Joe Budden Claims Tupac Would Destroy Biggie AND Nas In A Verzuz Battle And I'm Not Sure Anybody Has Ever Been More Wrong About Anything. Ever.
“I don’t want to answer; they gonna say I’m hating on Nas” Budden said when asked by his co-hosts who he thinks would win between Pac and Nas in a Verzuz.
“Alright, now that y’all have progressed the conversation, I’ma say this and I’ma put my shoes on while I say it,” he said. “‘Cause y’all are right: I think ‘Pac would end Nas in a Verzuz. [‘Pac] would end Big in a Verzuz, bad.”
Budden then said that Pac’s four album run from 1993 to 1996 where he dropped Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z, Me Against The World, All Eyez On Me, and Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, alone would beat both Nas and Biggie’s discographies.
Budden added that he thinks Pac would beat Biggie in a Verzuz because Biggie only has 2 albums and died too soon. “Big died too soon to play with ‘Pac,” he continued. “Ready to Die and Life After Death is not enough to [beat ‘Pac]. And ‘Pac got them same four albums I’m talking about? I just don’t know. I won’t disrespect Big like that — rest in peace to ‘Pac and Big – but the more I think about it…”
They then threw Jay-Z in the conversation and said that even though Jay would win because he has outlived Pac and has more features, it still wouldn’t be a walk in the park for him either.
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Really Joe? We're doing this again?
I'm on the record many a times as naming Biggie the greatest rapper of all time, and "Ready To Die" the greatest hip hop album ever. So yes, these are shots fired at my man. (No pun intended).
Two things before we start
1- I love Joe Budden. Not so much for his podcast. Even though it does insane numbers and always has clips going viral, it's not for me. But his music was/is.
His 2003 Def Jam debut was one of the most slept-on rap albums ever I still believe to this day. He dropped at such a tumultuous time that it's hard to disagree with him, that Def Jam completely hung him out to dry. Outside of "Pump It Up" (absolute banger), they gave him zero promo. For an album full of Jus Blaze tracks it's a real head scratcher.
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(sidebar - what the fuck happened to Lil Mo?)
The guy's lyrical prowess stands on its own though.
And that's just his official LP. Don't even get me started on all the "Mood Muzik" mixtapes which were almost all fire.
2- I fucking hate the argument, "Biggie can't be the greatest of all time because he only had 2 albums before he died".
How is that his fault and how does that take away from his meteoric level of talent?
That's like saying, "Bo Jackson can't be regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time because his career was cut short by a freak hip injury."
That said, if you are going to play the long game (which is ridiculous seeing as Tupac died at age 25, and Biggie 24) in your argument pertaining to why Tupac was the best ever, and would smoke two of the top 5 of all time in a battle, using Nas as his counterpart is a bold move.
There's arguably NOBODY in rap history who had a greater run, and longer, than Nasir Jones.
Let's look at the tape-
Illmatic
- Released: April 19, 1994
It Was Written
- Released: July 2, 1996
I Am…
- Released: April 6, 1999
Nastradamus
- Released: November 23, 1999
Stillmatic
- Released: December 18, 2001
What a ridiculous 7-year run.
Not to mention, if we're talking lyrical, and writing ability, there's arguably nobody in the history of mankind better than Nas.
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(such an outrageously unique song)
Tupac has more emotion than anybody in his rhyming style (and vitriol). His lines were ok. If it weren't for his cadence, tone, and bravado, many of his songs go over like a lead balloon.
Nobody had a flow like The Notorious B.I.G., though.
And the cherry on top of Budden's whole argument is perhaps the saddest part of this whole thing. Like KFC, Budden apparently thinks Jay-Z beats anybody and everybody head to head in a Verzuz battle?
If we're talking dead or alive, all the dearly departed discussed in this blog would toast Jay-Z, as well as Eminem, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne for the non white walker side.
Jay-Z has the career, and the numbers, and he's that guy now because he's outlasted everybody else (and is in the Illuminati), but you could say the same thing for Miguel Cabrera or Albert Pujols.
I'm interested to hear everybody else's opinion on this. If not for nothing, Joe Budden sure knows how to stir the pot and get people riled up and talking, so hat tip for that.
What's sad is that we never got these two on an official track together. This was just a preview of what could have been.