Where Does Grand Puba Rank In Your Pantheon of Rap?

[KBuckets]

He was Kanye before Kanye. I'd say top 50.

 

[JulesWinfield]

Grand Puba is so underrated. I don't know where I'd rank him but his skill is unquestionable.

 

[Marlo Barksdale]

The '2000' album was

Dude was also responsible for a couple of style trends in the game too.

The 'Alpine' Polo Rugby he wore on Yo MTV Raps is still to me. I feel like he was ahead of the curve rocking Hilfiger too.

Hilfiger used to pay dude to rock his sh!t.. and, he wasnt the only rapper getting paid to..

Hilfiger was somewhat immersed in hip-hop culture back in the day, but thats an entirely different thread/subject..

Hilfiger never paid Puba, just gave em free clothes.

And yeah fashion wise Puba is responsible for preppy clothes like Hilfiger, ACG Nikes and Girbauds being popular. He took what Lo Lifes did with Polo and took the preppy hip-hop style worldwide. He's the father of it all.

The term "backpack rap" comes directly from him because he was the one who started wearing backpacks as a fashion accessory. Kanye has said himself he got his whole style from Puba. We can do a whole thread on him being being the most influential rapper ever style wise due to how #2 Kanye copied Puba's entire style.
The way he dressed set so many trends it's rediculous. Puba was fresh to def in every video and you can wear all the stuff he wore then right now.


And rap wise, his whole flow was dope and he could flip to singing at any moment. Plus he dropped heavy 5 Percenter knowledge in his lyrics and slipped it in so most wouldn't notice.

He even wrote Mary J. Blige's verses on their duets.
This is one of my top 5 all-time favorite songs and the look and sound are.

 

[hustlemania]

Hilfiger never paid Puba, just gave em free clothes.

And yeah fashion wise Puba is responsible for preppy clothes like Hilfiger, ACG Nikes and Girbauds being popular. He took what Lo Lifes did with Polo and took the preppy hip-hop style worldwide. He's the father of it all.

The term "backpack rap" comes directly from him because he was the one who started wearing backpacks as a fashion accessory. Kanye has said himself he got his whole style from Puba. We can do a whole thread on him being being the most influential rapper ever style wise due to how #2 Kanye copied Puba's entire style.
The way he dressed set so many trends it's rediculous. Puba was fresh to def in every video and you can wear all the stuff he wore then right now.


And rap wise, his whole flow was dope and he could flip to singing at any moment. Plus he dropped heavy 5 Percenter knowledge in his lyrics and slipped it in so most wouldn't notice.

He even wrote Mary J. Blige's verses on their duets.
This is one of my top 5 all-time favorite songs and the look and sound are.

Puba.. as well as a few more early 90s cats.. were getting paid to not only rock Hilfiger.. they also "advertised" the brand in songs, videos, etc..

them dudes werent some Soundcloud rappers back then.. Hilfiger was chillin with these cats, and building a brand.. the main demographic that embraced it- was hip-hop.. them dudes he had rockin/advertising in tracks.. werent doing that for free clothes..

also.. im not sure about him being responsible for the term backpack rap..

although a few cats were also rockin backpacks back then(Slick Rick & Dana Dane to name a few).. Puba already cemented himself by that era(mid 90s) when that term was used.. all that being said- he is a certified legend.. theres really no disputing that..

 

[Marlo Barksdale]

Puba.. as well as a few more early 90s cats.. were getting paid to not only rock Hilfiger.. they also "advertised" the brand in songs, videos, etc..

them dudes werent some Soundcloud rappers back then.. Hilfiger was chillin with these cats, and building a brand.. the main demographic that embraced it- was hip-hop.. them dudes he had rockin/advertising in tracks.. werent doing that for free clothes..

..

Wrong homie. Watch or read any study on the history of fashion labels like Tommy Hilfiger & hip-hop such as "Fresh Dressed." Puba, Snoop and others have said it themselves that if they knew better, they would have demanded to be paid endorsers instead of just getting free clothes.

Puba always talks about it.

