The End: the Greatest Emcees/Rappers Ever: #10-1 Aug 26 '04 (Updated Aug 25 '08)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music The Dirtchamber Sessions, Vol. 1 by The Prodigy From $11 Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 The Bottom Line Read it... So we've hit the End. The Best 10 Rappers in the history of the artform. I know, I know, the tension is unbearable, so I'll shut up and get things moving with 10 - 1... #10. Notorious B.I.G. In my humble opinion, Biggie is one of the most overrated artists ever, yet he still kicks off the Final Segment of this epic journey at a strong #10. How? Well, Biggie is one of the most well-rounded artists of all time – proficient in every category of rapping. His deep, distinctive baritone voice, distinctive delivery and versatile flow didn’t disguise the fact he was a superior lyricist, cutting battle rapper and fantastic personality able to create any kind of song about any kind of subject matter. Truly an all-rounder, the overrated part of this description moves in with the fact that he’s often called the G.O.A.T. off a tiny catalogue – two albums – which has probably come around through the fact his life was cut short, tragically. Both Ready to Die and Life After Death were classic albums, but I have few doubts that if Big had stayed alive, he would be a contender for #1, as it is I’d feel morally wrong placing him much higher. Essential Listening: "Ready to Die”" (1994), “Life After Death” (1997) #9. LL Cool J LL Cool J was one of rap’s first genuine transatlantic multi-platinum solo superstars – and to his credit this fact has remained the same throughout his long, distinguished career. Strip away his loverboy persona, the platinum plaques, and the R&B Crossovers, and a lot of people seem to have forgotten that LL is actually a highly talented rapper – his debut albums demonstrated a young and raw B-Boy rapper full of fresh braggadocio and ill rhythms. And young he was, only 17 in 1985 when Radio burst out. Despite the plaques stacking up, LL matured, becoming a seasoned, confident veteran able to take on a whole host of the next generation’s best. And even now, while he’s happy dropping filler-laden commercial albums, he still remains the most relevant old school rapper ever. That’s an achievement in itself. And ok LL did change his sound for the mainstream – but never completely, and it never sounded like his music lost its soul *coughsJay-Zcoughs*. Essential Listening: "Radio" (1985), "Bigger & Deffa" (1987), "Mama Said Knock You Out" (1990), "G.O.A.T." (2000) #8. Scarface Quite simply, Scarface is the King of the South. And rightly so, as the veteran gangsta rapper has simply been a beacon of consistency throughout his 20 year career, inspiring and influencing a whole generation of artists. As a member of the infamous, excellent Geto Boys (the Southern N.W.A.), ‘Face shocked and impressed the nation at the same time with dark, disturbing, crime-ridden tales delivered through his impeccable style: the most idiosyncratic voice in rap and a teary, honest emotional delivery that makes you wanna root for him whatever he’s doing. Going solo Face has been pretty damn impressive too… and so many big names have worked with him, perhaps to try and capture the hearts and money of his fanbase. Still very relevant in today’s rap scene – check his smash hit My Block from a well-received album The Fix - ‘Face has class and longevity, which bags him a well-deserved #8 spot. Essential Listening: “The Geto Boys” (1990), The Diary (1994), “Last of a Dying Breed” (2000), “The Fix” (2002) #7. Chuck D I see a lot of lists that simply do not pay due respect to one of its true greats. Now even though I’m not even close to being old enough to have been around when Public Enemy were in town, it is not difficult to appreciate what they did for hip hop. And Chuck D is one of the main reasons why the pioneering, controversial leaders of black power in the 80s terrorised virtually anyone in authority. With the most booming, commanding voice and a delivery that any politician should look at and study, Chuck was the master at imposing himself upon a listener. With his more than willing foil Flava Flav providing the comic relief, and The Bomb Squad’s revolutionary, noisy backgrounds, Chuck directed the group through several classic albums (yeah you read it right, “several”, followed by “classic albums”) and basically provided the backbone for The Greatest Rap Group of All Time. Now tell me he doesn’t deserve his props? ;) Essential Listening: “It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back” (1988), “Fear