terrycloth

I wont do an all time list since narrowing it down to 10 would be impossible and rap isnt even my most listened to genre, but ill make a list of my current favs that iv been listening too.

Tech n9ne - im also surprised to see his name mentioned. I however ran across Anghellic years ago when it released and blind bought it and been hooked since and everytime i play a tech cd for someone they become fans.

Joel Ortiz - one of my current new additions...great flow and from start to finish is album is great.

papoose - while some of his newer stuff hasnt been my cup of tea i have plenty of freestyles and mix cds of his to last me for awhile

Necro - even tho his last album was hit and miss his older cds still get played alot

Ludacris - i dont buy alot of rap cds bc usually its one or two singles and the rest of the cd is garbage, cept every ludacris' cd has been great from start to finish

Rick Ross - Im not sure why i like him bc most his style i cant stand, but iv been listening to trilla for the past couple weeks nonstop

Sutterkane - hes my guilty pleasure of brainless fun in his cd. waiting for a new cd to see if he has the staying power of necro

Twiztid - Im not too big on any of theyre cds yet Independance day was a great cd one of the best i heard last yr....hell even Blaze's clockwork grey was a decent cd.

Kottonmouth kings/Surburban Noise - not the best albums but they put on a great live show that i check out everytime theyre in the area.

uncle-frank

^ im the same with trilla. i got it at the flea market back in march and im surprized that i still bump it

bigjim25

(tie)10. Notorious BIG, 2Pac, Puff Daddy
9. Tone Loc
8. Ice Cube
7. Beastie Boys
6. Run DMC
5. Ice T
4. Snoop Doggy Dogg
3. Eminem
2. DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince
1. Dr. Dre

The Bus

Styles P, Papoose, and Lupe Fiasco - "Cipher"



I loved Jin's freestyles back on 106 and Park but he hasn't done that much since:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/ji...ark/1455108989

But he absolutely killed all those freestyles.

I saw MC Supernat live years ago. He freestyled on stage about whatever you handed to him (pens, phones, receipts). Personally I think two Top 10s are in order: freestyle ones and pre-written ones. The lists would look very different.

lcnickell

Geto Boys(Scarface, Willie D, Bill), Gangsta Nip, Eminem, NWA ( ICE CUBE, Easy E), Kool Keith


the worst

Shaq, Vanilla Ice, Ice T, Dre ( producing great, weak on mic), Puff Daddy,

Drama King

Truthfully this probably has alot to do with where you come from in terms of region and what age group you are in....My list is based off of whaat I can still listen to. I don't Care about the Historical value of Big and Pac if it comes on I change the station and I can't stand Jay-Z. At least Nobody has put "soulja boy" on their list.

Here's Mine No Order (Note that I am from the south soooo...)

Lil Wayne
B.G.
Juvenile
UGK
Outkast
Ludacris
Twista
Jadakiss
Rick Ross (Blow,Trill, Boss) I can feel this.
Trick Daddy (Now I know some of you may question this, but I like the stuff of the album not the radio singles so much)
T.I. (Surprised he hasn't been up here yet)

DonnachaOne

The famous dead ones.

maxfisher

I couldn't even start to put together a 'best' list, as I'm not a big fan of rap in general and it exists mostly on the far borders of my musical preferences. That said, I own and enjoy (to varying degrees) work from all of these artists.

Beastie Boys
Danger Doom
Eminem
Geto Boys
Gnarls Barkley
Grayskul
Jay-Z
Moochie Mack
Sage Francis
The Streets

terrycloth

that cipher video was what introduced me to papoose and got me hooked.

heres a question for those listed lil wayne whats some of his good songs? bc i always here how much people love him but what i hear *everywhere* on the radio his songs are nonsense. im not crapping on him im actually just curious how he became so popular if he had some older classics or what?

JMcCraw

1) Jay-Z
2) Eminem
3) Big
4) Pac
5) Scarface
6) Outkast
7) Run DMC
8) MF Doom
9) Ghostface
10) NWA

TheGodfather

1- Rakim
2- Notorious B.I.G.


3- KRS-One - NO MENTION YET?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
4- Eminem
5- Nas
6- 2Pac
7- Q-Tip
8- Slick Rick
9- Jay-Z
10- Ghostface Killah

No one really in the same league as Biggie & Rah.

Jay-Z would've been higher if he didn't steal all his lyrics from just about everyone else on the list, mostly Rakim Allah and Biggie.

JadaKiss, Trugoy, Posdnous, Dame Grease, Styles P, Erick Sermon, Big Pun, Greg Nice, Chuck D, Gza, Redman & Common also deserve Honorable Mention. I'm very surprised no one said Tru, Pos, Grease, Sermon, Pun, Chuck D or Common yet...

islandclaws

The Wu-Tang Clan. All of them, with the RZA being #1.

acubfaninmd

You are the only person on here so far that has a good list. Everyone else has MTV/BET/Commercial Rap radios favorite rappers on their list. People need to broaden their listening to things other than what a major corportation plays 100 times a day.

acubfaninmd

in no particular order

Rakim, Biggie, Eminem (first two albums), Common, Slug (Atmosphere), Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, Ghostface, Black Thought (The Roots), Guru (Gang Starr). At work right now cant think of other will edit later.

