Your Top 5 Rappers of all time

There's way too many...

1.) Tupac;
Forever, and ever, and fuckin' ever, will be the best. Every song he's made has left nothing but gold in my ears.

2.) Notorious B.I.G.;
Pretty words, gangsta flow

3.) Lil' Wayne;
Sorry, dude's the current best rapper.

4.) Bone Thugs N' Harmony (Lookin' at Krayzie);
amazing

5.) Lupe Fiasco;
Dude's a genius and refuses to 'dumb it down'

Honorables;
Wiz Khalifa
Kid Cudi
Eminem
Dr. Dre
Eazy
Rappin 4Tay
Mos Def < Blackstar
Talib Kweli < Blackstar
Too Short
Ludacris
Jay-Z
Snoop (old school snoop)
Crooked I
Brotha Lynch
Big Pun
Pimp C

too many to honor...

edit;
Also, Madnis, don't worry... we get down on 6''7''
 
Don't have any greatest rappers of all time; everyone gets shitty eventually. My favorites right now, though, are Elzhi and Lupe. We'll see what Joe Budden does now that he's with Shady Aftermath, but I won't be hurting if his stuff is sounding sorry. I had higher hopes for J. Cole, but he pretty much sold out as soon as he started messing around with Jay (who, regardless of what he did in the past, is a business man now and should stick to doing that). I mean, I'm cool with a couple of songs for females and to attract a wider audience, but when you almost completely alienate your core fans, you're sorry to me.

As for Lil' Wayne, like someone already said, he's not consistent. Not only do I think he's garbage but, hell, the only reason I think he gets hyped up so much is because your average rap fan can catch on to his sorry punchlines and think he's clever and he has a decent flow, but I digress. Still, he does come around and surprise you every now and then with some decent stuff. Either way, regardless of how shitty I think he is, he's either smart enough to keep his lyrics dumb enough that a good amount of people can think he's fuckin' beastly or he's just that trashy and pretty lucky.

And hip-hop died with the rise of southern artists. It's only a couple of decent artists trying to put in work now with the rest trying to make a buck with lame ass rehashed club shit that's been played out.

But, yeah, for better or for worse, I've pretty much outgrown rap (or what it's become).
 
LostProvidence said:
Don't have any greatest rappers of all time; everyone gets shitty eventually. My favorites right now, though, are Elzhi and Lupe. We'll see what Joe Budden does now that he's with Shady Aftermath, but I won't be hurting if his stuff is sounding sorry. I had higher hopes for J. Cole, but he pretty much sold out as soon as he started messing around with Jay (who, regardless of what he did in the past, is a business man now and should stick to doing that). I mean, I'm cool with a couple of songs for females and to attract a wider audience, but when you almost completely alienate your core fans, you're sorry to me.

As for Lil' Wayne, like someone already said, he's not consistent. Not only do I think he's garbage but, hell, the only reason I think he gets hyped up so much is because your average rap fan can catch on to his sorry punchlines and think he's clever and he has a decent flow, but I digress. Still, he does come around and surprise you every now and then with some decent stuff. Either way, regardless of how shitty I think he is, he's either smart enough to keep his lyrics dumb enough that a good amount of people can think he's fuckin' beastly or he's just that trashy and pretty lucky.

And hip-hop died with the rise of southern artists. It's only a couple of decent artists trying to put in work now with the rest trying to make a buck with lame ass rehashed club shit that's been played out.

But, yeah, for better or for worse, I've pretty much outgrown rap (or what it's become).
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Amen brother.
 
lol NY is NOT the heart of hip hop. not even close. it is alive and thriving as well as it ever has been. the heart is, and has been the american midwest for a long time. minneapolis, st paul, detroit, chicago...the southwest (LA, PHX, ABQ, El Paso) is also very heavily influenced by it still. and still sees it as the main musical outlet for the majority of young people. NY, sad to say, is far ahead of these areas in terms of worldwide mainstream and it is seeing the new generation of techno mixed with MC action that has been big in europe for years as its main "hip-hop".

