After Biggie and Pac were gone, hip hop didn't go soft. It got polished. Today on Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot break down DMX and Tupac Shakur — two of the most intense forces to ever touch a microphone in 90s rap history.

Not the charts. What they actually meant. And what burning that hot cost both of them.

DMX threw water on his face and hit the street. That's exactly what 1998 hip hop needed.

This That and the Third breaks it down three ways.

The THIS — Tupac Shakur was the greatest emotional communicator rap music has ever seen. Not just a rapper. A poet. An advocate. A man who made the street feel seen.

The THAT — DMX dropped two nuclear classic albums in the same year. 1998. Nobody had done it before. Nobody has done it since. But explosions don't sustain.

The THIRD — Some artists are stars. They burn steady for a long time. Some are meteors. They flash brighter than anything else and then they're gone. DMX and 2Pac were the meteor moment 90s rap required.

Is it about the bars or about moving the people? Tell us where we got it wrong.

Grown Man Bars — hip hop debate for grown ups. Two Gen X former rappers. No scripts. No safe takes. New episodes every Tuesday.

00:00 The Open

00:27 The Stakes

00:59 The THIS: 2pac

01:50 The This: DMX

03:09 The That: Tupac

04:23 The That: DMX

06:15 The Third: What All This Means

11:18 The Comment of the Week

11:53 The Outro

Kanye West once said Jay Z is the only rapper who can stand on a stage with him.

So we put that claim to the test.

In this episode of Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot break down Jay Z vs Kanye West across 9 categories, including:

Arrival, Street Record, Hit Record, Feature Master, Bar Fest, Club Smash, Storytelling, Cultural Impact, and The Modern Test.

No ties. No bias. Just hip hop debate.

Who really wins?

00:00 The Open

00:22 Round 1: The Arrival

02:25 Round Two : The Street Record

04:34 Round Three: The Hit Record

06:51 Round Four: The Feature Master

11:09 Round FIve: The Bar Fest

13:35 Round Six: The Club Smash

16:04 Round Seven: The Story Record

21:50 Round Nine: The Modern Test

In this episode of Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot put Slaughterhouse in a Hostage Situation. Joe Budden, Royce da 5'9", Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I all bring elite bars, but only one can survive. Every round, somebody gets cut until one rapper is left standing.

This conversation goes deeper than a basic rap ranking. It becomes a real debate about technical skill, lyricism, storytelling, cadence, personality, replay value, and who actually makes the strongest music. If you’ve ever argued about who the best member of Slaughterhouse was, or whether pure bars are enough to carry a rapper, this episode is for you.

A sharp hip hop debate for fans of Slaughterhouse, Joe Budden, Royce 5'9, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, Eminem, rap supergroups, lyricism, and barbershop-style rap conversations.

Follow Grown Man Bars for more hip hop debates, rap rankings, lyrical breakdowns, versus episodes, and grown-man rap talk.

00:00 We Open

00:12 Hostage Situation - Slaughterhouse

00:45 Round 1 - Chad

01:49 Round 1 Big Absoloot

02:46 Round 2 Big Absoloot

03:38 Round 2 Chad

06:31 Round 3 Big Absoloot

08:02 Round 3 Chad

09:51 Round 4 The Explanation

11:51 Round 4 Big Absoloot

Ludacris is one of the most entertaining rappers hip hop has ever seen. The energy, the videos, the hooks, the personality, the hits — all of that is undeniable.

But does being an elite entertainer automatically make you an elite rapper?

In this episode of Grown Man Bars Trials, Chad and BA put Ludacris' legacy on trial. One side says Luda was way more lyrical than people give him credit for. The other says he never really lived in that lane long enough to be considered a true top tier rap threat.

We break down:

• Entertainment vs lyricism
• Whether Ludacris ever had a real “greatest alive” era
• Why consistency matters more than potential
• Whether versatility should count more than dominance
• If moving between comedy, bars, hits and Hollywood helped or hurt his legacy

Three rounds. Zero ties. Zero feelings.

Was Ludacris an elite lyricist hiding behind jokes? Or was he always more entertainer than rap problem?

Drop your verdict in the comments.

00:00 What's the Charge?

00:13 What's the Rules?

00:30 Round 1: Entertainment vs Lyricist

01:12 Round 1: Bars Without the Jokes

02:19 Round 2: A Top Tier Lyrical Threat?

06:23 Round 3: Moving the Goalpost?

08:02 Closing Shot

Two different ideas of greatness.
One final decision.

In the championship round of the Greatest Rapper Alive 2026 tournament, Chad and BA sit with the question that’s been underneath every debate:

What actually makes a rapper the greatest?

Is it technical dominance?
Is it artistry and intention?
Is it cultural impact… or audience expansion?

