Catalog, pen, influence: the GOAT formula
Rapper rankings juggle three credentials: catalog depth (Wayne's mixtape run, Jay's album streak), pure pen (Kendrick, Nas — lyricism as its own tier logic), and influence (2Pac and Biggie shaping everything after with short discographies). Commercial-era stars force the streaming question: do numbers count as greatness? Drake's placement is the fault line — S on impact and hits, contested on classics. And every list re-litigates the beef verdicts of 2024 like case law.