also mainstream rap is 100% fucking garbage. from lupe to pac to weezy to eminem...100% trash. let's be real...it has been trash for at least a decade now and it will never recover since techno is completely dominating the mainstream and isn't backing off any time soon.

also xeph...Brotha Lynch! LOL i love that guy. "blood and guts and shit all over your chest and stomach" is the best fucking line ever.

consistency as an artist is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL. i don't give a fuck how good your first two albums are. you had your entire life to come up with them. you only get my respect as a top musician if you can continue to deliver. Eazy-E never once let me down and then died before he could suck, which is why i consider him the greatest gangsta rapper of all time. guys like BONE were truly great at first, but 15 years of slinging garbage has made me lose all respect for their music. this is true for all genres; look at poor systen of a down or hed(PE). absolutely amazing first albums followed by ten years of abortions. look what happened to metallica ever since like 1991. if you want respect you have to be able to realize when you start to suck, and bow out.
 
Engared said:
@madnis- let me go download those albums (not giving that hack a cent) then ill get back to you.

Also some of the others you mentioned i liked a lot but it would be impossible to list everyone who was good (or i liked) during the golden age. Loved LL but his new stuff was pretty damn terrible. Eric B/Rakim i missed. Dilapated peoples didnt get them over in my country though i have heard a few songs. Mobb Deep sucks balls since they joined with 50. Their old stuff, yeah was fantastic. The roots we didnt get either. I forgot about Easy E but his lyrical content was never the best and he used ghost writers. His delivery, flow etc however were top notch so i shouldve included him as well. I wouldve included southern rappers like Nelly, Luda, outkast as well. But hey i missed em. I loved Coolio cause he actually did have a couple of good CDs back when he was popular. He had great flow and his style was crazy. And gangster's paradise is one of the best songs of all time so yeah...

Don't forget, im going back in time for a lot of these songs and rappers. I didnt have the luxury of turning on the radio and listening to the songs when they were new. Also most of the songs which reached my country were butchered and mutilated by censorship before they even got on the air. Also when trying to listen to imported uncensored CDs, you had to pay 50-80 dollars for one. I remember buying my first copy of Doggystyle and it cost like 60 bucks (40 USD) back in 2000. So i missed out on the Roots, Dilated peoples etc etc.

But yeah if you prefer wayne over wu tang, i think we're going to agree to disagree.

Hip-hop is dead. The times where it was something intellectual, witty, fun, crazy or even chill are over. No more talking about life and its problems. Now its bitches, money, hoes, G6s, making it rain and other material crap. Yeah Biggie did talk about the previously mentioned things, but hey, it was witty and clever. Now its rinse and repeat. Perfect for the idiot generation. Technically Justin Bieber is part of hip-hop now (God help us).

Im embarrassed when i tell to music lovers that I love hip-hop.. Their common reaction is "What?!" before guffawing. I would (and i should) stand up for hip-hop, but its very hard nowadays. Very very hard when Lil Wayne and friends are the headliners.

Edit- All im hearing from 6 foot 7 foot is an irritating self-centered little man with an utterly irritating little voice. Its got some witty lyrics and is better than the other stuff from him ive listened to but where is the rhyme? Where is the technique? What's his theme? I didn't get it on the first listen...
His delivery is terrible, sounds like hes got a speech impediment. Don't get me wrong, im wanting to like it cause if thats the case then i can go buy my first new album in 3 years. But now its ended and there's nothing i really remember of it.
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engared you remind me of a friend of mine. we get into this same debate about the state of hip hop. now just to give you some back story on this cat, he's a guy who loves hip hop and worked as a producer in the industry.. he's very analytical when it comes to it and we talk about this subject matter a lot. and one thing we agree on.. is that hip hop is far from dead. the paradigm shifted. it evolved.
one thing that hasn't shifted is that hip hop is about the party. don't say it wasn't because it was. not completely no. it was about self expression. seeing that in today's artists.. that hasn't changed at all.
to give it in an analogy, you're looking at soul calibur... but hip hop is on soul calibur 4 moving up to 5.
don't believe me?
i'll list three motha fuckas for you to go find and listen to.

