Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Okay, so we're just going on rapping skill - straight lyricism? Hmmm. This might be tough - some of the people I consider to be the greatest rappers ever aren't necessarily the most lyrical (Biggie comes to mind), but we'll see. I've already got a few in mind (Jay-Z and Ghostface are both locks for this list, IMO), but others will be tougher. For instance, do I put aside the lazy, radio-esque Lil' Wayne tracks in favor of his overwhelming punchlines from the Carter II era? What about someone like Cannibal Ox, who was devastating on Cold Vein but has disappeared?
For the record, I think when I finally put this together, "lyricism" to me will also include things like flow/cadence etc., because there are plenty of smart-ass dudes putting together witty/intelligent/whatever lyrics who can't make it sound right.
To me, lyricism, in the hip-hop genre, involves more than just the words they're using. Like you said, cadence and flow have to be factored in. I just didn't want someone saying something like "Dr. Dre because he has the best beats" or "Tupac is the greatest ever because he has such an extensive catalog".
Also, in thinking about Dr. Dre I once again realized how awesome Ice Cube was and how criminally underrated he's become. "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted," "Death Certificate," "the Predator," and "Lethal Injection" are about as devastating a run of albums as anyone in hip hop has ever put together.
Couldn't agree more. Tupac gets all the notoriety from that era, but people don't ever bring up Cube or Easy E.
The pure wisdom of the Doc just can't be touched...
Dr. Dre: "Never let me slip, cause if I slip, then I'm slippin'."
I'm pretty sure DOC and Snoop wrote the majority of Dre's lyrics on "Chronic". Wouldn't put him anywhere on a list of greatest rappers. Definitely one of the top 5 producers however.
Post by RadioSpirit on May 23, 2011 14:38:02 GMT -5
Yes, this same problem comes up whenever people talk about the greatest rappers. Are you actually talking about who is greatest at rapping? Or are you saying who is the greatest hip/hop artist? I always use Kanye as an example of the dilemma, but Dre is a good one as well.
The pure wisdom of the Doc just can't be touched...
Dr. Dre: "Never let me slip, cause if I slip, then I'm slippin'."
I'm pretty sure DOC and Snoop wrote the majority of Dre's lyrics on "Chronic". Wouldn't put him anywhere on a list of greatest rappers. Definitely one of the top 5 producers however.
Eminem and Royce da 5'9" also did a lot of his ghost writing around that time, if I recall correctly
Juggs yr right on about Scarface being under-rated. I'd put him around #5. And contrary to popular inforoo belief, I'd have Kanye somewhere in the mix.
Del the Funky Homosapien (Deltron Zero), anyone? Dose One? Anyone?! Admittedly I''m out of my element in the rap genre, but those are two of my favorites outside of the popular rappers.
Here is my list, I might be a little older, so I have some old school peeps on my list, do not forget where we came from.
1. Eminem 2. Jay Z 3. Kayne West (a-hole, but I think he has mad MC skillz) 4. 2Pac 5. Biggie 6. Scarface 7. Slick Rick 8. Snoop 9. LL Cool J 10. KRS-One
Honorable Mention: Chuck D, Chali 2Na Method Man, DMX, NAS, Ramkin(I need to listen to him more, he might deserve a higher ramking ), Busta, NWA(all together=greatness, individually, not top ten), OutKast(same here, Andre and Big Boi together is greatness, solo, not top ten), and Run DMC and Sugar Hill Gang needs to be mentioned. Although I have yet to hear a sister throw down like a brother can, I think these ladies needs some attention: Lil' Kim, Queen Latifah, Salt N Pepper, Missy Elliot.
Okay I know I forgot some, but this was suppose to be only top 10. Oh well.
I always forget about LL Cool J - probably because his prime was way before my time, and I mostly remember him as the guy who picked an ill-advised fight with Canibus and made sexytime jams in the mid-90's while showing off his abs, but he was a phenomenal MC.
I would be just happy seeing less of the sexy time abs, but a Friday for you for recognize his MC skills.
