Kanye West Is Better Than Your Favorite Artist. And I'll Prove It

As it pertains to Hip Hop, there are countless discussions as who is (or will go down) as the best to grab a mic.  While there will never be any universal agreement as to who the best rapper is, most will tell you that it takes combination of many factors.  Rhyming ability, song writing ability, production, content; it all makes a huge difference in the overall product.  No matter how marvelous your rhymes are, you are judged by your albums.  (Which explains why Canibus was and continues to be overlooked).  That said, Kanye West will likely go down as the best Hip Hop artist ever.  And I'll show you why.

You know what a Magnum Opus is, right?  That's the point where an artist truly peaks.  The best body of work they've ever made.  No artist can be considered great unless they have one.  All of the greatest artists in our generation, in any genre, have one.  Michael Jackson had Thriller.  Stevie Wonder had Songs In The Key Of Life.  Prince had Sign O' The Times.  Etc.  If we're being real, there is a pretty short list of artists who've put out the body of work that would qualify them for consideration as "the greatest".  But let's take a look at them, shall we?

There's Jay-Z.  He's currently 11 or 12 albums into his career but we can all agree that Blueprint 1 is his defining work.  He's had quality work both before and after, but THAT is the album we look at as his best.  Then there's Nas, who peaked right out of the gate with Illmatic.  A few albums (Stillmatic and It Was Written) came close, but he got it right the first time.  The Marshall Mathers LP still stands and Eminem's classic.  Even T.I., who's remarkable 2003 Trap Muzik is viewed as a classic by a lot of folks, and rightfully so.  There's a pattern here tho.  All of these guys have spent the last decade (in some cases, even longer) releasing work.  It's taken 7-10+ albums for us to reach the conclusion of what their best work is.  We've essentially had to sit through a few disappointments to get to the truly good stuff.

Such has not been the case for Kanye West.  Every album he's released to this point has been met with critical acclaim.  This isn't a hyperbole, I mean literally every one.  Even his most divisive album, 808s & Heartbreaks, is universally well received.  Few people four albums into their discography are viewed as not having a weak album.  And we've reached the point where we expect every Kanye album to be better than the last.  What does this mean in terms of hearing his Magnum Opus?  At one point I thought 2005's Late Registration was his best work.  Then one revisit to College Dropout made me think twice.  Then 2007's "Graduation" ruined my entire line of thinking.  As long as Kanye continues making music, we could potentially have another "best Kanye album ever".  Until he makes a wack album, it's hard to argue against him being the best in the game right now.  Jay-Z had Vol. 2 (or The Dynasty album, depending on who you ask).  Eminem had Encore.  What does Kanye have?  Exactly.