Hot 21 Radio

N.O.R.E. claimed he was the 'hottest rapper in the world' in 1998 during a recent appearance on the 'I Am Athlete' podcast hotter than even JAY-Z, DMX and Big Pun.

The Notorious B.I.G. s deaths still weighed heavy on the heart and the rise of commercialization pushed the genre into the dreaded Shiny Suit Era, 98 nevertheless helped shift the trajectory of rap in ways that can still be felt to this day. From future Hall of Famers reaching their peak, veterans dropping late-career classics and emerging stars breaking through, that year produced a string of seminal rap albums including JAY-Zs Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life, OutKasts Aquemini, Lauryn Hills The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Big Puns Capital Punishment, not to mention DMXs historic back-to-back No. 1s, Its Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. Even among all that tough competition, however, N.O.R.E.believes he reigned supreme as the hottest rapper in the world in 1998, as he claimed during a recent appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast alongside former NFL pros Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson, Channing Crowder and Jared Odrick. I was the hottest rapper in the world! I couldve held out, but I wanted a million dollars, he said while revealing he gave up his publishing rights early in his career. After Marshall questioned his bold claim, N.O.R.E. doubled down on his statement while pulling out stats to support his case. I was! he replied. In 1998? Who was it? Me, DMX, Big Pun, Camron. I was the hottest at the time I signed. And, other than DMX, I sold the most in my first week. DMX did 220, I did 163 plus the other 18,000 that they pre-sold from me! Because they bootlegged it and they still counted it! A post shared by 2Cool2Blog (@2cool2bl0g) The album N.O.R.E. is referring to, of course, is his self-titled debut album, which arrived back in July 1998 via Penalty/Tommy Boy. The project did indeed sell 163,000 copies in its first week and has since been certified platinum. N.O.R.E. was bolstered by the success of its singles, Superthug, Banned From T.V. and N.O.R.E. Cracking the Billboard Hot 100 top 40, The Neptunes-produced Superthug not only helped usher in Pharrell and Chad Hugos dominance behind the boards but it solidified N.O.R.E. as a solo star following his breakout success as part of Capone-N-Noreaga. The Big Pun, Jadakiss, Camron, Styles P and Nature-assisted Banned From T.V., meanwhile, remains a classic posse cut, as shown by the songs reception during The LOXs recent Verzuz battle against Dipset N.O.R.E. isnt the only rapper to have a strong case for hottest rapper of 1998, though. JAY-Zscored his first of many No. 1 albums with Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life, which elevated him to international stardom while taking home Best Rap Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards. Fugees Lauryn Hillalso shone at the Grammys that year, winning five awards (including the coveted Album of the Year) for her critically-acclaimed solo effort The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Elsewhere, Andr 3000, Big Pun, Juvenile, Busta Rhymes and Camron all made their presence felt. Read more