Follow my argument here:
At the most basic and important level, hip hop is about the groove. If your shyt doesn't hit musically (your beat and vocals), you've failed the most basic component. All of it, from dancefloor shyt to "I'm a real emcee" shyt.... all have a hard groove and can be played at parties. Some parties are more 'clubby' and 'trendy', some are more artistic, relaxed, street, etc.
So as an emcee, your number one job is to ride the beat well. Hip hop has made millions of good beats. Hip hop has thousands of rappers who ride beats well.
But the top 5 rappers have something else entirely: On top of riding beats well, they say and make you feel like you're hearing the most mindblowing, truthful shyt.
There are producers who do better 'dancefloor' beats than Premo. But no one does "awe/intellectual" tracks better than Premo. He mastered the ability to have a superb, addictive beat that painted the landscape and is funky as fukk while somehow fading to the back to let the emcee stand out. And that's why rapper's rappers love Premo. It is truly the moment when a rapper comes into his/her own and shines. Then you add Premo's brilliant scratch choruses and it's like listening to several people chime in on whatever subject the rapper's talking about.
Examples? Nas and Premo. Jay and Premo. Big and Premo. Rakim and Premo. etc
So I can picture the angry stalkers who are incapable of discussing the genre they claim to know and love. For the record, you can be an incredible rapper without Premo (obviously). Ghostface, Snoop, Prodigy, Method Man come to mind instantly. Ghostface is my all-time favorite rapper after Nas.
But are they top 5?
Top 10 perhaps, but top 5...... nah
On a similar note, that's why Em is nowhere near top 5 no matter how much you force it. Someone in Em or Premo's camp is too shook to do the obvious. The moment Em does a Premo track, he'll be compared to thousands who have rocked Preme beats. And then shyt will get real
At the most basic and important level, hip hop is about the groove. If your shyt doesn't hit musically (your beat and vocals), you've failed the most basic component. All of it, from dancefloor shyt to "I'm a real emcee" shyt.... all have a hard groove and can be played at parties. Some parties are more 'clubby' and 'trendy', some are more artistic, relaxed, street, etc.
So as an emcee, your number one job is to ride the beat well. Hip hop has made millions of good beats. Hip hop has thousands of rappers who ride beats well.
But the top 5 rappers have something else entirely: On top of riding beats well, they say and make you feel like you're hearing the most mindblowing, truthful shyt.
There are producers who do better 'dancefloor' beats than Premo. But no one does "awe/intellectual" tracks better than Premo. He mastered the ability to have a superb, addictive beat that painted the landscape and is funky as fukk while somehow fading to the back to let the emcee stand out. And that's why rapper's rappers love Premo. It is truly the moment when a rapper comes into his/her own and shines. Then you add Premo's brilliant scratch choruses and it's like listening to several people chime in on whatever subject the rapper's talking about.
Examples? Nas and Premo. Jay and Premo. Big and Premo. Rakim and Premo. etc
So I can picture the angry stalkers who are incapable of discussing the genre they claim to know and love. For the record, you can be an incredible rapper without Premo (obviously). Ghostface, Snoop, Prodigy, Method Man come to mind instantly. Ghostface is my all-time favorite rapper after Nas.
But are they top 5?
Top 10 perhaps, but top 5...... nahOn a similar note, that's why Em is nowhere near top 5 no matter how much you force it. Someone in Em or Premo's camp is too shook to do the obvious. The moment Em does a Premo track, he'll be compared to thousands who have rocked Preme beats. And then shyt will get real
Still actually Black, more American and more hip hop than your faceless shyt-posting 
GOAT status
