N.O.R.E. Speaks On Being Underrated

Nine out of 10 rap fans would probably agree that N.O.R.E.’s one of the game’s most underrated. Even with two masterpieces (The War Report, N.O.R.E.), RIAA plaques, and more than a few classic singles, N.O.’s accomplishments to the culture are often overlooked. In the clip above, he justifies his self worth.

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  1. Shawn says:

    I guess I’m the 1 out of 10 that disagree. I think Nore’s place is exactly where it should be..

  2. young hov says:

    ^^^
    *Dead*

  3. JONAH says:

    I swear the first person to comment and say this nigga is droppin knowledge is a fucking asshole himself….can I get 6:45 of my life back?

  4. nyg718 says:

    u not overlooked homie u jus didnt leave a dint like that n the game.. first couple years n the game was cool but u fell off bad after that RADIO FREESTYLE SHIT WIT FAB.. HE BABABODIED U LOL.. na but u got wack gshit

  5. Post no billz says:

    nore was dope when he came out.. He had on original style.. He lost his footing around melvin flynt even though that lp is a cult classic to some.. But like someone mentioned yesterday he really fell the fuck off when he got with dame n roc-a-fella..

  6. TYBO2020 says:

    I AGREE NORE..

  7. JUICE says:

    Hey man, dont know if you feel JT at all but I just found one of his new tracks and posted it on my blog. Check it out man, worth the 2 min. kindbombs.blogspot.com

  8. Rhyme says:

    That’s because most people still remember that Reggaeton shit he was making for a few years. Nore first albums were classic, but he ain’t got that flow anymore. Tarnished his own legacy.

  9. MC says:

    You niggaz are fags. This nigga was talkin some real shit. Where’s the respect? Da fuck have any of you commenting niggaz accomplished besides getting your weak-ass girlfriend pregnant?? Da fuck outta here!!

  10. ttomcatt says:

    I can think of another prolific emcee that started out spittin fire but ended up spittin doo doo: Kurupt. That nigga was murderin’ the mic in the 90’s then fell the fucc off.

    Anyone else have more examples?

  11. Oj Da Cornball says:

    What freaking rating is he suppose to get? dude is talentless. A record deal does not mean talent.
    ok, ok, he’s on Wack Flacak, but i’m confuse as to what rating is he suppose to get?

    He what he deserved, a plaque. He don’t deserve no freaking credit out of side no of what he said. Big deal you work Swizz and Storch first. Someone else would’ve. Everybody gets ” a first’. Do we put them n hall of fame for that? BS.

    Dude made enjoyable songs but that’s that.

    Co Sign Shawn. lol. only knowledge he dropped was sales not equal dopeness

    No he this grown man didn’t say he doesn’t know what gratification means? No wonder he co-signs Wack Flaka. NewPort chain. SMH

  12. Oj Da Cornball says:

    @ttomcat

    I put it on everything Kurupt was the illest mc in the 90’s. Even Biggie was sacred of his skills, that is BIG gave it to him like “this dude is it”. I can tell Biggie new had Death Row put Kurupt out solo right after Snoop Kurupt would’ve been The King of NY. lol

  13. Uh-oh says:

    I definitely see some artist bias here from B. Dot (shocker). Nore has a classic debut and a classic group debut, but yo, that’s it. He isnt underrated, his best shit is behind him. Im not sayin that War Report 2 wont be dope, but NORE is getting exactly what he puts into this game. He isnt even a strong lyricist.

  14. A NIGGA FROM BOSTON says:

    FUCK ALL YALL, I STILL BUMP THE WAR REPORT,N.O.R.E. AND MELVIN FLYNT ON THE REG I GIVE NORE HIS PROPS HE GOT CLASSIC ALBUMS AND I THINK THE WAR REPORT 2 IS GONNA BE NICE, I RATHER TAKE A CLASSIC ALBUM OVER A WACK ALBUM THAT SELLS MILLIONS OF COPYS ,NORE GOT A POINT THERE, IM FROM THE GRIMEY 90s YALL LIL HIP POP KID CUDI SOFT SKINNY CLOTHES NIGGAS IS WACK TODAY. NIGGAS ON THE RUN EATIN

  15. A NIGGA FROM BOSTON says:

    WHA WHAT !!

