Is it safe to say that The Top 5 in the game are...

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

Nipsey top 5

Of Today he's Top 16-17, Top 25. He's put out alot of watered down shyt over the years. But he gets that Honorable Mention becuz he's blessed the Business with New Game and he's Unique to a particular Sub-Genre.
Becuz uknow, there's more than just one way of style to this music under the Hip Hop Umbrella.


The Real Top 3 Artists In The Game are 3 real Black People. The number one guy is a social-political-historically conscious lyricist story teller from The West Coast. The number two guy is from Mississippi; a monumental place in African-American history. And the number 3 guy is the son of Nigerian African Immigrants from The United States Capitol.

The bottom 2 overall just happened to be mixed with Caucasian and Jew who got Soul of their own. And there's nothing wrong with that. They just happen to have too many strikes against them to be Top 3

 

[NoHalfWay]

Let's be real here. If we're talking authenticity within the music, the gawd is more Tupac than the rest of these nikkas. He was ballsy enough to state his controversial opinions (whether you agree with them or not) without backtracking or apologizing, and got blackballed/career sabotaged for speaking that real.

And he just about inspired and opened a lane for at least two of the three of the nikkas in your top 3.

 

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

Drake is the equivalent to Eminem in a sense. He's the "black Eminem" with respect to Earl Sweatshirt among some others.


Speaking of which. Earl from a technical aspect could be considered Top Ten. But like I said before, shyt gets too controversial past Five.


If someone took away "in that order" from my OP [even though honestly it's true] then what would you argue?

Think about it, the only thing you have against Wale being over Drake and Cole is Cole is more low-key in public. It's semantics at the end of the day.


Strip away that and his body of work #pause stands up better overall so far. We can't act like J. Cole hasn't dropped any duds any less than Wale has. But atleast Wale keeps you entertained along the way

 

[YBM]

It's a shame that the cupcake drake is on top.

 

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

Let's be real here. If we're talking authenticity within the music, the gawd is more Tupac than the rest of these nikkas. He was ballsy enough to state his controversial opinions (whether you agree with them or not) without backtracking or apologizing, and got blackballed/career sabotaged for speaking that real.

And he just about inspired and opened a lane for at least two of the three of the nikkas in your top 3.

I hear you but it's bigger than that aspect even though it's one of the keys.

Lupe is popular but Lupe ain't gettin play like Drake is even though he's an International Sensation. His albums aren't as great musically as Kendrick's and let's not Bait On like it is. Kendrick provokes emotions, Lupe provokes thought. And he might get more media press than Krit but Krit's catalog overall is more listenable and it's shown to have more replay value favor in masse compared to Lupe.


You just don't bust out your phone to play Lupe Fiasco, when Krit comes on even if you skip it you atleast pause for a second to capture that energy. With Lupe you just hit skip or forget it's a Lupe song when it first comes on and skip it when you recognize it even though it's probably good or impressing artistically.

Cole isn't that much better but that's why I only said Top 5. So far Cole has shown to have more interesting music overall than Lupe. Cole got those R&B Records under his belt. Those records alone are better and hit the soul more than alot of Lupe's. It's more natural to "I" rather than Me just liking it becuz the muthafukka is talkin sense as if somehow I necessarily always wannabe drowned out with messages. It becomes too much about the message rather than the music. Which is what it is at the end of the day. And there's nothing wrong with what he does. He's made a career and has had some influence by doing so. But for that reason alone he becomes Top 10 Status and not Top 5.

Truth be told, I betchu there'd be a lot more people open to Black Thought in the Top 10 with Lupe Fiasco being ranked above more only becuz of familiaty. But then again, Lupe seems like the clear choice to some who prefer their music with a little more Knowledge than Sonics when it comes to wordplay

 

[intilectual recipricol]

I only know one person in real life that fukks with Duckworth, and no one that liked TPAB... Just no way that he's at the top in any way. If its popularity Drake is shyttin on him if its lyrically then Was is shyttin on him. And like @beaniemac is sayin Ross gotta be there too.

 

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

I only know one person in real life that fukks with Duckworth, and no one that liked TPAB... Just no way that he's at the top in any way. If its popularity Drake is shyttin on him if its lyrically then Was is shyttin on him. And like @beaniemac is sayin Ross gotta be there too.

But for someone who everytime comes in the game and shuts it down and moves forward the culture. You and yours sure do fall in the lower percentile rate. Nobody can say that it doesn't happen to them. But the ones in this order have had the least amount of backlash and move-onable music.

