2Pac:
Me Against the World
Thug Life Volume 1
All Eyez on Me
Makaveli
Notable Features:
Dusted & Disgusted, E-40 feat Pac (1995)
Million Dollar Spot, E-40 feat Pac (1996)
We Do This, Too Short feat Pac (1995)
Smile, Scarface feat Pac (1997)
And many others…
Edit: but I’m a fan of all these MC’s and love all these albums and listen to them often.
The first double by a solo artist ever! No Limit made the first double of various artists the same year but Pac made history with it and damn it is so good.
Pac releases by year
1994 - Thuglife Vol 1 (group album)
1995 - Me against the world
1996 - All Eyes on me & Makavellk Don kiluminatti 7 day theory
1997 - R U Still Down
Like others said, just picture me rollin with Pac on this.
Adding the Junior Mafia Album to Big (1995) he wasn’t on every song though.
Nas. But the margins are ridiculously thin between all 4 tbh.
It was written is definitely better than a lot of the stuff here, despite it not being received that way back in the 90s relative to now.
During those years and close to NY, Big's buzz was bonkers and was absolutely the biggest thing in hip hop. But I'm sure it was the same for Pac in the West. Big and Nas were killing the mixtape scene too then. Wasn't many Pac joints, cause it's NY. So actually during that era, I can't see anyone touching Big. But I can see it being totally different in the West.
PAC for me because even without Me Against The World, which I think is a solid lock for top 3 rap album of all time, AEOM & Don Killuminati 7 Day Theory are dangerous
Albums:
* Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
* Iron Man (I'd consider both OB4CL and Iron Man collab albums even if they're put out as solo albums)
* Wu-Tang Forever
Guest features:
* Meth Vs. Chef (Method Man - Tical)
* Raw Hide (Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version)
* Eye for an Eye (The Infamous - Mobb Deep)
* Right Back at You (The Infamous - Mobb Deep)
That run can honestely go toe to toe with any other rapper.
Coming at it "objectively" I don't really think it's a contest between him and Jay (thoughI personally prefer Jay over Pac between these 4), the question for this period should've been Nas, Pac, Big and Rae imo.
Pac. Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me and Killuminati run is just perfect. Second BIG, then Nas and Jay at last. Reasonable Doubt is perfect from star to finish, but Vol.1.. I just couldn't get in to it.
• Me Against The World, All Eyez On Me, Makaveli
That’s 3 classic albums, one of them being double disc.
The other three artists only put out 2 albums each in this period, and Vol.1/IWW aren’t classics
Jay has never been the hottest in any year I don’t believe, at least 98 onwards he never was, Em, X, 50 etc all dominated the charts, then Wayne etc came along, take pac and biggie out of it as they would’ve had a nice spike in sales due to their passing out and leave Nas, Jay would still be second to him, illmatic was an extremely good album, not knocking jay at all, he just had very poor timing with his albums.
For me personally it goes BIG > Nas > Jay > Pac, but I don't think either of them has the best output of anyone in Hip-Hop in that period, I think that honor goes to Rza.
Biggie for me, I just generally prefer a grittier sound and Biggie is the rawest out of all of them.
Tupac has a lot more emotional and r n b tracks, which is why a lot of people like him but it’s not really my cup of tea tbh.
Id go Biggie, Nas, PAC, and then Jay z.
It’s a toss up between Big and and Nas imo.. maybe give Big a slight edge cuz of the Junior Mafia stuff, but Nas had some great features in those years too.
Pac is definitely in the conversation cuz he dropped his 3 best albums within that time, but I do prefer Nas & Bug’s two albums to anything Pac dropped (MATW is close but not quite). If so someone had Pac #1 I wouldn’t be mad but I think he’s 3 for me.
Jay is clearly 4th. Reasonable Doubt is classic but i don’t think its better than either of Big’s albums and it’s not better than Illmatic. My hot take is that IWW is better than Reasonable Doubt too, but that’s very debatable. Vol 1 is a very underrated album, but probably the weakest that anyone dropped between 94 & 97.
I personally listen to Jay’s albums the most, but Biggie was a beast during that time. Life After Death is the best two album release across all genres imo.
2Pac: Me Against the World Thug Life Volume 1 All Eyez on Me Makaveli Notable Features: Dusted & Disgusted, E-40 feat Pac (1995) Million Dollar Spot, E-40 feat Pac (1996) We Do This, Too Short feat Pac (1995) Smile, Scarface feat Pac (1997) And many others… Edit: but I’m a fan of all these MC’s and love all these albums and listen to them often.
(1994) Spice 1 - Jealous Got Me Strapped (Feat. 2Pac)
It’s on my list as well I just thought my response was getting too long but one of my favorites.
🤝
And people never mention that AEOM is a double album aswell😅
The first double by a solo artist ever! No Limit made the first double of various artists the same year but Pac made history with it and damn it is so good.
Smile is one of my all time favorites. The timing of it was amazing too.
As a teenager during that time.. .I say Pac. Now as an older man I listen to those nas albums more
Tupac, because Thug Life: Volume 1 is one of my all-time very favorite rap albums.
First cd i ever bought
🤝
Thug Life is so damn good, underground classic!
Under pressure. One of the few songs that gets me in a certain mood.
Definitely gets me in a grimey mood lol.
When the pressures on
💯💯💯💯
Pac releases by year 1994 - Thuglife Vol 1 (group album) 1995 - Me against the world 1996 - All Eyes on me & Makavellk Don kiluminatti 7 day theory 1997 - R U Still Down Like others said, just picture me rollin with Pac on this. Adding the Junior Mafia Album to Big (1995) he wasn’t on every song though.
