GOAT: Jay Z and the Consistency Theory
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The debate is never ending. The stars continue to shine as the sun gives its light all-around the world. Hip-Hop will always see its greats and wonder if they'd ever truly match-up even if they can't do so due to pride, time or respect. Jay-Z is no outlier; if anything, he's the bonafide legend who has blazed his name in the hearts of the community and in the streets in which he roamed. Born on December 4th 1969 in Brooklyn, his upbringing in the Marcy Houses would turn the young Shawn Corey carter into a businessman, selling any drug he could get his hands on and eventually a brand that would include music, his streaming platform and fashion. Jigga made it. However, what made Jay eligible for this list of all-time greats (which include Eminem and others who will be discussed) isn't that he's great. See, I don't believe that he is the best at any single thing. Ever. Let's debate it.
Commercial success
The long list of accomplishments in the career of Jay Z begins in his commercial dominance of the game. According to the RIAA, he holds 16 number 1 albums - a staggering amount that is only topped by the Beatles with 19. At the time of the release of his 4:44 project, it was estimated that he had already sold over 36 million albums and equivalent sales. Let's not forget his entries in the Billboard Hot 100 that have far exceeded a hundred. Yet, while he has a lot of sales, Eminem has exorbitantly more than Hov. One can't contest that he has a lot Hot 100's hits, he only has one number 1, that being "Empire State of Mind" with Alicia Keys, which when compared to other artists, he's dwarfed by guys like Macklemore (2) and Drake (7). He appears to have a lot but is never the best.
Album Qualification
With a career spanning over 20 years, Mr Carter's discography is stacked. 13 studio albums, 4 collaborative albums a soundtrack album and a plethora of singles and music videos. Through conversations with many students f the game and members of the rap community through the internet, there is a general consensus that Jay has three quintessential albums that can be considered or are already classic albums, those being Reasonable Doubt, The Black Album and The Blueprint. All of which were amazing albums who have aged well, but two of them aren't at the levels of the best albums of each of those years. 1996 had 2Pac releasing All Eyez On Me, his best album, Nas' It Was Written and The Fugees with The Score. 2003 saw him fight with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast and Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent. Leaving only The Blueprint as an undeniable album. Not the best, but always close to there.
Impact / Longevity
Is there any rapper in the last twenty years that hasn't taken a bit of Hov in their style? The answer is no. Every rapper owes a bit of their respect to the Brooklyn native. Some of the world's biggest artists and producers have had their big break because of Hov, including North Carolina's own J. Cole, Kanye West, the incomparable Rihanna and Pharrell. His musical outreach has extended to his business dealings with Roc Nation, fashion (Jersey's, T-Shirt hats, platinum jewelry, suits in the culture, etc.), making him one of the richest people on the Forbes list. Musically, he's continued and extended the art of the slow flow, making his bars and style as calm, cool and collected as possible. In a twenty year career, he kept constantly putting out good music while changing how black people saw themselves and the music, from jersey's, women and wanting money in Reasonable Doubt to wanting to own property and true love in 4:44.
Lyricism
Jay Z is one of the reasons why people believe that lyricism and not hype can lead to a long and fruitful career. He evolved with the sound and the culture, from the syllable filling flow of Das EFX to the poppy flow of the early 2000's and finally his now laid back but confident bravado that he's been pulling off. Couple that with iconic flows and lines makes for all-time great lyrics. Who else can say lines like "I jack, I rob, I sin, I'm Jackie Robinson except I dodge the pen when I run base" off of his song Brooklyn We Go Hard and "Hov's a living legend and I'll tell you why / Everybody wanna be Hov and Hov's still alive" off of Kanye West's Never Let Me Down. But is there someone with an iller pen - or better yet, an iller mind? It's known that Jay doesn't write his verses in favor of freestyling, but the one person who has better verses and lyrics with the same technique is none other than Brooklyn's Finest, the Notorious B.I.G.
In conclusion, do not take this as me taking shots at Jay Z, for I am a big fan of his work. If anything, I believe he's an all-time great who is afflicted with the consistency theory. I believe that the consistency theory is that the person isn't inherently the best at anything, but due to their ability to be consistently at the top, they become associated with the top spot. My other biggest example of this is Michael Jordan; he's won 6 championships, but it's not the most all-time for that would be Bill Russell with 11. He's not the highest in points (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), rebounds (Wilt Chamberlain) or assists (John Stockton) either, but he's able to be at an above-average level for each. Same thing with Jay Z. Where someone ranks all time is a testament to their greatness, but what of the things that can't be studied, the intangibles, that Jay Z built his career off of? They can never be forgotten, as Young can never get old.