Hov suits the archetype well, only briefly breaking immersion to channel one of cinema’s great alpha males - Austin “Danger” Powers.Īfter establishing his mindset in the opening verse, JAY shifts focus to Nas in the second, likening him to a false prophet - “the rap version of T.D. That of a lone wanderer surveying a desolate wasteland, dangerous to approach and wise beyond measure. Shortly after “unleashing the flutes,” a tone is set. One does not queue up an instrumental built from Ennio Morricone score from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly only to phone it in. There are some who would go so far as to call “Blueprint 2” the realest shit JAY-Z ever wrote. Given the inherent significance a title track possesses, it was clear that he had a lot to say. In JAY’s case, he opted to reserve the title track of his expansive Blueprint 2 for his official second-round response. The way one reacts to adversity reveals true character. Impressive though it was to marvel at their martial prowess, it was equally compelling to observe how they assessed the rap landscape in the wake of the bloodshed. For one, both are far more reflective, positioning Nas and JAY as strategic generals rather than soldiers carving it up on the battlefield. Though the impact of the blows was admittedly lessened - which probably explains why it’s seldom discussed with the same reverence as “Takeover” and “Ether” - the tracks shine for different reasons. In terms of quality alone, there’s a case to be made that the second round is even better than the first. There was indeed a second round, and while it isn’t discussed nearly as much as the first, it still gave us two incredible songs from both corners in Hov’s “Blueprint 2” and Esco’s “The Last Real N***a Alive.” Despite the blatant disrespect, “Super Ugly” did not mark the conclusion of the beef as “The Story Of Adidon” did for Pusha T and Drake. So much so that JAY’s mother actually admonished him for releasing the track in the first place. Dre and Knoc Turn-al’s “Bad Intentions” that aired out some personal drama in an uncharacteristically petty fashion. JAY might have tipped the scales in his favor with “Super Ugly,” a freestyle over Dr. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images While the former struck Nas with the unexpected brutality of a drive-by shooting, Nas retaliated with the full force of his own considerable arsenal. In this case, “Takeover” and “Ether” are the primary exhibits, as the opening shots were among the most immediately impactful. Both emcees are genuine GOAT contenders, and being that fans love nothing more than ranking rappers in numerical order, it makes sense that their battle would be an effective deciding factor. It’s not entirely surprising that JAY and Nas’ beef still elicits such passion.
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