A Shot of Incilin

Ohhh Jada, will you ever learn?

Some rappers are overrated (Andre 3000) and some are underrated (AZ), but there is a rare breed that is simultaneously overrated and underrated. How does this happen? Usually, the artist has a strong following from one aspect of the game but hasn’t garnered the attention of the main stream, yet their fans insist that the artist can/will one day have both. Artists like MF Doom do not qualify for over/under; his underground fans love him but even they admit he has no crossover potential. In order words, you can only be underrated if the people who ought to be listening to your music aren’t listening to your music. The two artists that come to my mind when discussing the most underrated overrated rappers are Big L and Jadakiss.

You’ll notice that these two guys have a lot in common; heavy mixtape presence, plenty of punchlines, well respected by fans of gangsta rap, more crossover potential than success, and most importantly no classics. Their predecessor is Lord Finesse (someone who is actually underrated). Also, they both treated themselves as royalty which may be why their fans do the same. Make no mistake, I’m a fan of both these guys. But their both hyped by so many of their fans it makes me wonder how they became underrated in the first place.

Big L

Underrated: Casual hip hop listeners don’t even know who Big L was. Those who have heard L point out his super witty punchlines, slick flow (and also for once out rapping Jay-Z) his rugged rhymes, and gritty street tales. He’s got underground classics like “Ebonics” and “Holding It Down” (the latter of which boasts some crossover potential) to show he’s more than just a freestyle rapper, and he was one hell of a freestyle rapper.

Overrated: The fact that L died a little after Biggie and Pac seems to make his stans think he’s in their company. No! He is not. He’s not even close. The reason that fans don’t know his name is not because their ignorant but because L died before they could find out. Stans like to say he was “underground” (WTF does that mean anyhow?) but forget to mention he was signed to Columbia, and not some indie label. Plus, either one of his albums are all that great.[1] Of course there’s the ad libing argument, “Had he lived, he would have made a classic” and “He was going to sign to Rocafella and…” Well, guess what? He didn’t. It’s a shame, but it’s true. Stop ad libing his future. And two albums is more than enough to make a classic, just ask the mcs he supposedly keeps in his company; Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, LL Cool J, and Rakim. God knows how people put him in their top 10 lists. Some are wise enough to say, “Top 10 New York Rappers” but even that’s an insult to other rappers who put in work; Big Pun, Big Daddy Kane, RUN DMC, AZ, KRS-One, Ghostface Killah, and DMX. All of whom, unlike L, have a true classic under their belt.

Jadakiss

Underrated: From the very beginning Jada could spit that piff that the streets would eat up. Blame Puff and the street team for not knowing how to work the Loxs. Jada’s career has been a series of false starts due to his label situations thanks in part to P. Diddy. A fued with 50 Cent helped Jada solidify his spot as a permier battle rapper but hurt his it stunnted his progession as a lyricist turned hit maker. Either way, Jada made his bones early by spitting amongst the greats like Biggie and Jay-Z and holding his own throughout.

Overrated: As much as I love the “top 5 dead or alive” line because of all the debates it sparks, its really the stupidest line in the history of rap. How can Jadakiss be top 5?!?!?! That “one LP” he mentions, it sucks! And his second album is another mediocre effort and even the biggest Jada fan knows this. The first Lox album is pretty shitty too. Here’s my rule of thumb; if you have no classics, then you cannot qualify for the GOAT argument. Besides, even if he did have a classic, he still wouldn’t be better than Pac, Nas, Big, or Jay. Which only leaves the 5th slot open. And again, Jada isn’t better than Eminem, Snoop, Andre 3000, Bun B, or all the other guys I mentioned in the Big L section. I think eskay from Nahright summed it up best when he said, “Man, for a B list rapper with A list lyrics, Jada sure puts out C list albums.”

[1] When someone refers to an album as a “street classic” it just means that the album was supremely satisfying for the streets but no one else liked it. In other words, its totally overrated because stans run around screaming its a classic but every other fan knows better. This applies to both Big L albums and ditto for the first LOX album.