As far as people saying Tupac and Biggie as the greatest due to bias, I'd have to disagree. I think it's not so much as bias but more of lack of knowledge of other hip-hop artists outside these two individuals. I mean how many people of today would actually remember old school rap or hip-hop? Not that many.
I mean if you were to ask someone who GrandMaster Flash and the Furious Five were, most wouldn't be able to tell you unless you gave them a song. But because Tupac and Biggie were around when hip-hop was at its height, most remember them for their greatest albums. Tupac for "All Eyez On Me" and "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory aka Makaveli" and Biggie for "Life After Death."
But overall, I'd have to go with Pac over Biggie by a slight margin. He said what he felt. No fakin it. Things that he talked about were more than what most artists talk about today. He spoke of everything: the ghetto, the game, life, death, politics, fame, war, hate, violence, peace, love, etc.... He wrote down so many great lyrics.
And it's not just what he talked about, but the way he talked about things. He'd have the baddest beats sync with the messages he was getting across. And he had the perfect voice to go along with the beats. It's like he was telling you lots of stories through his music. It wasn't just about having the bitches, the money, and the power. He wanted you to see what he saw and understand why he talked about it.
So like I said, his music had these tight ass beats that would go along with the lyrics. A great example would be Hail Mary. With those bells ringing in the background and the dark and eerie tone made things click along with the lyrics. I mean add to that the meaning (keyword: meaning) behind the lyrics and you can understand why the song sounded the way it did. That was genius!!
How many artists you know today that can do all that? Write their own lyrics, talk about mulitple issues, have tight ass beats, have the voice to rap, and have meaning behind each song combined? Not that many. The one that comes the closest is Biggie. As for hip-hop artists who are still alive, I'd say Jay-Z and Eminem (during his Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers albums).
But if we were to go by artists of today, I'd go with Kanye in the Mid-West, Hova in the East (since he's back), Chamillionaire in the South, and I guess Snoop in the West (tho I like the Old School Snoop better. Back when he was still Snoop Doggy Dogg).
