Hip Hop Tournament: The East Coast

Welcome to the 2nd annual hip hop tournament here at Illuminati 2G. If you are new to the site, this section will review some of the best hip hop artists in the game today, but with a twist. The artists are put in "pools" according to region and we match them up head to head to see who is a better MC. The winner of each region goes on to the Final Four and then the 2 left standing will battle for the championship. Ras Kass won last year and he is in the running for a repeat, but will a new artist claim the top spot? The first region we will be reviewing is the East Coast. 2001 looked like a slow year for the region, but a handful of stellar albums propelled it back into the limelight. Hard Lyrics, improving beats and stinging charisma are all qualities of these 4 artists.

I will be the first to say that I did not think that Nas could regain his form and become a top notch MC again. Boy was I wrong! "Stillmatic" came out swinging and dealt a blow to the previous king of NY, Jay Z. Nas is simply the best MC when he is in a zone. A gifted lyricist, street poet and introspective preacher, Nas does not make songs, he creates sound landscapes. His weakness his himself. When he starts to rap about the "Bling Bling" and the mafioso style he starts to lose focus and his lyrics suffer. He seems to have corrected this problem and his new album is almost 2X platinum. The king has  regained his throne in the East.

Jay Z is still one of the tighest rappers to ever touch the mic. Although Nas ripped him a new one on his last album, do not expect Jay to go quietly on this beef. He has a potentially big year brimming with the dream collabo with R. Kelly and his sequel to the classic album "Blueprint" at the end of the year. And lets not get started on all the clothing and movie plans that this man is working on. His weakness seems to be that he gets bored on the mic sometimes, but with artists like Nas, Mobb Deep and Fat Joe taking shots at ya, you will find a newfound hunger quickly and that is what has happened to him. 2002 looks like Jigga is reloaded and ready to take aim at his crown once again.

Fat Joe has done something many critics never thought that he could do. He dropped a dope album after the passing of his best friend, the legend Big Pun. "Jealous One's Still Envy" may have a few commerical cuts on it, but for the most part Joe always drops the hot street shit. An improving lyricist, it seems Joe is getting better as he goes along. The only weakness I could see in Joe is that if he were to go the Ja Rule route and continue to drop commerical like tracks, but that is unlikely because the new album is virtually some of the hardest rap you will find anywhere. With his new album recently going gold and closing in on platinum, this is the perfect time for Joe to drop another Terror Squad album and maybe add Remy Martin and Tony Touch. Whatever Joe decides to do, it is good to see a artist like him get the respect and applause he deserves after being slept-on so many years with his other stellar albums. Pun would be proud.

DMX has been one of the most consistent rappers over the past 3 or 4 years. His albums are always platinum plus and he keeps the streets abuzz with gritty ghetto anthems and introspective tracks. His latest album, "The Great Depression" is platinum and continues to sell. He is a MC for the people and his influence on rap is evident. With a budding acting career and a new label, X has plenty on his plate. The only thing I see as a weakness with X is around the same issues that Jigga has and that is boredom. X has accomplished everything there is to do and sometimes it seems like he gets by on his energy more than his skills. Look for X to be a prime time player for the East and the people for as long as he has the hunger to perform.

Honorable Mention- Ja Rule, Chino XL, Rakim, Canibus, Jadakiss, LL Cool J, Cormega, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan Results: Nas on top of his game is a no brainer against Jay Z and Fat Joe's improving lyricism gives him the edge over DMX. Head to Head, Nas is just the ultimate MC right now and although Joe is a worthy opponent, Nas wins the matchup. Check back later as next time we will look at the Dirty South.