of a Black Planet” (1990), “Apocalypse 91…the Enemy Strikes Back” (1991) #6. Common Probably the most controversial choice on this list, because to most people if you that haven’t gone platinum you shouldn’t be in a Top 10 (that is the warped mentality of most “heads” these days), but Chicago’s finest Common Sense is the artistic equal to anyone on this list. Two set-in-stone classic albums, Resurrection and “One Day It’ll All Make Sense, exhibited a fluent, eccentric, literate and intelligent man, and on top of that a complex and skilled lyricist able to drop the wittiest, wordplay-filled raps outside of Gza and Ras Kass. Able to specialise in a wide number of areas – battle, consciousness, storytelling, braggadocio, freestyle – to the point where he is better than the specialists in those field, Common is notable not just for dismantling Ice Cube in the infamous “B!tch In Yoo” diss, but tackling serious issues such as abortion and poverty in unconventional ways that few others think of. Some say he fell off with Electric Circus (though they are wrong), but the classic "Be quickly dispelled those fears. Truthfully with Common, the only question that remains is how far can he go? Essential Listening: "Resurrection" (1994), "One Day It’ll All Make Sense" (1997), "Be" (2005). #5. Nas If there is any one figure that represents all the hip hop ideals of the modern Eastcoast, it would probably be the self-proclaimed prophet Nas. And this rep is based more or less solely off Illmatic, the New York City rapper’s groundbreaking debut that rises above the status of classic or masterpiece, being I one of the foundations of the hip hop canon. No other album blends the elements as well as it does… first there’s Nas’ perfect lyricism. Flowing, richly-detailed words, crafted individually and put together perfectly, always with the same level of craft and intelligence… it truly is poetry in motion. Add the holy trinity of East coast production – Premier, Pete Rock and Large Professor – and you have an album that is better than most artists’ careers. A series of solid, good albums followed Illmatic, and we saw large doses of Nas’ talent, but never in the same luminous fashion. In fact, it could be argued that all albums like I Am… achieved was to paint Nas as hip hop’s biggest hypocrite. Regardless, Stillmatic and It Was Written are near-classic efforts, and virtually no other artist in rap history has the same amount of outstanding songs as Nasir Jones. Essential Listening: “Illmatic”" (1994), "It Was Written" (1996), "Stillmatic" (2001), "Hip Hop Is Dead" (2006) #4. 2Pac. We all know about Tupac Shakur… in fact it’s virtually impossible not to know what 2Pac was and what he stood for. A lot of people stereotyped him solely as a gangsta rapper – a very unfair, incorrect assumption basically resulting from one “gangsta” album– but it is undeniable that Pac is one of the great, legendary figures in hip hop history. While not the most technically able rapper on this list – though he was still above average – Pac’s gifts lay elsewhere. A great communicator, able to write strong, passionate songs whose theme usually centred on some form of human struggle, 2Pac captured the hearts of many with his words on excellent albums such as his personal highlight “Me Against the World”. And when his death came about – not an accidental death, I’m sure – he became something of a martyr. For those many hip hop critics out there he probably also demonstrated what was wrong with rap culture – you talked the gangsta talk, you died by its code. As flawed a view as this is, maybe that’s what Pac’s biggest contribution has been. And that’s a tragedy in itself. Essential Listening: "Me Against the World" (1996), “All Eyez on Me” (1996), "7 Day Theory" (1997) #3. Ice Cube. From 1989 to 1993, in my eyes Ice Cube was the greatest emcee on the planet. The onetime N.W.A. front man released a string of three outstanding albums, AmeriKKKa’z Most Wanted and Death Certificate standing out particularly, and with these Cube terrorised virtually anything or anyone holding any authority in the States. Like a more Gangster Chuck D, Cube was vitriolic and incendiary, fighting for black power and against what he saw as a corrupt, racist “Uncle Sam”. But not a simply an angry thug: a highly articulate and intelligent one at that. Using his powerful voice and charismatic delivery the “N!gga Ya Love to Hate” flawlessly demonstrated his fantastic writing capability, creating a number of all-time classic songs that perfectly capture the searing anger and hostility that half of South Central