Rakim vs. Biggie: Who had the better flow?

Your thoughts...

Give me Biggie any day. Rakim had one flow all the time. Biggie would use a multitude of deliveries and flows.

Rakim

ralph doesnt know what flow is. as much as i hate him, this goes to biggie.

lol

It's a tough call. I think Rakim was the better lyricist as he used more advanced vocab, but I'll go with Biggie by a hair when it comes to flow. It could go either way though.

KJ goes both ways...

I think Biggie has a lot better flow than Ra... for the reasons stated by Terry - more versatility.

RoyceJustShootsNines wrote:

KJ goes both ways...

If you were trying to make a joke there then you failed miserably.

It's just like comparing these two is like comparing Emmitt and Barry, or Kobe and Lebron, or Brady and Manning, or Prince and Michael. It's tough. That's why I said what I said. If forced to choose I'd go with Biggie's flow, but I think Rakim was the better overall lyricist.

Those are all easy choices to me KJ

Evan a Cowboys fan knows Barry killed it when it came to being a better running back...

T. Myers wrote:

Those are all easy choices to me KJ

Maybe to you, but to me they're all on the same level skill wise.

KJ Styles wrote:

T. Myers wrote:

Those are all easy choices to me KJ

Maybe to you, but to me they're all on the same level skill wise.

Then you must not be a smart sports fan. LOL!

this is a complete PUSH for me

It could be either on any given day...someday's you could want to hear a little Biggie and then on others you could want to hear a little Rakim, so I have this one as a tie

two of the best flows in the history of hip-hop, that's for damn sure

T. Myers wrote:

KJ Styles wrote:

T. Myers wrote:

Those are all easy choices to me KJ

Maybe to you, but to me they're all on the same level skill wise.

Then you must not be a smart sports fan. LOL!

How the funk do you figure....The ONLY one that's easy to me is Brady over Manning because of the rings.

Lebron vs Kobe is objective. Sure, Kobe has more rings and has done more in big games, but how many would he have won without Shaq? Will he EVER win without Shaq? That remains to be seen. Kobe has a SLIGHT edge right now but Lebron is hot on his heels and if he beats Kobe in the finals (provided he makes it there) then you have an even STRONGER debate.

Barry vs Emmitt is objective because Barry was an exciting running back and probably the better athlete BUT Emmitt won 3 rings and more rushing titles. You cannot say that one is CLEARLY better than the other though because they were both comparable. If one is better it's by a slim margin.

D.Powell wrote:

this is a complete PUSH for me

It could either on any given day...someday's you could want to hear a little Biggie and then on others you could want to hear a little Rakim, so I have this one as a tie

two of the best flows in the history of hip-hop, that's for damn sure

EXACTLY! They are both on the same level which is why I said it could go either way!

Anyone can see Barry was able to rack up yards with no O-line while Emmitt always had the best in the league... Sanders was clearly the better - if not best - running back the game has seen...

RoyceJustShootsNines wrote:

Anyone can see Barry was able to rack up yards with no O-line while Emmitt always had the best in the league... Sanders was clearly the better - if not best - running back the game has seen...

I'd rank Jim Brown and Walter Payton over him.

RoyceJustShootsNines wrote:

Anyone can see Barry was able to rack up yards with no O-line while Emmitt always had the best in the league... Sanders was clearly the better - if not best - running back the game has seen...

Agreed. Smith is my hero but Barry gets the knod. He retired too damn early anyways.

KJ Styles wrote:

RoyceJustShootsNines wrote:

Anyone can see Barry was able to rack up yards with no O-line while Emmitt always had the best in the league... Sanders was clearly the better - if not best - running back the game has seen...

I'd rank Jim Brown and Walter Payton over him.

I can't speak intelligently on Jim Brown, but Sanders is better than Payton IMO. Barry Sanders blows E. Smith away. It's not even close to be honest. If we were to look up up overrated in the dictionary, there would be a picture of E. Smith. A great O-Line, an amazingly accurate QB, and a great WR made Smith's job so easy. Barry was the whole show in Detroit. If i'm not mistaken, Barry would have broken the NFL rushing record the year he retired if his career averages held up. That would have been his 11th year. Payton's record was set in 13 seasons. Smith broke it in his 13th season.