Lupe fiasco. talib kweli. J. Cole.

hell listen to kanye's new album. that entire album is about one person. we should all know who. and in that album you really see kanye's growth as a musician. things he learned from college dropout to the 808's he applies in this album. and in my opinion it is fantastic. All of the lights, Gorgeous, blame game, and the list goes on.. it's music.

speaking of... if you don't know G.O.O.D ass music... we really shouldn't be having this discussion about hip hop.. go listen to the G.O.O.D ass friday mixtape. come back and thank me later.

moving onto weezy. his voice is annoying isn't it? I find that most people who can't stand weezy hates his voice... but I can see that from you said you're not really listening. I understand that it's harder for you because you're going in with a bias. but it's easy to see it (weezy).. his rhymes and patterns are there. his technique is in his metaphors. his punch lines are very subtle. and his theme.. well isnt' that obvious? it's himself. now you heard 6foot 7 foot. i'm going to take you back.. listen to beat without base. and scarface's forgot about me. then move up and listen to him on Miss me with Drake. see the style shift? he's a fucking monster. there's a reason why people want(ed) him on their tracks.. which brings me to what lobo was saying. and that's a reasonable arguement.. but hey.. if you're blowin up, I'd expect you to be out there doing the same thing. Oversaturating the market cause hey, in the end.. it's a business. the need to eat is great. But I see what he's saying. however when weezy wasn't high, and spitten crazy nonsense that only he and the criminally insane could understand *cough* carter 3 *cough* and he's actually conscious.. his metaphors aren't to be fucked with. even then, he can spit some hilarious shit. listen to freakin turn my swag on remix with jeezy and wayne. fast forward through soujah boy's part and end it after jeezy.. no disrespect to fabo... he's a great artist.. but you can tell he was just there to cash a check on that album.. wayne and jeezy actually put that work in. to give you another perspective... weezy made an entire song.. with just one sentence, "did it before".. that one sentence is used differently throughout that song. if you can't see the brilliance in that... then you really just don't understand him. AGAIN! i can't stress this enough. I'm not saying you have to like the nigga.. and you can say weezy is a lot of things.. but a terrible rapper? he's not. he's far from it. and the fact that he can change his style and delivery... that in and of itself is talent. because it's not done arbitrarily.. it's done to fit the song.. that equates to skill.

and if you haven't heard Jeezy's trap or die yet.... its okay you just gave up on hip hop.

also lobo.. LL ended careers with one song after he battled mcs.. and not just little bitches either... these people had futures in the industry.. and LL ended them. that's why he's recognized as the greatest. if not one of the greatest battle rappers of all time. R.I.P canibus (no he's not really dead... but his career did.)...

also.. people say mainstream.. i say commercial. because in the end, those artists are in to make money first. which brings me to Lupe and his tragic tale... why lAsers is so craptastic? is because of us. the downloaders who think we're not harming the industry... well.. fuck with the money... people don't like it and changes will be made so that people get money.. and the invention of the 360 deal is definitely correlated to us illegally downloading shit.

to those that don't know what a 360 deal is.. if you're thinking of going into the music industry, you need to know so you can avoid it as best you can.. Lupe, I think tried to compromise... but anyway.. a 360 deal is when you sign with a record label they get a portion of your profits. that's normal and understandable.. but here's where it gets unreasonable, say you met with some success and now you want to go into acting.. or write a book.. guess what.. even though it has absolutely nothing to do with music.. the record company still gets a portion of your paycheck. and why does this stand? because record companies need to recoup the losses made through illegal downloads.

and this is why lAsers was delayed, not heavily promoted by the record company, and ultimately changed so that it would be more commercial. and you can hear his bitterness when you listen to interviews or even as he talks about his issues in public.

also since we're talkin about battles.. i thought it would be fun to post this one i thought was freaking MAJESTIC!
 
@Madnis- Its not an improvement my friend. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I could debate for hours on this but alas i will not. I was hardcore into hip-hop from 2000-2007. Music was a big piece of my life. I had like 300-400 CDs (not lying, you can ask people who have seen my collection). Imported stuff, records, you name it, I had it. Then crunk came along and ruined it. I used to have an encylopedic knowledge of Hip Hop. So don't say that im not really listening, cause my brain is 100% turned on when i listen to music. You on the other hand must be able to switch off the higher parts of your brain when you listen cause you find the new stuff, good. Hey im not hating. Its a skill which i don't have.