L.A. felt towards White authority. Unfortunately for Cube, after the equally classic 1996 Westside Connection debut Bow Down, the rapper’s move into movies led to a de-emphasis on his rapping career… his rap’s became undeniably watered down and his albums stale. The Ice Cube today is a long way removed from these monumental heights; though his catalogue of work, once-powerful resistance mentality, and sheer influence means he’s never gonna slip far down this list. Essential Listening: “AmeriKKK’z Most Wanted” (1990), "Death Certificate" (1991), "The Predator (1993), “Bow Down” (1996) #2. KRS-One. “Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone”. That is the celebrated acronym of KRS-One explained, and it’s basically the philosophy that “The Teacher” has lived his extensive career by. Analysing a figure as complex and far-reaching as KRS is difficult; but it’s perhaps simplest to just say he represents hip hop culture. In fact, he is hip hop culture. As interested in lecturing and teaching about the culture as he is in partaking in it, the strictly anti-violence and anti-commercialist morals of the man have to be applauded. And that’s without mentioning his musical career: in a word, breathtaking. Ever since the launch of his group Boogie Down Productions and the classic Criminal Minded, KRS has had an extensive career spawning at least 10 albums – all with the furiously politically and socially conscious mindset of the veteran emcee. Credit has to be given to his technical skills – one of the world’s leading freestylers and battle rappers, KRS attacks each and every verse with a relentless, pounding energy and maniacal flow – he’s neither as smooth or as complex as Rakim, but in terms or energy, pace and charisma he certainly makes up for this. Ok, cats say he ain’t relevant anymore… that’s only to the shallow and wack commercial market. KRS-One is #1 in a large number of lists, but this list is concerned in technical ability first and foremost, and Ra just has him beat here. Still, this guy is a monumental, legendary hip hop great. Essential Listening: "Criminal Minded" (1986), "By Any Means Necessary" (1987"), "Return of the Boom Bap" (1993), "KRS-One" (1995) #1. Rakim. Effectively, as we finally hit #1, both KRS-One and Rakim are exchangeable figures. Both deserve to be here, but in the end my vote had to go the “God MC”. Through the 80s and 90s, the benchmark of elite emcees was Rakim, it really is that simple. Breaking out with his partner Eric B with a string of successive classic albums – you’ll notice this is a trend of all the Top 10 – Ra strung together elaborate, flowing verses full of internal rhyming, fantastic metaphors and complex wordplay. His style was years advanced of anyone else at the time and essentially influenced each and every rapper who claimed to be the best. If they tried to be complex, they were copying him. And it wasn’t just lyrically; the ridiculously dexterous monotone flow that Ra possessed allowed him to rhyme over any beat. Never commenting in any particular depth on any complex subjects – unlike a lot of those in this list – or professing himself to be the culture (unlike KRS), Ra just professed himself to be the best emcee. And he was, that’s why when one of rap’s biggest talents ever, Nas, was the hottest thing in hip hop, he was “the next Rakim” not the next KRS or Cube. It is “cool” to say Rakim is wack now, cut that crazy talk, verses he’s dropped on cuts such as Jay-Z’s “The Watcher II” demonstrate he’s still ill… and I’m deeply anticipating any new album he drops. Quite simply Rakim is the most consistent, most influential and best rapper on this list, and he gets #1. Essential Listening: “Paid in Full” (1987), “Follow the Leader” (1998), “Don’t Sweat the Technique” (1992), “The 18th Letter (1997, "The Master" (2001) --------------- So that's it. We've reached the end of this epic list. All that remains is for me to thank you for reading - massive shouts to all those who have followed it all the way, been a real pleasure debating this through the many comments I've recieved. All that's left is to introduce firstly, the Honourable Mentions (basically 51-60), and the rest of the list, which is good reading if you wanna see this whole thing in order. I'm out, peace! Honourable Mentions: CL Smooth DMX Jadakiss Ice-T Paris Prince Po Raekwon Rza Q-Tip DJ Quik Previous Installments: The Greatest Emcees of All Time: #50-41 The Greatest Emcees of All Time: #40-31 The Greatest Emcees of All Time: #30-21 The Greatest Emcees of All Time: #20-11

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