Juvenile proved himself to be one of the best rappers of all time by pitting 400 Degreez against the best of JAY-Z and Nas.
In an interview with HoodClips, the Cash Money Records legend believes that to be considered the greatest MC in hip-hop history, in addition to his talent on the microphone, he must break records.
“Some of these cats [up north]they have their own definition of hip-hop, and Southern hip-hop in some ways doesn’t fit the bill,” he said.
“Look, man, some of the best rappers — they’ve got some assholes who can rap but can’t be fucking successful. [Being] The best rapper in the world means nothing if you don’t have a fucking hit song! “
Juvie then boldly challenged listeners to pick their favorite JAY-Z and Nas album and compare its sales to his classic 1998 LP 400 Degreez.
“Go check the numbers. N-ggas always talk about ‘Nas da-da-da.’ JAY-Z da da da. Well, who sold the most records? I guess that’s what matters, right? he continued.
“Let’s see who has the highest sales per solo album. Pick your best Nas album, pick your best JAY-Z album. I want 400 [Degreez] Tell me who has the highest sales of solo albums.
He added: “I tell you, the numbers don’t lie. […] Go pull up the historical record sales data for every album on Billboard and look at all these hip-hop leaders you love so much and see where they rank.
“I posted it once because I wanted people to see it. Just pull it up and see where your favorite rappers are, because I think a lot of them fucked up.
The boy was partly right. “400 Degreez” has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), meaning it has sold at least 4 million copies in the United States alone.
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Hough’s Vol. 2… Also released in 1998, “Hard Knock Life” is now six times platinum, and “The Black Album” is four times platinum.
According to RIAA statistics, in addition to his solo album, his 2011 collaboration with Kanye West “Watch the Throne” has sold at least 5 million copies domestically.
Nas, on the other hand, has never sold more than 3 million copies of a single album, and “It Was Written” is his highest album to be certified triple platinum.
Juvenile previously made headlines for his comments related to JAY-Z, when he dismissed the idea that the Roc Nation mogul was the greatest rapper of all time, arguing that the crown belonged to his former Hot Boys teammate Lil Wayne.
When asked about Weezy’s opinion of Jigga being the most mic-ready host of all time, the New Orleans native responded: “We’ve been arguing for years. He says JAY-Z is the GOAT, I say he’s the GOAT, my Little brother is the greatest rapper of all time and he knows how I feel about it.
