Custom essays on Jay-Z vs Nas: Who is the Winner?

The rivalry between two famous rappers Jay-Z and Nas started in 2000 and certainly attracted much attention even of those who were not interested in hip-hop, not mentioning the fans of these singers. The main cause of this feud became the desire to occupy the place of former King of New York, the Notorious B.I.G. who was murdered in 1997. Both Jay-Z and Nas aimed to get this title but their songs started climbing the charts not because of their professionalism but because of the insults at both artists.
The feud lasted for six years and during this period of time both rappers competed in their popularity and tried to write a more abusive song for each other. Thus, the first open attack on the rival was made by Jay-Z at Summer Jam festival in 2001 when he recited the verse of his song “Takeover”. Nas’ answer followed during radio freestyle and got the title “Stillmatic”. Further actions of Nas led to excluding all the third parties in this case and narrowed the case only to Jay-Z and Nas’ issue. This suggests an idea that the entire conflict was started in order to attract more attention to their personalities and to raise the popularity rating.
Assuredly the feud which lasted for six years brought a great sum of money to both rappers and made them the most popular in their circles. The songs were climbing the charts and the mass media covered the latest news. Therefore, certainly both rappers were interested in such popularity.
In 2001 the feud took a new turn as Nas released a single “Ether”, which was absolutely devoted to his rivalry with Jay-Z and mocked the rapper. The insults continued to appear as singers in turn released their songs.
Though Nas’ song “Ether” beat “Takeover” in a Hot97-sponsored radio phone-in poll, the overall number of awards and nominations of Jay-Z impresses. If to retrace the careers of these rappers one can see that both of them released a number of albums and became famous, however, Nas was only nominated for Grammy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards while Jay-Z repeatedly won them.
Since 1999 he won three American Music Awards for the Favorite Rap/Hip Hop artist, two BET awards, five BET Hip Hop Awards and ten Grammy Awards, including the ones for successful collaborations. I believe such number can be a proof of a real talent and success of Jay-Z.
In 2006 being the president of Def Jam Recordings Jay-Z signed a contract with Nas, which determined the feud and started a new stage in the relationship of two artists. Since then Nas can be often seen at Jay-Z concerts and sometimes they performed songs together.
Thus, we can make a conclusion that the famous feud is over and both rappers profited much by it. Their competition for the title of the King of New York made them extremely popular. After their reconciliation fans speculated much on the results of the feud, while the rappers continued their work as nothing had happened. As concerns the winner of the battle the answer is found by every fan individually, with regard to his preference. From my perspective, a long list of Jay-Z rewards speaks for itself.