  16. Uh-oh says:

    ^^^ the epitome of stuck in the past.

  17. NEGRITO says:

    i feel Nore and this new generation dont fully or really understand the golden era of hip hop at all.
    OLD SCHOOL ALL DAY- unless this “new generation” can impress me like ILLMATIC did but i doubt it!

  18. kallywood says:

    Nine out of 10 real rap fans would probably agree that N.O.R.E’s one of the games most overrated.

    *FIXED.

  19. assasin says:

    “Run laps around the english channel” lmao
    I still listen to the n.o.r.e.album, but he doesnt cross my mind when mentioning greats

  20. Drucifer1983 says:

    N.O.R.E is entertaining but he’s no where near a great MC.

  21. killacrack says:

    some people are haters,the war report is a honest to god classic! Nore was not a lyrical dude but he dumbed down his music to much,got to mainstream and inturn lost his following. i feel him right now people only care about numbers because no one out there is really a fan.everyone is down with the music right now if its popular.Everyone out now is a groupie and can only feel a song if their local radio station tells them to feel a artist, but that is also the major labels fault-anyone can pick up a mic and claim to be the hardest from their hood and rap now.there are so many frauds in the game right now people just mess with what the radio tells them to.Today as long as you got a big label pushing you – your gonna be hot.True rap heads are far and few they only played rap during certain hours now you get it 24/7,so it has no real value every artist out there is mass produced.Just make a song a 12yr old will go to school and talk about and your the next big thing.

  22. get that bread says:

    This nigga Nore had a spark when he started, but when Tragedy Khadafi (intelligent hoodlum) stopped working with them his style got wacker and wacker.

    Nore flow became too loose and that disqualified him from the elite class.

    War Report Nore was droppin’ street science. The whole ‘War Report’ was classic flows.

    N.O.R.E. I noticed a slight decline in his lyrical precision, but overall the project was bumpin’. The songs were dope as hell. The production was bananas.

    Anything after that has been some cool singles, so Nore doesn’t get the credit he deserves; but at the same time he’s not overrated either. It’s a tough call.

    Definitely 1st team 1998, but Hall of Fame legend status idk.

  23. killacrack says:

    Get That Bread i gotta use a nas/jay line -what u trying to kick knowledge – And you did – you nailed it. im just biased cuz anywhere in queens you play that war report everyone goes ohhhh shhhiiiiiiitt this was the truth back in the days.

  24. Dumb nigga says:

    Man nore is the best in the game he better than eminem jay z biggie and 2pac put together ….SOD money gang stand up….

  25. Post no billz says:

    @get that bread… 100%co-sign

  26. DJ NITTI says:

    Man I got love for NORE. Nore’s a funny dude, how’s he going to say he doesn’t know what gratification means or did he sound smart? lol But thats part of the problem, Nore doesn’t take himself too seriously and because of this others don’t either. Nore’s a funny dude and a real dude. I don’t know what Nore’s legacy in hip hop will be but if the discussion is about NY Hip Hop in the 90’s we have to bring up CNN & Nore’s name, we have to. I understand there’s a lot of young hip hop fans and they try to look back and probably can’t get a feel for what was going on then and maybe have to rely on sales to figure out what was hot back then. But as someone who was there I can tell you Nore and CNN were crazy. There’s some music that must be experienced, its sort of that “you had to be there” type of thing. I don’t think that anyone that was at the legendary Tunnel in NYC when one of their records came on can really question it. Nore was never trying to be the best lyricist, he just had fun with it, it was ignorant hip hop music at its best (like a lot of the down south stuff now). Personally I can’t feel 90% of Gucci Mane’s music but I’m sure that if I was a regular in ATL clubs I’d feel different about it. Bottomline is that you had to live and experience certain music, you can read, analyze lyrics, look at the sales numbers, etc but if you weren’t there to experience it, you will never get a “feel” for it and music has to be felt, some more so than others.