Top Gear: The Oral History of Hip-Hop's Love Affair With Tommy Hilfiger
Grand Puba: Andy ran up on me and introduced himself, and I looked at him crazy. But then he was like, “I’m Andy Hilfiger, and this is my brother Tommy.”

Andy: They were all like, “What? That’s Tommy Hilfiger?” Tommy was like, “Hey, you guys look great in my clothes. Why don’t you guys come to the showroom tomorrow and we’ll dress everybody? We’ll give you guys all the clothes you want.”

Andy: We gave them, I don’t know, $20,000 worth of clothes. We gave them the rugbys, all the gear.

Grand Puba: That was a good vibe. We took pictures. They were very cool. I’ve still got that picture from the showroom of me and Tommy, and I’m holding up a Tommy sweater.

Digging Deeper | The Racism Scandal That Rocked Tommy Hilfiger | Highsnobiety
While strolling through Kennedy Airport with his brother, Andy, his sibling recognized that Brand Nubian rapper, Grand Puba, was decked out in Hilfiger gear. As New York Magazine noted, “Hilfiger immediately understood the money to be made if he could align himself with popular rap stars. Andy Hilfiger began giving trunks of clothes away to any rapper with a recording contract. Soon icons in the ‘hood like Raekwon and Coolio began wearing Tommy Hilfiger on their concert tours and in their videos

Tommy aint pay none of them even tho rappers did the biggest advertising for him. He truly owes Puba millions no exaggeration. Luckily rappers learned.

 

[Newportbox]

Puba's flow/rhyme scheme was influential in the early 90's but his solo albums were disappointing.

 

[SirBiatch]

I think Puba is a talented rapper. In his era, maybe top 10. But he didn't put out enough to solidify him in any kind of list.

He killed this:



and I used to listen to "That's How We Move It" a lot. Criminally underrated, but let's not get carried away. It's The Coli so we'll have lots of frauds pretend he's on their favorites.

Catch me on the right day and I’ll tell you he’s number 1 on my personal list.

Glad to see so many Puba fans on here.

90% of them don't know a thing about Puba. Just pretending for daps. How is Puba one of your favorite all-time rappers yet you never talk about dude?

 

[FreshAIG]

Hilfiger used to pay dude to rock his sh!t.. and, he wasnt the only rapper getting paid to..

Hilfiger was somewhat immersed in hip-hop culture back in the day, but thats an entirely different thread/subject..

I think Brand Nubian were the first to rock Fubu too in the Word is Bond video also

 

[FreshAIG]

Grand Puba was my favorite rapper when I was a kid then Redman took over, then Method Man and Snoop.

 

[feelosofer]

As part of Brand Nubian he def had one of the most prolific flows. He is definitely one of hip hops elder statesmen being in the game 35+ years. If I'm being honest outside of the 1st 2, I never loved his solo albums. But still he's def in the top 50 rappers of all time and maybe in my personal top 25-30.

 

[Bickin Back Being Bool]

 

[Why-Fi]

puba is in my top 10

 

[Newark88]

Back in 91/92, Puba was my favorite because I could relate to his style. I was Polo rugby, Hilfiger, DKNY down during that time and Puba was spitting that fly sh*t while kicking knowledge. As a matter of fact, 1992 Puba was the hottest rapper that year. He was the rapper you wanted as a guest feature on your R&B record (Mary J Blige, Brand New Heavies) and the rapper you wanted on your "posse" cut (Pete Rock CL Smooth, Heavy D, Fat Joe, Strictly Roots etc). That year, Puba had the crown, Treach had the streets, and Redman was the hottest new rapper.

 

[mobbinfms]

I was a Puba stan back in 92 through 95. Love both of those albums. Had them both on cassette
I remember they played 360 on the radio in the Bay
Middle of the day
When Brand Nubian reunited in 98
And that album was fire.

 

[Tribal Outkast]

I feel like you may have heard the "2000" demo that I'm talking about.

Is this available somewhere?? I listen to the retail version religiously and I’d love to hear the demo.