KJ Styles wrote:

T. Myers wrote:

KJ Styles wrote:

T. Myers wrote:

Those are all easy choices to me KJ

Maybe to you, but to me they're all on the same level skill wise.

Then you must not be a smart sports fan. LOL!

How the funk do you figure....The ONLY one that's easy to me is Brady over Manning because of the rings.

Lebron vs Kobe is objective. Sure, Kobe has more rings and has done more in big games, but how many would he have won without Shaq? Will he EVER win without Shaq? That remains to be seen. Kobe has a SLIGHT edge right now but Lebron is hot on his heels and if he beats Kobe in the finals (provided he makes it there) then you have an even STRONGER debate.

Barry vs Emmitt is objective because Barry was an exciting running back and probably the better athlete BUT Emmitt won 3 rings and more rushing titles. You cannot say that one is CLEARLY better than the other though because they were both comparable. If one is better it's by a slim margin.

I was obviously joking. You need to calm down, or you're going to have a stroke.

Biggie...you guys are tripping over nothing. Rakim didn't have the subject matter, the punch lines, or the songwriting skills Biggie has. This is why KRS gets the nod over Ra any given day.

I'm torn because Rakim is the reason flow exist imo and like Terry said Biggie switches it up and made the slow flow sound so fluid. I can't choose because Ra is a flowmaster so i'm thinking him very barely.

Lord Emperor N3R0N0N wrote:

Biggie...you guys are tripping over nothing. Rakim didn't have the subject matter, the punch lines, or the songwriting skills Biggie has. This is why KRS gets the nod over Ra any given day.

Maybe not the subject matter, but his lines and songwriting skills were on par with Biggie's if not better. Rakim's first 3 albums were classics and his 4th was a near classic.

KJ Styles wrote:

Maybe not the subject matter, but his lines and songwriting skills were on par with Biggie's if not better. Rakim's first 3 albums were classics and his 4th was a near classic.

You don't think DSTT was a classic? I think it was the best out of all of them.

Cise Starr wrote:

KJ Styles wrote:

Maybe not the subject matter, but his lines and songwriting skills were on par with Biggie's if not better. Rakim's first 3 albums were classics and his 4th was a near classic.

You don't think DSTT was a classic? I think it was the best out of all of them.

I don't think it's a classic and it's not as good as the first 3. It's a very good album but it's got 3 skip tracks whereas I can listen to everything on Paid In Full, Follow The Leader, and Let The Rhythm Hit Em without skipping anything.

Rakim

Flow = Biggie

Vocab = Hard for anyone to top Rakim here.

K Rino gets Rakim vocab wise easily imo.

KRob86 wrote:

K Rino gets Rakim vocab wise easily imo.

That's BULLSHIT! Here's an example of Rakim's vocab.....

Let's trace the hints and check the file
Let see who bit to detect the style
I flip the script so they can't get foul.
At least not now, it'll take a while
I change the pace to complete the beat
I drop the bass,'till mc's get weak.
For every word they trace, it's a scar they keep...
'Cause when I speak, they freak
To sweat the technique
I made my debut in '86
Wit a melody and a president's mix
And now I stay on target and refuse to miss
And I still make hits
wit' beats, parties, clubs, in the cars and jeeps
My underground sound vibrates the streets
MC's wanna beef then I play for keeps
When they sweat the technique

They wanna know how many rhymes have I ripped and repped, but
Researchers never found all the pieces yet
Scientists try to solve the context
Philosophers are wondering what's next
Pieces are took to last who observe them
They couldn't absorb them, they didn't deserve them
My ideas are only for the audience's ears
For my opponents, it might take years
Pencils and pens, are swords
Letters put together form a key to chords
I'm also a sculpture, born with structure
Because of my culture, I'm a rip and destruct the
Difficult styles that'll be for the technology
Complete sights and new heights after I get deep
You don't have to speak just seek
And peep the technique

