1) Tupac- THE most influential rapper and probably the best style with the way he intertwined singing and rapping. Longevity. Great voice too. 2) Nas- My favorite lyricist. One of the most knowledgeable rappers ever. Longevity. 3) Biggie- Only 2 albums, but he was featured on plenty songs besides his own LPs. Has an argument for best lyricist. 4) JayZ- Great lyrics and flow. Loved how he talked about getting money. Longevity and highly versatile. 5) Andre 3000 (Big Boi is nice, but not Top 10 nice)- Very Nas-like. Lyrics and content off the chart. 6) ZRo- Best rapper out of Houston. Lacks versatility, but his lyrics, flow, and singing is awesome. Longevity. 7) Scarface- GOAT gangsta rapper. Flow is somewhat lacking (aside from his early days), but his lyrics are very deep and powerful. He can say more in 4 bars than many do in an entire song. He's also very innovative and has longevity. Great storyteller. 8) Bun B (Pimp C wasn't a good rapper... he did other things though)- Great flow and lyrics 9) Jadakiss- Smooth voice, awesome lyrics and flow. 10) Cube- Great story teller, powerful voice and lyrics. Longevity. J Cole is rising quickly HM- Rakim, Big-L, Common, Cool J Em is very talented, I just hate his voice.... especially when he raps with anger.
You see the parts of your post I bolded... Notice how your conversation changed from "who's better than Nas" to "Nas is on the same platform." Lol... Z-Ro is another down south legend out of Houston. Since 1998 he's dropped 18 solo studio albums... 7 collaboration albums... And 14 mix tapes. And if you added up all the songs he's featured on and guest appearances on that would be another 10-15 albums. Dude just goes in the studio and spits and not sitting around the kitchen table written rhymes taking years to make a album. Many people know someone he's talking about in this song... https://youtu.be/tXBs35VQp2Q He has range and different styles... https://youtu.be/fH4tW_qX_iY This is Z-Ro & Trae and Nas don't spit like this https://youtu.be/3c8kYJPUvq It's too many artists out there for everyone to have the same people on their list.
I agree. I have always been a fan of Pimp C. He made UGK. That high pitched voice... My faves are: 1. THE DOC 2. 2Pac 3. Eazy E 4. Pimp C 5. Riff Raff 6. Master P 7. Too Short 8. Project Pat 9. Biggie 10. Ganksta Nip.
Exactly... because ZRo and Scarface are very commercialized. True MTV/Pop heavyweights Jadakiss was barely on the radio. Bun B is barely on the radio in the South, forget MTV. The only time he or UGK really achieved major national rotation is when they did songs with other artists. MTV has never heard of Big-L... lmao Nice try though.... wait, no it wasn't If you think it's a joke, you're ignorant about Hip Hop. Off the top of my head, Tupac popularized.... - the word "THUG"... rappers barely said it before, now most do - rappers (seriously) singing in songs. Seriously means Biz Markie and similar types don't count - the term "ride", "rider"... no one said it before him, now plenty say it Also, Tupac is the most mentioned rapper by other rappers in their songs. LOL Guess some folks don't understand what influential means.
Yea... Fat Joe goes hard and Ja-Rule was on the radio around the clock at one point. I'm surprised no one has said Lil Wayne either. MC Hammer may have been the most famous rapper at one point in time. Hammer was the 1st one to do major commercials and he had a cartoon. Plus he had people doing the running man all over the world like MJ had people moon walking. Not the best rapper but he was the best performer and put on the best shows.
Tupac also had people drinking Hennessey and Alize. Thug passion. Lol... But Bone Thugs N Harmony dropped their 1st album in 1994... The same year as Thug Life dropped theirs. And I don't believe thug was a new word in the rap world by 94. But Pac would be my #1 followed by Z-Ro....
The post said he popularized thug, not that he introduced it to rap. Bone deserves respect, they also sung not trying to be funny.
Tupac 1st started being seen with Digital Underground as a dancer and they would sing. PM Dawn, Pharcyde, and Arrested Development would sing. And before them Whodini and others (like Slick Rick). Tupac and Bone didn't start it. 3-2, Devin The Dude, and other Houston rappers were the 1st hardcore/gangster rappers I heard singing but I'm sure others may have as well. As far as polarizing words that were already being used in the streets ---> Meh, give him a cookie. The most impactful mainstream album in my opinion is The Chronic. And Dr Dre & Snoop had a song on the Deep Cover sound track that got regular radio play right before The Chronic album came out (187 on an undercover cop). 3-2 from The Convicts and Bushwick Bill from the Ghetto Boys out of Houston had some influence on that album (they went to Cali to help record it and Bill has an appearance on the album).
I meant to say they were invited to come while they were recording it. Houston rappers got a lot of love in Cali.
I guess some folks can't distinguish "introduce" from "popularize". Or maybe they just wanna argue. Slick Rick, Humpty, and alike weren't being serious. PM Dawn was an R&B group... lmao. Whodini does deserve props, though. And you can downplay Pac with whichever cookie you choose, but it doesn't diminish the fact he popularize certain words and phrases.
Obviously you've never heard a Whodini album. And PM Dawn, Pharcyde (She keeps passing me by) and Arrested Development (Tennessee) are rap groups (alternative rap). YouTube the song I Get Around and other songs by Digital Underground like The Same Song because obviously you've only heard the Humpty Dance. And I'm not down playing Tupac. I already said he would be my #1. But not for the Mickey Mouse reasons you're bringing up of popularizing a word that was already being used. He came out with 2pocalypse Now, Thug Life, Me Against The World, All Eyes On Me, and The Don Killuminati. 5 hot classic albums in a short period (technical 6 because one of those was the 1st double CD album). And that's not counting his other stuff. I don't think any other rapper can touch that...
