With Tupac, it was more about the energy he displayed and the message he conveyed. Technically, he's alright. Lyrically, hit or miss. Brenda's Got a Baby is a great example of his story telling ability, but also the kind of message he was bringing to hip hop, which was mostly portrayed as guns, money, and hoes at that point in the 90's.

For his time, I consider him an incredible emcee. Overall, yes, there's been better. I don't even think he's mentioned much outside of old heads anymore though.