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20 Best Rappers (revised slightly due to alzheimer's disease LOL)Feb 14 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Hip Hop is a truly American Art form. The future looks bright for the genre as the Artists expand the limits to produce some truly remarkable music.
Since madtheory posted his 10 best-of Hip Hop list, i’ll do the same. Surely i’m not as articulate as madtheory but here’s my two cents on the matter. Unlike madtheory, i’ve included deceased rappers because i couldn’t leave ANYONE out. Also, my list is not limited to solo Artists. While the order is as near as possible to being hierarchical, it is obviously difficult since there are so many worthwhile Artists out there. Here goes nothing: 1. COMMON -- 100% agreement with madtheory. 2. X CLAN -- “This is protected by the red, the black and the green!” and “Freedom or Death,” two phrases that Professor X and the Clan brought into the pop lexicon. While the Clan released a mere three albums under the X Clan moniker, it is impossible after some 12 years to fully appreciate the depth and power in their Art. From “Funkin Lesson” on their first album to “FTP” on the stunning, chock-fulla-power XODUS, X Clan’s music still holds as much significance as it did all those years ago. There are really no words, though i’m trying, to describe the fascinating, mystical journey that X Clan took us on. It is difficult for me to list my favorite X Clan piece, try “Rhythem of God” from XODUS for its raw power; or “Day of Outrage” to experience X Clan’s righteous anger. The latter piece seemed prophetic when some three years later America watched the L.A. Rebellion on CNN. X Clan were true geniuses and few can duplicate their brilliant, deep Afrocentric Art. “Sissy!” 3. KRS ONE -- see madtheory’s comments. 4. TUPAC -- Tupac’s untimely death reminded us that the line separating Art from Life is sometimes blurred. In hindsight we see how eerily prophetic much of his work was. Pieces such as “Ballad of a Dead Souljah,” from the posthumous release Until the End of Time are like ghost cries, harsh yet oddly poignant. Tupac was indeed a souljah for the causes of his people as “Everything You Owe” and “White Man’s World” clearly demonstrated. Tupac Shakur is missed by all his fans (even those who doubt his demise) but he left us with a body of work that will continue to influence both the music and our entire culture for decades to come. 5. POOR RIGHTEOUS TEACHERS -- Where to start? "Butt Naked Booty Bless," "Freedom or Death," "Black Business," etc, etc, never once have i heard anything below SUPREME from PRT. Now, Wise Intelligent's solo stuff is somewhat hit and miss but who am i to criticize a Truly Gifted, Intelligent Artist? PRT. Three letters; three Artists; three wisemen. PRT. 6. ESHAM -- The king of acid rap, horrorcore, or whatever term you choose, this Detroit native has released some 20 albums, none of which can be filed under “mediocre.” Releasing discs both as Esham and as a member of his group, NATAS, this music is at once disturbing, beautiful, mournful, ugly, hopeful and negative. Check out “Telly Savales” from NATAS’ 1999 disc, Wicket World Wide.Com for a prime example of his genius. Esham explores the darker side, probably the reason he isnt as well-known as the other Artists on this list but he is far more innovative than the P-Diddy’s of the world. Esham may be the self-described Esham the Unholy, but that’s just a front; Esham knows the more apt description is “Esham the Christlike.” Who loves you baby? 7. PUBLIC ENEMY -- One of the greatest groups of ANY musical genre, Public Enemy’s first album did not come close to preparing for us the monumental follow-up, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. After that album, P.E. seemed to lack consistency at putting out great albums. Of course it would be difficult if not impossible to do one better than It Takes a Nation. Still, Fear of a Black Planet was nothing to sneer at; and despite panning from the critics i found Muze Sick in Our Mess Age to be a worthwhile if uneven release. Public Enemy defined the political subgenre in Hip Hop and even introduced the world to the controversial and noteworthy prophet, Professor Griff. P.E. “bum rush’d the” pop culture show. 8. RAKIM -- Most would argue that the R is the best. It is hard to disagree. Smooth is the first word that comes