definition of a legend...

[DeaDSouLjaH]

i'm really confused... in the past few dayz.. i've been reading reviews on some gza albums.. and some of these reviews..were praising gza's lyrical ability and etc.. some go on to say that he is that good he should be sharing the throne with people like Rakim ... now what i dont understand is..
why dont they say "share the throne with 2pac and nas" or something of that sort.. coz i am sure.. that Nas and 2pac are legends.. but why is it that gza and rakim are different.. like.. y is rakim used as the yardstick .. y arent people makin comparisons between nas and gza or nas and rakim, etc..
is it that rakim or gza have different styles?? or is it that their style is the definition of hip hop ... i jus dont seem to understand
please dont be biased when you are givin replies..

[PLANT]

I never really ejoyed Rakims music...I think he is a nice emcee, but I think his flow is kinda choppy and off beat.  Personaly, I like Pac, Nas, and Gza compared to Rakim.  Altho Rakim does have great lyrical content.

[BIG.DADDY]

I will try to answer to the best of my ability. If you listened to hip hop in the late 80's or even the early 80's, lots of MC's made good music but didn't say anything. Rakim when he came into the game he transended the game, his rhymes were much deeper than your average MC at that time. Thats why MC's give him that respect and call him the god MC, or Rakim allah. He had lyrics that made you think and used words to paint pictures. "I START TO THINK, THEN I SINK/ INTO THE PAPER/ AS IF I WERE INK/ WHEN I'M WRITING I'M TRAPPED IN BETWEEN THE LINES/ I EXCAPE..WHEN I FINISH THE RHYME." That's why I believe people use him as the measuring sick for MC's. Rhyming styles are a big part of hip hop but, the flow, timing, and the beats make the song complete.
Tupac was great in this sense also. I hope this broke it down to you a little bit, if not....I tried

[DeaDSouLjaH]

hey thanx big daddy that cleared things up a lil

[Trauma-san]

Hmm, I think what makes legends, are people that made a mark.  People that will last a while, for whatever that reason is; like for instance, in the 60's, The beatles were legends, becuase they made TONS of dope songs, and got so huge... But, Wilson Picket is ALSO a legend, even though most people only know him for one song, "in the midnight hour", then he died... Otis Redding's another good example, he's a legend, but he only had one huge hit, "on the dock of the bay" that came out after he died.  

So, a legend is somebody that makes a mark, that people remember, for whatever reason.  It's like somebody people tell stories about, Like I tell my brother stories about Otis Redding, and how he died in a plane crash, then got so famous from that song.  I think legends have to have good stories to tell about them.

Like for instance, Dr. Dre is a legend, because there's SO MUCH you can say about him, things he has done, things he's accomplished, things that happened to him.  Soopafly isn't a legend, because what the hell has he done?  He just doesn't interest you as much.  Maybe he'll become a legend, but he ain't right now.  Rakim is definately a legend, because what's legendary is how people consider him to be so great.