In the hip-hop community, no one really wants to be labeled a hater. While I don’t hate Lil Wayne, I am far from a fan. I respect the fact that he has put out more music than any other major hip-hop artist in the last five years and probably has the best work ethic of any rapper not named Tupac Shakur. But is doing your job really worth the iconic status he seems to have achieved? I’m going to have to say no. So at the risk of earning the not-so-superlative hater label, I present to you my Top 3 reasons why a dead Biggie Smalls is better than a living Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne has been successful but is he really a worthy successor?

Coattails

Sean Combs might be the owner, but Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., is responsible for the Bad Boy Entertainment empire. The considerable wealth Combs amassed thanks to Mr. Wallace’s efforts funded his Sean John clothing line and propelled Puff Daddy to stardom. Diddy got a Grammy for his No Way Out album that featured Biggie on five songs. He also gave Lil Kim, the most popular female rapper of her time, her start.

Lil Wayne started as the youngest member of the Hot Boys on Cash Money Records. He started his own label, Young Money Entertainment, but to my knowledge, his most notable artist is Jae Millz. There are reports that he has been collaborating with and may have signed Drake, a talented young Canadian rapper.

Neither Cash Money Records, nor Jae Millz has matched the success of Bad Boy or Lil Kim respectively.

Diction: Ashy to Classy VS Bling Bling

“Ashy to classy” is the hip-hop version of the phrase “rags to riches” that Notorious B.I.G. popularized on the intro to “Sky’s The Limit,” one of his collaborations with the R&B group 112. “Bling Bling” is Ebonics for diamonds or other shiny jewelry. Ashy to classy is still cool to say after almost 12 years in rotation. Bling bling immediately makes you sound like those elderly baby boomers on the Boost Mobile commercials.

Music

The final and most important factor is the music. Despite recording just two albums (Ready To Die and Life After Death) before being murdered on March 9, 1997, Notorious B.I.G. solidified himself as the King of NY and by extension, hip-hop culture as a whole. Tupac Shakur, also now deceased, was the only comparable hip-hop artist at the time.

Conversely, Lil Wayne has made six studio albums and achieved considerable commercial success, yet still fails to hold any crowns other than Louisiana’s best. Many consider T.I. to be the King of the South and while that is highly debatable considering the fact that Ludacris is more accomplished and more popular in their shared hometown of Atlanta, it is definitely up for discussion as to whether little Wayne deserves to even be mentioned with Jay-Z, Biggie’s successor to the title of best alive.

These were only my Top 3 reasons why I think B.I.G. still reigns supreme. Trust me when I say there are many more (like voice and Wayne’s Auto Tune usage). You can say I’m holding onto the past or I have an East Coast bias. You can even call me hater but I’ll still take a dead Biggie over a living Lil Wayne any day.