Not only is it terribly new school. This list is terribly one sided. The rappers in this list all seem to represent the Thug, guns bling bling, commercial side of rap. There is an entire underground rap/hiphop scene that has amazing artists but because they do not follow the trends and repeat tired old themes they have not reached the commercial success of a Jay-Z or a Tupac or a DMX. Groups like NWA, Geto Boys and Public Enemy were great because they were original they did something new. But now nearly 20 years later, rapping about the same thing they did is boring and unoriginal IMO. Some of the old schoolers like Rakim, DMC, Kool Moe Dee, KRS-One, LL and others deserve to be considered g.o.a.t. because what they did was original. There were some new schoolers or underground groups mention that deserve consideration: Kool Keith for instance is an insane rapper with wicked delivery and flow and his topics are all over the place. Truly an original. His Dr. Octagon album was one of the best things to come out of the 90s. J5 is a fantastic group that has huge crossover appeal. There music is always funky, with a positive message and have 4 wicked rappers switching up the rhymes old school style. Others that were not mentioned but deserve recognition: Gift of Gab from Blackalicious - This cat can rap! He is a freestyle machine. Always funky and always fun. Beans from Antipop Consortium- Awesome rapper and is really doing some original things with rhyming and beats. Probably one of the better rappers around today. Why is he not hugely popular? because he is not rhyming about guns or jewelry. Sage Francis- This guys puts Eminem to shame. But because he does not follow the commercial path like Eminem, he is not widely known outside the underground. Also his raps are of a personal flavor and this does not sit well with Thugs and Pimps. Del- even though Ice Cube is his cousin, he did not follow Cubes path. Deltron 3030 is an awesome futuristic concept album that is really good. His solo albums and other collaborative efforts are all very interesting. He can rhyme about anything and he is not afraid to cross genres. Aesop Rock - he is one of my favorites and his delivery and flow are amazing. He has a way of putting words together like no one else. Slug from Atmoshpere- Great rapper and like Sage Francis he raps about more complex feelings rather than material objects and therefore is not widely known.
I should have phrased that a little better ~ i'm not saying your tastes are shallow just that your list could be deeper (as in some older material maybe or some underground stuff). Everything you listed is great, but GOAT i'm not so sure...
Q-Tip end the thread... He has the most effortless flow. runners up: Kool Keith, Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Kool Keith's best work wasn't with Dr. Octagon, it was with the legendary Ultramagnetic MC's. They rule! Two of the greatest hip hop outfits during the golden age of rap were Stetsasonic and EPMD. I think those cats are severly overlooked. Check 'em out.
My bad I left out EPMD and Ultramagnetic MCs you're right they rule I havent heard Stetasonic but I have heard of them. Maybe Doc Oc wasnt KK best but I sited that because for when it came out in the 90s rap/hiphop was pretty stagnant and this album was a good alternative.
Allan, you're right...Dr. Octagon was really great...very cool part of the Mo' Wax/Ninja Tune turntabilist movement.
How about some predominately west coast old school flavs... ICE-T - choppy flow, but legendary originality (he was in "Breakin'") songs like "6 in the mornin'" etc. Got ill with graphic lyrics, one of the first too. GOAT?? No... west coast GOAT, close. KING T- pre Alkaholiks, and post.... he was smooove west coast playa King Sun - had some jams, west coast Low Profile (DJ Alladin & W.C. -pre "& the Mad Circle) - nice west coast jams Pharcyde - talk about original... "She keeps on passin' me by" - "Now in my younger days I used to sport a saaaaaaaaaaag, when I went to school I carried lunch in a bag..." and "...now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian..." they all flowed.... Digital Underground - Shock G, Money B, Humpty Hump (Shock G's alter ego)...needless to say, Tupac debuted with them on the "Nothing But Trouble" soundtrack on "Same Song" - "...now I clown around, when I hang around with the underground..." But no one laid a finger on NWA.... except themselves... however that helped the rap scene... ICE CUBE was really the lead rapper, then Eazy-E, MC Ren, Arabian Prince, DJ Quik, Dr. Dre, then Yella... man, so many of them fell off...Tons of NWA spin offs, including the Lench Mob with CUBE.... Then Dre discovers D.O.C. - who had a car wreck and severed his vocal cords... then found Snoop (then came the Dogg Pound), then RBX, and Rage... Easy founded Bone Thugs in Harmony (really Cleveland)... then dies (AIDS) after his fued with Dre, complete with entire dis album. Dre then comes with Emenim (who is really Detroit)... and Dre seems to have the last laugh... Probably until CUBE blows someone up. GOAT west coast??? Maybe CUBE... runner-up Eazy E since he's "Eternal" and all.
