It's tough choice. But Blackstar would have to be there ( Mos Def, Talib Kweli ) I gotta put out Dilated Peoples from L.A. Ofcourse there's Nas, whole Wu Tang Clan and bunch of old school rappers. And yeah have you forgotten criminal minded? I love KRS One, there are also Artifacts, Dead Prez and The Game is actual hot thing. I could list quality names from East Coast to West Coast all the way up to Dirty South but you know what's quality hiphop and that's way it should stay.
Seconded. My Top 4 by far. No matter how commercial they may be they're still some of the best rappers this industry has to offer. Here's the proof. "Swagger Like Us" feat. All of them <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tHRGrZ1vciU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tHRGrZ1vciU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Very true I still love listening to nas and since his old school stuff was so great it feels as if he has fallen off... I just wish he could do another illmatic ... Still a great rapper tho def. Top five right now
Kanye west in my opinion is a bottom tier rapper ... He is an average lyricist at best plus he has no originality most of his music is sampled anyway I think he should just stick to producing Jay-z cant really argue he has left his mark in the game and with the amount of music he has put out and continues to put out is incredible. T.I. Ehhh he's alright nothing about him stands out. Lil Wayne would have been in my top 3 until he put out BS music like "lick me like a lollipop" (nice beat though)... Its like he is taking 50 cent's route to just make money .... Tha carter 3 in general was disappointing ... Tha carter 2 and his mixtapes are much better ... He was killin em but it seems he is changing it up a bit to sell more albums
frankly I hate these threads because it's always filled with manufactured, radio rappers. Just to name a few guys/groups better than T.I, check out leser known guys/groups like: Immortal Technique The Living Legends Jedi Mind Tricks Swollen Members Other well known, older guys/groups that never get enough credit and can blow clowns like T.I. out of the water: Prince Paul Del Tha Funkee Homosapien XClan Guru
Nas Andre 3000 Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 If you could combine Nas' lyrics with Andre 3000's rhythm with Chali 2na's voice, it would be the greatest rapper of all time.
I love me some 2nafish but to call him one of the best rappers ever is a stretch. He had the same tempo on all of his songs. He just spit multi-syllable rymes over and over all at the same pace. When he was with Ozomatli, he showed that his rhymes have a hard time adapting to different types of slower beats. Not to say that he didn't rap well on that cd, but songs like Super Bowl Sunday were a sstretch for him. He does have an awesome sounding voice though. I saw them back in 2001 0r 2002 at the Engine Room. Top 3 shows I've ever been to.
I think in this case you have to define what you think 'best' is for a rapper. If we're talking just lyrics, I think Nas gets the nod If we're talking just flow, unfortunately i think Wayne gets the nod If we're talking knowledge of music theory/concepts of songs, Pharell gets the nod Since we don't live in absolutes, I personally lean more towards flow and a little music theory/song concept (mostly producer mc's). None of those 3 are what i would consider best for my taste (Pharell's complete lack of flow and Wayne's babbling put them near the bottom of the list). my list (the Pimp C style)Z-ro/Cham - they understand melodies and how to harmonize, they have crazy flow and actually say something (popular conscious rappers) Lupe/Blackstar - they have alot to say and they can spit. Having the money to pay for good production is important to me as well. (producer rappers)Kanye/RZA - Kanye is more of a conductor than a producer because has and will sample or bring in whomever it takes to get the sound right. His production and song concepts make his rap sound good. I'm not much of a fan of the Wu but it always sounds better when a song is fully made by that person.
