“Biggie Smalls lost balance. In any case, he was never that kind. I mean Life After Death to me was better than Ready To Die and even that could’ve been one CD instead of two.” I can’t help but wonder if there is any rapper whose legacy has not been tarnished by simply remaining alive as I sit here and imagine all the fictitious hate one might have found on contemporary social media had Biggie still been alive.

There seem to be untouchable heroes and legends who represent each and every other genre, sport, and special interest. So why not hip hop?

The genre of hip hop is harsh. It has roots in urban culture, and if there is one thing that urban culture has never had enough of, it is sustained praise for our heroes. Discord among our ranks makes it unlikely that a Mount Rushmore of hip hop could ever be built, whether it be a learned or innate quality. Despite the fact that New York alone has three hip-hop museums, nobody would ever agree long enough to form any kind of consensus.!) The hood may sing your praises but you better believe someone has a problem with every single component of your ascension (“Why do you work so arduously?? Why does your girlfriend look so lovely? You ain’t special!”) Regardless, every other subgenre, sport, and area of expertise appears to have a set of untouchable figures who represent it. So why not hip hop?

Hip hop has never been anticipated or intended to go as far as it has. Rap has always included a selling element of competition. But is it possible that every single emcee has faltered or was never really that good? Slick Rick fell off, or did everyone else? Nas or Rakim lost their balance? There isn’t a single rapper who has maintained a positive track record over the course of their career, is there? DO we really think Tony Bennet from this rap stuff doesn’t exist? That, to me, just seems absurd. No one is perfect, of course, and nobody is perfect, but what the hell are we waiting for? Except for the deceased men, everyone is terrible.

For every “Top 5 debate” ever had, there’s so much acrimony presented as to why everyone we love should not be that heralded that I’m not certain if these debates should be called a “Top 5” or “Top 5 things wrong with your fave emcee (“Nas can’t choose good beats, Andre 3000 doesn’t record nearly enough, Jay-Z is a biter, etc.”). Even the dead guys get it occasionally (“Tupac wasn’t as lyrical as the rest, B.I.G ain’t have a large enough body of work”). The “battle” has over taken the “rap” in every instance and contention is the these days, ONLY order of the day.

Could it be that all our favorite emcees didn’t become terrible and our irrational formula of [nostalgia + consistent innovation/newness * personal expectation= all emcees will eventually suck] is what may be the driver? I’ve said it before, but you can only lose your virginity once. With each subsequent loss, no matter how enjoyable, the novelty will eventually wear off, and you’ll start looking for other advantages to satiate your needs. A dope emcee is a dope emcee, in other words.

It may not be the artists who have changed for the worse—hint: it’s you, you grumpy curmudgeon—if the only artists you can truly appreciate are the ones who are dead.)