The Greatest Rapper Alive
Yeeeah!! This is a controversial topic. A lot of cats lay claim to the title nowadays…some of them are in contention, some of them are clearly delusional. A few go so far as to say that they’re the Greatest Rapper Dead or Alive, a bold statement that challenges what some see as the insurmountable primacy of certain deceased Rap Gods (hint: rhymes with Jiggy and Jupac–I’d guess no one’s claiming to be better than, say, Freaky Tah or Rappin’ Ass Ron). Personally, my belief is that there’s no need to qualify the title with a D.O.A.–the greatest rappers of all time are still alive. All of them.
What’s that you say? I must be mistaken? What about the aforementioned Giggly and Tubesock? First of all, that’s totally not their names, dude. Have some respect. Secondly, I guess your own Top Five list will depend on the criteria you use to judge the contest. And for me, it just seems like there’s a certain group of rappers who invented the styles we all use today, and therefore whose influence is the widest-reaching. Now, maybe that doesn’t define greatness for you. Maybe it’s about who can write the best sixteen or the best song, who can freestyle all night, who can rock a show the hardest…maybe it’s some combination of all these and more. And while your standards may vary from the next man’s, I’d like to think that number of records sold is not a factor in anyone’s deliberations (although this is plainly naive).
OK. I wanna see ‘em. Your personal Top Five, Dead or Alive, Greatest Rappers of All Time. Honorable mentions are cool, too, and if you feel like justifying your picks, all the better. To quote a rapper who may appear on some of your lists, show me whatcha got…
Grip’s Top Five (in no particlular order):
Big Daddy Kane
KRS ONE
Rakim
Slick Rick
Ice Cube
…and my top Runner Up, undoubtedly an influence on all of the above, is the legendary Melle Mel. The only reason he got bumped out is because cats don’t really rap like that anymore, whereas the styles perfected by my Top Five are still widely used today.
So there you have it. Let the battle begin. Gentlemen, start your engines.
Pay homage,
Grip Grand
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
ok, so I was a grunge kid growing up. busta rhymes “the coming” was what made me decide to jump ship and focus my attention on this crazy hip-hop stuff. that being said, the BDKs, melle mels, and run dmcs of the world were what you would call before my time (although i’ve been knocking BDK A LOT in the subsequent years). I won’t pretend like i’m down and pick rakim or the like when i can’t honestly say they are my favorite or my own personal g.o.a.t… so i’ll just stick to what i know.
i guess this isn’t technically my list of the greatest of all time, but rather my favorites… which probably won’t be respected or paid much attention to, but i wanna participate, so here we go.
1.
Ghostface Killah
2.
Redman
3.
Ice Cube
4.
Nas
5.
Biggie
it’s early yet, but i was very tempted to put Pusha T of Clipse on here… i fucking love Clipse.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:01 pm
i spent all that time and it won’t post the picture i found in my response?! what a bunch of bullshit.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Those are good picks, whatever the category. You know, I’m not sure I’d be able to come up with a list of my Top Five Favorite Rappers like J.T. did…that’s a real challenge. So many names…
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
big l.
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Here’s where it gets reallllly nerdy. Technical, innovator, original, prolific, trend-setter. It’s impossible to judge art… that being said here’s who I think should be mentioned.
Ra
BDK
Em
Andre 3G
Nas
Krs
Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Tribe, De La, NWA, EPMD, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Ice-T,
i can’t do this, my head will pop.
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:48 pm
i never got into tupac. i’m indifferent towards tupac. so what. i know a lot of people really love his shit, he never did it for me, not that he is bad, i could name 100 rappers i like to listen to more.
June 22nd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
okay okay okay…
i’ll be the nerd and throw this one in the mix… no particular order
Aceyalone
this dude was on some crazy shit in the early 90s when bibby and brewjock were holding it down acey had some serious… his biggest flaw is that he kept making more music and caring less.
Big L / Lord Finesse
UPTOWN!!! I would just put Big L but you can’t have L withouth Finesse. They made people have to write punchlines on some next next shit… DITC as a whole is pretty fucking amazing.
BDK
duh.
although also guilty of making much less quality music after a while. he’s fucking big daddy kane. he rules.
