Nelly claims his era of music was the "toughest era in hip-hop ever."

[5th Letter]

 

[already home_17]

i mean…those are big names
and he outsold most of them

 

[5 Grand]

Back then if you didn't sell 100k in your first week you were considered a bum.

 

[SheerExcellence]

ja rule too

 

[grYmes]

He’s got a point. That era had a lot of stars fighting for sales. Probably the most successful era in hip hop history commercially.

 

[AllElite617]

90s was the toughest lyrically. Late 90s early 00s was peak sales wise though. The guys he mentioned plus Nas, OutKast, The Game, Kanye, Wayne, T.I. etc

 

[Don Dada]

I am glad he mention Ja Rule because he was a beast back then

 

[Water Ur Seeds]

There were loads of random hot singles that would drop too... Shade Sheist, Knock and Wyclef for example... Snoop, Xzibit, Wu Tang, Red & Meth etc were dropping heat during that period too... Was a great time...

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

i mean…those are big names
and he outsold most of them

Yeah the 90s kid in me wanted to push back, but from 2000 to 2005/6, Nelly was no worse than top 3. And he had to go against those he named and more.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

He's probably right. I'm a 90s fan all day, but HipHop was really just starting to explode in the early to mid 90s. Back then getting gold was still an accomplishment. By the 2000s, HipHop had made it to a place where the biggest HipHop stars were among the biggest artists in the world period. From an artistic stand point, there probably was more competition in the 90s, but from a sales standpoint the 00s were tougher.

 

[Achewon87]

You still had to be dope with your own style and sell Platinum in his era...

Very tough indeed then add in all the competition...

Nelly did alright...

Still wouldn't put him on any GOAT list tho...

 

[Mr.LV]

Jay Z Dynasty and OutKast Stankonia dropped on the same day, imagine having to go against a popular song like Ms.Jackson that was Number 1 on the Billboards , mainstream competition was a lot more stiffer compared to today

 

[BRIAN B.]

"Only dudes movin units, Em, pimp juice & us"

 

[Goldie]

He left Nas off the list?

 

[Don Dada]

He left Nas off the list?

Nas ain:t even a mainstream rapper

 

[John Shippuden]

Fair

DMX
Jay
50
Ja
Lil Wayne
Luda
TI
Fabolous
Kanye
Game
Jeezy
Ross
Lil Jon
Khaled
Fat Joe
Camron
Pharrell
Clipse
Freeway
Beanie sigel
Jadakiss
Snoop dogg
Styles P
Sean Paul
The whole def jam fight for ny roster

Even had to compete with all the R&B artists as well

A lot to compete with

 

[Disanthrope]

"Only dudes movin units, Em, pimp juice & us"

You beat me to it

 

[BlackRain]

He's not wrong at all. Nelly dropped during the days when going platinum was considered a flop.

 

[Elzo69Renaissance]

So what if Nelly was killed after his first album

Would he get goat consideration?

 

[5th Letter]

So what if Nelly was killed after his first album

Would he get goat consideration?

When people talk about the greatest albums of all time Country Grammar is mentioned.