Zero Cool said:
I agree that S4MN was a classic album, as good in quality as AEOM and MK7. AEOM was ground breaking in it's time, an album which is still in heavy rotation today, almost ten years later. That qualifies as a good album in my view. For most Hip-Hop heads The 7 Day Theory is argubly Pac's deepest album, both on a lyrical and personal level. To say it isn't in classic territory is assinine.
The principal crux of my point however was Pac's star was on the up and up, as for Biggie's I'm not so sure.
AEOM wasn't ground breaking in the slightest. The double album concept had been done. The album is not coheasive in the slightest, it suffers from lack of subject matter and rehashed rhymes. In My opinion for an album to be considered a classic is should be flawless -Illmatic, Ready To Die etc...one of the primary reasons the two aforementioned discs are classics is because the guest appearances don't disgrace the solid body of work. On AEOM and MK7DT the Outlawz were terrible; basic wordplay, off tempo, weak flow. The beats on AEOM were tedious...Even if you still disagree with me, I don't know how any self respecting hip hop fan can you consider it a classic disc with tracks like 'What's Ya Phone #?'
The 7 Day Theory isn't deep because for the most part it centres around one trait of Pac's widespread character - Beef. You would think that would offer some coheasiveness but the results are still futile; Against All Odds isn't a good diss song and Bomb First is just embarrassing.
No-for me, Pac was much better off speaking about real social issues than trying to emulate mob bosses from gangster movies. Once Pac went to Death Row his optimal output increased but his talent was castigated.
Mc Hammer's 'You Can't Touch This' and Vanilla Ice's 'Ice Ice Baby' are still both in heavy rotation on radio and dj booths; that doesn't qualify them as 'classic' pieces of work. If S4MN was the last album Pac released before his death I'd be willing to bet I wouldn't be having this debate with you now for the simple reason it would be held in much higher regard than all his previous albums.