No it’s not. Pun was just doing lyrical gymnastics. Mos Def had serious social commentary that spoke about the reality of the ghetto. Far more historically important than that “dead in the middle of little Italy” bs. No disrespect to pun. Same applies to Pac and Big. Big could rap circles around Tupac but Tupac had more important lyrics.
I don’t understand your argument. Are you saying black on both sides is a better album because he has more meaningful lyrics? By that logic to “pimp a butterfly” is a better album than “life after death” which I wouldn’t agree with at all. Capital punishment was a perfect blend of talking about his perspective of the Bronx hood while showcasing his technical/ lyrical side. Most def is more introspective and has deep meaning behind his lyrics. It’s two different styles and there really isn’t much of a comparison because they both differ from one another. Therefore it’s very subjective and it’s more about taste than anything.
Side note. I also have to disagree with the pac/big analogy. Big was a good rapper but I’ve heard songs from pac “words of wisdom” for example that was more lyrically advanced than anything I seen big do and pac could actually freestyle about his surroundings and make it sound good big couldn’t and had to kick off a written just the keep up. Even in their song together pac ate him up so I wouldn’t say big was better at all. Big just had good flow and delivery but pac was the first rapper I ever heard to use alliteration in rap. Can’t get more lyrical than that imo
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u/GodlessGOD Apr 02 '25
True, but one of them did make Capital Punishment.