Jay-Z Picks His Ultimate MC Cypher

Posted By: November 19, 2010 @ 6:20 PM EDT General

Last night, I took the wife to the taping of Charlie Rose’s interview with Jay-Z. You know the drill: No cameras allowed. So I just chilled in my skybox even though I saw some fans sneak some iPhone footage. Gonna be interesting to see if they edit the talk down ’cause there were a few interesting exchanges. Rose pressed Hov on the Un Rivera stabbing, Jay checked him on his pronouncement of 2-Pack, and Mr. Carter lamented lettin’ his wife rock a Red Sox cap in the “Me & My Girlfriend” video.

After the interview was complete, hip-hop’s new author took a gang of questions from fans. In the above clip, he addresses who would be the top 5 MCs (dead or alive) that he would team up with to battle a rival crew. Nas lost again. Ha!

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  • Goddamn You

    My wife. I took MY wife to the taping of Charlie Rose’s interview with Jay-Z.

  • Inside I’m ICE, Outside I’m LAVA!!

    Stop it “Yellow Man!!!”, in fact pay homage to the real “Yellow Man” even though you’re YN (Ha)!

  • So a Certified GREAT named 6 MC’s
    Big
    Pac
    Kool G rap
    Krs
    Nas
    Eminem

    ^^ and all of these are GREATS!!!!

    Where the fuck is your fav rapper at?? hahaha Cough* weezy..lmfao!!

  • A million things run thru my mind

    Is this going to be on PBS?

    Technical skills Tupac showcased the most were ME AGAINST THE WORLD, DEADLY COMBINATION, AMBITIONZ AS A RIDAH, STILL I RISE, UNTIL THE END OF TIME. To me they were passionate songs and technical….i dont think Jay would agree but i think Pac had crazy skills and his militant style is very unique….Str8 rebel

  • omar

    Wow even when Nas is not the topic of discussion he seems to get mentioned somehow by his haters!

  • toad3527

    jay-z and tupac are sooooo different if you know rap well. they are both great in different ways. i know its cliche but you really cannot compare them. they arent jordan and kobe

  • Anelka

    WTF, dis nigga just insinuated that Pac lacked technical skills. Dats just blasphemy coming from a nigga dat couldnt pop when Pac was alive.

  • Haters are annoying–> Belize the foreigner who sits on rapradar all day and judges men by their looks, white boy cold blood , lucass

    @pitri yes he is

  • ^ Huh?

  • Word

    Damn Nas and Em get the honorable mentions thats cool though. I cant argue with the four he chose along with himself.

    Cosign @ PITRI, where Wayne at on that list? Lol im just saying. Jay know what it is though. Good call. Maybe if this was at the time C2 came out he would be in but yeah..imma just leave it at that before the dickriders bombard this post and try to crucify me with their oh so terrible typing skills.

  • omar

    I could of sworn Jay said Eminem and Nas as well? So what was the purpose of YN saying “Nas lost again. Ha!”

  • Word

    And I cosign that Pac lacked techinical skills. Dude didnt make ryhmes around double entendres or whatever, he rapped, but his PASSION, INFLUENCE, STYLE, EVERYTHING was miles and mileas and miles ahead of the competetion. Nas is would be a better technician but dude lacks the intangibles and the passion that Pac had.

  • toad3527

    wat how u gon say weezy dumm fell off u are dum, you are very dum, fo real

  • Anelka

    YN is just an attention seeker apart from sucking dicks at rapradar to keep his blogging gig.

  • Nas is not the first person I’d think of to put in a cypher with 5 MC’s freestyling….

    even though I think Nas is the greatest (even though he said no one could be the greatest yet)

  • Feenixa

    people need to relax. Jay wasn’t dissin anyone with what he said. He was just breakin it down. He said that stuff about Tupac in a good way, not to shit on him. He obviously thinks very highly of him to pick him number 2 without any hesitation. Damn, people read too much into things. And obviously Nas didn’t lose. @omar, are you saying Jay is a Nas hater? or yn? whatever anyway, Jays picks are dope, it would have been amazing to hear that cypher

  • RIght now my Dream Cypher would have to be..

