Notorious BIG or Tupac

[steve]

I don't understand why people think Tupac was some sort of human rights activist.  I don't get why people think he was some sort of angel, that he was so important to society. 

He shined light on problems such as racism and poverty but so does every other rapper. 

I can't call someone a saint when their motto was Thug Life. 

This isn't to say I don't enjoy his music.  I just think people raise Tupac over BIG because  of this myth that Tupac was the second coming of Dr. King.

Anyone who knows anything about lyrics knows that BIG was unreal.  You remembered his lyrics.    People can recite entire songs of his.  Most rap fans can't do that with Tupac. 

     

[Tnerb02]

Biggie and Tupac are both great and my 2 favorite rappers but the edge goes to BIG. I just like him better, he was very original and a natural talent.

Tupac is great too, he makes me feel black every time I listen to changes and I'm white as day. 

[Reggie's Ghost]

I don't understand why people think Tupac was some sort of human rights activist.  I don't get why people think he was some sort of angel, that he was so important to society. 

He shined light on problems such as racism and poverty but so does every other rapper. 

I can't call someone a saint when their motto was Thug Life. 

This isn't to say I don't enjoy his music.  I just think people raise Tupac over BIG because  of this myth that Tupac was the second coming of Dr. King.

Anyone who knows anything about lyrics knows that BIG was unreal.  You remembered his lyrics.    People can recite entire songs of his.  Most rap fans can't do that with Tupac. 

     

People think Tupac was a human rights activist because he was.  His library of music is about equality for people of all colors, and he humanized those communities that are raised in a culture of violence and poverty while Biggy (agreed, greatest lyricist of all time) was rapping about rims and hoes with Puffy dancing in the background.

I understand that a casual hip hop fan might not understand how someone who lived and died in a world of violence and gang affiliations might seem an odd fit for "Dr. King of Hip Hop," but in fact Thug Life was a complicated ideology Pac popularized about the cycle of violence and poverty that he himself embodied, struggled with, and connected to all people who have been forced to desperate measures in order to survive in hard times.

I know almost all songs by both Biggy & Pac by heart, and so do most of their fans.  Biggy is in my pantheon off greatest ever hip hop artists, no diss to him, but all that tongue twisting was empty noise in comparison to the depth and humility that Pac brought to his music.  Pac presented himself as vulnerable, fallible and 3 dimensional.  If you like word play, Biggy was the man.  But Pac had something better: meaningful, honest content.  That, and not the fact that I'm a whiteboy (see my previous discussion on this thread), is why I have his name tattooed on my arm and will play him at my funeral.

Just checking. No "ill will" towards you. (get it? lol). I hear you, I just want to make sure Im talking to someone who can make valid points, and is actually educated in what im talking about. many people would just go with the popular pick and thats it. The reason I wanted to state, but did not want to look racist was the following;

First off I'm half black and half white, let me get that in the open. However, having grown up next to every race(and I love every race), my white friends tend to lean towards Pac. While my minority friends, lean towards biggie.

But alot more than skin color goes towards that. Where we live(east coast, west). Who who put us on to that artist(at some point an older friend or family member tells us about an artist or song). Or just who we can relate to more. That was what I wanted to say, but it is difficult to not come off as racist online. Where people can read what Im saying, but can not tell the tone, in which Im saying it.

So I hear you, I respect your thoughts, and just wanted to clear that up. Especially since your an artist too, I got nothin but love for you. Peace. TP ur way.  

See, I'm glad you shared that, and personally I think that observation's on point.  It's all love brother, TP back @ you...

[pearljammer10]

Biggie...Hands down no contest wins 10 out of 10 times everytime.

[Truck Lewis]

People think Tupac was a human rights activist because he was.  His library of music is about equality for people of all colors, and he humanized those communities that are raised in a culture of violence and poverty while Biggy (agreed, greatest lyricist of all time) was rapping about rims and hoes with Puffy dancing in the background.

I understand that a casual hip hop fan might not understand how someone who lived and died in a world of violence and gang affiliations might seem an odd fit for "Dr. King of Hip Hop," but in fact Thug Life was a complicated ideology Pac popularized about the cycle of violence and poverty that he himself embodied, struggled with, and connected to all people who have been forced to desperate measures in order to survive in hard times.

I know almost all songs by both Biggy & Pac by heart, and so do most of their fans.  Biggy is in my pantheon off greatest ever hip hop artists, no diss to him, but all that tongue twisting was empty noise in comparison to the depth and humility that Pac brought to his music.  Pac presented himself as vulnerable, fallible and 3 dimensional.  If you like word play, Biggy was the man.  But Pac had something better: meaningful, honest content.  That, and not the fact that I'm a whiteboy (see my previous discussion on this thread), is why I have his name tattooed on my arm and will play him at my funeral.

couldnt have said it better..thats how i see it completely

[drza44]

I was always more of a Tupac guy than a Biggie guy.  With every big rap rivalry I tend to lend one way or the other...I was Mo Dee more than LL, Pac more than Biggie, Nas more than Jay Z.  Like others on here, I just felt like Pac had more depth than Big did.  Plus, it shouldn't be ignored that Pac did it for years while Big only had the 2 CDs.  Longevity does matter, especially since it allowed Pac to explore so many different styles and topics while Big never got to move very much from where he began.