Chuck D
Conscious rappers with conflicting opinions (common, kweli) you owe this man. plus he was part of the bomb squad.. FUUUUHHHHHK
3 way tie at the end between DMC, KRS, and Rakim… each brought something totally new but each also got dated…. even though they’re still better rappers than anyone on earth.
honorable mention to Melle Mel because he’s actually the best rapper alive. just ask him
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Alright….Not the best…but who I thinks dope more times than not.
-Ludacris
-Redman (Pre 2001)
-Kanye
-LiL Wayne (Yeah I did it!)
-Jay,Pac,Biggie,Big L,Em,Cube,Rakim,BDk,Kool G,Kurupt,Meth,Dj Quik,Devin,Scarface,UGK,Mac Dre,Boot Camp,Outkast…Fuck! You get the picture…Tons of people
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Everyone who everyone has listed is dope. However, JT mentioned Busta but did not actually list him (and no one else did). He was on “Scenario”. And he made a hot song like last month. Pull your pants down and sit on that for a while.
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:37 pm
So many hot rappers. Which is how I got down to the names on my list (as far as greatest, not my favorites)…I figure if you asked every rapper who came after my Top Five–every Red and Meth, Jay-Z and Nas, Biggie and Pac, and all the other cats people might name–who THEY thought was the best, the most influential, the dudes who taught them how to do it…it’d be the something like the guys I picked. They’re the architects of modern rap–Illmatic doesn’t exist without Paid in Full (or maybe Follow the Leader). But obviously you could make an argument for many of the above names…Chuck D, DMC, these are major figures. DITC? Everyone in hip-hop should send them a dollar, that’s how much we all owe them. Q-Tip? Impossibly important, slept on for some reason. EPMD? A whole generation of rappers wanted to be them. All those cats are major. But if you gotta pick five, I’m cool with mines.
Another deciding factor was how many samples of the artists I picked have become classic choruses/cuts/et cetera…sometimes it seems like every line from the first BDP, Kane, or Rakim album has been used in some form (Slick Rick, too…Cube I put on the list because NWA may be the single most influential rap group of all time). ‘I Came in the door, said it before…’ What if you INVENTED that? You would get a spot on my list. By this criteria (and I believe it’s a good one, as these familiar samples are like the shared consciousness of hip-hop), the next names down on the list would be without a doubt be Jay-Z and Biggie (the Hook Kings), followed by Tupac and maybe Nas–a group of artists whose best singles often featured a cappellas (not a coincidence). Tribe and De La would also be up there.
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:40 pm
By the way, I like Shalem’s criteria (Technical, Innovator, Original, Prolific, Trend-setter). I might have to marinate on that.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 am
Ok i didn’t have time to list all 5 earlier. Now i’m faded and just got off of work so why not? Some of you know that i am a high pitch mc so i was highly influenced by some of my fellow high pitch mc’s.
big l
bootie brown
b real
q tip
jessica simpson
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 am
i really like the classification of high pitched mcs….
early eminem could go there too…
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 am
q’m said it here first but DJ Quik was on my list, and i’d have to replace NAS with Quik… one of the few cats i’ll go to the store and buy his record day of release without hearing a single… dope for real.
I listened to The Coming again this morning after posting and Busta is replacing Biggie… there it is.
Ghost
Red
Cube
Quik
Busta
done.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:59 am
High Pitched top 5
1.Em
2.B-Real
3.Milk Dee
4.Eazy-E
5.Adrock
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 am
Adrock is dope.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I love(ed) Nas, but I think live performance is one of the most important factors to judge an emcee on and I’ve never even heard of him putting on a good show. Quite the contrary really. KRS is the GOAT of shows.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:51 pm
“the most important factors to judge an emcee on”
1. lyrics/delivery on recorded music- Have to make a WHOLE ALBUM dope. And have a theme/consistency. This is where rap has fallen off the most as a whole I think.
2. Beat selection- Everybody can rap to anything, it’s the ones that are choosy and select the best beats that make the best songs. This is the area that I think Jay has the advantage over Nas… but a “Best of Nas” is better than a “Best of Jay” to me.
3. Live show- Energy, breath control, consistency. (You have to have good songs to begin with to even get you into this category) *KRS does have an argument for GOAT, but I have to go with Black Thought. There is also an “X-factor” that a rapper needs to excel in this category, an overall awareness of what makes a “great show”. You have to be able to look at it from a fans point of view. How you speak/interact with an audience, your confidence, how you project your voice, how you present your songs, transitions between songs, your dj/band, your hypeman (or lack thereof), your “wow” factor.
