Sports media maven Stephen A. Smith had 30 and over social media in a frenzy when he chose Eminem over Nas as far as their overall consistency and greatness as hip-hop artists is concerned.
During an appearance on the “Connect The Dots” podcast, the ESPN “First Take” host was asked to pick between the two artists. While Smith gave both lyricists the ultimate respect for being elite wordsmiths in rap culture, the talking head from Hollis, Queens, went against his New York ties and touted Eminem as a better overall artist.
“I think Eminem is one of the greatest ever. I also think Nas is one of the greatest ever,” Stephen A said in a clip of the interview that surfaced on social media on Friday, March 1.
“Nas’ lyrics are off the chain, but it requires more street knowledge and just more of a comprehension of the verbiage to really dissect, whereas with Eminem … he gives it to you simple and plain. I’m going to have to say as much as I love Nas, and I do love Nas, I have to give the edge to Eminem.”
Eminem Over Nas Is Debatable
Smith is kind of correct. Nas has never celebrated pedophilia, bestiality, drug use, domestic violence, cursed out his mother or offered his daughter to another man in his rap songs. Em is known for such streams of consciousness.
Eminem definitely gives it to us simple and plain. Em’ knocked down barriers for white artists in the very Black art form of hip-hop due to him being an anomaly, like Larry Bird in the NBA 1980s. His ability to compete with Black rappers elevated his popularity and made Em the darling of white, crossover publications who were looking for a rap icon to idolize and iconize.
Nas is the voice of the streets, as Smith mentioned, but also Black culture. So Smith is wrong in that you have to in some way be familiar with street life to comprehend Nas’ lyrics. You just have to understand what being Black is historically. Nas’ music is very relatable, and he has millions of white fans, but he wasn’t born in a trailer park, poor in Detroit. It was a different kind of poverty, in the projects of NYC, with a different kind of oppression.
Eminem Gets Extra Props For Being White Artist
Em grew out of the Dr. Dre and 50 Cent Aftermath camp but transcended the game because of his skills and definitely his skin color. It doesn’t take away from the hits he’s produced and the impact he’s had on changing the culture and opening the doors for other white hip-hop stars.
At least Smith admitted that when at their best, Nas is the superior artist of the pair, but credits Eminem for his “consistency” throughout his career, which Smith says has been attributed as a weak point for Nas over the years.
“Now the best of Nas is better than the best of Eminem. “But [with] Eminem, there’s more consistency to his greatness as opposed to Nas is what I’m trying to say. Which is why I have to give [Eminem] the edge.”
Nas Winning Rap Grammys At 50 Years Old
That’s very debatable, because Eminem hasn’t had a hit song of any impact in over 10 years. Nas, on the other hand, has dropped two classic albums in the last three years and several other solo releases in the last half decade. At the 2021 Grammy Awards his album “King’s Disease” secured the Best Rap Album award, marking his first-ever Grammy win after 13 previous nominations.
In fact, the only song of significance that Em has been on recently is in 2021, when the pair collaborated on “EPMD 2” from Nas’ “King’s Disease II” album. Both are icons, but Nas is the originator and father of many styles and success stories in rap from all over the map.
Last year, Eminem kept it real about Nas’ influence on his love for the rap game, praising Nas’ classic debut album “Illmatic” for its impact on the industry.
“I remember The Source gave Illmatic five mics [a perfect score],” Em told The New York Times. “I already knew I liked Nas from ‘Live at the Barbeque’ with Main Source, because his verse on that is one of the most classic verses in hip-hop of all time. But I was, like, ‘Five mics, though? Let me see what this is.’
“And when I put it on, ‘And be prosperous/ Though we live dangerous/ Cops could just arrest me/ Blamin’ us/We’re held like hostages.’ He was going in and outside of the rhyme scheme, internal rhymes. That album had me in a slump, too. I know the album front to back.”
Eminem is always a safe answer when you discuss hip-hop GOATS, because he crossed over immediately in a way that most Black rap artists couldn’t back then. It’s just surprising to hear a supposed Queens, New Yorker question Nas’ consistency or legacy as the king of lyricism.
X tweeters thought so too.
Stephen A. Smith has made a career off inciting people’s emotions with his sports takes. If he had a hip-hop show he would probably be just as successful and emotion-provoking. This recent hip-hop firestorm proved it.
