The 2Pac vs. Biggie discussion is one of the most debated subjects in Hip Hop. Speaking with The Art Of Dialogue, one of Hip Hop's most important pioneers weighed in on the subject by using greatness to compare the two.
Melle Mel questioned the greatness of The Notorious B.I.G., explaining that influence and impact is the key driver in someone being great. While he said 2Pac was "definitely great," he paused on describing Biggie as such due to his belief that the Bad Boy rapper didn't change the landscape of Hip Hop.
"When you're great, you change the landscape," Mel explained. "Now by that definition, Pac is definitely great. Biggie, as far as technical rapping-wise, I would say -- from my opinion -- he would be a little slicker than Pac as far as rapping-wise. But what Pac did, he changed the landscape because all that Thug Life...I didn't agree with a lot of it but it did change the scope of what was going on. After Biggie did his albums, nothing changed basically. He was good, he was aight, we loved all the records and all that but nothing changed. It's just like after Eminem, it's not 50 great White rappers. It's just him and a couple of guys. Nothing changed."
Mel continued by using himself as an example, highlighting the fact that thousands of people around the world started calling themselves MCs after he did. He acknowledged that Biggie was a better rapper than Pac, but didn't have much influence on the generation that came after him.
"It's more rappers that actually quoted that they wanted to be the next Pac or they wanted to be like Pac," Melle Mel added. "I don't recall a record of anybody saying that they wanted to be like Biggie."
The Furious Five member also said the Brooklyn rapper lacked substance in his music even though he was almost peerless at crafting verses. Melle Mel labeled Biggie as "just a pure s***-talking n****" before calling him "one of the best to ever do it but if you're looking to hear something, you don't need to listen to Biggie."
The clip concluded with Melle Mel wondering how Biggie and 2Pac would have evolved as artists and what they would be saying today. Melle Mel previously explained why Biggie was not one of the greatest rappers of all time during his interview with VladTV.
To hear more, view the clip above.
