On this day (July 24), Ebro Darden of Hot 97 fame, and who has a gig at Apple Music’s Beats 1, trolled the Hip-Hop Universe. According to Darden, Queen rapper Nas is not a lyricist, and just a rapper who lacks wordplay.
Darden hashed out his controversial thoughts on Twitter. “Rappers & Lyricists were always different growing up…Â Lyricists are Rappers, but not all Rappers are Lyricists…,” he tweeted.
Then came this tweet, and all hell broke loose.
https://twitter.com/oldmanebro/status/624636004989861888
Ultimately, Ebro was trying to draw a nuanced line between the definitions of of a “rapper” and a “lyricist.” However, throwing Nas’ name in the mix brought out all sorts of emotional reactions—as if he said, Nas is wack, which is not and wasn’t the case.
But is Nas not a lyricist? Many will point to cuts like “I Gave You Power” off It Was Written or his verse on Raekwon’s “Verbal Intercourse” off Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… or that album called Illmatic as evidence that Ebro’s theory is flawed and that he possibly is using hallucinogenic drugs.
However, there are those who say he has a strong case and valid point.
Let us know where you stand in the comments. Check out some reactions to Ebro’s theory in the following pages.
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Photo: Apple