In the world of a kid who's 8-13 sure, J. Cole is THAT Guy. But outside of that realm is where it starts to grow and vary. For basically all that age bracket knows is the Industry shyt becuz that's all The Big Companies ever feed them. Whether it be thru Phone shyt, TV, Radio, Merchandise, Movies, Commercials, etc..

And becuz most people aren't 13 & Under you have to start marking up the tallies on that artist.





If I said that the Top 3 Artists in the game are Kendrick, Drake, and J. Cole then that would be too industry and then you'd be blindly saying that the corporations got it right all along when in fact at no point in time with the exception of some time frames has that ever been known to be true. That list is entirely too Big Money.


Kendrick Lamar - backed by Dr. Dre, backed by Jimmy Iovine, backed by everybody in high places that push the buttons and write the checks
Drake - backed by Viacom, backed by Birdman & Slim, backed by Lil' Wayne, backed by Universal/Mo Town. And for more, see: Kendrick Lamar
J. Cole - backed by Roc Nation, backed by Jay-Z, backed by Beyonce', backed by Warren Buffet and some of the people of that realm n more


Y'all are talking Big Money. I'm talking everything but that. Even though as ironic as it is, everybody in that Top 5 is backed by Big Money but those 3 have it alot more Clout than the others. And as truth would have it, Drake and J. Cole have more of that than Kendrick

 

[NoHalfWay]

Cole isn't that much better but that's why I only said Top 5. So far Cole has shown to have more interesting music overall than Lupe.

Aaaaaaaaand this is where you lost me.

Because Lupe's new shyt is more sonically progressive than any release by Cole. shyt, Tetsuo & Youth features some of the most diverse, pleasing production on an album this year. With KRIT, I can't even entertain putting above a guy with arguably one of the greatest debut-sophomore album releases of the 2000s.

And on that point, I'll say Kendrick's catalog is way more consistent (albeit way shorter) than Lupe's. At their peak, Kendrick isn't nearing Lupe lyrically, conceptually, or songwriting-wise. Plus wouldn't it be negligent to generalize Lupe's music as not being emotive and only thought provoking? Ya know, the guy with platinum and multi-platinum hit records based on socially conscious content in a climate where hit records basically cater to the opposite of that?

nikkas in Lupe's lane don't have successful careers solely with "smart lyrics"

 

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

Aaaaaaaaand this is where you lost me.

Because Lupe's new shyt is more sonically progressive than any release by Cole. shyt, Tetsuo & Youth features some of the most diverse, pleasing production on an album this year. With KRIT, I can't even entertain putting above a guy with arguably one of the greatest debut-sophomore album releases of the 2000s.

And on that point, I'll say Kendrick's catalog is way more consistent (albeit way shorter) than Lupe's. At their peak, Kendrick isn't nearing Lupe lyrically, conceptually, or songwriting-wise. Plus wouldn't it be negligent to generalize Lupe's music as not being emotive and only thought provoking? Ya know, the guy with platinum and multi-platinum hit records based on socially conscious content in a climate where hit records basically cater to the opposite of that?

nikkas in Lupe's lane don't have successful careers solely with "smart lyrics"

Lupe's cool but he's not always everybody's cup of tea. If YOU wanna put him in YOUR Top 5 then go ahead, nobody is stopping you. But Lupe's music just doesn't have as much reach and just doesn't last as much. He's more of an aquired taste whereas the others have music that everybody can agree on. Lupe would bore me if I had to go thru a week of listening to a majority of Lupe Fiasco. I'm sure it would bother a lot of other nikkaz too. That's why you only hear that shyt in college dorm rooms and radio stations and on tv. Or you see that fool makin headlines lol. We can't just give the nikka bias becuz he's smart. The music gotta hit at the end of the day.

You're also kinda over sysing Lupe wordplay a little. He don't be exactly sayin' the most radicalist shyt. His vocabulary is poor on alotta his verses:


I'm the Sun / the Moon stand next to me
Why have coke / when you can Extasy
The Phoarah's of today have Leaprosy
Justice tastes liked rubbered textured beef


That's a Lupe Fiasco 4 Bar Rap. Most people aren't going to rock with that over the other in some type of way 9 times outta 10 unless you wanna start talking Internationally. But that's an entirely different Thread. Which would have to be done right. Too many of y'all be seein' the Trees and not the Forest. And I mean You just said "hit records cater to opposite of socially conscious content" but the Top 4 who are undebatable who are on this list embody socially conscious content. Not only that, you hit me with the ugly face

Lupe's lane is no different than Chuck D, Black Thought, J. Cole, Common, Kendrick, Kanye, and all of them.

