Technical skill, originality, and style always come into question when considering the best rappers, but the increasingly important live show is sometimes left out of the discussion. A great live show, however, always helps pave the way to stardom, and with music sales down, concerts are important for securing a loyal fan-base, an invaluable means of winning new fans, and a way to make money without selling CDs or MP3s. So from the masters of well-oiled, highly-rehearsed stadium sell-out shows, to the raw, punk energy of a sweaty basement gig, here are the best live performers in rap right now.
Note: This list of best live performers is absolutely not a representation of who we consider to be the best rappers out there (though there is of course some crossover), as live performance and recorded music are two wholly different beasts.
20) A$AP Rocky
19) Macklemore
18) Lil B
17) Nicki Minaj
16) Earl Sweatshirt
15) Death Grips
14) Mac Miller
13) Busta Rhymes
12) Waka Flocka Flame
11)Lil Wayne
10) The Roots
9) Danny Brown
8) Killer Mike
6) Chance the Rapper
5) Action Bronson
What to expect: Non-stop rapping, on-stage antics, a lot of pot, possibly some raw meat
Since first appearing on rap fans' radar with his food-filled, punchline-packed raps, Action Bronson has projected a larger than life figure–one of only a handful still left in a scene that seems often dangerously devoid of characters at the highest level. His live show confirms that there are few as engaging and entertaining as Action. Carrying women on his back, throwing bags of weed into crowds, throwing steak into crowds, rapping while he goes to the bathroom, and generally engaging the audience like no barrier between artist and fan should ever exist, Action has built up a deserved reputation for his on-stage antics that make him an artist to look out for whenever he's in your city.
4) Tyler, The Creator
What to expect: Tons of energy, possibly some blood
Few rappers can match the raw, kinetic force Tyler, the Creator puts into his shows. Stage diving, climbing balconies, head banging, cursing at the audience, cracking jokes, and typically putting his angular, gangly body into harm's way for the audience's enjoyment, Tyler packs his live sets with the punch of punk performance. Even from early on in his career, he understood that tremendous energy combined with clever pacing and song selection–Odd Future's debut set in New York featured Tyler performing "b*stard" on a chair under a single redlight before fading the track out after a minute and a half and exploding into "French"–form the cornerstones of a show that has audiences coming back in ever greater numbers.
3)Jay Z
What to expect: A faultless, well-oiled performance, an extremely satisfied audience
There is not another rapper on the planet at the level of Jay Z. As a performer, he's not the most live, the most theatrical, the most skilled—the most anything, really. But no other rapper has the amount of hits that Jay Z has, and when you're at a concert with thousands of other people who know the word to every single song, it's one of the most fun concert experiences rap has to offer. What Jay Z is best at is selling. He gives the people what they want, and when he sells tickets, he always make sure the customers leave satisfied. Throwing your hands up with a room full of people is cool, throwing your hands up with a stadium full of people while "P.S.A." is playing? fukking great. Plus, if you're looking for a good live rap medley, nobody can touch Hov.
2) Kendrick Lamar
What to expect: To see exactly why Kendrick Lamar is a star
For many rising rappers, live performance seems to be treated as an afterthought rather than the foundational piece of a lasting career. When you watch Kendrick Lamar perform, it's evident that he treats his live show with the same care and attention to detail as his recorded material. Selecting a setlist that hits proper emotional peaks and valleys (while still including enough visceral highlights), transitioning between songs with freestyles and acapella rhymes, and taking enough time to speak to the audience and properly soak in the moment. Kendrick's performances are fitting extensions of his character: warm and inclusive, while simultaneously sharp—he doesn't miss a beat in his rapping. We wouldn't expect anything less from one of the brightest rising stars in rap.
1) Kanye West
What to expect: The best live show in rap, a performance you'll be telling friends about for years
By now, Kanye West's live shows have become the stuff of legend. Full of lights, impossibly grandiose stage designs, seemingly endless rants and freestyles, incomparable energy, and an equally incomparable catalog of hits, a Kanye show is an often unpredictable journey into the world of rap's most famous iconoclast. West's dedication to one-upping himself (combined, of course, with a decade spent building one of hip-hop's greatest discographies) has turned him into a perennial festival headliner, the sort of artist whose performances on award shows and at major concerts are appointment viewing whether you're lucky enough to be in attendance or have to scrounge the Internet for the best possible video footage.
http://pigeonsandplanes.com/2013/07/the-best-performers-in-rap-right-now/s/207486/
