Biggie vs. 'Pac... Settling the Debate

I've always considered myself a bit of a Hip-Hop head.

I had posters of Tupac on my bedroom wall. I burned through a pair of AA batteries each week, bumping Nas's "Illmatic" and Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt in my CD player. I even used to look up the tracklistings for the newest mixtapes getting sold in the cities, so I could download the latest songs and make my own mixtapes.

When people would ask me who the best rapper of all-time was, I always took the easy route. I've always said that it's a tie between Biggie and 'Pac; after their horrific murders I could never decide which one was better. They both meant so much to me as a young rap fan that I never felt the need to differentiate between the two and say who the "best" was.

You could make cases for plenty of other artists too. Rakim, Nas, Chuck D and Run-DMC all have valid arguments for the crown, but for me, it's always been a two-horse race. After seeing Notorious last week, a biopic about Biggie's life (and a must-see if you're a Biggie fan), I've decided to break the tie and choose who the best to ever rock a mic really was.

So let's take a look at the two artists and settle this debate once and for all.

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SIGNATURE SONG

'Pac - "Dear Mama"
Honorable Mentions - California Love, Brenda's Gotta Baby, Keep Ya Head Up, Hit 'Em Up
With a rapper like Tupac, it's tough to pick a signature song. His style varied so much, based on mood, time-frame and what was happening in his life at the time, that you can make arguments for a lot of different songs. For me, "Dear Mama" wins out. This song, written while he was incarcerated, shows 'Pac's lyrical prowess, storytelling ability and his emotional side (which was one of Tupac's greatest attributes). It was his second highest-selling single and was loved by Hip-Hop purists and non-fans alike. "California Love" was the official West Coast anthem, "Brenda's Gotta Baby" was another example of his ability to craft a well-written story and a special shout goes to "Hit 'Em Up" for being one of the best diss songs ever recorded; but Dear Mama puts all of his talents together.

Biggie - "Juicy"
Honorable Mentions - "Who Shot Ya," "Big Poppa," "Brooklyn's Finest" (Jay-Z's song, that Biggie was featured on)
"Juicy" was Biggie's coming out party. It has great lyrics, a catchy hook and had incredible crossover appeal. To this day, you can still hear this song just about anywhere; from a club in L.A. to at a house party in Brooklyn to a college frat party. Biggie had tons of other, more-lyrical songs than "Juicy," but as far as first singles go, this was a perfect way to introduce himself to rap fans. It's a great song to sing along to, with just about everyone in their 20s able to rap all the words. Plus, the infamous line - "if you don't know, now you know, nigga" is a great excuse for white people to say the N-word. Just sayin'.

EDGE - 'Pac


SIGNATURE ALBUM

'Pac - All Eyez on Me
Honorable Mention - "Me Against the World"
Lyrically, Me Against the World is 'Pac's best album. It's introspective, emotional and shows all of 2Pac's various sides. But for my money, give me 'Pac's two-disc CD full of anger, arrogance and swagger. All Eyez on Me is rumored to have been written in as little as two weeks, and was released just four months after he was bailed out of prison by Death Row Owner Suge Knight. On it, Tupac thoroughly repped the West Coast and most of the song's were about money, women and being a thug. Still, this album represented the Left Coast more than any other album at the time. In the center of the East vs. West battle, this album had West Coast anthems ("California Love") gangster songs ("Ambitionz Az a Ridah," "Tradin War Stories") and mainstream hits ("How Do You Want It"). The album sold nine million, featured some of the best artists in the West at the time (Dre, Snoop, etc.) and was one of 'Pac's best produced albums of his career. Plus, this was the first album I bought with my own money (I actually had this one on tape) so it holds a special place in my heart.

Biggie - Ready to Die
Ready to Die was Big's masterpiece. A perfectly crafted album featuring tales from the street life, dreams of making it big and plenty of clever punchlines. It didn't sell as much as Life After Death but is universally regarded as one of the top albums of all-time. Just scanning the interwebs, and you'll see plenty of people that believe this is one of the best rap albums ever released. You'll be hard-pressed to find a song you don't like on this CD. You want uplifting? Listen to "Juicy." You like hardcore? Put on "Gimme the Loot." How about balla? Look no further than "Big Poppa." Even the ladies get a jam with "One More Chance" (which guys love too). I just started listening to Ready to Die again recently, and let me tell ya, it doesn't age at all. This album is still unbelievable, and when compared to the garbage that's out today? You appreciate it even more....

EDGE - Biggie



LYRICS

'Pac - Tupac had some incredibly lyrical songs, often ones that came straight from the soul. He had an art of storytelling in an easy-to-understand way. His strength was writing songs that were meaningful and made you think. "Brenda's Got a Baby," "Keep Ya Head Up" and "So Many Tears" are some of the best songwriting you'll ever hear.

