i agree with mike and j.fellz. in my humble opinion ScarFace, he has consistently banged out a premiere album the years he has put one out. rakim put it best in an interview that the pinnacle of Face's career came after he came from under the umbrella of the Geto Boys. once he was 'free', he was no longer just a rapper...he was something more. he became a lyricist.

at first i wasn't much of a fan of Face because i just wasn't in tune with what his message was or how he said it. but once i actually heard the message, it was clear as a bell. unlike the majority of rappers, Face's entire body of work (in the words of Big Rube) "is more than pimpin' hoes and slammin' caddillac doors".

from young Face to a now matured Face, he has illustrated the panorama of criminal life, emphasized on how frail mortality is, looked back on the life of being a survivor, the anxieties of being married/in a committed relationship, a sensistive aspect of suicide, commentary on street ethics and people's willingness to die for their principles, and the importance that religion/spirituality plays in life.

and though his work may be dark, from album to album, they all vary in tone within each album. i also think that he is one of only a handful of artists that are willing to look at themselves in the mirror and consciously realize that they are in a position to be part of the 'solution' instead of part of the problem because he knows (and you can hear it in his songs) that no matter how much money he makes, "either you're headed into a storm, you're in a storm, or you just got out of a storm."

he acknowledges his faults, his environment, where he came from, where he is, and where he's trying to go. as he has matured, his already superb lyricism and storytelling has become even more sophisticated and impeccably skillful in his execution.

from the time he has been in the game, he has been the same. an OG. that may mean different things to different people, but to me, it means, he hasn't "sold out to move a few more units." he hasn't crossover or tried to crossover like a few artists that start off hard and go soft *cough cough* 'DMX, Ja-Rule...' Face has been and still is undeniably the realest and truest. and that in my opinion, makes him the best rapper/emcee/lyricist to hold the mic.

tupac is not overrate, because you deserve the press you get, but he's no where near the greatest (biggie either). and being most popular doesn't make you the greatest either. as said before, i can give you 50 emcees i would rather listen to...easy!

word.

-X

2pac is not overrated. He had good lyrical capability, you have to stop looking for insane lyrics with not as much heart as pac could put into it. Really pay attention.....and i didn't like most of his thug stuff as much, cuz it wasn't all that lyrical. But i really liked him because he had a lot of meaning in his songs and they were from the heart, and it did take talent and heart to write them. Such as "White Man'z World", that's my fav. song by him.

1st of all I will be honest and tell everyone from the top of the mountain tops that I have been a Pac She-Stan since the first time I saw the video for Brenda's Got a Baby.

With that being said, this is laughable at best, but then everyone has an opinion, since we are not from the East Coast (sorry people) Biggie was NEVER a big deal in my highschool. Not saying that he wasn't liked, but he was just not felt like that. Pac however for whatever reason was one two reason that you knew the guys wouldn't be in school the first half of the day - because he had an album being released that day (the other reason was because a new pair of Jordans had come out, lol).

I can't think of another MC who was able to give me everything. He could both feed my mind and give me bs to laugh at. He was both historically and politically informed as well as aware of what was going on currently in the hood. And most importantly - he rhyme book consisted of more than just money, cash, and hoes - all a brother knows!

But again, this is coming from an admitted She-Stan. :-)

2pac didn't kill hip-hop. Thanks to his music I am into this music and the same is probably with many other people all around the world. Tupac made hip-hop recognized globally.. It wasn't Biggie, but Tupac with his music and charisma who made this!

I honestly believe that hip-hop has been 'killed' with the music and person of P.Diddy - money, wack sounds, lame image... That's all.

I think it's more of what he stood for...his legacy. How many rappers have a legacy? Pac was for the people...the good and the bad. Y'all just wanted something to talk about.

I was always more interested in Pac the person rather than the rapper. The person was compelling, intelligent and troubled. The rapper; not as interesting. I think for many people, the lines are/were blurred with Pac.

Que the Whodini track and replace "freaks" with "Biggie Stans" . Pac was great.