I speak indiscreet cause talk is cheap
Then I get deep and the weak then complete their
Pull with a seat, never weak or obsolete
They never grow old techniques become antiques
Better then something brand new 'cause it's radiant
And the wild style'll have much more volume
Classical too intelligent to be radical
Masterful, never irrelevant: mathematical
Here's some soothing souvenirs for all the years
They fought, and sought, the thoughts and ideas
It's cool when you freak to the beat
But don't sweat the technique

Now THAT'S a masterpiece. I don't think Rino can funk with that right there. Of course you're gonna pick Rino regardless, but Rakim beats him on every level IMO and that's a prime example.

so is philosophical his most complex word there? lmao

Umm, there was nothing in there that was astounding from a vocabulary stand point. Most of those words are fairly basic. Those rhymes are nice though

Kool John, those are good verses by Rakim, but don't really display vocabulary.

Indeed. Listen to "Open Thought Surgery" for vocabulary. Listen to DSTT for plain dopeness

LMFAO @ those verses you posted for an example of vocab. Like Shon said they were pure dopeness but on the real Rino slaughters that ish vocab wise.

Check out this song from Rino called Break It Down

Yea we gonna do a little word play on this one
Before you listen to the is look up the word acronym so you can understand it better

[Verse One]
GREED, Gaining Riches Exercising Evil Deception
with no regard for the moralistic boundaries you are overstepping
GENEROSITY, Giving Effortlessly Not Even Rattle
Over Small Insignificant Things Yea knowing that a blessing is your destiny
What is LIFE? Love Independent Freedom Equality
existence with a purpose knowledge and the opposite of poverty
What is DEATH? Done Existing A life Time Halted
your spirit is either condemned or exhausted
What is TIME? Transferring Infinite Motion Eternally
the self creation of God started the never ending clock turning G
HEAVEN, Happiness Elevated Achieving Victory Even Now
not when you die but on earth you should be conceiving how
HELL, tell me do you really know the Devil, what is HELL?
Hopeless Existence, where? On Lower Level
GAME stands for Giving All My Experience
for example cracking the minds open to everybody that is hearing this

[Chorus]
Break it down, so you can understand it better
even if I got to bust the words down letter by letter
Break it down, so you can understand I'm a dangerous man
with blank page and a pen inside my hand

[Verse Two]
FAKE, False Advertisers Kicking Exaggeration
fabrication of social status material aberrations and limitations
FRIENDS, Few Real Individuals Expecting Nothing Doing Something
for others regardless even showing love to the heartless
What is LOVE? Lessons Of Value Extended through generations
new creations, discipline, patience, wisdom and education
What is MIND? Mental Intellect Natural Deepness an infinite place
and in any case a terrible thing to waste
HOPE, Having Optimism Possibly Everything will be alright
able to view negative things in a positive light
BUSH, Babylon Under Satan Hand
the devil is the man catch him on C-Span dropping new world order plans
CRACK, Cocaine Rocks After Cook it Kills blacks nationwide
genocide multiplied
Who is GOD? The Great Omnipresence Dominance
Goodness Overcome Deflation Giver Of Devine revelation

[Chorus]

[Verse Three]
DREAMS, Delusional Revelation Entering Average Men Sleep
some can be deciphered and others are too deep
GANGSTER, Giving A Nigger A Guns Seems To Elevate Rage
reducing humans to an animalistic stage
VOCABULARY, that word don't scare me it stands for
Vocal Oratory Collecting All by Using Language And Reading Yearly
What is HOUSTON? Home Of Uncivilized Savages Taking Out Negroes
with a shot bust backwards is where your wig blows
MONEY, a Medium Of National Exchange Yet we ain't smart enough
to use money for business and then started them up
JUDGMENT, Jesus Ultimately Doing Gods Executing Murders
for Every Nonbelieving Tragically with no disputing
What is WAR? Weapons And Radiation plus raw murderer tactics
and by the way the word war is raw spelled backwards
K-RINO, I did that before but since yall want it
Killer Rhymes Intellectually Nullifying Opponents

Both of these guys are legends and I was around during each era when they made noise, but for nostagic (and overall) purposes, I'm going w/ Rakim on this one.

When did Powell make a fake account?

Just jokes, what's up Mr. Maye? What's with the name change?