Do You Have to Die to be the G.O.A.T in Rap?

Apparently you do. No disrespect to the legends of Hip Hop that have passed away, but it is clear that those artists have a level of bias from Hip Hop fans that is insurmountable.

On paper the discography of Eminem, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Nas, Drake and others have greatly surpassed that of Tupac and Biggie.

Even with this being the case, there is still a large number of people that say what Biggie and Tupac have accomplished puts them above those names.

What else do these artists have to do to pass them? What do Biggie and Pac possess that put them so clearly above the greats of today?

The answer to both of these questions is death.

We’re comparing artists that have five or more recognizable and noteworthy projects to artists that have only two.

Why is there even a debate?

Kendrick Lamar’s major projects have all arguably been classics. Five classics compared to two.

The debate of who has had the better career should be blatant. Kendrick has also outshined his predecessors when it comes to accolades as he has won several Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize.

What else could he possibly do to surpass the greats?

Some people don’t even have Kendrick on their Mount Rushmore of the West Coast.

Jay-Z has 14 number one albums. What more could he do to pass them?

To be fair there is a large group of people that consider Jay-Z to be the greatest ever, but there are just as many who believe that he will never pass the legends of old.

If Kendrick and Jay-Z had half of their current accomplishments and had an untimely death they’d EASILY be considered the G.O.A.T.

All it takes is two classics and a death to be considered the G.O.A.T of Hip Hop?

If Eminem lives to 95, he won’t be considered the greatest until he passes?

A good five year stretch and an untimely death is enough to be considered the greatest of all time?

What more would have to be done?

It’s not fair that the artists that have passed away don’t have to add anything else to their resume, while the great artists of today seemingly have to keep adding to their resume until the day they die.

Then and only then will they be able to enter the debate.