Over rated with a capital O, I own several of his albums, however as a lyricst Tupac couldnt hold Biggies Jock! all of Tupac lyrics was basic as best, if he were to get in a cypher say with Talib, Pharoaphe Monch and Common he would sound like garbage. Now i'm not saying the brother was wack, he wasnt, but all the 200 albums since his death has in my humble opinion tarnished his legacy. Look at it like this, if the songs that have come out after he died were any good Pac would have put them on his albums. Pac was a studio fiend but half of the music released after his death have been pure garbage. there's a reason he didnt put any of this crap out on his previous albums...........he knew they werent his best material.

i agree with this fa sho! in the early years i was definitely a pac fan and i thought with the mind he had, he had the chance to be one of the most influential people to affect positive change coming from the hip hop generation.

however, his thug life alter ego got the best of him and cheapened and shortened his shine. i think people revere pac simply cuz he died while he was hot. and can i say the same about biggie (jumping behind a bush)? it's always best to go out on top and leave the people wanting more...

"You know what his legacy has been, ultimately? White kids shouting "Thug Life!" out of their SUV windows. Which is what has led to the slow decline of hip hop music in general."

Well if this aint some fraggle knockel bullspit, then I dont know what is. So the key to countering someone's music being overrated, is to compare him to Hammer, blame him for the decline of hip hop, and belittle the effect that his music had on out generation? Wow.

Tupac, the person, may have been better in real life than in his music, but they seem to be over exaggerating his over ratedness (if thats a word). Where I come from, a ton of his songs made a huge impact, regardless of the mediocre ones.

But yeah, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I cant wait for journalists to reveal how overrated Beyonce is...or will we have to wait for her to be dead for 10 years?

I'm glad someone other than myself said this. I've been saying it for years. He's made some great music throughout the years and I own several of his albums, but the only reason he is as loved and talked about as much as he is is because he's dead. He definitely deserves recognition, but the world needs to get off his nuts and remember that it's okay to tell the truth about someone when they're dead.

ARE YOU KIDDING???

I'm biased because I STAN for Pac...but never will he be overrated...

What?! Okay, not all of his stuff was stellar, but he DOES deserve the accolades he received. Blender can go 'head with that trash....

I'm glad someone finally had the balls to say something I've been thinking all along. Pac made two good albums in his entire career: "Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z" and "Me Against the World". Good, mind you. Not great. "All Eyez on Me", in retrospect, was almost complete and total garbage. Yeah, the man could project emotion (didn't he go to drama school?) but in terms of technical skill and lyrical ability, dude doesn't even place TOP FIFTY when it comes to greatest emcees of all time. It's sad that a magazine like Blender had to say something like that, but you know, we as black folk are afraid to go against the grain for fear that we might have our authenticity questioned.

I said the same thing in the barbershop and nearly got my a** kicked. Tupac's picture is hanging up next to JFK, MLK, and Malcolm X. I should have known better (LOL).

First off...does anyone really care what Blender has to say ? Aren't they just another "Me Too" publication jockeying for position? .. I mean really..

Dude was not a role model, not a revolutionary, not a civil rights leader and certainly did not portray the black community in a positive light ...

But lets get real..

Pac made great music period. Even on his most ignorant tirades he dropped a little knowledge. He was recording 100 songs a year before Pro Tools, before it was the "in" thing to do. The dude was a talented actor and a hard worker. Lets not forget that he accomplished all of this well before his 25th birthday. And the body of work speaks for its self he's the only artists I know of other than Stevie Wonder who put together a consistently good double LP that you can listen to all the way through and only skip a song or two.
Does he deserve all the accolades he's received since he died? Would he be viewed in the same way if he was still around ?.... Of course he would !

People loved that dude..

Tupac was talented but the frickin' reincarnation of Malcolm X? Whoa - slow down, son! That's crazy talk! He made some good records but...well, Chris Rock said it best:

"Martin & Malcolm were assasinated - them n*ggaz got shot!"

'Nuff said...

yes i agree..he is..kudos to Blender

BLASPHEMY!!!! Ok I kid cause I'm a stan.

Not everyone is going to love every piece of work an artist puts out. But how do you feel about the body of work as a whole. It sounds to me like this guy hasn't listened to Pac's entire body of work. He just chose the one's played on the Radio and said those were his hottest songs. Just because white kids dig him, that makes him overated. A young white girl is the reason he got his deal with Interscope. So he knew who is audience was and he worked it. I respect there opinions but what is this really about?

thank god a major mag finally pointed it out. can we take a look at biggie next?

My vote would be Lil Wayne...

I'm kind of glas I wasn't the only one.