Like my most of my friends, i guess we've outgrown the new stuff. The new stuff is mostly recycled garbage and I don't know one person who was an old fan of hip-hop (at least outside of the US) who is a fan of the new stuff and if you ask them about Lil wayne, hes normally met with derision and contempt.Yeah he might be trying something new, but not all things which are new are better than things which are old. RAP used to stand for Rhythmic American Poetry, sadly now its more akin to Rhythmic American 4channing.

I used to know many DJs (about 7) in England and back home in Singapore. I remember they all started as Hip-Hop DJs. But if you ask them what type of music they currently spin? They will almost universally say trance, techno etc. Ask them why? They'll say its because Hip-Hop sucks now. And whos the shining beacon of the new school? Weezy.

Edit: Listened to J Cole's first searched song on youtube, and it sucks. He can't rhyme. Lupe is alright, its nothing i would write home about though. I've known of Talib Kweli for a long time. Kanye is a joke (i loved his first CD, 2nd was hit and miss, hated the 3rd. Even my Dad agrees with me and he's the biggest Kanye fan i know. He came up to me the other day complaining bout how shit his new album is). Look weezy and all of them have great beats (well maybe not weezy). I'm not contesting that. And yes it is about the party, but i miss having something memorable to dance to. Nowadays when i club (which i do pretty often), its almost impossible to tell the difference between songs. They all sound the same.And when you listen for lyrical content, its the same damn stupid message. We can blame P.diddy for that message lol. Money, money, money, money and mo money. What happened to talking about social problems? What happened to being crazy? What happened to the rap battling? Now its all stuntin like my daddy and making it rain (don't even get me started on birdman). All i hear from Lil wayne is a irritating little man with a God complex. And i don't think thats a persona.

And please don't tell me about Young Jeezy. Jeezy was THE running joke in my old circle.
Send me that BOOM CD if its so great. Send it to Australia then ill give my 2 cents on it.

Hip-Hop i thought was the great equalizer. Where no matter your color, your race, religion. No matter what country you came from, you liked Hip-hop, you were accepted. It was a great tool for change and looking pass race (was abused for being white in my school so i guess i identified with it). It was my identity growing up. Now I'll rather drink petrol and swallow a match than be identified with the new school mainstream rappers.

Using the Soul Calibur analogy its like going from SC4 to SC3000: NOW IN 2D! Why in 2D? CAUSE SF4 IS MORE POPULAR!
Missing the point of what made Soul Calibur great in the first place.
 
Wow Flo Rida gets mentioned on a Top Rappers of all time thread....sick what rap has become...

Dont forget about BIG L!

Apart from Raek, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z and Big L i would like to mention Sticman from Dead Prez. Dead Prez in general are just sick in every way, every Album is beautiful. By far my favourite crew.
 
It's a reason why great rappers like Jay-Z, Jadakiss & Kanye West want Wayne on their records it's because he is a monster. As much as i like Jay-Z he got bodied on his own song by Lil' Wayne (Hello Brooklyn) He also killed em on a few tracks wayne is a lot smarter than what people think.

Yeah wayne was bad when he was with the hot boys till he met Gillie the Kid from (Major Figures) And his whole style very similar to Gillie went to a whole new level.
 
I know where you're coming from. i really do. but let me ask you something..
is this track really about money?

this isn't music?
you hear this and really? you can't see it? I guess it really goes over your head.

and just cause..
how can you through life and claim being a heavy supporter of hip hop.. and never heard the roots?

let me just say posting a resume of who your friends are and how long you supported hip hop. that doesn't really impress me.
cause if we really want to go there.. my resume is bigger than yours. I'm well aware of how this music industry works. both underground and commercial. i have friends in all areas of this industry, from managers, talent scouts, musicians (not all hip hop), to party planners, djs, radio jockeys, club owners etc. and i've been hip hop since the day i was born. so if you really want to impress me, show me you have an open mind. Just because they have a flavor that you don't like, doesn't make them terrible. if they have talent. it should be recognized. and for the record... dj's spin what they're paid to spin. they're paid to get people dancing. their musical preference be damned. the difference between you and me, isn't because i can "shut my brain off" and you can't. it's that i can recognize talent when i hear it, and respect what they're trying to do.
 