My favorite 3 rappers of all time would be Pac, Nas, and Andre Benjamin in some order.  Rankings lists are hard to do much beyond favorites, since there are so many different elements and everyone appreciates something different.

[Prof. Clutch]

Definitely Tupac for me, though as many posters have said previously, both were incredible. 

I just feel personally that Biggie had way too many songs about this womanizing, violent character that he loved to play.  It's great fun for a little while, especially matched with his amazing flow.  But I can get tired of hearing rap without much substance real quick.  Maybe that isn't so much Biggie's fault as it is all the rappers who have followed and imitated him since.

[Reggie's Ghost]

People think Tupac was a human rights activist because he was.  His library of music is about equality for people of all colors, and he humanized those communities that are raised in a culture of violence and poverty while Biggy (agreed, greatest lyricist of all time) was rapping about rims and hoes with Puffy dancing in the background.

I understand that a casual hip hop fan might not understand how someone who lived and died in a world of violence and gang affiliations might seem an odd fit for "Dr. King of Hip Hop," but in fact Thug Life was a complicated ideology Pac popularized about the cycle of violence and poverty that he himself embodied, struggled with, and connected to all people who have been forced to desperate measures in order to survive in hard times.

I know almost all songs by both Biggy & Pac by heart, and so do most of their fans.  Biggy is in my pantheon off greatest ever hip hop artists, no diss to him, but all that tongue twisting was empty noise in comparison to the depth and humility that Pac brought to his music.  Pac presented himself as vulnerable, fallible and 3 dimensional.  If you like word play, Biggy was the man.  But Pac had something better: meaningful, honest content.  That, and not the fact that I'm a whiteboy (see my previous discussion on this thread), is why I have his name tattooed on my arm and will play him at my funeral.

couldnt have said it better..thats how i see it completely

A Reggie guy AND a Pac guy?  2 TPs, I would def buy you a beer anytime 

[Prof. Clutch]

People think Tupac was a human rights activist because he was.  His library of music is about equality for people of all colors, and he humanized those communities that are raised in a culture of violence and poverty while Biggy (agreed, greatest lyricist of all time) was rapping about rims and hoes with Puffy dancing in the background.

I understand that a casual hip hop fan might not understand how someone who lived and died in a world of violence and gang affiliations might seem an odd fit for "Dr. King of Hip Hop," but in fact Thug Life was a complicated ideology Pac popularized about the cycle of violence and poverty that he himself embodied, struggled with, and connected to all people who have been forced to desperate measures in order to survive in hard times.

I know almost all songs by both Biggy & Pac by heart, and so do most of their fans.  Biggy is in my pantheon off greatest ever hip hop artists, no diss to him, but all that tongue twisting was empty noise in comparison to the depth and humility that Pac brought to his music.  Pac presented himself as vulnerable, fallible and 3 dimensional.  If you like word play, Biggy was the man.  But Pac had something better: meaningful, honest content.  That, and not the fact that I'm a whiteboy (see my previous discussion on this thread), is why I have his name tattooed on my arm and will play him at my funeral.

TP.  Exactly how I feel hermano...

[MattG12]

I don't understand why people think Tupac was some sort of human rights activist.  I don't get why people think he was some sort of angel, that he was so important to society. 

He shined light on problems such as racism and poverty but so does every other rapper. 

I can't call someone a saint when their motto was Thug Life. 

This isn't to say I don't enjoy his music.  I just think people raise Tupac over BIG because  of this myth that Tupac was the second coming of Dr. King.

Anyone who knows anything about lyrics knows that BIG was unreal.  You remembered his lyrics.    People can recite entire songs of his.  Most rap fans can't do that with Tupac. 

     

I hope you don't think BIG is better because people know his lyrics more than they know Pac's. I know just about every song by every member and former member of Dipset by heart (Terrible phase I went through in High School), but I would never claim that Cam'ron is the best rapper because of that. That is a very poor argument.

Everybody just needs to understand that they were both great.

Saying Tupac wasn't as good because he was a poet and not a rapper... Are you kidding me? Rap is poetry. BIG is a poet too.

Also, no need to bring race in to play regarding peoples opinions. This is the CelticsBlog Community. We are all friends here. Please don't start problems by bringing up issues like that.

[steve]

I don't understand why people think Tupac was some sort of human rights activist.  I don't get why people think he was some sort of angel, that he was so important to society. 

He shined light on problems such as racism and poverty but so does every other rapper. 

