When 2Pac died, it was widely believed that Hip Hop had lost the greatest rapper that ever lived. He was popular, his music touched millions and his voice lived on long after his death. In many people's eyes, 2Pac was the turning point of 'old skool' Hip Hop and modern day Hip Hop. Many have emulated, and most have failed. So who is the greatest rapper of all time? It seems a topic that nobody will ever be able to agree upon.Now we must define the aspects of what makes a rapper the best. I mean Soulja Boy sells records, and so does Gucci Mane, Rick Ross and Young Jeezy, but I would be taking serious bribes if I listed any of those names in my list. So really, sales does not come into it and we must look closer, at other aspects.
The next aspect to look at, is flow and delivery - a very technical aspect of a rapper's success. Unfortunatly, this gets looked over by many record labels, and much of this talent remains unsigned, unnoticed and unheard. Record labels would rather sign a young kid who has a story to tell, flaunts a lot of ice and is marketable, and meaning he is not always the slickest MC. However, in 2008, one example seemed to slip the net of this rule. A new MC who did not have a story to tell, had not been shot, and was certainly very skillful with what he said.
I am of course talking about Flo Rida. Flo is able to reach out to his millions of fans with club anthems that you only seem to know the words to the chorus rather than his verses. When he spits, his words rocket from his mouth at such a speed that it takes many listens to learn them, yet each syllable flows around the up-tempo beat consistantly, like clockwork.
But, would I lose my respect as a music journalist if I said the best rapper alive is someone who makes hits for the club, and those on the street cannot relate to? So obviosly Flo does not tick all of the boxes required to be 'perfect' and so I must look elsewhere.
Although Flo Rida is with it lyrically, he does not use punchlines, and many people will say that they are a key ingredient to success, especially someone who has killed it underground in the battles first. One artist who has done that, is Cassidy. Now, Cass exploded onto the scene when he dismantled the already signed, Freeway, in what has become one of the most viweed rap videos on Youtube (click for Part 1 & Part 2) and was highly humiliating for the artist who had been spoken so highly of by Jay-Z, and had just been signed to Jay's record label. In fact, if Jay was correct, Freeway was one of the best from Philly until this video surfaced. The point is, Cassidy put so many punchlines out, many of them have been quoted all over the internet, and propelled him to sign with producer, Swizz Beatz' record label, J Records. Cassidy has many styles, whether he is rapping for the street, the ladies, the club dancers or those just wanting inspiration in life. His flow is so perfect that he sounds layed back, as his talented mind is piecing sentances together with multiple syllabic rhyming, but yet it sounds like he is just talking a normal conversation, rather than thinking of stuff that sounds good. In my opinion, Cassidy is the most under rated rapper that has ever lived, and a position in the top 10 greatest rappers of all time is not enough - he needs to be listed at the top.
But there are some who say that Cassidy is 'too lyrical', and the days of songs such as 'Hotel' with R. Kelly are over, and had nothing to do with being the most talented MC in mainstream rap. So now we must look for someone who has a lot of commecial success with punchlines and rhyming, and immediately, Lil' Wayne is the nest artist that comes to mind. Weezy has a unique rhyming technique that placed him at the top of MTV's top 10 best rappers alive a coupleof years back. His album, Tha Carter III became one of the most anticipated albums of all time, and despite much of the material being bootlegged weeks before, the CD sold over 1.5 million in its first week an became the best selling album of 2008.
Weezy's wordplay is so unique, it is almost childish. He has a 'giggly' voice as he plays around with words and their meanings. Sometimes, they will fly over your head, but when you do pick up on one, a Weezy punchline can be enough to make you want to rewind the line and hear it again and again. But he is not always consistant. Sometimes, his features can leave listeners wondering what he is talking about, and the is not fit to be on the same record as other greats such as Kanye West. Many people will say he was over rated, and he is just living off hype, but there are many who think the south has produced a rapper that neither the East or the West Coast can compete with.
And that might be the problem. Those in New York will always say that the East Coast produces the best rappers due to the high competition, the amount of battles that takes place in the cold streets, rather than a different culture of Hip Hop from down south, where as long as it sounds good n a club, it is a hit.
The next rapper was listed as the 'Most Influencial person in Hip Hop', and many old timers will say he is the best that ever did it.. I am of course talking about, Jay-Z, but you are forgiven if you did not get that straight away. When Biggie died in 1997, a hole was left in New York rap - who was the 'King of New York'? Several applications were received by the fans from rappers asking for that position to be theirs. Jay-Z and Nas has a feud over the title, after both claiming it was their crown, and it resulted in what is unarguably the greatest diss record of all time - 'Ether' by Nas. Many people feel that this clinched it, and after a public apology from Jay-Z's mother, the feud died down, and both became friends. But, although Jay-Z is lyrically, he was always going to win the title in the eyes of commercial rap. Although Nas destroyed Jay-Z on wax, Jay-Z had commercial advantages. His songs had better radio play, allowing him to get closer to the fans, and of course, later on, he had Beyonce. When a rapper becomes popular, it becomes hard for him to lose a feud to a rapper who has a smaller fan base, nd that is why the likes of Jermaine Dupri Canabis or the Insane Clown Posse could possibly challenge Eminem or Dr Dre - they would lsoe even if they won the battle...if that makes sense.
