Okay, this is a debate that I’ve heard all my life and probably will continue to hear until the day that I die. Who was the better rapper: Tupac or Biggie? Some say Biggie because of his lyrical flow and ruthless bars. Others might say Tupac because he had more of a message in his music. To be honest, we can go all day back and forth about who the better rapper was, but the real question that I want to know is what would the rap game be like if they were both alive today?

The reason I ask this question is because my friends and I were talking about who are the top five greatest rappers ever and my friend and I obviously said Biggie and Tupac would be on that list. Then my other friend did something I’ve never seen anyone do before: he disagreed with that statement. Before my head exploded in outrage from the words he said, I took a deep breath and calmly asked him “why do you say that?” He said the only reasons that they were in the top five were because 1.) They both died when they were in their prime and 2.) They died before they would eventually sell out to the industry. I’m sitting there looking at my friend like he’s crazy. Like seriously? What the hell was he talking about? But as I started to actually sit there and think about it: did he have a point?

I mean, when Biggie and Tupac died, they both were in the prime of their careers so I can’t really get mad at that. But if they were still alive today, would they be the same hip hop artists the world grew up to love, or would they be veteran artists who would just be trying to be relevant? In my opinion, I feel as though every artist has to change just a little bit throughout in order to stay relevant to each new generation. I feel as though it would be impossible to be in the music industry for 10 or more years and your style of music stays exactly the same. It’s funny to think how I’ve heard people complain about these new rappers out there and how their styles are whack, but if Biggie and Tupac were alive now, would they school these rappers or would they conform to the same style to in order to still get “radio play” like they did in the 90s?

Look, I’m not saying necessarily Biggie and Tupac would of changed to fit in with the new generation. I’m just trying to give you something to think about. Who knows, maybe they would have stayed the same. Or maybe they would be making collab records with Taylor Swift or something, I really don’t know. What I do know is that in my opinion, Biggie and Tupac deserve to be in the category of the greatest rappers that ever lived. Hands down. Peace.