if you honestly think jay-z is a better rapper than nasir jones

[oats]

that's easily his best album imo, but still that doesn't appeal to my lyrically so much as it appeals to my sense of veracity, for lack of a better way to put it. He encapsulated the paradoxes of humanity more than any other MC, and did so in a way that was epic on a grand scale.

he's not a bad lyricist by any standards, but what sticks out to me about him was his passion; the conviction behind what he said rang louder than what he actually said. of course, if he was saying stupid shit or was a simplistic MC it wouldn't be quite the same either, but when I think 2-Pac, "lyricist" is not one of the first things that comes to mind.