 

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

If Drake were to be completely disqualified for ghostwriters he might have that number 5 spot. But then again you have to think of Ross & Gucci and shyt starts to get fukked up becuz there's so many other worthy candidates of that 5-Spot. Which is one of the main reasons why he stays and takes that spot in particular.


You can't rank a Rapper who doesn't usually 100% write and write & produce his own music higher than someone on the same plateau who does. Krit and Cole produce music, J. Cole does it for another Genre too. Kendrick elevates the game the same way Dr. Dre has done throughout his entire career with "Straight Outta Compton" to "The Chronic" to "2001". Kendrick so far has shown to be a replica of that. Until otherwise he reigns King in this Competition. Wale is universal and typically more enjoyable across the board.



You not necessarily really gettin that feelin listenin to Lupe. Bruh got classics tho.

 

[NoHalfWay]

Lupe's cool but he's not always everybody's cup of tea. If YOU wanna put him in YOUR Top 5 then go ahead, nobody is stopping you. But Lupe's music just doesn't have as much reach and just doesn't last as much. He's more of an aquired taste whereas the others have music that everybody can agree on. Lupe would bore me if I had to go thru a week of listening to a majority of Lupe Fiasco. I'm sure it would bother a lot of other nikkaz too. That's why you only hear that shyt in college dorm rooms and radio stations and on tv. Or you see that fool makin headlines lol. We can't just give the nikka bias becuz he's smart. The music gotta hit at the end of the day.

You're also kinda over sysing Lupe wordplay a little. He don't be exactly sayin' the most radicalist shyt. His vocabulary is poor on alotta his verses:


I'm the Sun / the Moon stand next to me
Why have coke / when you can Extasy
The Phoarah's of today have Leaprosy
Justice tastes liked rubbered textured beef


That's a Lupe Fiasco 4 Bar Rap. Most people aren't going to rock with that over the other in some type of way 9 times outta 10 unless you wanna start talking Internationally. But that's an entirely different Thread. Which would have to be done right. Too many of y'all be seein' the Trees and not the Forest. And I mean You just said "hit records cater to opposite of socially conscious content" but the Top 4 who are undebatable who are on this list embody socially conscious content. Not only that, you hit me with the ugly face

Lupe's lane is no different than Chuck D, Black Thought, J. Cole, Common, Kendrick, Kanye, and all of them.

Then we'll just agree to disagree.

Hearing Lupe's entire catalog (shyt from like '02-'05 included) it's evident that he's too versatile to be boxed in with nikkas like Chuck D, Common (no disrespect to these legends), Cole, and Wale.

When I said hit records catered to the opposite of socially concious content, I was referring to the fact that "the top 4" (or whoever) that managed to make hit records with socially concious content had much success because they have more than just "thought provoking" raps. They also made music that could reach the masses i.e. emotive music. Fiasco did that, he's no Canibus.

 

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

Then we'll just agree to disagree.

Hearing Lupe's entire catalog (shyt from like '02-'05 included) it's evident that he's too versatile to be boxed in with nikkas like Chuck D, Common (no disrespect to these legends), Cole, and Wale.

When I said hit records catered to the opposite of socially concious content, I was referring to the fact that "the top 4" (or whoever) that managed to make hit records with socially concious content had much success because they have more than just "thought provoking" raps. They also made music that could reach the masses i.e. emotive music. Fiasco did that, he's no Canibus.

He might not be Canibus but he's no Kanye West either

 

[Antdrewjosh]

New here actually my first post. But if I'm making a top 5 right now I'm taking Killa Mike over all those guys. Mike's work on Run the Jewels takes a seat to no one.

 

[YvrzTrvly]

But Wale is respected across the board and actually makes respectable music that isn't so "cup of tea" particular. He's not a Controversial Choice in Discussions across the board. Unlike Cole and Drake. He's pretty much agreed upon

Lol @ popularity and quality go hand in hand...usually the more people like something the lesser quality it truly is

 

[DJDONTNOBODYPAYME]

New here actually my first post. But if I'm making a top 5 right now I'm taking Killa Mike over all those guys. Mike's work on Run the Jewels takes a seat to no one.

Killer Mike is a Top 10 type too. He put too much cream in the coffee fukkin around with "Run The Jewels" thing tho. You've kinda had to turn your cheek away from Mike for a little second now too. Promotin' Cops, duet albums with Caucasians, and being too safe while being too black

He's a Civilized Militant and he doesn't really spark any interest outside of current news affairs "of the moment" on some Top 10 Headlines Of Today type shyt. Muthafukkaz aint hackin thru hard drives to get Killer Mike's music that we aint heard from his time he spent side by side with Outkast when they were still Outkast