Lupe Fiasco has sparked another spirited hip-hop debate after sharing a surprising opinion on where he believes Nas ranks among rap’s greatest lyricists.
During an appearance on Culture United with host Justin Hunte, better known as The Company Man, Lupe was asked whether Nas should be considered one of hip-hop’s elite lyricists even though he’s not typically known as a punchline-heavy rapper. The question suggested that lyricism should be measured by more than clever one-liners and include storytelling, imagery, and other literary devices.
While acknowledging that broader view of lyricism, Lupe explained that his criteria changes when lyrics are judged on their own.
“For me, remove the beat, remove everything else and you just go with the words and you throw Nas and you created a list of people who just rap, which is a big list, it’s hundreds and thousands of rappers, he wouldn’t rank high. I wouldn’t rank him high,” Lupe said. “That doesn’t mean we’re not lyricists in our space, but when you isolate it to that, a lot of people don’t rank high.”
Lupe clarified that his comments weren’t meant to diminish Nas’ legacy, but rather to emphasize how much larger the pool becomes when comparing lyricists across the entire history of rap, including lesser-known MCs alongside mainstream stars.
The interview also gave Lupe an opportunity to address another topic that has dominated recent online conversations: his comments about Kendrick Lamar.
In recent weeks, some fans have suggested Lupe has become hyper fixated on discussing Kendrick. During the interview, however, he pushed back on that narrative, explaining that he isn’t bringing Lamar up unprompted but is instead responding to questions he’s repeatedly asked during interviews.