to mind when i think of Rakim. Whether it’s back in the day when we were voting for “Eric B. for President” or the mid-nineties when Rakim was channeling the “casualties of war;” or even The 18th Letter, which came out in 97(?), the R could fart into the microphone and he’d make it Art. Rakim was i believe the first major Hip Hop Artist to introduce mainstream culture to Allah and the belief that the Blackman is the Original Man. Well, Rakim is definitely Original, man (sorry, bad pun). I really don’t think there’s an end to his Genius. Thank you, Rakim, for sharing your brilliance with a generation malnourished and underwhelmed from what the radio sells us. When Paid in Full came out, we got a full-course meal and then some. 9. THE COUP/DEAD PREZ -- The revolution may be not be televised but it sure has been captured on wax as these two powerful groups prove. The Coup, on the one hand, makes another controversial album, Party Music -- this one controversial partly because of the poorly-timed artwork on the cover (i.e., 9/11), and it goes on to be quite possibly the best piece of music to come out in the first three years of the new millenium. dead prez follow suit with a mind-blowing treatise on America’s racist, brutal past and present. There is nothing bad you can honestly say about these two groups, unless of course you believe that America is the land of the free and that neither racism nor oppression exists here. Then again, if you’re one who thinks like that, listening to the Coup and dead prez would be the best remedy to your ignorance. 10. ICE CUBE -- What needs to be said about Cube? From the controversy of NWA to solo classics that brought ire from the PMRC, the GOP, the RIAA and any other dictatorial organization you can name, Ice Cube drew a new map for Hip Hop. Yet again, here is another Artist who has yet to make an album that fails to satisfy and/or stretch the expectations of his listeners. Ferocious as a lion, he helped to define the mainstream much to the fear and loathing of the establishment. Music hasn’t been the same since NWA had the people chanting, “dope man, dope man.” From Death Certificate to the recent War and Peace, Ice Cube’s name will surely go down in that Hip Hop almanac of fame. 11. PRINCE PAUL -- Nuff said. Stetsasonic definitely influenced a generation of hungry Hip Hop addicts and Prince Paul’s side work (e.g., the Gravediggaz) as well as his solo work -- particularly the classic Psychoanalysis -- lay testament to the fact that the Prince’s talents are endless. 12. KAM -- Conscious Hip Hop with a nice dose of male swaggering, KAM brought sexy sensibility back into Hip Hop with Neva Again. His latest disc, KAMnesia, is a bit heavier on swaggering, lighter on the conscious stuff but never fails to demand another listen. KAM is one of those Artists whose voice alone will lure you in: low-pitched, ultra-confident but never sinking to that annoying imagined greatness that many Hip Hop Artists seem to convey. KAM is as deep as his voice. 13. RZA -- Wu Tang, Gravediggaz, then he takes on the moniker Bobby Digital. The RZA is in my opinion the most prolific of the Wu Clan. Bobby Digital is a brilliant piece of work, and the Gravediggaz’ second album, The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel, featured the haunting, “The Night the Earth Cried.” The RZA rules. 14. DE LA SOUL -- De La Soul are experts at irony and humor and it’s sometimes so subtle that you’d have to play the piece over again just to catch it. Within the humor though is also some astute social commentary. De La Soul also seems to be one of the few groups who consistently put out above average stuff, no small feat considering the complexity of their music. 15. RAS KASS -- Soul on Ice was a mind-blower, especially "Nature of the Threat." Ras is, and i apologize for over-using the word but he's a Genius. 16. BIG DADDY KANE -- Long live the Kane. Despite a couple mediocre releases in the mid 90’s, Kane still lives on in my mind as an extremely talented and influential Artist. Prince of Darkness, Taste of Chocolate, Long Live the Kane and even his “comeback” disc in the late 90’s, Daddy’s Home, were all exceptional works with very little filler. He’s the Big Daddy and the moniker speaks for itself. 