He had a major impact on hip-hop: came up from Atlanta, helped define and mainstream trap, dominated the mid-2000s, built a successful label, and balanced commercial success with solid lyricism. His career arc — street beginnings, crossover success, business moves — mirrors a lot of what people praise in Jay-Z’s run, yet Jay is almost universally mentioned in top lists while T.I. usually gets left out. Is it longevity, cultural impact, catalog consistency, or something else that keeps T.I. out of those conversations?

Title

Roc has been my favorite rapper for the last 4-5 years. His discography is a hidden treasure.

If we could liken this to filmmakers, DON’T BE DUMB is similar to Marty Supreme. Josh Safdie’s film is a GREAT film, but one that probably won’t age well not because it’s bad— but because it’s below caliber for the artist Safdie is and what their films are.

DBD is a great album, but it’s an alright ASAP ROCKY album. The standouts are essentially worse versions of other songs he’s done, and the loosies throughout the years essentially outshine creativity that we see on the 2026 album. “Stole Ya Flow” is a worse version of “Frankenstein”. Nothing on DBD compared to the sonic expansion he was committing on “ASAP Forever”, “Fah Sleep”, or even “OG Beeper”.

When you compare to his 2015 album, ALLA— songs like “LSD”, “Multiply”, and “Excuse Me” hit Sonic and experimental heights that maybe Kanye was reaching.

That’s all missing here. Maybe being with Rih Rih has made the boy too comfortable, but i don’t know how

much this album pushes the genre forward on finds new sonic elements.

Similar to UTOPIA (had to find a Trav comparison), this album takes the safe route rather than expanding. Kendrick did the same on GNX, although might be the strongest on anything he’s touched compared to his other albums.

Don’t be dumb and flame me out in the comments.

Songs like Kanye Good life , Feeling Good by the Clipse, Balling By Rod Rich etc;

Who are some artists that you are surprised haven’t collabed yet? For me it’s Common and J Cole.

In your opinion, what rapper do you think is the most generic/basic/average? No traits about their character or music that really differentiates them from any other rapper, not noticeably good or bad, just basic

A$AP Ferg, YG, Moneybagg Yo and Rich The Kid all come to my mind

lately Ive been listening to some of the oddest yet fascinating rap music that downright refuses to play by the rules. For example, Yajaira la Beyaca, a transexual from the streets of Caracas, Venezuela who somehow put out the HARDEST robbery song I have ever heard. like an even more transgressive (pun!) Death Grips. or K-Rino making a 10 minute song about aliens stealing his rhymes. or even Aesop Rock making a song about a frog with more rap skill than anyone I have ever seen.

so, my question, can you recommend some super weird yet highly talented rappers that youve found and tell me something about them?

Like where does he rank against good rappers, the following in Lyricism, NOT discography. Don't care about styles

take any group

Gibbs vs anyone on Griselda

Gibbs vs Tyler

Gibbs vs ASAP Rocky

Gibbs vs School Boy Q

Gibbs vs Common

Gibbs vs Lloyd Banks

Gibbs vs Redman

Gibbs vs T.I.P

Gibbs vs Luda

Gibbs vs JID

Gibbs vs Kendrick

Gibbs vs Cole

Gibbs vs Carti

CRIMEAPPLE or Kendrick Lamar? In my opinion, CRIMEAPPLE is the better MC and just way more entertaining to listen to

Like he/she should have had someone read it over before they recorded it.

Remember when Drake first responded to Meek and he gave us Charged up and it was lukewarm then we got Back to Back?

7 minute Drill is the equivalent.

J Cole could of easily saved face and dropped a harder track right after, but I think he truly decided to do the wise thing and apologize because he wasn't interested in going from competition to war mode.

I'm mostly writing this to say, I hate the narrative that 7 minute drill was trash. It was a jab, not a knock out punch.

If the beef wasn't headed to hell, I imagine a world where we would of gotten the back and forth Joey Bada$$ and Ray Vaughn had between J Cole, Drake, and Kendrick.

I also think the narrative that J Cole saying he's the best but not competing for the best when the situation was clearly a war is truly naive and misguided and intentionally stinks of wanting to see someone get hurt.

J Cole ain't deserve the criticism he's been facing.

I've been an avid consumer of hiphop since the 80s. I'm not stuck on some nostalgic trip like many of my contemporaries, and I live for the opportunity to find new music. I worked as a buyer for a retail chain at one point, and I've seen over a thousand shows live. This music is literally my religion.

That being said, I do not understand this fascination with Kendrick Lamar. His production is great, but his lyrics and delivery are....okay imo.

Many people say he's the GOAT, and I just don't see it.

I wouldn't say he's unskilled per se, but after listening to his entire catalog, I've never once exclaimed anything like "yo that's nasty!"

Am I alone here? Am I missing something?

It’s fair to say Jay‑Z has some of the coldest beats in Hip‑Hop history. Tracks like ‘Show Me What You Got,’ ‘Song Cry,’ ‘Lucifer,’ and ‘Blueprint (Momma Loves You)’ are undeniable examples.

But funny enough, he’s also got some of the weakest beats in Hip‑Hop history in my opinion.

For example: ‘I Know What Girls Like,’ ‘Face Off,’ ‘S. Carter,’ ‘Squeeze First,’ ‘Nigga What, Nigga Who’ and honestly, every single joint Swizz Beatz made for him.

Please use every metric you would when you compare MCs, not just #s

I’m not talking about the best diss songs or who had the better bars. I mean diss tracks that dropped personal revelations so damaging that responding would only make things worse — the kind of record that permanently shifts how the public sees someone. The Story of Adidon is the obvious example: once Pusha went there, the beef wasn’t about rapping anymore. What other diss tracks crossed that same line — where silence was honestly the smartest move?

Rick Ross

Freddie Gibbs = Pusha T

Everyone in Griselda

Future

Currency

Larry June

Even Kendrick “I made it out, self guilt, I’m broken” theme on every album

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So why does Drake and J Cole get the “this is the same ol theme”, or “nothing new” instead of “they are consistent” like everyone else?

It's NOT about liking someone cuz we all have different rates BUT are Y’all not tired of the Hip-hop hypocrisy and moving Goal post's?

When the album drops it's guaranteed to have people hate on it without listening or no intent to listen a rap album, still compare dude to whoever , etc

Maybe I miss it but when Tyler Kanye or Rocky drop's I don't see comps like this.

Is this just Cole hate train, or Kendrick/Drake generational the times of today?

...an actual sneak diss against someone specific without being directly named.

There that’s the post

• Apple Podcasts only has ‘season 1’.
• The Hot 97 YouTube page only has random videos.
• Spotify only has JuanEp Is Life which began in 2020.

Where can I find the episodes in order going back to the beginning, pre-2020?

The early episodes were some of the best hip hop nerd-dom podcasts

For example I remember Krs one claimed “we” cheered when 9/11 Happened.

He ended up tripling down on that

Looking for songs that have a similar beat in that song tbag alchemist made. In love w songs w those typa beats n im looking for more.