4. Consistency- How many times a rapper can do 1-3 and have the product be dope. There is a difference between making 1 dope album and making 5. This is number 4 but I actually think this should be more important, especially for upcoming rappers. You have to be able to make a shitload of songs. If you name a successful rapper i guarantee they made A LOT of songs to get where they are at. You can’t be so fucking picky. Don’t treat every song like it’s your last, just make every song better than the last one you made.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:51 pm
i saw NAS at the mezzanine and it was one of the best shows i’ve ever seen (probably helped that snoop showed up halfway through the set and did 5 songs, and spike lee, michael rappaport, and fred hampton, jr were there, and the warriors knocked off the mavs from the playoffs that night, and i got some action… yeah, good show). i’ve seen KRS twice and was kind of disappointed both times.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
i’m droppin’ knowledge out this bitch
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:56 pm
grip- if you go by the “who sampled this for their chorus” approach Jay-Z wins.
June 23rd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Rich and JT- Busta is probably the best rapper ever to not say shit. His delivery is unfuckwitable
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
KRS solo show? Off the hook. Black Thought solo show? ummmm…..Black Thought solo show?
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
High Pitched top 5
1.Em
2.B-Real
3.Milk Dee
4.Eazy-E
5.Adrock
Milk Dee only cause of one song…. c’mon…
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:29 pm
hmm… dont know about g.o.a.t.s but mine are as follows (no particular order)
Kane, Rakim, Big L, Aceyalone, Andre 3k, Black Thought, Smally Bigs, Crooked I (even though I have only heard a few tight tracks), GZA, Meth and Red.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
and Boodi Brown should be on that top high pitched rappers.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
To respond to Sha, I think Jay takes the chorus crown these days, and will eventually overtake all the others. But for the decade-plus between the debut of my boys and the start of Jay-Z’s reign, they were untouchable. Plus, I’ve heard Rakim and Slick Rick samples in other genres…dance shit, mostly. But I rarely hear Jay outside of rap. He’s taking over, I agree, but the most famous Rakim line will always be more fundamental to hip-hop than any Jay-Z line. Hova may be the eye on the pyramid, but my top five are like the base…the cornerstones, if you will. Without them, there’s nothing but endless sand.
And as far as all your other criteria…they’re good, and most rappers fail them outright (I don’t know about Beat Selection, since I’ve heard that some famous rappers we all like–Ghostface, for example–let their managers select beats for them, whereas other rappers had a long run of good beat selection through no fault of their own–I’m looking at you, Guru). I think there’s some danger in comparing rappers over long spans of time, as most if not all will fall off eventually, and today’s Kane is not yesterday’s Kane. You have to compare them at their prime, and the best way to do that is albums. Unless you know how to go back in time. Because if you saw KRS live in ‘87, you might think he was better than Black Thought is now. Ten or fifteen years ago, we’d all be talking a lot more about LL (who deserves mentioning) in all these categories, too. But times change. Most rappers (most musicians in general) can’t come through with multiple classic albums. Nas, for instance, has only one (yeah, I said it). But it’s one of the best albums ever. I mean, a “Best of Nas” is just Illmatic with a few bonus tracks. Likewise, the best of Jay-Z is some combination of the Blueprint and Reasonable Doubt. So if it’s about having the most classic material, who’s had three or more universally-certified classic albums? Just off the top, I got Tribe, De La, Ice Cube, Gang Starr, EPMD, Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, Outkast, maybe Run DMC and LL (there’s weak spots on those old LPs, but few artists’ have a more convincing Greatest Hits catalog than these Def Jam pioneers), maybe the Beasties (depends on how much you like Check Your Head), Too Short…actually, if you like Short, almost every album is considered classic…but maybe not universally so. Same with Tupac…
Anyway, who else should be on that list? E-40’s close, between his early solo shit and the old Click shit. I must be forgetting someone…
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 pm
On the most sampled….I gotta say Biz Markie is up there. Jay only gets sampled by Swizz Beatz.
June 23rd, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Who I would officially list as the Top 5 Rappers of All-Time, based on influence & total catalogue:
Jay-Z: At this point, I think you have to say he’s #1 of all-time. He’s done things nobody’s ever done. He will be rap’s first billionaire. Plus his catalogue includes 3 legit classics (Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album) and a few more that aren’t far behind.