    Eminem
    Big
    Big L
    Andre 3k
    pac
    and J.cole man lol

  • mac DIESEL

    @ YN CORNBREAD

    “Nas lost again! Ha!”

    SEE U STILL BITTER ‘BOUT THAT XXL MAGAZINE BEING BURNED BY NAS!!!! GET OVER IT ALREADY!!!! YA YELLOW BASTARD!!!! HA!!!!

    DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION!!!!

  • DeezNipples

    Rap Radar is a bunch of dick sucks. yall are seriously fuckin chumps to the 5th power. eat a dick

  • Citylivin’

    what’s with the hatred on Nas, i’m lost….did he do something to somebody?

  • SERIOUSLY?

    Nas>Jay

    Always

  • Cno

    Why did you mention Nas? I didn’t hear Jay dissing him or anything. Yellow man, yellow man.

  • gerold

    I on a phone. Who did he include in the cypher?

  • Word

    @gerold

    The first 4 people mentioned in the third comment of this post .

  • tpm2810

    nas > jayz = so i dont get how nas lost again!

    im startin 2 respect jay more n more each day! i think the reason he said em is cause he got murked on renegade and nas because he got ethered on still matic!
    as it stands:

    1. nas = stillmatic
    2. big = ready to die
    3. pac = all eyez on me
    4. jay = the black album
    5. em = the marshall mathers lp

    hon men = dmx with ”…and then the was x”

    my dream cyph tho would be: the game, nas, big l, cassidy & immortal tech!

  • p. dom

    got damn, yn! did nas take your lunch back in school or some shit?!! you STAY frontin’ on dude! SMH!!!

  • toss

    why did u say nas lost again?? he mentioned him.

    but I applaud him for KRS-One!!!!!!!!!!!! BDP

  • toss

    YN has some anti nas complex or something

  • Larry

    lol at both Jay Z and Freeway losing in battles! Haha the Roc was a bunch of losin at niggas! Thats why Jay has to “win” so much in Corporate America, cuz once you loss in Hip Hop, peeps dont forget about that i.e. Ja Rule. Nas said it best, “Jay gotta deal wit Ether for the rest of his life!”

  • John Dee

    He should def pick Nas and Em over Pac and BIG. If you heard the story where Nas freestyled with BIG for so long, he paused to let BIG in, and all he could say was “I can’t fuck with duke”

  • Cno

    @Pitri he also named Kane. As no. 4.

  • Dum fucs

    YALL COULD EAT A BIG FAT DICK FAGGOTS FUKIN NAS HATERS!!

  • Yup !

    Lil Wayne killed Nas on My Generation……!

    Lil Wayne killed Andre 3k On HollyWood Divorce….!

    Lil Wayne killed Jadakiss on Death Wish……!

    Emienm killed Wayne On Forever…..!

    Eminem Did Not kill wayne on drop the world or no love because they was trying to make a song more than anything other than just rapping back and forth….!

    Jay-z Kill Wayne On Mr.Carter…….!

    Now That’s Being Fair….!

    I Don’t Have Hate…..I Like Eminem , Lil Wayne , Jay-z And Etc

  • Cudder

    @ tpm2810

    Sorry folk. It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot is X’s best album. Great, great album

  • Twista >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Eminem

    Until Eminem Rap Like This He Suck…… Twista Is Way Better Than Him…….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • jaYeLecT

    wayne did not kill nas on my gener8n.its just that your not used to him rapping like he has a brain.

  • QUEENZ

    I just don’t get it, he mentions Em and Nas last yet YN still feels the need to throw Nas under the bus and not Em? Gee I wonder why? how the God say?….”Sup wit this Nas hatred? y’all could suck my dick, got these niggas wives naked make em fuck my fist”

  • Height

    cosign @cudder and jayelect

    Id just like to see Jay cypher again, period. Dont really care whos in it. That said, Id kill a hundred people to see the one Jay suggested.

  • TheRealShifty

    @YN

    I don’t get how Nas lost again..please explain. Lol

  • gerold

    Thanks

  • Big Chump

    Jay-z giveing props to the one the greats eminem, nas, big, pac, now thats real hip hop right their, no lolli pop bull shit, or swagin out the roof , tight jeans mutha fucka

  • iam2smooth

    Hov is legit a.f like wat more do yall want from him?!