Hip-hop is crying because of how tainted it is. Listen to this virgin beat for a bit. Can hear how sad it is?


Bad humor aside, I'd rather listen to Nujabes(RIP Jun Seba), Fat Jon, Tsutchie, and Force of Nature nowadays.
Their music give my ears a bit of eargasms IMHO. Then again, I have a bit of jazz in my soul lol. So sue me.
 
and to represent g.o.o.d.

tony williams



you hear this and you still think hip hop is dead... you're a damn fool.
rip bad news brown.
 
WAIT just cause to show why Ortiz should be recognized..

and then muh fuckas want to say hip hop is dead... smh.

YAOWA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Well mainstream hip-hop is dead IMO, but underground hip-hop isn't due the fact that there's many artists I don't know. I just get tired of kiddies(13 and up) trying to say what I listen to is garbage and ancient. I listen to something like old like Rakim or something, and they immediately whip out Lil' Wayne new junk with all his cousins and what not and call it "fire". =/
 
Madnis said:
I know where you're coming from. i really do. but let me ask you something..
is this track really about money?

this isn't music?
you hear this and really? you can't see it? I guess it really goes over your head.

and just cause..
how can you through life and claim being a heavy supporter of hip hop.. and never heard the roots?

let me just say posting a resume of who your friends are and how long you supported hip hop. that doesn't really impress me.
cause if we really want to go there.. my resume is bigger than yours. I'm well aware of how this music industry works. both underground and commercial. i have friends in all areas of this industry, from managers, talent scouts, musicians (not all hip hop), to party planners, djs, radio jockeys, club owners etc. and i've been hip hop since the day i was born. so if you really want to impress me, show me you have an open mind. Just because they have a flavor that you don't like, doesn't make them terrible. if they have talent. it should be recognized. and for the record... dj's spin what they're paid to spin. they're paid to get people dancing. their musical preference be damned. the difference between you and me, isn't because i can "shut my brain off" and you can't. it's that i can recognize talent when i hear it, and respect what they're trying to do.
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Ive known of the roots for ages. I said i missed them back when i was deep into Hip Hop because i thought they were the same group as the pioneering british Rap group known as Roots Manuva.

I've been patient with Hip Hop for ages and i want to like Weezy, i want to love new Hip-Hop but I'll tell you as Nas said Hip Hop is dead. I was going to make this ugly and continue penis size competition (like who knows who without any evidence) but whats the point. .Im not trying to impress you. You are a nobody on a gaming forum just like me. Why should i want to impress you. Im just saying what i've been seeing and hearing, looking from the outsiders point of view. Thats my evidence and thats it.

You called me out with "speaking of... if you don't know G.O.O.D ass music... we really shouldn't be having this discussion about hip hop.. go listen to the G.O.O.D ass friday mixtape. come back and thank me later." and "and if you haven't heard Jeezy's trap or die yet.... its okay you just gave up on hip hop." and my upbringing with Hip-Hop told me to fight but at the end of the day, its nothing more than music, a tool to control the masses.
 
Engared said:
Ive known of the roots for ages. I said i missed them back when i was deep into Hip Hop because i thought they were the same group as the pioneering british Rap group known as Roots Manuva.

I've been patient with Hip Hop for ages and i want to like Weezy, i want to love new Hip-Hop but I'll tell you as Nas said Hip Hop is dead. I was going to make this ugly and continue penis size competition (like who knows who without any evidence) but whats the point. .Im not trying to impress you. You are a nobody on a gaming forum just like me. Why should i want to impress you. Im just saying what i've been seeing and hearing, looking from the outsiders point of view. Thats my evidence and thats it.

