Recently, I asked the question, “Who is a better storyteller: Biggie, Jay-Z or NaS?” as my facebook status message, and the answers I received were quite interesting. I wasn’t asking who was the best MC of the three, but instead who was more adept at crafting the best story. One of my friends demanded I include Ghostface in the discussion. Yes Ghostface does belong, but we’re leaving him out of this discussion because my response would be too biased if he was included. After all… he is my favorite rapper.
So I decided to compare three samples of excellent story-telling from the three emcee titans.
Each excerpt was graded from 1 to 10 on the following criteria:
- Imagery used – personification and metaphors, sensory detail present
- Does the excerpt transport you to the scene described? Can you visualize it clearly?
- Does it “tug at your heart strings”, evoke emotion: joy, happiness, sympathy?
Sample 1:
NaS: From “I gave you power”
”Yo, weeks went by and I’m surprised
Still stuck in the shelf with all the things that an outlaw hides
Besides me it’s bullets, two vests and then a nine
There’s a grenade in a box, and that tech that kept cryin
Cause he ain’t been cleaned in a year, he’s rusty as clear
He’s bout to fall to pieces, cause of his murder career
Yo, I can hear somebody comin in, open the shelf
His eyes bubblin, he said, “It was on”
I felt his palm troubled he’s shakin
Somebody stomped him out, his dome was achin’
He placed me on his waist, the moment I’ve been waitin’
My creation was for blacks to kill blacks
It’s gats like me that accidentally, go off, makin niggaz memories
But this time, it’s done intentionally
He walked me outside, saw this cat
Cocked me back, said, “Remember me?”
He pulled the trigger but I held on, it felt wrong
Knowing niggaz is waiting in hell for ‘im
He squeezed harder, I didn’t budge, sick of the blood
Sick of the thugs, sick of wrath of the next man’s grudge
What the other kid did was pull out, no doubt
A newer me in better shape, before he lit out, he lead the chase
My owner fell to the floor, his wig split so fast
I didn’t know he was hit, it’s over with
Heard mad niggaz screamin, niggaz runnin, cops is comin
Now I’m happy, until I felt somebody else grab me
Damn!”
MissAvon’s score : Imagery: 10 Transports Listener: 10 Evokes Emotion: 9
Other examples of NaS’ storytelling : “NY State of Mind Pt 2″, “Mastermind”, “Shootouts”
Sample 2:
Jay-Z : From “You must love me”
We used to fight every night
but I never would suffer
just smile my big brother’s
tryna make me tougher
As we grew fussing and fighting continued
as I plundered through ya stuff
and snuck ya clothes to school
Got intense real intense
as we got older
Never believed it would lead
To me poppin one in ya shoulda
With my rings knew you had it
’cause you took too long
as Mickey, Andy, and the girl that bought it looked on
Huffin’ and puffin’ gun in my hand
told you step outside
Hoping you said no but you hurt my pride
made our way down the steps
maybe you thought it was just a threat
or maybe ya life was just that crazy
and you was beggin’ for death
try to justify this in my young mind
but the adrenaline
and my ego hurt combined
drove me berzerk
Saw the devil in your eyes
high off more than weed
confused I just closed
my young eyes and squeezed <gunshot>
What a sound
opened my eyes just in time
to see ya stumbling to the ground
Damn what the fuck I done nowrunnin’ around in a circle
thinking I’m assed out
hot gun burnin’ my waist
ran straight to Jazz’ house
Like a stranger damn I just shot my nigga
and ran off into the night as if it was not my nigga
Left the scene how could I go out that way
Still you asked to see me in the hospital the next day
You must love me.
