconsciously, people that wanted to get involved in music gravitated toward what would gain them fame, exposure, and money for fear that they wouldn't listed with the greats. It's just a theory.

What are your thoughts on rappers claiming to either be the best ever or just the best alive? Do they not have a right to claim to be the best alive? Anybody you think should be in the discussion (although there will never be a real answer)? Leave your comments and of course you can e-mail at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.

Peace.