Criteria Includes: Longevity, Catalog, Creativity, Lyricism, Impact.
The 50 Greatest MC’s of All Time: Voted on by a panel of industry DJ’s, journalists and the HH365 staff.
top15:
15. Kanye West
Ye may not be the best lyricist alive, but he is improving. Combine that with the impact of his music, his heart and work ethic, and the way he utilizes the talents of other rappers and you have to give Yeezy his dues.
14. Andre 3000
The unpredictable and outrageous half of the best rap duo of all time, Andre’s eccentricities are all forgotten when he steps up to the mic. Outraged or reflective, pensive or pissed off, dude’s bound to spit something ill, whatever his mood.
13. Slick Rick
Unfortunately now better known to this generation as “the guy with the thing on his eye” Rick is the patron saint of offbeat rappers everywhere. The Ruler is a gifted storyteller, whose characters and voices create worlds for his listeners to inhabit.
Classics: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, The Rulers Back
12. Common
Common’s introspective neo-soul was a breath of fresh air, a fact that he was aware of himself when he told listeners and rappers alike about the right way to treat H.E.R. When he’s not modeling for the Gap, he still spits some of the freshest, most intelligent rhymes you’re likely to hear.
11. Kool G Rap
The second member of the legendary Juice Crew to make the list, Kool G Rap was one of the first hyper-lyrical rappers; a guy who inspired the second generation of lyricists who top this list.
10. Big Pun
Pun was one of the most flat-out fun rappers ever to spit a sixteen. He could go from party rap to street talk in the blink of an eye but whatever he was talking about he always represented where he was from and what he was about.
9. Big Daddy Kane
The giant of old school Hip-Hop, Big Daddy Kane’s smooth flow along with his humor and rhyming ability certify him as one of rap’s living legends.
8. Eminem
At his peak, Em made some of the most original, funniest, angriest songs in the history of the art form. Vicious flows occasionally can’t obscure the ferocious intellect seething just under the surface.
7. Scarface
Southern rap’s scratchy voiced elder statesman, ‘face can be as hard as nails if he wants to but when he gets introspective, there’s no one else on Earth who can express the things he can in a verse.
6. Ice Cube
The illest member of NWA, Cube was as talented with the group as he was when he went solo. He went from controversial to family friendly, but if you listen closely to his catalogue, it’s clear that the business savvy always coexisted with the gangster shyt.
5. Notorious B.I.G
The black Frank White had more flows than anyone, was a storytelling genius and expressed paranoia and fear with the kind of precision that you can usually only find in great literature. A true American original.
4. Jay-Z
The King of New York may have sullied his reputation with his recent output (BP3), but with a trio of classics and elven number one (solo) albums under his belt, Jigga still qualifies as one of the greatest MC’s of all time.
3.Rakim
He’s known as the God for a reason; no one does it like Rakim. The first of the truly great MC’s, he and Eric B made some of the most classic albums of all time together. Anything your favorite rapper does well, you can probably trace back to this guy.
2. Tupac
Thug poet. Thug Martyr. Introspective rider and sensitive gangster. Pac was built of contradictions, all of which only furthered his myth as one of the lost giants of the game. Pac may be the only rapper to be bigger than the culture itself.
1.Nas
The best pure writer the game has ever seen, Nas easily takes on the role of any and every character he attempts to inhabit. He first introduced himself on Illmatic as a poetic observer of the street but he’s evolved seamlessly from there, to Escobar the kingpin, to Nasir the Teacher, to Nasty the villain, and others, always able to sound comfortable while spitting the truth as he sees it. Intelligent but not pretentious, proud but open-minded without ever revealing a single weak spot in his flow, he made the best album and the best diss song of all time and changed the way we think about modern rap. Who said Esco lost?
The rest of the top 50: http://hiphop365.com/the-50-greatest-rappers-of-all-time/
The 50 Greatest MC’s of All Time: Voted on by a panel of industry DJ’s, journalists and the HH365 staff.
top15:
15. Kanye West
Ye may not be the best lyricist alive, but he is improving. Combine that with the impact of his music, his heart and work ethic, and the way he utilizes the talents of other rappers and you have to give Yeezy his dues.
14. Andre 3000
The unpredictable and outrageous half of the best rap duo of all time, Andre’s eccentricities are all forgotten when he steps up to the mic. Outraged or reflective, pensive or pissed off, dude’s bound to spit something ill, whatever his mood.
13. Slick Rick
Unfortunately now better known to this generation as “the guy with the thing on his eye” Rick is the patron saint of offbeat rappers everywhere. The Ruler is a gifted storyteller, whose characters and voices create worlds for his listeners to inhabit.
Classics: The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, The Rulers Back
12. Common
Common’s introspective neo-soul was a breath of fresh air, a fact that he was aware of himself when he told listeners and rappers alike about the right way to treat H.E.R. When he’s not modeling for the Gap, he still spits some of the freshest, most intelligent rhymes you’re likely to hear.
11. Kool G Rap
The second member of the legendary Juice Crew to make the list, Kool G Rap was one of the first hyper-lyrical rappers; a guy who inspired the second generation of lyricists who top this list.
10. Big Pun
Pun was one of the most flat-out fun rappers ever to spit a sixteen. He could go from party rap to street talk in the blink of an eye but whatever he was talking about he always represented where he was from and what he was about.
9. Big Daddy Kane
The giant of old school Hip-Hop, Big Daddy Kane’s smooth flow along with his humor and rhyming ability certify him as one of rap’s living legends.
8. Eminem
At his peak, Em made some of the most original, funniest, angriest songs in the history of the art form. Vicious flows occasionally can’t obscure the ferocious intellect seething just under the surface.
7. Scarface
Southern rap’s scratchy voiced elder statesman, ‘face can be as hard as nails if he wants to but when he gets introspective, there’s no one else on Earth who can express the things he can in a verse.
6. Ice Cube
The illest member of NWA, Cube was as talented with the group as he was when he went solo. He went from controversial to family friendly, but if you listen closely to his catalogue, it’s clear that the business savvy always coexisted with the gangster shyt.
5. Notorious B.I.G
The black Frank White had more flows than anyone, was a storytelling genius and expressed paranoia and fear with the kind of precision that you can usually only find in great literature. A true American original.
4. Jay-Z
The King of New York may have sullied his reputation with his recent output (BP3), but with a trio of classics and elven number one (solo) albums under his belt, Jigga still qualifies as one of the greatest MC’s of all time.
3.Rakim
He’s known as the God for a reason; no one does it like Rakim. The first of the truly great MC’s, he and Eric B made some of the most classic albums of all time together. Anything your favorite rapper does well, you can probably trace back to this guy.
2. Tupac
Thug poet. Thug Martyr. Introspective rider and sensitive gangster. Pac was built of contradictions, all of which only furthered his myth as one of the lost giants of the game. Pac may be the only rapper to be bigger than the culture itself.
1.Nas
The best pure writer the game has ever seen, Nas easily takes on the role of any and every character he attempts to inhabit. He first introduced himself on Illmatic as a poetic observer of the street but he’s evolved seamlessly from there, to Escobar the kingpin, to Nasir the Teacher, to Nasty the villain, and others, always able to sound comfortable while spitting the truth as he sees it. Intelligent but not pretentious, proud but open-minded without ever revealing a single weak spot in his flow, he made the best album and the best diss song of all time and changed the way we think about modern rap. Who said Esco lost?
The rest of the top 50: http://hiphop365.com/the-50-greatest-rappers-of-all-time/
