For my Money, Kanye is Better than Pac

     Now I'm sure all Tupac fans are ready to kill me right now, because in their eyes, Tupac is God's gift to rap music. But, don't get it misconstrued, I'm a Pac fan. Maybe not a die hard fan, but a fan nonetheless. I realize that Tupac was one of the greats of his time, but I also realize that he wasn't the greatest ever in 96, and isn't the greatest ever now. He may be the best selling hip hop artist (or 2nd best. I think Eminem is #1), but as I'm always reminded, sales don't have anything to do with skill or actual talent. 
      What's funny, is that the reason people hate Kanye, is the same reason they loved Pac. Pac was an asshole. I dare anyone to say he wasn't. I was alive and old enough to remember Pac. Dude was a jerk! But back in the 90's, that was no problem. Pac was in and out of jail. Pac was accused of sexually assaulting a fan, rape ultimately, joked on record (lying according to Faith Evans), about screwing his rivals wife, and all of this bad stuff, but we're supposed to let that all go because he made Brenda's Got a Baby and Dear Mama? He spoke a lot about uplifting women, but isn't this the same dude that made I Get Around? His Black Panther upraising, and how he fought for what he believed in should be commended, and I can't knock the man for that. I salute him for that, because a lot of us would back down in the same situations. With that being said, rap wise, skill wise, he wasn't really the best at all. If we're discussing wordplay, lyricism, storytelling and all of that? Pac is nowhere near the top spot. If we're talking Charisma? Pac is probably number one. He had plenty of charisma, and made you believe what he was saying. He felt it, you felt it, so you believed it was the absolute best. But go back and listen to his lyrics, and his wordplay, against, say, an Andre 3000, or a Common, or a Ghostface Killah, or even, dare I say, a Jay Z, and Pac's rhymes were really nothing special. 
     Getting back to Kanye, what has he truly ever done, that was sooo bad? Say George Bush doesn't care about black people? ( Most black people agreed with that statement for the record.) Cut off Taylor Swift at an award show? (I agreed with what he said when he got on stage.) Got upset at the paparazzi for taking pictures of him when he doesn't want his picture taken? Tell Sway that he doesn't have the answers? Kanye hasn't killed anybody. He didn't assault anybody, well, other than the paparazzi. Musically, I'd argue, pound for pound, catalog vs catalog, Kanye's is better than Pac's. College Dropout - Yeezus, all better than Pac's living Catalog overall. Kanye actually added a few different things to the game. Listen to beats from the early 2000's. That was all Kanye for the most part. The soul samples, that had kinda fallen off since the RZA's, Pete Rock's, etc slowed down, Kanye brought that style back. Kanye also opened a lane for individuals who didn't really have to be "hard," or have a rough upbringing to speak. Kanye's first album talked about going to college and getting degrees throughout the skits. He spoke about getting together with family and enjoying his family's company. For goodness sake, he made Jesus Walks, and had that turn into a song that could be played in clubs! Really? Jesus Walks in clubs? Sure, he's changed a bit over the years, and at it's premise, Yeezus is sort of Kanye channeling his inner Tupac (peep Black Skinhead or New Slaves for example), but throughout the years, he's never really switched to the straight up, hardcore, thug life hip hop. I can relate more to Kanye than I can to Pac. Sure, there are gonna be some things that I can't relate to, such as his expensive clothing and trips, but for the most part, I connect more with Kanye than Pac.
    It's all a matter of opinion at the end of the day. I had folks in an outrage yesterday when I said E-40 is the best west coast rapper of all time, with Ice Cube at number 2, and Snoop at #3. People thought I was on drugs, but for my money, I'd rather hear 40 Water over Pac. All day, everyday. 40 has taught me a lot of game over the years. "A closed mouth don't get fed, and a lazy hustler don't get bread."  E-40 taught me that. Hahahaha.
     Anyway, I guess my point here is, while Pac was very good during his time here on earth and in the game, the bottom line is, in 1996, he was the equivalent to Young Jeezy. One of the best rappers for his region, but not considered the greatest overall. Also, he didn't sell all those record breaking albums until after he passed away. Just throwing that out there.  Pac was good, but what he really did for the game got blown out of proportion once he passed away. Kanye's overall impact on the game is greater than Pac's. Jay Z's too. But that's just my opinion. What do you all think? I'm sure I'm gonna catch hell for this one, but feel free to sound off. As always, thanks for reading, and you all take it easy. Peace.

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