But although Jay-Z is talented with what he writes, he is not complete, in that he lacks punchlines, and what he says does not always make sense because he has to change what he writes so that it rhymes. In my opinion, although Jay-Z would make the top 20, possibly top 10, he is certainly not anywhere near the number 1 position. I think Jay-Z creates music which enables him to have the honour of one of the best around, but lyrically, there are more skillful artists.
Nas on the other hand is another example of a rapper who is very complex to listen to. Even The Game said it:
"For my n***** it was too complex when Nas rhymed, I was the only Compton n**** with a New York State of Mind"
Its becomes hard to say Nas is the best rapper alive, as he remains grimy, and his lack of commerciality in the majority of music means he is hard to compare with the likes of Weezy, or Cassidy.
Next up, is the man who calls himself 'Loso'. This is of course Fabolous, a man who grew up a stone's throw away from Jay-Z himself in Brooklyn. Fab models himself around a slow, layed back style of rapping, which almost sounds like he has been disturbed after he is about to drop off to sleep. However, each line is packed with multiple rhyming throughout and again, clever punchlines and metaphors. I could probably best describe him as a cross between Mase and Cassidy - he has the same vocal style as Mase, but with Cassidy's talent. Fab can often be heard on remixes of other artist's songs, and often a candid to rap over an RnB track. However, I feel that Fabolous has tried to hard in the last year or so, especially on the new album, 'Loso's Way', which I did not think was his best material.
Although there are many more artists I could talk about in terms of the way they rhyme, I have saved the best for last. Nobody would take him seriously when he first entered the game more than a decade ago now, but with the reputable insistance from one of the world's best music producer, a so called 'mis-fit' of rap soon took to the air, and has overshadowed everybody else in the game. His rise to the top is more unusual than other artists, mainly because of his style in terms of song subjects, themes, and colour of his skin. I am in fact talking about Eminem, the man I feel is the most influencial figure in Hip Hop.
Eminem delivers so much energy in his music, as well as so much emotion. The one minute comedy voice, can soon change to an angry 'get out of my way' voice that flows through bar after bar. Eminem used his lyrical abilities to fend off competition in the early years, and despite a racial element to his snubbed battle performances, Eminem seemed to use that to build himself up even more, until now, he is feared among every other rapper (except Rick Ross, who perhaps feels he could defeat Em in a battle). The turning point for Em's career came when he featured on a ollaboration with Jay-Z, the song called 'Renegade'. This song seemed to show the world the Eminem could officially be crowned the king of Hip Hop. Maybe this was the reason Jay-Z had Drake's verse removed from their collaboration they did on his latest album, The Blueprint 3? Perhaps he did not want a repeat of another artist outshining him on his own CD?
Other artists can be 'King of New York', or whatever, but Eminem was even more devinly ranked. Despite a few comedy records for the radio, fans of Eminem knew that his real music came on the albums. Another factor which makes Eminem stand out as being the most influencial figure in Hip Hop, is the fact that culturally, he brings people together. His music opened up an opportunity for a whole knew batch of fans, myself included, which is why I feel the need to pay tribute to such a legend. Eminem has fans in America, the UK, Australia, Africa, Japan and all over - with people who dont even speak fluent English being able to learn his lyrics. And as well as being the best MC, he has even moved to the side as a producer, and helper to up and coming artists in the game, like Dre did to him all of those years ago. That is why Eminem is more influencial than anybody else in Hip Hop.
I could go on for days talking about artists with a lyrical ability - such as why Lloyd Banks constantly gets overlooked by 50 Cent, why Busta Rhymes never comes out on top of favourite rapper lists, and of course, Juelz Santana - the ladies man of Hip Hop, with humourous metaphors is better than the cappo, Jim Jones, but sells less, but below I have made my own personal lists. Feel free to agree or disagree with me, by dropping me a message on Twitter - twitter.com/rob_davies - and remember, its all a bit of fun... everybody will have a different preference.
Top 5: Dead or Alive
1) Eminem
2) Cassidy
3) Fabolous
4) Nas
5) Lloyd Banks
Most under rated rappers
1) Busta Rhymes
2) Juelz Santana
3) Ludacris
4) Chamillionaire
5) Pharoahe Monch
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