It's kinda funny cuz we on a Kanye site lol Kanye is a great example of one can be a better artist but not necessarily the best bar for bar

This was crazy

it’s a common argument i see between Kanye stans/Kendrick stans whenever they’re trying to argue who’s better than who in an all time list, separating rapping from being incorporated into artistry never made any sense to me

they’ll always say “Wayne is a better rapper, but Kanye is a better artist” when that doesn’t make any sort of sense rapping is an art in itself, if Wayne is a great rapper that should factor into his evaluation of an artist overall

you can argue that Kanye can execute his albums better, got a better vision, aesthetics, whatever else, you don’t gotta resort to separating rapping/artistry

D’ya think?

Chrome Heart Tags, Bigger Than Life, Celebration Station are some god-tier beats

yeah i agree, there’s no point in making a distinction between the two when rapping is an art in itself though

it doesn’t make sense and just impedes discussion

it would be like saying “Michael Jackson is a better dancer, but Prince is a better artist”

you’re singling out a single facet of their musicianship instead of factoring everything in when we’re directly comparing them

you can prefer Carti’s energy/delivery and whatever else on songs but that doesn’t mean he’s a better rapper than Uzi, it means he understands how to make an entertaining song/project without necessarily being an extremely talented rapper

It does make sense though. They're not separating rapping from being incorporated into artistry, they're just saying that said rapper excels at that one part of the art form but might not be as good at the rest, in which case the other rapper they're comparing them to might wash them in those aspects.

The Wayne / Kanye argument actually makes sense to me cuz I can probably quote a bunch of Wayne freestyles but when it comes to complete projects I bump more of Ye's s*** cuz of more factors outside of just being a good rapper.

And everything you just said about Ye is what people mean by the better artist s***

Revisionist history imo,

Eternal Atake was received pretty positively on release

pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lil-uzi-vert-eternal-atake

The two weeks Uzi dropped EA & VTW2 deluxe they literally ran the internet, the hype was inescapable

I’d say the only disappointment came from some of the core fanbase who were expecting certain snippets & leaks to make the album, but Uzi rectified this criticism with the deluxe

The reason that this narrative emerged is because Uzi came out in 2021 and called EA disappointing, which gave people a chance to start hating

The lack of a tour hurt it too

Seeing that score for it is f***in crazy cuz this site really talks like this s*** was just trashed on release wtf I always assumed it was a polarizing album

lmaoo

if you say “X is a better rapper, Y is a better artist” it’s a direct separation, if you consider rapping an art at all, it shouldn’t be mentioned

wordplay, flows, delivery, cadence etc. all play a huge role in how a project (or the actual content of the music, anyways) comes together, if someone is a great rapper but they’re laying all of that s*** down on poor production, and their projects are incoherent, lack an identity etc. then you can credit them for their rapping while saying their overall vision is poor

but if we’re saying “who’s better, X or Y” im going to factor in actual rapping ability + their ability to make projects or “the artistic stuff” that y’all are referring to

When people call Prince the better artist they usually are factoring in though cuz his work ethic was insane

It’s not separating it. It’s just saying X is better at this one part of the total package but Y is better overall.

If it was only about being technically great as a rapper Eminem would have more fans on here but there’s way more that people take into account when judging x vs y.

But I do agree with you that there’s a certain type of fan that will try and brush off rapping as being a lesser art form in favor of another artist using a guitar solo or some s*** or switching genres

yeah i admitted i was wrong but honestly it comes down to preference for me. carti's music is a lot more intoxicating and hypnotic

Not saying these reviews are the be all and end all

But : metacritic.com/music/eternal-atake/lil-uzi-vert

It’s still their most critically acclaimed & commercially successful album

Go look at the ktt2 thread when it dropped, everyone was going crazy:

ktt2.com/eternal-atake-is-here-41989/12

well he also played most of the instruments on his album and all that other fancy s***, but my point is that we shouldn’t just point to one thing and say “wow Z is really good at this part of music but Y is better at everything else that goes into it!”

just doesn’t sit well with me tbh

lo mein is that sweet spot he’s trying to achieve where the melody & the fun punchlines are there, as artist he has a lot of different things he can do which kind of works against him cause himself isn’t sure lol

Yeah but people use that distinction cuz that other stuff isn't just about rapping skill.

I consider rapping an art but knowing how to construct a coherent / cohesive project, having a distinct identity, having a great ear for production or producing your own s*** and it being fire are all factors that don't tie directly into just being nice lyrically, I don't think when people say that they're trying to downplay rapping as an art form

Modern eminem does it a lot too.

They both heavy d***gies/go through depressive sober stages so that checks out.

yeah people are saying it's a sad boy persona but i genuinely think that s*** be getting to him/them

30s and early 40s are still considered young imo

I think it's a mixture of both

I think songs like Rehab are a great progression in the type of sound he could go into but idk. I know he's been in no man's land as an artist for a while and probably is still trying to chase the ghost of XO Tour Life.

things come in cycles.

The Foushees of the world that blow up in their 30s get there because they have experience.

The way this s*** is going is due for a reset and we'll definitely see a return of s*** like labels doing artist development.

Majority of these new niggas just don't know what they doing when they on they own ngl.

so you putting on that new Loaded Lux before that Kendrick my mans?

That’s crazy she’s in her 30s. I thought she was like 20-25.
Her album was nice though

the best artists are the ones that are technically gifted and can put it in a pleasing package in my humble opinion