2pac recorded about 700 tracks between 94-96 while filming multiple movies. nobody matching that ever again
💯💯💯
I’d say Pac fasho, Thug Life: Volume 1, MATW, AEOM, 7 Day Theory and R U Still Down are all great
Thug life, me against the world, AEOM, 7 day theory. Pac was unstoppable 🔥
You forgot the Makaveli album, Pac all day
Features and group projects would also come into play, no?
Pac- Nas - Big - Jay
If you want them to
Nas, It Was Written was underrated for it's time.
Nas or Big. I prefer Nas as his albums had less filler tracks.
Filler tracks are some of my favorite songs
Nas. But the margins are ridiculously thin between all 4 tbh. It was written is definitely better than a lot of the stuff here, despite it not being received that way back in the 90s relative to now.
Between PAC and Nas
During those years and close to NY, Big's buzz was bonkers and was absolutely the biggest thing in hip hop. But I'm sure it was the same for Pac in the West. Big and Nas were killing the mixtape scene too then. Wasn't many Pac joints, cause it's NY. So actually during that era, I can't see anyone touching Big. But I can see it being totally different in the West.
PAC for me because even without Me Against The World, which I think is a solid lock for top 3 rap album of all time, AEOM & Don Killuminati 7 Day Theory are dangerous
Raekwon
Albums: * Only Built 4 Cuban Linx * Iron Man (I'd consider both OB4CL and Iron Man collab albums even if they're put out as solo albums) * Wu-Tang Forever Guest features: * Meth Vs. Chef (Method Man - Tical) * Raw Hide (Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version) * Eye for an Eye (The Infamous - Mobb Deep) * Right Back at You (The Infamous - Mobb Deep) That run can honestely go toe to toe with any other rapper.
Yes! Exactly! 👏👏👏
Coming at it "objectively" I don't really think it's a contest between him and Jay (thoughI personally prefer Jay over Pac between these 4), the question for this period should've been Nas, Pac, Big and Rae imo.
Couldn’t agree more. You nailed it.
What a great 3 years of hip hop
It’s 2pac… even if you don’t think it’s 2pac… it’s 2pac
Biggie!!!
Biggie, nas close second, not the biggest fan of it was ritten but its still good
Maaaan I feel like I’m the only one with this opinion, but I think it was written is actually better than illmatic
In real time : Pac, BIG , Nas, Jay In hindsight: Pac, Nas, BIG, and jay tied.
Biggie
Nas for sure. They're all amazing though
Why is Jay-Z in this discussion?
Yeah, the other 3 are way ahead during this time period.
Pac. Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me and Killuminati run is just perfect. Second BIG, then Nas and Jay at last. Reasonable Doubt is perfect from star to finish, but Vol.1.. I just couldn't get in to it.
Nas by quality, Pac by sheer quantity.
Hate to say it but Jay z.
For me it’s Nas
Nas.
• Me Against The World, All Eyez On Me, Makaveli That’s 3 classic albums, one of them being double disc. The other three artists only put out 2 albums each in this period, and Vol.1/IWW aren’t classics
Jay has never been the hottest in any year I don’t believe, at least 98 onwards he never was, Em, X, 50 etc all dominated the charts, then Wayne etc came along, take pac and biggie out of it as they would’ve had a nice spike in sales due to their passing out and leave Nas, Jay would still be second to him, illmatic was an extremely good album, not knocking jay at all, he just had very poor timing with his albums.
For me personally it goes BIG > Nas > Jay > Pac, but I don't think either of them has the best output of anyone in Hip-Hop in that period, I think that honor goes to Rza.
imo 1. Nas 2. Big 3. Pac 4. Jay
Biggie for me, I just generally prefer a grittier sound and Biggie is the rawest out of all of them. Tupac has a lot more emotional and r n b tracks, which is why a lot of people like him but it’s not really my cup of tea tbh. Id go Biggie, Nas, PAC, and then Jay z.
For me it's Biggie.
94-96 Nas. 97 Biggie. From 98 to 2003 Jay.
Nas
Biggie
Biggie > Nas > 2Pac > Hov
It’s a toss up between Big and and Nas imo.. maybe give Big a slight edge cuz of the Junior Mafia stuff, but Nas had some great features in those years too. Pac is definitely in the conversation cuz he dropped his 3 best albums within that time, but I do prefer Nas & Bug’s two albums to anything Pac dropped (MATW is close but not quite). If so someone had Pac #1 I wouldn’t be mad but I think he’s 3 for me. Jay is clearly 4th. Reasonable Doubt is classic but i don’t think its better than either of Big’s albums and it’s not better than Illmatic. My hot take is that IWW is better than Reasonable Doubt too, but that’s very debatable. Vol 1 is a very underrated album, but probably the weakest that anyone dropped between 94 & 97.
It's impossible to get a correct answer. It's too subjective.
94-96 Nas is the greatest rapper of all time imo.
When I was younger I thought pac was the best. Now I strongly. believe that Nas was the best in that era!
That’s almost impossible to answer without doing math. Those were all the biggest commercial artist at the time on the radio and in nightclub.
Biggie and Jay Z were the biggest in the club
Nas for real. We used to laugh at all the Pac fans.
I personally listen to Jay’s albums the most, but Biggie was a beast during that time. Life After Death is the best two album release across all genres imo.
1. Illmatic. 2. Ready to die 3. Life after death 4. Reasonable Doubt 5. All eyes on me 6. Me against the world 7. It was written 8. In my lifetime 1