But part of his strength also contradicts with being a top-flight lyricist. His "thug life" demeanor that he took on full-force later in his career was light on lyrics and heavy on shit-talk. It was entertaining, great to rap to and changed the style and culture of Hip-Hop at the time, but it could of also held back Tupac from a lyrical standpoint.

Biggie - Frank White had arguably the best punchlines of all time. His specialty was rapping about what he knew - life as a street hustler. What made him so good is he was able to fit relatively complicated verbiage into easy-to-understand rhymes that always flowed effortlessly. Before he was signed, his skills earned him a feature in the popular magazine, The Source, in their Unsigned Hype section - which showcases the lyrics of an hot, unsigned MC. Although not a slow rhymer, his flow was normally heavy, but he showed his ability to adapt by lightening and speeding up his rhymes on "Notorious Thugs," to match that of the Bone Thugs and Harmony rappers.

On top of his written rhymes, he was also an impeccable freestyler, which is one of the ways he started building his rep and gaining attention. And on top of making his own albums hot, he also greatly improved his friend's LP's. A perfect example is his ridiculous verse on Diddy's "Victory"...

"Francis, m to the iz-h phenominal/ Gun rest under your vest, by the abdominal/ Rhyme a few bars so i can buy a few cars/ And kick a few flows, so i can pimp a few hoes/ Excellence is my presence, never tense/ Never hesitant, leave a nigga bent, real quick/ real sick, brawl nights, I perform like Mike/ Anyone - Tyson, Jordan, Jackson..."

Sick.

EDGE - Biggie


LONGEVITY

'Pac - It's hard to argue that any MC had more longevity than Tupac. He has actually released the same amount of albums since he passed than while he was living (and that's not if you include "Greatest Hits" albums). It's rumored that 'Pac lived in the studio, oftentimes recording songs for weeks and months at a time. When he was in prison, reading and writing was pretty much all he did, which was proven by his releasing of three CDs in the year after his prison term in 1995. (It was two albums, but All Eyez on Me was a double-disc.) Maybe he wasn't the most lyrical, but he managed to rhyme better than 90 percent of the rappers in his era, at a much larger volume. And his music certainly hasn't grown stale, as his post-death sales top 10 million. The spookiest part is that alot of the songs released after his death contain lyrics that still sound applicable to life now, leading to multiple conspiracy theories that say he's still alive. Regardless of what you believe, it's clear that Tupac has been successful for nearly two decades now.

Biggie - Biggie suffers in this category because his career was cut so short. 2Pac had made five albums before his untimely death, while Biggie had just finished his second. His post-death albums haven't reached anywhere near the critical acclaim of his first two, which show that there's a reason he didn't want to put those verses on his original albums. This one's not that close.

EDGE - 'Pac


AUTHENTICITY

'Pac - What Tupac was; and embraced, was "Thug Life." He believed so much in the mantra that he had it tattooed across his stomach and lived every facet of lifestyle in that way. 'Pac could be completely sincere and introspective one minute, and a reckless bully the next. After his shooting, Tupac embodied the West Coast gangsta mentality in his music, demeanor and personality. With Pac, this was never forced. He embraced street-life, having lived in NYC, Baltimore and Marin City, Cali., and made popular the bandana, tattoo and shirtless look. (The same look that has been copied and downright stolen by rappers that hit it big after 2Pac's death.) There was nothing fake about 'Pac.

Biggie - Where Tupac embodied the West Coast, Biggie was Brooklyn. He mentioned his hometown in numerous songs and was proud of his city. His rhymes were honest, as he rapped about things he saw and was a part of. As Biggie's career got bigger, he started to mature. He moved from a street hustler to a full-blown mafioso don and his songs reflected that. But he also realized that every song didn't have to be about money, drugs and women, even penning the inspirational "Sky is the Limit" on his second album. His style changed after his first album as well, in large part because of Diddy's influence. Boots and black hoodies were replaced by expensive suits. Biggie didn't sell out, but he did change as a person, and even though Biggie was a hero to Brooklyn... 2Pac gets the nod for representing a culture he helped create throughout his entire career.

EDGE - 'Pac


MAINSTREAM RESPONSE

'Pac - When Tupac released his first album, 2Pacalypse Now, he was trying to talk about the ills that faced young, black men in the hood. Although his heart was in the right place, he was lambasted by critics, politicians and white suburbia for his graphic language and violent imagery. His second album, Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z produced the same sentiment amongst the mainstream (surprise, surprise).