On one side, Eminem—arguably the most technically dangerous rapper ever, with a catalog that reshaped the scale of hip hop.
On the other, Kendrick Lamar—a precision artist whose work re-centered depth, narrative, and meaning in a different era of the genre.

This isn’t just a comparison. It’s a definition.

We break it down the only way we do:

• Catalog
• Technical Skill
• Cultural Influence

And somewhere inside those categories sits the real tension:
Dominance vs precision. Volume vs perfection. Technician vs artist.

By the end, a winner is named.
But the real question doesn’t go away:

Do you want the best rapper…
or the best artist who raps?

00:00 Greatest Rapper Alive 2026

00:15 Let's Work

00:43 Catalog

04:17 Technical Skill

07:47 Cultural Influence

13:05 Final Verdict

The bracket stops being fun in the Sweet 16. Chad and BA work through some brutal calls, including Lil Wayne vs Killer Mike, Andre 3000 vs Scarface, Eminem vs Kanye, Missy Elliott vs Common, Nas vs LL Cool J, and Jay-Z vs KRS-One. By the end, the Elite 8 is set: Nas vs Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg vs Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne vs Andre 3000, and Eminem vs Missy Elliott.

00:00 Let's Get It

00:04 (1) Snoop Dogg vs (13) E 40

00:29 (2) Kendrick Lamar vs (3) The Game

01:57 (1) Lil Wayne vs (13) Killer MIke

03:36 (11) Andre 3000 vs Scarface

06:03 (1) Eminem vs (13) Kanye West

08:03 (1) Nas vs (5) LL Cool J

09:30 (6) KRS One vs (2) Jay Z

The Greatest Rapper Alive Tournament hits the Round of 32, and now the easy choices are gone.

This is the round where legends start running into legends. The rapper you thought was untouchable starts looking touchable, and every matchup gets harder to survive.

In this episode of Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot debate who advances and who goes home based on lyricism, catalog, and cultural impact.

32 entered. 16 go home.

Who survives the room?

00:00 Round of 32

00:35 Intro

00:47 Let's Get It

00:53 (1) Nas vs (8) MC Lyte

02:01 (5) LL Cool J vs (4) Rakim

03:25 (6) KRS One vs (8) Big Daddy Kane

04:49 (10) Busta Rhymes vs (2) Jay Z

06:13 (1) Snoop Dogg vs (9) Kurupt

07:22 (12) Too Short vs (13) E 40

08:46 (11) Xzbibt vs (3) The Game

09:52 (7) Ice Cube vs (2) Kedrick Lamar

12:45 (1) Lil Wayne vs (9) T.I.

14:11 (12) Juvenile vs (13) Killer Mike

15:57 (11) Andre 3K vs (14) Big KRIT

17:18 (7) J Cole vs (2) Scarface

19:17 (1) Eminem vs (9) Drake

20:26 (12) Big Boi vs (13) Kanye West

21:50 (6) Missy Elliott vs (3) Pusha T

23:09 (10) Raekwon vs (2) Common

23:53 Catch the Sweet 16 On Thursday

In this episode of Grown Man Bars, Chad and Big Absoloot kick off the Greatest Rapper Alive Tournament with the Round of 64. Using three criteria — technical ability, catalog, and cultural impact — they start cutting down one of the toughest brackets in hip hop. From painful first-round matchups to early upset talk, this is grown-man rap debate under pressure. Tap in, pick your winners, and see who survives to the next round.

00:00 GOAT Tournament Setup00:59 Judging Criteria Explained01:09 Nas vs Kool G Rap02:45 MC Lyte vs 50 Cent04:16 LL Cool J vs Method Man05:41 Rakim vs Redman07:01 KRS One vs Black Thought09:02 Big Daddy Kane vs Mos Def10:33 Jadakiss vs Busta Rhymes11:49 Jay-Z vs Talib Kweli13:01 West Coast Bracket Begins13:10 Snoop vs Schoolboy Q13:26 DJ Quik vs Kurupt14:48 Tyler vs Too Short 15:53 Ice-T vs E-4016:58 Vince Staples vs Xzibit17:37 Game Over Logic18:44 Cube Versus Mac Dre19:54 Kendrick Sweeps YG20:38 South Bracket Begins20:41 Wayne Rolls Past Luda21:25 Bun B Versus TI22:30 Juvie Upsets Rick Ross22:56 Killer Mike v Jeezy23:28 Andre 3k23:42 Big Krit vs Future24:23 J Cole vs Mystikal25:26 Scarface Versus Mia X26:16 Modern Bracket Setup26:29 Eminem vs Joey27:03 Drake vs Lauryn28:41 Big Boi vs the world 30:35 Kanye vs Tech N9ne32:35 Missy vs Asap Rocky33:15 Pusha T 34:19 Chef vs Ghostface35:23 Common Closes Round36:05 Round Of 64 Wrap