Rakim: It’s already been said, but Nas, AZ, and Wu-Tang wouldn’t have rapped that way if Rakim hadn’t done it first. 3 classics. Ten years ago, he was everyone’s #1.
Tupac: Rap’s biggest pop culture icon ever (Jay-Z is the only one who could make a claim otherwise). Rap’s Otis Redding… what he lacked in technality, he made up for in feeling.
Biggie: Debatable to me only because the short career, but if you only have two albums, you can’t argue with those two.
KRS: Hurting himself with each subsequent release and/or statement. Ten years ago, he was everyone’s #2.
My Personal Top 5 list:
Pharoahe Monch: I consider the most technically gifted ever. Maybe my favorite… resume is close to being worthy, but lack of influence keeps him out of the “real” top 5.
AZ: AZ is better than Nas. Wanna debate? From 1995-present, I clearly win.
Wise Intelligent: New World Order and The Talented Timothy Taylor are way too overlooked. There are only about 5 rappers that still get me excited for an album release… Wise Intelligent is on the list.
Common: Was my #1 for a long time. Took a dip when Electric Circus dropped, and I still don’t think the last two Kanye-influenced albums compete with his heyday. He’s still here for sentimental reasons.
Andre 3000: Fuck it… Andre is replacing KRS on the first list. Nobody comes close to Outkast’s 5 straight classics! Start rapping more, dammit.
Cee-Lo: repeat… start rapping more, dammit. But Cee-Lo was unparalleled on Soul Food and Still Standing, and still pretty fucking good when he branched out from straight hip-hop.
Top 5 groups:
1) Outkast
2) Wu-Tang
3) De La Soul
4) The Roots
5) Public Enemy
Honorable mentions: Tribe, NWA
June 24th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Joe’s shit is legit! You know, Tupac probably is the biggest rap “icon”…I mean, he and Big definitely dominate the airbrushed shirt game. The two would seem to have the broadest influence (or maybe recognition factor is more accurate) outside of hip-hop culture…people who don’t know shit about hip-hop know and love songs by both (and always want to talk about it at parties when they find out you rap). They’re like pop stars. That’s big time. But neither would exist without, say, NWA. So who gets the title? The originators? The generation that followed and polished the craft? Or the one after that, who brought it to the masses and made it a dominant part of world culture? Man, I love shit like this, fa’real…
Incidentally, my actual favorite rappers are hard to pin down, since they vary from decade to decade. But when I’m scrolling through new joints online, especially random remixes and shit, there are certain names whose verses I always check for (although if I put the names that never disappointed me, it’d be much shorter):
Sean Price (c’mon now)
Redman (always)
Andre 3K (getting to be the best ever…like Jimi Hendrix, next level and ahead of his time)
Big Boi (don’t sleep)
Lil Wayne (am I the only person who found Carter III deeply disappointing?)
Kanye (consistently interesting and fun to listen to…rare qualities)
MF Doom (ill since KMD)
Mos Def (rapping, not singing…never singing)
Jadakiss (just about guaranteed heat, will slay you on your own song)
Ras Kass (still waiting for Come Widdit, part two)
Busta (endlessly inventive…may not say much, but says it in the best way possible, ever since LONS and corduroy sweats)
Q-Tip (was like Andre 3k back in the day)
Posdnous (Trugoy, too, but you never see that)
Camron (clever ignorance at it’s best)
Juelz (like Cam plus one)
Common (hard shit good, soft shit bad?)
Black Thought (a stepping razor)
Ghostface (some kind of savant)
Jay-Z (him, Red, Busta, and Jada are like the kings of the hot-to-death remix verse)
Slick Rick (dope to this day, never fell off lyrically)
Nas (may have set the bar too high for himself long ago, but…)
Kool G Rap (recognize the real)
Large Professor (love that Queens delivery)
Prodigy (and speaking of which…)
Consequence (I like mushmouthed rappers…it’s the Erick Sermon effect)
T.I. (it’s true)
E-40 (a genius)
Camp Lo (what does the one dude mean by “we enter with flamers”?)
M.O.P. (rugged, never smooth)
Probably others.
I love rap.