MissAvon’s score: Imagery: 8 Transports Listener: 10 Evokes Emotion: 9
Other examples of Jay-Z’s story telling – “Regrets”, “Allure”, “Do you wanna Ride”
Sample 3:
Biggie: From: ”Niggas Bleed”
We agreed to go ['in'] shootin is silly
Because niggaz could be hidin in showers with Mac [milli's]
So I freaked em, the telly manager was Puerto Rican
Gloria, from Astoria, I went to war with her
peeps in ninety-one, stole a gun from my workers
And they took drugs, they tried to jerk us
We blaze they place, long story, Glo seen my face
Got shook, thought a nigga was comin for the safe
Now she breakin, shut up, 112, what’s shakin
A Jamaican, some bitches I swear, they look gay
In a black Range Rover, been outside all day
If it’s trouble let me know, I’ll be on my way
Please, I got kids to feed, I done seen you make niggaz bleed
Nightmares this bitch don’t need
Ron, get the gasoline, this spot, we bout to blow this
get the cash before the cops and Range Rover cats notice
Room 112, right by the staircase, perfect place
When they evacuate, they meet they fate
Ron pass the gasoline, the nigga passed me kerosene
Fuck it, its flame-able, my hunger is unexplainable
Strike the match, just what I expected
The dread kid ejected in seconds
And here come two, opposite sexes, one black, one Malaysian
We in the hallway waitin patient
As soon as she hit the door we start blastin
I saw her brains hit the floor, Ron laughin, I swear to God
I hit Maxi Priest at least twelve times in the chest
Spin-t around, shot the chink in the breast
She cryin, headshots put her to rest
Pop open the briefcases, nothin but Franklin faces
The spot’s hot, sprinklers, alarm systems
Thats when other guests start to slip in
It’s time for us to get to dippin
I know them niggaz in the Range is on they way up
Flippin, pistol grippin, I load the clip in
The hallway, got real loud and crowded
They walked right past us, I don’t know how they allowed it
The funny thing about it, through all the excitement
They Range got towed, they double parked by a hydrant
Stupid motherfuckers
MissAvon’s score: Imagery: 9 Transports Listener: 10 Evoke Emotion: 8
More examples of Biggie’s story telling – “Juicy”, “I got a Story to tell”, “Notorious Thugs”
So based on my grading of the above excerpts, NaS has emerged as the winner. His verse is superior to the other two samples chosen and no, this wasn’t rigged. I truly believe his verse was the strongest. I could picture everything clearly when listening to the song. He used personification, effective imagery and sensory detail and his descriptive words transported me right to the scene. It felt as though I was right there witnessing the whole thing. The language used was simple, easy to understand and flowed extremely well. In my opinion, NaS’ verse crafting ability is better than most other rappers.
Biggie and Jay-Z tie for second. Jay-Z uses more of a narrative style in his verse. Strong imagery emerges towards the end of his verse and transports the listener to the scene of the shooting. The language is simple but carries a lot of emotional weight. The verse is very concise and descriptive but in very simple terms. It is extremely effective in evoking Jay-Z’s feelings after shooting his older brother. In contrast, Biggie’s verse is more layered and thoughtfully descriptive. He strings a lot of short, graphic phrases together to piece together a riveting story. Like the verses of his counterparts, You are transported to the midst of the scene while listening. His verse also had a bit more violence than both NaS and Jay-Z’s. Subtlety is not Biggie’s strong suit in this particular verse which has the more complicated sentence structure of the three samples.
So, In my opinion NaS posesses the best story telling ability of the three. Other’s may not agree because they misunderstood the question to be “Who’s the best emcee?” and also because of the assumption that Jay-Z is the best at everything. Well, that’s why this is my opinion. No one can take away from the fact that Jay- Z is the most commercially successful of the three but I think NaS has the edge lyrically. I find that Jay-Z has become very formulaic in terms of what he rhymes about. The majority of his music today seems to be about how great he is. NaS is not formulaic and never has been. He is more willing to experiment with subject matter and has evolved more as a rapper than Jay-Z. B.I.G. had the “x” factor…an unmatched ability to craft vivid stories that were extremely believable and plausible. If he was still here he would have surpassed Jay-Z and possibly NaS, in terms of record sales and popularity.
But as for who is the very best…the world may never know. Until we crown the king, the best storyteller of the three, in my humble opinion is NaS… no question.
Do you agree or disagree? Leave a comment!