Sweet....since we're throwing out the true old school pioneers of rap, I need some help identifying a song from around '87-'89 that was done by almost all of the men and women in rap at the time. Everyone from the East to the West was on this song. There was even a video. NWA, Eric Sermon, Queen Latifa, MC Lyte, The Sugar Hill Gang, Run DMC, you name it and they were a part of this. The song Self Destruction comes to mind, but for some reason I think it was something else. Can anyone remember the name of the song and what the group called themselves?
Maybe my mind is playin tricks on me The East Coast rap stars of the time did Self Destruction and the "West Coast All-Stars" as they called themselves, did We’re All In The Same Gang.
We're all in the same gang was wack. It only had Eazy E, then it fell off to MC's such as MC Hammer and Young MC. Actually I think it had Ice T also. And Michelle' sang the hook. What happened to her.
Wow, I thought there'd be more love for 50. Although I agree he's not there yet, I think he will be up there by the end of his career. I don't think anyone can really seriously overtake 2Pac for this title. He was so good, and the way he died cemented him into the spot.
She was dating Dr. Dre but actually left him for Suge Knight and is married to him to this day I believe.
You guys make lots of great points for the old school and I acknowledge those groups and rappers are really good and very important as they pioneered the beginnings of rap/hip-hop. Some that were mentioned could very well be considered G.O.A.T.'s but I am 23 so some of them are before my time and also most didn't have the Longevity or amount of great material that the ones on my list have. Alot of people are mentioning Eazy-E...The guy was really good with NWA but I lost respect for him because he had a ghost writer. I always thought that was pretty weak, please come up with your own $hit. I don't see why 50 gets so much love from the radio stations and rap fans. I burned "Get Rich or Die Trying" 4-5 months after it came out to see what all the hype was surrounding him and wasn't too impressed with the album. It was a decent album but the way it was pumped up I felt was a bit overhyped. I lost respect for him b/c without him being shot and him hating Ja Rule, he has nothing else to talk about. I am glad the fans are starting to see him for what he is, just a wannabe gangsta who exploiting the image for profit.
Laugh out loud. When I heard "How to Rob an Industry..." and all his old mixtape stuff I thought the same thing bout him. As he got bigger and bigger though, it seems as if creativity took a backseat to the fame and everything that comes with it. Fifty is too obsessed with moving poppy records for girls (i.e. making bucks) to ever have G.O.A.T. status. In record sales maybe, but rapping no. Pac to me, is fantastic, except his beats usually suck. IMO. B.I.G. Jay-Z Old Wu ("Triumph" is a banger!) Nas Tangent: Anyone who wants to hear a great album that isn't that well known should pick up Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx". It's a beautiful thing.
Lot of folx have ghost writers nowadays hell . . i doubt Dr Dre ever wrote anything you wouls listen too and who wrote THE CHRONIC????? Not Dre Not Snoop that's right. . the diggy diggy DOC ya'll The D.O.C. Rocket River he was on his way to being one of the best until his accident
Aren't 90% of them exactly that(wannabe gangsta's)? EXACTLY! Hardly any of the people in the rap game write their own stuff. Kids don't read linear notes anymore. Look to see who is actually writing the stuff you listen too. 9 times out of 10 it is not the guy you hear spitting rhymes.
Something amusing..... In Lil Wayne's new song "bring it back", he claims to be the "best rapper alive since the best rapper retired". ....That is some of the biggest crap I've ever heard in my life. Cod