June 24th, 2008 at 2:47 am
I’m sorry, but if Pac doesn’t die…Jay has no carear. Pac son’d Jay in 96! and jay redid one of his hits in 2003…Pac didn’t like jay and jay was drowning at the time…I’m just sayin
June 24th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Did anyone name Common? His live show is crazy! and has put out some classics.
June 24th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
DEVIN THE DUDE. Unfuckwithable. A class all his own.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
devin is that dude, especially down hurh.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Yeah, Devin, no doubt. And Snoop, too. I mean, it has to be said. The Snoop on Deep Cover and G Thing is as good a rapper as anyone’s ever been, and he changed the game monumentally…in fact, he’s still doing it. Snoop!
June 25th, 2008 at 12:36 am
‘96 was the year of Jay’s FIRST album, and besides, Pac dissed everyone during that time. By ‘03, Jay was already the biggest rapper in the world. I don’t think Bonnie & Clyde had much to do with it.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
To my ear if it is really about who has pushed the style evelope
Jay-Z
.
.
.
.
3000
KRS-One
Kane
Pharoahe Monch
June 25th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Tru Bonnie & Cylde didn’t do anything for Jay’s carear but get him a hot girlfriend…but it’s the principle of it. I’m not saying Jay’s wack…I got all his albums and he did lay the blueprint for how everyone spit for like 5yrs. But I’m tellin you, if Pac doesn’t die he has no carear. In 98′ at the hardknock life tour in SJ, Jay got BOO’d off the stage…fucking BOO’d!Because the crowd new Pac called Jay a bitch. It was insane. Jay was like…I’m never coming back to the bay again. But that was a lie
June 25th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
shaq is my favorite rapper. mainly because of the movie where he did magic and rhymed the whole time.
June 25th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
POSDANOUS – Most underated ever maybe.. No solo albums, but enough dope verses to make several.
MIKAH 9 – Best stylist of all time.
NAS – Illmatic…nuff said. He can record his farts and it wouldn’t matter after that.
RAKIM – Everyone…everything!
BDK – Just such a smooth and impressive delivery on top of that he drops illys always.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Posdnous is the reason I rap. He’s a lyrical king, one of the great rhyme-scheme stylists of all time. Plus, he has glasses just like me! Seriously, that was a big deal as a kid. Years later, he came into the record store when I was working, and I didn’t have the heart to approach him, not even to say thanks (let alone to blame him for my so-called career). No single uncomfortable sentence and awkward, unsolicited handshake was gonna accurately describe how meaningful his music has been to me. Better to leave it unsaid. I once helped Warren G find some CDs, and when I told him how much I liked his new (at that time) album, I felt like the biggest herb. Even though it was true. Awkward…
June 25th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Rappin’ Ass Ron was like our Big L. Underrated and not mentioned enough.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Fucking 42 comments on this one.. including people NOT in Rec-League (what up conceit) hot damn we’re ROLLIN!
June 26th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Fuck it I’ll say it… Jay>Pac – by any measure at this point.
Q’m you may be right that if Pac does not die, Jay does not get to where he has, but the fact is that Pac did die and Jay is what he is. Also a whole bunch of people will still say Nas “son’d” Jay in 2002, how’d that work out?
When you look at the space that Jay occupies not only within hip-hop culture but also American Pop Culture and Corporate Culture his status is unprecedented.
Take all of that away and Joe is still absolutely right – Jay is one of a very small list of emcees with 3 classic albums. He is also one of the three of four best guest verse rappers of all time, and has a 12 year resume of dope shit that would stand up next to Short, LL, Snoop or any other rapper synonymous with longevity. Biggie died in 1997 – Jay has been THE rapper from New York for a decade. No other rapper can make that claim for more than 4 or 5 years.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:24 am
deborah harry “eating cars and bars and sometimes also eats guitars”
Hot shit.