  • Derty Kevin

    Wait if y’all aren’t allowed to have cameras how did you get this clip? I think it’s funny how rapradar supports leaking/stealing material from other sources but when it comes to Eminem they’re HUSH HUSH. Paul Rosenberg is the modern day David Mays, only supporting HIS artist.

  • Chris

    YN just aggrevating y’all dudes. I know he’s a Nas fan as well as a Jay fan.

  • still best rite now!!

    C’mon Hov? Pac bit yo fkn head off,,,and you never responded. so dont slight that man, talkin bout “lacking technical skills”

  • LUCAS

    STOP SUCKING NAS DICK. DAM Y’ALL NASTY AS FUCK

  • casper21

    It’s Dark, Flesh, And Then There was X are all classics, all back when Swizz could actually produce IMO.

  • casper21

    My cipher would be
    DMX
    Lauryn Hill
    Rah Digga

    Joe Budden
    Cassidy

    I separate them cuz X, Lauryn and Digga could humiliate anyone in a real cipher, ask Jay what it felt like to hear X finish a freestyle with “and a straight razor will put a pin stripe over your wind pipe”, and then women just don’t get any respect but Digga is grimy as hell and lauryn would just get all intellectual, it’be beatiful.

    Now don’t hate on my opinion but you put Budden in a cipher and he comes with that energy and sophistication, dude is straight up crazy. Cassidy finishes it off, he can’t make records for shit, but freestyling this guy hold his own with anybody, just look up his freestyles on youtube if you don’t agree.

  • casper21

    I think its such a shame that people feel the need to always put the usual suspects, Jay, Nas, Pac, Big, Em, 3 stacks in these conversations. It’s not disrespectful to have a crazy cipher with none of them, theres a whole list of crazy talented MC’s out there that get overshadowed cuz everyones afraid of dropping names out of the ordinary.

  • Belize

    I know, I hate it when cracker say “2-Pack”, like it’s a fuckin pack of candy or summin. Show some respect dammit!
    @casper: List’s good. More B-list-ish, but they all dope, some underrated.
    And haha. Jay pretty much a expert, and when a expert don’t say someone is dope, they Not dope. Mufuckas.

  • joon8

    Wow….He even mentioned Nas & Eminem and lamented that he couldn’t include them in his list because it was limited to 5. Yet somehow “Nas lost again”. So unnecessary & Sad…

    If you wanna ride the Camel’s hump then by all means go ahead but please leave Nas out of it.

  • WAKEN BAKE

  • sway-z

    Being one of the greats is more than just being nice lyrically, a big part of it is versatility.

    When people mention somebody great in anything else, like movies or sports, it’s because of someone’s ability to do everything at a high level.

    Deniro is great because he can do Godfather, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull & Meet the Parents, nigga!

    Kobe isn’t the best shooter, the best defender, or the best ball handler, he just does all that shit together better than anybody else.

    I think people take for granted the fact that Jay-z is the first 40+ rapper in history that’s this relevant, and you only accomplish that by balancing classic music with radio friendly bullshit for the masses, if doing that was easy, everybody would do it

  • Derty Kevin

    Whoever asked me “what does Paul have to do with leaks on RR”, he owns the site you retard.

  • Tiny Raskal

    Jay-Z’s list was, if you listen carefully:
    1. Big
    2. Pac
    3. Kool G Rap
    4. Kane
    5. KRS

    Honorable mention: Eminem, Nas

  • how Nas lost? *scratches head* Jay said Nas

  • Cold Blood

    MY LIST:

    THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
    SLIM SHADY
    BIG L
    KOOL G RAP
    IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE

    @ Belize

    CO-SIGN! YN IS FUCKING DISRESPECTFUL!

    YOU CAN HATE ME NOW!

  • I like Jay but where is Big L ?

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  • Fuck america

    Top 5 all time :
    Pac
    Biggie
    Eazy E
    Marshall Mathers
    Nas

  • Realniggashit

    I think he could’ve said LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane and Rakim but it’s whatever

  • Do me a solid YN, and slap yourself. Nas always was and always will be one of the greats. What are you doing though beside mentioning him in your cute little blog…? Oh hating. Oh okay.