He did manage to do movies though, and was critically acclaimed for his roles in Juice in 1992 and Above the Rim in 1994, so he was still pretty famous for a semi-successful rapper. He really broke through musically with Me Against the World, which showed his versatility and introspective side. Then All Eyez on Me dropped, and went nine-times platinum, proving that 'Pac was a mega-superstar. Unfortunately, his career was also littered with prison stints and his thug persona, his very vocal beef with the East Coast and his overall aggressive demeanor didn't endear him to everyone. Some looked at 2Pac as a maker of great party songs, but dismissed him as just a gangster. As marketable as Tupac was, he was more feared than loved.

Biggie - Biggie's success came quickly. "Juicy" was an instant success, thanks to its catchy beat and the marketing push by Diddy and Bad Boy records. The single went gold, Ready to Die sold four million copies, and Biggie was a household name. It helped that he came out when the West Coast was dominating the rap game, so his timing was impeccable. His entire style endeared to the mainstream. Even though he was enormous, he was still (somehow) a sex icon to women, while still being revered by his male fans.

Biggie was killed before Life After Death was released, but the album still had insane success. It was certified diamond (10-times platinum), making it one of the highest grossing rap albums of all-time. Biggie had a knack for making songs that everyone loved. He had party songs, gangster songs, lyrical songs; you name and Biggie could spit it. And spit it well, which is why he was pretty much beloved by the masses (hardcore West Coast rap fans excluded). Had Biggie survived his shooting, his crossover success could've grown even bigger. Diddy definitely gets some of the credit here for being able to market B.I.G. so well, but Biggie gets the nod for his ability to endear himself to all types of fans.

EDGE - Biggie


LEGACY

'Pac - What made Tupac so special is that he would say whatever he felt. There was no filter on 2Pac and if he believed in something, he would express it. He didn't care about creating a persona for the fans... he was who he was. He was a leader in the Hip-Hop community, and whether you agreed with him or not, when Tupac spoke; people listened.

He also was blessed with incredible talent. As great of a rapper as he was, he showed a lot of promise as an actor too. He also could relate to just about anyone; one minute he'd be an articulate intellectual, the next he'd be a thug from the hood. He was looked up to, feared and respected.

When he was killed, most of his fans (including me, for a while) didn't believe it. There were plenty of conspiracy theories. The fact that his voice appeared on albums after he died or that he read Niccolo Machiavelli - who apparently faked his own death (which is merely urban legend, and is actually untrue) all led fans to believe that 'Pac was just hiding out somewhere, and would one day return. Tupac's fans have kept his spirit alive long after he has passed.

Tupac was influential on many levels. There have been essays written about him, speeches given about him, documentaries featuring him and even college classes based around his life. 'Pac is still very much remembered as one of the most important lyricists to ever grace a mic.

Biggie - It's such a tragedy that Biggie's life and career were cut so short. The fact that we only got two real Biggie albums is one of the great crimes to rap fans. In his brief career, he's still regarded as one of the best that ever did it. The Source and Blender named him the best rapper of all time. Check just about any major rap website or magazine, and if they have a list of the best rappers of all time, chances are Frank White's in the top-5.

Biggie also gave a much-needed resurrection to East Coast rap. Before he came, the West Coast dominated, but Biggie reinvigorated the NY rap scene. Some of the other great New York rappers we discuss today, with Jay-Z and Nas being the most notable, point to Biggie as being one of the inspirations for them starting to rap in the first place.

What really shed a light on how strong Biggie's legacy was, was his funeral. His hearse was carried through Brooklyn so his fans could see him one last time. Thousands came out with signs, well-wishes and Biggie songs blaring from stereos to show how much they appreciated him (ed note: it also bears mentioning that not all the fans were peaceful. Arrests were made when some fans got too hostile).

Biggie was a hero, but he was also a man of the people. As big as he got, people from his neighborhood still believed he was the same guy that would freestyle on the corner.

Although Biggie's gone, it's clear that his legacy lives on. Major proof of that is that there's just been a major motion picture made about his life. 'Pac will always be remembered and greatly missed, but I feel like Biggie was truly loved by his fans. And that's why his legacy is (barely) more important.

(slight) EDGE - Biggie

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So in a narrow 4-3 victory, Biggie wins my best rapper of all-time. I love 'Pac, but what Biggie did in such a short time was too much to ignore. I of course don't consider this the end-all, be-all to the debate, and can see the various arguments for why Tupac - or many other rappers for that matter - could win a "best of all-time" debate. But for now, Biggie's my No. 1, and Pac's my 1a.

And for getting through this long blog post, here's your Moment of Zen... a freestyle featuring both 'Pac and Biggie back when they were still boys. Enjoy.

Photos courtesy of Google Images and Entertainment Weekly