and of course…
AMG
It ain’t nothing like black pussy on my dick
Word to the motherfucking DJ Quik
I play hoes like dominos, slapping bones
AMG’s on the motherfucking microphone
I slang dick bitch nothing more and nothing less
You got a C-no hoe, you can take the test
And bring big fat titties and lots of back
You got the woody, and I gotsta ask
I’m no joke when I stroke for a client
Bitches need dick, so they buying it
G with the high top fade
Open up ya coach bag; bitch, so I can get laid
And take off your G-string drawers
Bitch eat your Wheaties, cause I don’t pause
What are you laughing at, ain’t a damn thing funny
(Bitch betta have my money)
I don’t charge by the inch, I charge by the foot
Think I’m lyin, bitch here take a look
100% U.S. D.E.A grade A beef, heres my card, call me
You looked like you ain’t been bumped in a while
Pick up the motherfucking phone and dial
And have your money in a big ass stack
I’m slingin this dick like a newjack (Bitch) so
Chours:
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
[AMG]
Choose the position pronto or you’re on the clock
You can suck the diggity-dick, but I’ma charge you a knot
Bend your ass on over and touch your toes
Hold your breath, cause I’ma hold my nose
This dick of mine ain’t friendly baby
Will it hurt you, yeah maybe, probably
Cause I’m 19 years old
I fuck hot pussy until its cold
I ain’t a prostitute, but I’ll knock the boots
Women love me, they say I’m so cute
Girls wanna get with me, I’m tender
A big old but, and a smile and a ?wear it up?
Pussy ain’t nothing but a game to me
Pockets on fat cause I played the freak
So when a hoe when a wanna fuck to the pro of a teenage pimp
I wanna see that grip so
Chorus:
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
[AMG]
Motherfuckers out there can’t phade me
And bitches out there don’t phase me
I take it blow for blow, a hoe is a hoe
A bitch is a bitch is a (Bitch) so
Fuck all the rigamore roll, I clock the dough
While a slang the blow
G’s gonna do it to you slow
While you sing along hoe(Bitch betta have my money)
Chorus:
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
(Bitch) Bitch betta have my money
…….Bitch
Coincidentally this also doubles as my default acceptance speech for any awards I might receive on my way to the top.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
That AMG album is incredible.
June 26th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
well sayre… if you wanna talk about successful rappers you gotta look at will smith. he’s ballin’ been ballin’ since before jay.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
AZ is so fucking good, but Ive seen Nas perform a few times now and its almost surreal. Actually the last time I saw him KRS One came out at the end and started doing the “hip hop is over here” call out thing, it was tough to watch for the tenth time. There was like a million Nas songs I would have rather have heard, but Nas was awestruck by what KRS was doing and let him close the show. Strange night. In a weird way kinda felt like when I found out my folks put the presents under the tree.
As far as crowd control is concerned Method Man looks like he’s conducting an orchestra when he is on stage. No matter how large the crowd he makes the whole place bounce.
um Common is whack, oh and Ghostface is the truth.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:39 am
YES, YES, and YES.
Meth does the best live show around… no doubt about that.
Ghost, not so much the live show, although he kills it, isn’t top notch. Rhymes, he can’t be matched in my book.
AZ is dope, yet i’d be more inclined to buy AMG… there, that’s were i’m coming from.
By the way, anyone see Ash and Richie murder the Independent tonight… for real! Goddamn i love my friends.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Method Man BY HIMSELF vs. krs BY HIMSELF. No contest. Seriously. No contest. Don’t believe me? Ask Method Man.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:22 am
Real talk.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:30 am
f’real
i just came up on an iphone.
cabs in sf are TIGHT!!!
June 27th, 2008 at 3:23 am
best rap voices : Chali 2na, Abstract Rude, Tre of pharcyde, Snoop and redman.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Don’t forget your boy Scarface!!!
June 27th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Rob,
I thought that it was pretty to clear that the point of my post was to demonstrate that, even if you remove the fact that Jay is hip-hop best mogul, you could still make a case he is the GOAT.
That said, Will has made much more money from helping old white guys killing Aliens and re-runs in syndication than from rap. Financially and in terms of pop-culture influence and prowess Jay and B > Will and Jada. And, for the record, I really like Will Smith.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Boots Riley anyone…? not top 10 or anything but he should be on some of these longer lists. The Coup is basically just him these days and they 3-5 great albums, depending on who you ask. Also, he wrote what I think is the best written rap song ever, Me and Jesus The Pimp In A Seventy-Nine Granada Last Night – it spawned a novelization for christ’s sake!