17. NAS -- Contrary to popular opinion this listener still believes that Nastradamus is a truer Artist than his “rival,” Jay Z. Perhaps I havent been listening to Jay Z carefully but I’ve yet to hear anything conscious or meaningful in his works. Nas on the other hand is about more than gold and chrome. Excuse the cliché, but Nas is realer in my book. 18. MENACE CLAN -- They only made one album to my knowledge but Da Hood was nothing but raw rage and power. Not an album for the squeamish, Da Hood made some bold statements about America’s poverty and racism. Take the devastating cut, “Record Deal,” which pointed an angry finger at white record company execs who cheat Black talent. Menace Clan may have dissipated due its controversy. The rise of so-called hate music watchdog groups has mainly affected those it should be protecting: young, hopeful, Black male Artists. Menace Clan proved that while they were harsh and angry, they were definitely speaking the Truth. 19. ROOTS/BRAND NUBIAN (tie) 20. KOOL KEITH -- Kool Keith’s Dr. Octagon project has to be one of the most brilliantly bizarre works to be released in quite some time. Once a member of the Ultramagnetic MC’s, Kool Keith has expanded Hip Hop into realms everyone should have been demanding, considering the endless range of possibilities in the Art form. Kool Keith has definitely redefined the present state of Hip Hop obviously because Keith is light years ahead of the other self-proclaimed innovators. The naysayers need only here Kool Keith’s experiments to realize that, yes, Hip Hop is Art. NOTEABLES: Artists who couldn’t fit on the list of 20 but who certainly belong there are: ENCORE -- Brilliant, acid-jazzy Artist on the Ark label. With the cd you even get a cd-rom of the video of Dr. Octagon's "Blue Flowers." This man's gonna be around a long time. GANKSTA NIP -- brilliant, brutal, not-for-the-squeamish “horrorcore.” THE DAYTON FAMILY -- Bootleg and the gang tell brutal truths about life in the ghetto. If the president really cared about the nation he’d be wise to learn the realities the Dayton Family teach. MC LYTE LIL KIM -- Naw, she’s grown. Nasty, beautiful dance music. Lil’ Kim is the best of the nasty female Artists. BROTHA LYNCH HUNG -- You want sicc (no, no sic here), then Brotha Lynch Hung is your man. Disturbing siccness at its best. Try Eat This or Blocc Movement if you want the real sicc. BIG L -- Tragically the Big L is no longer with us, but his Art lives on. WYCLEF and GURU -- were previously in the top 20 until i realized i'd forgotten 2 Artists that are mandatory in the 20, but Guru and Wyclef deserve to be mentioned. LIL WAYNE -- I don’t know too much about this young Artist but I know that he is smooth, smooth, smooth. TECH NI9E -- Brilliant style, almost horrorcore, Tech Ni9e is, according to Quincy Jones, “… the Charlie Parker of hip hop.” Cant argue with that. KING JUST -- Having released only one album to my knowledge, King Just is a powerhouse. He, like Wu Clan, does the Shaolin bits on his album Mystic of the Gods. Not surprisingly he’s collaborated with the Clan. Just is typically brilliant Wu-style Hip Hop. QUEEN LATIFAH SCHOOLY D -- Some claim he invented gangsta rap. Not sure about the accuracy of that claim. I do know that “PSK” was my favorite piece of music for over a year when it came out (87?). And Saturday Night -- The Album, his first full-length, was simply brilliant if you forgive him the misogyny. Since Saturday Night his work has been hit and miss. We can forgive a great Artist for not being perfect all the time, cant we? PROFESSOR GRIFF / SOCIETY -- Public Enemy’s former Minister of something or other (sorry, Griff), Griff caused loads of controversy in the early 90’s. Nonetheless his work has been flawless, with the possible exception of Blood of the Profits. Society, a frequent collaborator, is equally brilliant, conscious Art. “Man O Man” is a great track in particular. The two Artists border on spoken word at times, but then isnt great rap the same as great poetry? CHANI -- Little known Artist who put out one disc on, if knowledge serves, the Broadway record label. Chani’s Art is deep, Muslim Hip Hop. Irresistable, powerful, danceable and flawless. The disc’s called Supreme Teacher, if you can find it. I could sadly only find the cassette and the record company was no help when i inquired. TRAGEDY -- Intelligent Hoodlum is a powerhouse. Trag also appeared on the Posse Soundtrack. Brilliant. SAAFIR PARIS / UTFO / ONYX / BLAC MONK / LUKE, etc.  |
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