  • Oh and my ultimate cipher would probably be…in alphabetical order: Big Pun, Brother Ali, Method Man, Nas, and Q-tip. The other two I would want in there as guest appearances would probably be Eminem, Royce da 5’9”, and J. Cole (just to see what he can do amongst legends)

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  • Belize

    Nas will always be>>>>>>>>>Jay but still, respect for the first few albums.
    But Nas. ALWAYS.

  • Coolin

    How did Nas lose? He still mentioned him alongside Em…I know you like Jay YN, but sometimes the stanning gets a little outta hand on this site…

  • Big Kim

    I just would like to say I have listen to Jay-Z speak and my comment is could he please get a speaking coach to teach him how to speak?

    He appears to be moving more into the speaking roles now. The brotha really should listen to himself in the videos. Drop all of the hummmms, it sounds really tacky at the level he is TRYING to portray.

    SPEECH COACH..it will help intelligent businessman just do not speak like this in interviews. I am in no way speaking badly about the brotha. Just please seek some help on your speaking in public!

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  • bigron

    top 5 dead or alive is big ,hov,pac,nas,em in that order top 5 alive in this order is hov,em,nas kanye,&rakim , p.s. jada would be 5th if he had more hunger no disrespect meant to him!

  • Asap

    Jay Z may have won the war, but NAS took that battle; hands down. Just press play without the superficial explanations. In Hip Hop battles, two separate emcees hit a stage and go head to head with one mic.

    NAS ate Jay Z in that “battle” Ether defeated Take Over. All I need is “One Mic”.

  • ZoomZoom

    YOU KNOW WAYNE IS 1 OF THE GREATS WHEN YOU SEE PPL BRING HIM UP ALL THE DAMN TIME WHEN SPEAKING ABOUT “GREATS” WHETHER ITS IN A GOOD WAY OR BAD WAY HAHA HE STILL WINS!!

    AND HOV SAID IT IN AN INTERVIEW THAT HE HAS SOME LIL WAYNE IN HIM SO WEEZY THE GREATEST TO EVER TOUCH A MIC BE BLESSED HOE ASS NIGGAZ!

  • Jenny

    Who ever cared about Nas????????

  • webstar

    lol…this YN character is a cornball. Jay mentioned 5 pioneers and the only other cats mentioned were Nas & Em…which shows the tremendous respect he has for them.

    Why don’t you run back the Tracey to find out some more information about Nas’ divorce so you can spread it to the world…and then go to a Kelis show & do an entire write-up about how Kelis has moved on in your *cough* Hip-Hop blog…because you are not biased against Nas or anything right?

  • Mann

    Jigga ain’t dat dope, nowadays he acts like a living legend… naaaaah he’s a prick

  • zub

    In my opinion this dude said ” nas lost again” because at one of the book launches jay had he said that in his opinion jay’s takeover was a better song than nas’s ether .. So I guess that’s what he is alluding to … However I still think nas had the better diss track with ether !!
    My 5 cypher …
    Eminem
    Jay
    Nas
    Big
    Pac

  • yo

    Yo I wanna cop this book !!!
    But this post is wack though

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  • Ed

    I like the list but I have one problem with it. Where is RAKIM? RAKIM was ahead of his time and influenced greats like Nas, Pac, Eminem and Jay z himself!!!!

  • Eminem
    Jay
    Nas
    Big
    Pac

  • KS

    So many talented Emcee’s out there but I will forever choose the ones that paved the way and the ones that I grew up with. I could care less how many times a Rapper has gone Platinum or how much Ice he has that doesn’t mean anything to me.

    1. Rakim (From Eric B & Rakim yeah I said it)
    2. KRS-1 (if you don’t know Boogie Down Productions aka BDP don’t say you’re a Hip Hop Head)
    3. Nas
    4. Jay-Z
    5. Big Daddy Kane
    6. Kool G Rap (Since Kool G Rap & DJ Polo)
    7. Andre 3000 (Since Outkast first Classic album)
    8. Scarface (Since the days of the Geto Boys)
    9. Ice Cube (Since the days of NWA)
    10 .LL Cool J
    Bonus: Slick Rick (This is the Man that brought Storytelling to Hip Hop)

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