I might revise this many, many times, but this is my first shot:
1. Jay-Z 2. Notorious B.I.G. 3. Eminem 4. Nas 5. Ice Cube 6. Tupac 7. Rakim 8. Scarface 9. Ghostface Killah 10. Andre 3000
Honorable Mention: Chuck D, Lil' Wayne, Brother Ali, Method Man, Redman, Mos Def, Big L
If I revise this, I might put Ghostface higher, add Chuck D to the top ten...it's hard. I feel like I've way underrated Scarface - I feel like most people do, actually. I really, really wanted to slot Mos Def or Brother Ali in there, but I just couldn't do it - Mos has been too uneven, and Brother Ali is probably one of the best MCs alive today, but I don't know that his work ever hits that transcendent level. If Lil' Wayne hadn't gone the whole Rebirth/Young Money route after the Carter III, he'd have made my top ten. Big L's catalog is way too small for me to properly rate him, but his talent as an MC is undeniable. And I don't even like Eminem, but I have to grudgingly admit that he's cemented his spot as one of the best rappers to ever take the mic.
I was wondering who would be first to mention Andre 3000
Still kinda bummed that I don't see of Mos Def or Chali 2na
I will not make a list though, as I do not listen to enough rap to do so.
Post by noeysasquatch on May 24, 2011 11:02:25 GMT -5
first off, great thread. i agree with all you that Ice Cube was a great rapper in his day, but his image has changed completely and I think that makes people forget how thug he used to be. and juggs, here, have a friday
here's my list in no particular order ( i may change it later )
1 Biggie 2 Chali 2na 3 RZA 4 Jay-Z 5 Eminem 6 Tupac 7 Ghostface Killah 8 Mos Def 9 Method Man 10 Snoop Dogg
I realize I have pretty much all of Wu-Tang in my list, but I like all their solo stuff as much as I like Wu-Tang. RZA is one of my favorites. The album "Birth of a Prince" is great and his soundtrack to Afro Samurai was out of control in addition to the Kill Bill soundtrack. It was hard for me to leave Big Boi and Andre 3000 off my list. Speakerboxxx, The Love Below, and Luscious Left Foot are great solo albums through and through, but their work together as Outkast is far better. I love The Beastie Boys and The Roots, but had to leave them off because their greatness is as a group.
Honorable mentions to Nas, GZA, Big Boi, Andre 3000, Gift of Gab, Ice Cube
Last Edit: May 24, 2011 11:03:28 GMT -5 by noeysasquatch - Back to Top
Still kinda bummed that I don't see of Mos Def or Chali 2na
I will not make a list though, as I do not listen to enough rap to do so.
Got him in honorable mention.
For some reason Wu Tang never did it for me. IDK. I respect their talent, but too much "Wu Tang", so I kind of tuned them out, maybe I should pick them back up. I thought about Beastie Boys, grew up on them, but I do not think of them as rappers per se, like they started out as a punk band and I see them as Hip-hop, I could be totally wrong and way off base, but I am not sure if they could just pick up the mic and free style and throw down some lyrics, the way I think a "rapper" should be able to do.
For what it's worth, I think Method Man is one of the 5 most underrated rappers of all time. The guy has been around for more than 20 years. He keeps putting out albums (that I feel I'm the only one purchasing) that are strong. He's one of the only people (the only?) to EVER record tracks with both Pac and Biggie in the midst of their beef (ahem...street cred, anyone?). His flow is one of the best ever.
I almost put him in my Ghostface slot. Actually, screw it. Meth in, Ghost out.
New top 10: 1. Biggie 2. Big L 3. Nas 4. Jay-Z 5. Eminem 6. Tupac 7. Guru 8. Method Man 9. Joe Buddens 10. KRS-One
He's one of the only people (the only?) to EVER record tracks with both Pac and Biggie in the midst of their beef (ahem...street cred, anyone?).
Bone Thugs are the only other artists I can think of, off the top of my head, to record tracks with both.
It is going to be near impossible for me to come up with a top ten list that doesn't change constantly. The hardest part would probably be coming up with the ten best as opposed to my ten favorite, even if its just based of personal skill, as some lyrics and flows just hit me harder than others.
Post by Alberto Balsalm on May 24, 2011 14:40:59 GMT -5
1. Andre 3000 2. Eminem 3. Biggie 4. Tupac 5. Mos Def 6. Nas 7. JayZ 8. Method Man 9. Big Boi 10. Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Honorable mentions: Q-Tip, Curren$y, Raekwon, Dr. Dre & Kanye West (For their abilities to create enjoyable albums), Pre-C3 Lil' Wayne, Guru, Pusha T, KRS-One, 50 Cent on GRoDT, Big L, Chali 2na, Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, the Creator (kinda joking but not really, we'll see)