I can't call someone a saint when their motto was Thug Life. 

This isn't to say I don't enjoy his music.  I just think people raise Tupac over BIG because  of this myth that Tupac was the second coming of Dr. King.

Anyone who knows anything about lyrics knows that BIG was unreal.  You remembered his lyrics.    People can recite entire songs of his.  Most rap fans can't do that with Tupac. 

     

People think Tupac was a human rights activist because he was.  His library of music is about equality for people of all colors, and he humanized those communities that are raised in a culture of violence and poverty while Biggy (agreed, greatest lyricist of all time) was rapping about rims and hoes with Puffy dancing in the background.

I understand that a casual hip hop fan might not understand how someone who lived and died in a world of violence and gang affiliations might seem an odd fit for "Dr. King of Hip Hop," but in fact Thug Life was a complicated ideology Pac popularized about the cycle of violence and poverty that he himself embodied, struggled with, and connected to all people who have been forced to desperate measures in order to survive in hard times.

I know almost all songs by both Biggy & Pac by heart, and so do most of their fans.  Biggy is in my pantheon off greatest ever hip hop artists, no diss to him, but all that tongue twisting was empty noise in comparison to the depth and humility that Pac brought to his music.  Pac presented himself as vulnerable, fallible and 3 dimensional.  If you like word play, Biggy was the man.  But Pac had something better: meaningful, honest content.  That, and not the fact that I'm a whiteboy (see my previous discussion on this thread), is why I have his name tattooed on my arm and will play him at my funeral.

Just checking. No "ill will" towards you. (get it? lol). I hear you, I just want to make sure Im talking to someone who can make valid points, and is actually educated in what im talking about. many people would just go with the popular pick and thats it. The reason I wanted to state, but did not want to look racist was the following;

First off I'm half black and half white, let me get that in the open. However, having grown up next to every race(and I love every race), my white friends tend to lean towards Pac. While my minority friends, lean towards biggie.

But alot more than skin color goes towards that. Where we live(east coast, west). Who who put us on to that artist(at some point an older friend or family member tells us about an artist or song). Or just who we can relate to more. That was what I wanted to say, but it is difficult to not come off as racist online. Where people can read what Im saying, but can not tell the tone, in which Im saying it.

So I hear you, I respect your thoughts, and just wanted to clear that up. Especially since your an artist too, I got nothin but love for you. Peace. TP ur way.  

See, I'm glad you shared that, and personally I think that observation's on point.  It's all love brother, TP back @ you...

You see his songs as positive and they might be but way too many people take it as "Now I can be proud to be a thug, my role model say's it's cool"  You can sit back and say how great it is that he is making people socially aware of a race's struggle but he his breaking a lot of eggs to make that omelette.  There is a difference of someone saying "this is what is going on in the ghetto" to "this is what is going on in the ghetto and it's cool" 

If Tupac had lived he might have become a revolutionary leader.  He was respected and could have made significant change.  Then again he might not have.  It was unclear whether he had a master plan or if he just enjoyed being accepted by the ghetto.    based on what he did when he was alive I can not call him a saint. 

It was evident when he started a feud with Biggie.  If his master plan was to unite, then why start a west coast/east coast feud?  Are the east coast ghettos not as important than the west coast ones?  Explain his motive for prolonging that feud that was based on hate.  What great activist divides his people and seemingly enjoys it? 

I agree there were positives to his music but you can not say that there weren't negatives.  I beleive he never made the switch from gangsta rapper to activist and that was the saddest part of his death.   
 

[4THQTR]

Both were great, but personally i have others in front of them...

I love lyricism and that's why guys like rakim, big l, pun, nas or even a mos def are allowed to bang on my eardrums way more often than pac or big...

what i do give these two though is that their delivery has always been unique and probably on a level that's not gonna be reached again.

at the end of the day both died way too soon and both are being viewed in a much more romantic light than any other rapper ever will be nowadays.

I do agree that by now they are both overrated and people proclaim them to be the best rappers ever without having heard much else and/or without really being familiar with thier entire work.

[cornbreadsmart]

i'm gonna sound like a moron here but what exactly was the feud between east and west coast? did gang members from these coasts hate eachother and travel out to the other to try and kill eachother? what was the beef over?
  i mean there's no way that guys were actually trying to murder eachother over who could rhyme words together better. right?

[cornbreadsmart]

i'm not trying to make fun. wars have been fought over how people should worship some  invisible character in the sky. i'm willing to bet what the east coast/west coast feud was about made more sense.

[MBz]

i'm gonna sound like a moron here but what exactly was the feud between east and west coast? did gang members from these coasts hate eachother and travel out to the other to try and kill eachother? what was the beef over?
  i mean there's no way that guys were actually trying to murder eachother over who could rhyme words together better. right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast-West_Coast_hip_hop_rivalry#The_Rivalry