In honour of Jay-Z’s 13th studio album, I gots to take a minute out to show love to the greatest rapper to ever grace the mic. You might disagree; everybody got they top 5 - In my overview of Hov’s life and accomplishments, I’m going to leave out all that Biggie/Pac/Nas/Mobb Deep (RIP Prodigy)/Dipset/Kanye/50/Fat Joe. beef nonsense and just stick to the Jigga man.
Whether you are a rap genius or a rapgenius.com wanksta, a teeny bopper or juggalo., dude, female, young thug or old timer., S.Dot has solidified his position as one of the most prolific artists of our time, possibly of all time…..
With no further ado, these are the top 5 reasons that I think Jigga is the illest
1. Mom loved me, pop left me, still the homies call me Lucky Lefty……………Sean Carter’s Life
There’s no doubt that Young has had a trying life – from his father leaving at an early age, to experiencing the hard knock life of the streets of Marcy, hustling and moving weight to keep his family fed, while also facing the moral struggle of being a drug dealer (Understand Me comes to mind – great oldie), Hovito had his back to the wall from a young age.
Now we all have our struggles - that alone doesn’t make you great. Many rappers have had similar and sometimes worse upbringings – hell, my cousin Leo had a buck-tooth and a nose-mole until he was 14. What makes this significant is without appreciating what Young HO has had to overcome, you can’t really understand the magnitude of his accomplishments.
2. Kitchen Table, that’s where I honed my skills……………………The flow of the Holy Ghost
I have to say it -I think the God MC has proved beyond a Reasonable Doubt that he is the greatest lyricist that has ever spat bars. Big Pimpin, anything off Reasonable Doubt or American Gangster, Only a Customer, his verse off Pressure, Renegade – I can go on and on – just display depth, complexity and supreme intelligence. The mastery of both lyrics and flow allows him to hop onto any wave and effortlessly match rhythm and tone.
Jay keeps himself relevant, yet unique - a difficult task, as evident by the one-hit wonders, busters, pop-gangstas and fake thugs - that all try to mimic a style or ride a gimmick – and last a season or two. There are only a handful of artists that have established themselves, in any genre, to have the scope, and variety of audience that Jay Hova has managed to build over a 21 year career.
Collaborating with a variety of artists, from different walks of life and types of music, he has proven time and again that he is not a rapper, he an artiste my lorddddddd, even likening himself to Pablo Picasso, and even greater…..inertia media
3. I’m not a businessman, I’m a BUSINESS Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan – the (almost) billionaire
On top of being one of the top selling artists of all time (and the top selling solo artist of all time), Sean Cory has also managed to establish himself as a brand and a ruthless businessman. Now I don’t have anything against Dame or anyone else, but International Hov has a track record that speaks for itself. Literally (almost) everyone in his path has been outpaced and outmatched, with Federico Fellini in the Flesh coming out on top.
Selling crack, records, shoes, liquor, clothing, other artists, talent, night clubs, sports teams, and even real estate – there’s no doubt that Iceberg Slim is a true hustler, in every sense of the word. Most rappers tend to spend their advances on nice cars and ice; to see a one go from a rapper to a business is unheard of.
4: 4:44
I have to admit when I started writing this, the album didn’t come out yet – if it had, I would probably just have scrapped this whole idea. Why? The man dropped an album doing it himself! 4:44 is a marketing and musical masterpiece. The thing took the whole rap game by storm. You got young Buck on the ‘gram talking about mercy please, Ye is probably leaving the Roc, 50 calling Jigga a nerd, and it went platinum – it hasn’t been a week!
Think about it – whether or not you believe that Beyonce and Jay had real problems or not, or if you care for any of this rap game beef bull - this thing is just so jam packed with juicy controversy and gossip – it has something for everyone. CEO’s mind that marketing plan was me – Jay said it best.
5. Look for me, Young, B, cruising down the highway ……………………Bonnie and Clyde 2100
Beyoncé.
Yeah, that’s it – Reason 5 is Beyoncé.
I’ll let you tell it.