    The typical young hip hop fan will hear about an older artist and google him/her, check out some youtube videos, etc. but won’t dig much deeper. You can’t judge an artist like that, especially in hip hop. To really get a feel for hip hop artists you have to hear their whole albums because usually their singles and videos were chosen by the record company and won’t represent the rest of their work. Find the whole album and listen to the album cuts, the street songs, then you can judge them properly. The singles and videos were usually for the radio and clubs and forced them by the record companies. Anyone doubting Nore’s legacy please listen to N.O.R.E., his first solo album, from beginning to end, skits and all (remember the Animal Thug skit, lol). Don’t just listen to Superthug, you have to listen to Banned from TV, Body in the Trunk, and of course, N.O.R.E.. Then listen to CNN’s classic debut album, War Report. Those are classics and should be enough to place earn him a spot in hip hop’s history books. Unfortunately Nore had a hard time dealing with his record labels and wasn’t able to capitalize during his prime. That’s another thing that younger rap fans don’t understand that its not like it is now, where rappers jump from label to label. Back in the days if you got stuck with a bad label deal you were finished, they’d shelf you forever and you’d never be heard from again, but that’s a whole other post. Back to Nore, he’s not in my top 5 dead or alive list, but that’s ok because I don’t just listen to 5 artists. Every artist isn’t going to be on everyone’s top 5 or 10 but still deserve our recognition nonetheless for their contributions. In my opinion Nore’s early solo work and as a group with CNN deserves to be mentioned with the greats., whether that’s on the Top 20, 50 or 100, that’s entirely up to you.

    I hope Nore and CNN can solidify their legacy with another hit but in reality it probably won’t happen. Unfortunately, no matter how dope their new music is, they don’t have the machine behind them to give them that push that they need. But even if they never get that second coming, Nore and CNN will live keep making good music for their fans and be forever in the hearts of those that experienced and really “felt” their past music.

  27. LJ Full says:

    LET ME BE THE FIRST TO BRING IT TO EVERYONE’s ATTN: I am almost embarassed to say that Nore really got his info WRONG. “Illmatic went Gold about 2 weeks ago” 100% FALSE…. Illmatic has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for some 3yrs now. As much as people refer to that album as 1 of the greatest of all time, Do you actually think it would take 15yrs to go just GOLD??? SMH Moral of the story is…Do your research 1st before you speak on numbers!

  28. So Icy Boi! says:

    ^^^ 2 Weeks ago or 3 years ago dnt matter if it take you ten years to go platinum thats a FAIL!

  29. get u some says:

    Cnn was the shit until they cut Tragedy Khadafi out of the equation.

  30. jj says:

    @ so icy boi, then that includes Gucci’s failed 6 albums!

  31. Illmatic is not a “FAIL” for the mere fact it is one of those landmark albums that will continue to sell. It’s one of the best (as well as one of the most important) hip hop albums ever to be released…holy grail status. As long as there’s new kids coming up that’s passionate and/or really interested in leaning about the hip hop culture, Illmatic will continue to sell. You can’t do your hip hop homework without studying Illmatic.

  32. Curtis75Black says:

    I never felt Nore at all but what he was saying made alot of sense. A platinum cd is just that: a platinum cd. Alot of motherfuckers will hate on a platinum artist but give love to another for doing the same thing. It doesn’t mean it was hot or wack, it’s just a popular cd. Depending on the artists record label and image, he could be looked at as a sellout for going platinum to one person and The GOAT to the next. The bias is too blatant nowadays !! You’ll look at a rapper who didn’t sell well as being wack but the next one iota about how he was pushed. But did you buy any of those projects ?

  33. […] influential in many careers aside from his own (Daddy Yankee, Pharrell etc.), and here he tells RR why he feels he’s underrated as an MC and being overlooked for assisting several careers. He […]

  34. LJ FULL says:

    So Icey Boi… Do you listen to music, or do you just skim thru it. He said Illmatic is a FAIL…WTF

  35. Shawn says:

    For anbody to even suggest Illmatic is a “fail” (which I even hate saying. The shit just sounds sissy), has absolutley ZERO cred in speaking on anything in Hip Hop Culture… That album made EVERYONE rhyming start over… Not liking something is one thing but just saying stupid shitto be contrarian is some real “I want attention” childish shit..
    And with all due respec to Nore….to think of comparing Illmaitic and anything he’s done musical is borderline lunacy.

  36. huh? says:

    1. he ain’t underrated he’s sittin just about right
    2. what the fuck does the ocean have to do with a youth’s logic towards rap albums?!???

  37. Bogart4017 says:

    “God’s Favorite”!!!

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