You called me out with "speaking of... if you don't know G.O.O.D ass music... we really shouldn't be having this discussion about hip hop.. go listen to the G.O.O.D ass friday mixtape. come back and thank me later." and "and if you haven't heard Jeezy's trap or die yet.... its okay you just gave up on hip hop." and my upbringing with Hip-Hop told me to fight but at the end of the day, its nothing more than music, a tool to control the masses.
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it's not about wanting to like or dislike son. it's about respect. and giving it where it's due. I'm a nobody true enough because my name isn't out there. and I never made the effort to put it out there. but don't think that just because we're on a gaming forum i have no credibility in the entertainment industry. recognizing talent for what it is. that's part of what this discussion is about. i don't give a fuck who you're a fan of or where your taste in music lie. the tragedy here is that you can't recognize that. you can tell me you hate wayne, you can tell me you aren't a fan of commercial hip hop and i'm fine with that. but to tell me wayne is a terrible rapper is a bold faced lie.

real talk why is hip hop not dead? because hip hop is a culture in and of itself. its not dead so long as there are people who believe in it and live it. and as corny as that shit sounds that's for real. hip hop evolved. hip hop changed. hip hop grew. it's core is still the same. now, seriously, I wasn't trying to make you impress me. but it seemed like you were trying to impress me by posting your resume. and by resume i mean who you know and how long you "represented" hip hop, like you were trying to grow your credibility on me. your cred matters little to me because like you said.. we're "nobodies", but shadows and thought.

and i called you out because you said hip hop was dead. and i can tell you right now. That is the dumbest thing you've ever said on these forums.

and that's the second part of our discussion.

ey, here's a thought. you want to actually make an attempt at liking the "new" hip hop? how about you grow the fuck up, open your ears, and actually listen for a change. instead of hearing what you want to hear over and over again? if you can't get over that, that's your issue. not mine. i gave you several shining examples. and if still the only thing you hear is the same bullshit you think you're hearing.. well that's your issue. not mine. I can't help you.

and namu nujabes.. rip

and cause i got started on posting shit...
 
Hip hop isn't dead, but 90% of all music is in deep shit. The industry is literally neck-deep in shit, its disgusting. Wayne was good, but I feel like my nose would hit the wall if I told you he was worth anything these days. Its a sad state of affairs for everybody, hip hop just happens to be the most popular genre right now so all the attention is focused right onto the pure shittyness of most of its "artists."

Trust me, every other genre has the exact same problem.

That said,

1. The Roots
2. B.I.G.
3. Eyedea
4. Lupe
5. Eminem

Not that I really know a lot about hip hop though, just a casual listener.
 
Daaaaaaamn. This thread grew a lot over night. Not too much to say because I'm not about to sit here and argue (especially with all of you people!) other than:

Lobo, your favorite rapper's favorite rapper probably comes from the northeast;

DocVizzo listens to hip-hop? Big L no less? Blown;

And, yeah, Madnis, hip-hop is a culture, but it also happened to become one of the more dominating aspects of pop culture. I can understand how you feel, and, yeah, maybe dead isn't the best way to describe it in that sense. But, either way, like all pop cultures, rap/hip-pop's time in the limelight is ended, which is why everyone's trying to chase that new sound and that next big thing.

Either way, I really never understand why so many people thought Joell was decent. I think he's average, but whatever. You should mess around with Little Brother (moreso Phonte).

And, just 'cause:

And, yeah, it goes without saying, but it's reason some underground artists are underground. Not all of them are decent (just as how, god knows, not all mainstream artists are beastly).
 
lobo said:
consistency as an artist is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL. i don't give a fuck how good your first two albums are. you had your entire life to come up with them. you only get my respect as a top musician if you can continue to deliver. Eazy-E never once let me down and then died before he could suck, which is why i consider him the greatest gangsta rapper of all time.
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He didn't make most of his own lyrics though. I'm only pointing it out because you said they have their whole life to think of it as an important factor to you. :p
 
In particular order

Immortal Technique
Nas
NWA (taken as a group rather than individuals)
Lupe

5th spot changes, but right now it'd have to be Tupac as I'm on a wierd 90's kick.

-Idle
 
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