Godfather you know why no one mentioned Rakim, Common etc because they dont get played on a regular basis so not many people have heard them. Most people on here probably are like who is KRS ONE??? Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone.

Like Sage Francis said F*CK Clear Channel.

bigjim25

I've only heard KRS ONE on one of my favorite songs by R.E.M. "Radio Song"

The Bus

Dude puts out, what, 2 albums a year? Or more?

I don't think he's had that many legit/retail releases recently. Wasn't his last retail album previous to 2008 Tha Carter II?

But he's had, what... 3 mixtapes since then? Some of them even double albums (I think).

I used to be a much bigger fan of rap than I am now. I haven't heard a really great rap song in ages. Mind you, I am exposed to much less of it now.

The last good diss I heard was 1.5 yrs ago: The Game's "Soundscan":
http://www.prefixmag.com/media/the-g...-dissmp3/2495/

I think I even saw a YouTube video of Canibus in military uniform rapping in front of a jeep. I guess that's what he's up to now. It blew my mind that most of the commenters had no idea who he was.

Double Down

I agree with most of this list, but not necessarily the order. Here's my list:

1- Rakim
2- Nas
3- Tupac
4- Q-Tip
5- Black Thought (of The Roots)
6- Eminem
7- KRS-One
8- Common
9- Talib Kweli
10- Jay-Z

Layziebones

"I Feel Like Dyin'" is a great song. Also, everytime I go to a Party (I am in HS.) "Lollipop" comes on and the girls go crazy for that song, and I think its pretty good for club music. He does alot of backup and Co-op work but the majority is pretty good.

ATX

bout damn time someone mentioned Scarface

and shit Ice Cube was one of the rawest dudes on the mic once

K-Rino should be on the list and also Z-ro... they will run most people who call themselves rap artist off the stage crying

dugan

How about my 1 favorite?
http://www.eekwol.com/
http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/EEKWOL/

There are enough samples on those two sites to convince anyone.

Tarantino

Alright...a real top ten list from me, in no particular order...

Masta Ace
Louis Logic
Jay-Z
Common
WC
Andre 3000
R.A. The Rugged Man
Notorious BIG
Tupac
Eminem

= J

Kory

This isn't in order...

Jay-Z
Rakim
Black Thought (of The Roots)
Royce da 5'9"
Lupe Fiasco
Talib Kweli
Mos Def
Common
AZ
Nas


This isn't necessarily a best of all time list, but these 10 emcees are easily my 10 favorite of all time.

Drama King

Again IT's about where you come from... I hate BET and MTV so my lists don't come from there, but rather from what I can listen to. I grew up in New Orleans so my musical tastes will be different from say a New Yorker, hence 3 our of the 4 Hot Boys (BG, Juvie, Lil Wayne) So as far as lil wayne I remember him all the way back to his younger days as a kid going back as far as the Tru Story album from BG (which I own) I can list more local artist who I can appretiate for their value (DJ Jubilee, DJ Jimi), but they are BOUNCE artists and very unique to the New Orleans area.

For me personally thoos people who like Jay-Z and the other Pop-Rap artist like him your lists are from that MTV/BET craze and I will even say that Wayne is there now too. The only lists I can really respect are when people list the rappers with messages Rakim, Common, Mos Def, Talib, even Nas.

I can't respect the older artists BECAUSE I never listened to them. I'm in my mid-late 20's to give a frame of reference. I bet this though, find someone from texas and see if Paul Wall, or Charmillionaire, Flip, DJ Screw, don't make their lists, you will probably even see more mentions of Scarface... It's where you come from and what you grew up to.

TheGodfather

If you like hip hop you should really try to check him out. Him and his DJ, Scott LaRock formed Boogie Down Productions and represented the Bronx hard in the '80's when Queens was blowing up (Run-DMC, Mr. Magic & Marley Marl, Biz Markie etc.).

KRS is the epitome of realness in hip hop. His name is actually his tag name (graffitti name for those who don't know) which he used to plaster all over the Bx and Harlem. He brought the battle mainstream in songs like "The Bridge Is Over" and "South Bronx", as well as invented philosophical, socially conscious rap in songs like "My Philosophy" and "Criminal Minded". He also released the 1st live hip hop album called "Edutainment".

Some of my favorite KRS/BDP songs aside from those mentioned already are:
Black Cop
Step Into A World
The MC
I Can't Wake Up
Poetry
Outta Here

Although my 2 definite favorites of his are Criminal Minded and The Bridge Is Over.

The Bus

K-Os is better, if we're going to talk about Canadians.
MC Paul Barman is better, if we're going to talk about white people.
And Jean Grae is better, if we're talking about women.

But she may be the best white female Canadian rapper I've ever heard.