June 27th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Not to take anything away from Jay-Z, but I was disappointed in the Black Album (that’s his third “classic” album, right?)…not so much in terms of beats, or even the total package (though it’s no Blueprint). But try to listen to just the acappella album…the lyrics don’t stand up like that. It’s kind of all random and boring when stripped of the beats (and I mean that in the most respectful way possible…Jay-Z is a zillion times the rapper I am). I guess that’s what happens when you make everything up as you go along. For instance, if any of you spit the following lines (from his guest spot on Dr. Carter), I would be disappointed in you:
Now my name’s being mentioned with the martyrs
The Biggies and the Pacs and the Marleys and the Marcuses
Garvey
Got me
A Molotov Cocktail
Flow
even if you box well
Can’t stop the blows
OR…
Also
I’m so
Fly I’m on auto-
Pilot
While guys just
Stare at my wardrobe
TRY HARDER!!
I feel like the Black Album, too, suffers from a bunch of shit like that. Not hot, even though it may sound good on the beat (I know that’s partly what it’s about, but lyrics are important). And now he’s got other rappers thinking that’s the way to rhyme–just go in the booth and make it up (I’m looking at you, Wayne). Jay-Z has some of the best verses of all time, so he gets no pass from me on shit like the above. Acappellas are not always the best way to judge a rapper (despite what the folks at Ego Trip/MTV may think), and I agree that Jay deserves a spot on any list you care to put him on, but listening to the Black Album acappella gave me a new non-appreciation for it. Whereas a Sean Price album acappella would still be dope. My point is, not everyone thinks the Black Album is classic…well, maybe everyone but me.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
do yall know who pimpsta is? dickies and house shoes is all i have to say.
June 29th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Common is not wack. Common has been great. He made Ressurection. Ressurection is in my list of classic albums. Common puts on a dope show (at least the few times I saw him from 97-2000 were dope.) Yes he made some wack shit (thanks Eryka) but who on our lists hasn’t made some wack shit? Gza? First album, amazing, second album, awful.
Kanye needs a mention. He makes dope albums. the problem is he says some really dope shit, then some really cornball shit.
Eminem is working with Primo on his next record.
June 29th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Eminem >>>>>>Lil’ Wayne
June 30th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Primo > all the rappers
June 30th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Grip I could not disagree more about The Black Album. One of your early criteria was have your verses referenced by other rappers and sampled for choruses – “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” is the new “Top Billin” in that sense.
Also Jay clearly made a shift between dynasty and Blueprint to be much more about content and songs as a whole than hot lines or 16 bar verses. He sacrificed neat and tidy structure of bars and rhyme patterns for songs with beginnings, middles and ends. I for one appreciate that. If we get rapped up in hot lines we start backing a ton of emcees who have never made a decent album.
Look at “What More Can I Say.” It is an essay on why Jay-Z is the best ever, rather than a bunch of 2 and 4 bar patterns that show he is still trying to prove he is the best. That song begins with the thesis statement “never been a nigga this good for this long” and then addresses every argument one might with that statement – ie Biggie biting, not being street anymore, not wiling like Busta etc.
Feel me?
PS – Jay’s opening bars on Mr. Carter are really hot and take that song up a notch by actually spitting in a rhythm that Wayne did not find out of that beat.
June 30th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
We all know Jay-Z is great. But I want content and songs PLUS hot lines and 16-bar verses…that’s the golden formula (and he’s delivered it in the past). “What More Can I Say” is one of many high-quality songs on the Black Album (and that opening salvo is one of Jay’s best), but as a whole the record’s just not a personal classic for me…because even the songs I like are sometimes disappointing lyrically (Lucifer is a good example…dope beat, kind of boring word-wise). And because it didn’t change my life, my music, or the way I see the world in any significant way (again, the lists are subjective…maybe it knocked you on your ass). Dirt Off My Shoulders is the new Top Billin, and I gave Jay a nod in that regard in an earlier comment (he’s the current king of sampled choruses, no question). But something as simple as Rakim saying “Pump up the volume” seems more fundamental to hip-hop than Jay saying “Bring ‘em out”…maybe I’m just old, I don’t know. As for taking Dr. Carter up a notch, well…Wayne set the bar pretty low.
Look, Jay-Z is to the current state of hip-hop what all those guys on my list were to an earlier era. But there’s no Jay-Z without those other cats first. Put it this way…if you asked for Jay-Z’s G.O.A.T. list, would it be his own name five times? I bet his list and my list would share more than a couple names…
July 1st, 2008 at 3:54 am
i don’t know how to post a song. Everyone download DJ Quik’s “I Don’t Wanna Party Wit U”… Q’m, Rob, Fat Pete and I got down to Quik all day in the park today… you’re welcome.