So why isn't he number one? Because he refuses to break out of his complexity. He follows the rules so hard that sometimes he even makes up words or phrases to fit into the multi. It's not a big deal but if he can get past that and perhaps enhance his storytelling, he can easily take the top spot. Trivia Facts: He's a co-founder of Strange Music. His music has been featured in film, TV, and video games.
He's continued to remain independent instead of signing to a major label, and while that's slowed him down a bit he's still finding mainstream success without them. If you ask me, Eminem is getting worse with time as he "evolved" through shock rap to sing-song rap to trying to sound like the modern mumble rappers. But if you've heard his discography, especially his earliest work and his freestyles, it's unquestionable Eminem has taken mastery to another level.
When he's not worried about mass appeal, his music is next-level in terms of complexity, vocabulary, rhyming phrases you'd never think to put together, etc. His freestyle skills are truly limitless, to the point where he's doing things that seem inhuman. Trivia Facts: He played the main character in the drama film 8 Mile, based around rap battles. He's had 10 number one albums on the Billboard , all debuting at 1. He's the only artist to have achieved this.
There's only room for ten artists above, but there are a few in the game that have the potential to knock a few rappers off that list. Some have been around for decades and some are newer on the scene.
Fabolous is a respected emcee that suffers from the same problems as others, where instead of flexing his insane skills, he dumbs it down and tries to score pop singles. Oh well. If Fabolous continues to use his incredibly long external rhymes and keeps up with his smooth swagger, he can climb back into the lime light with a different, darker image.
That might have earned a lot of short term money but I think it hurt him in the long run. He needs to get back to the gritty topics and flex his technical skill. Trivia Facts: After a long grind with many major labels, Fabolous ultimately founded his own label Street Family Records and has signed four other artists. He did a horror themed album with Jadakiss in Kendrick has a lot going for him.
His voice, his flow, and his lyrical content fit so perfectly with the jazz inspired instrumentals on his first three albums. He's showing that he can grow and evolve over his discography now, too. You know someone is on their way when they get tapped to ghostwrite for Dr.
Dre, and it seems that's been the case in the past handful of years. An exception to this rule is RBX, who's still one of my favorites. Kendrick is on another level, already being called the "new king of hip hop. He's already earning Grammy Awards, and at the 58th ceremony he received 11 nominations in a single night.
He was presented the key to the city of Compton by the mayor in Let me state up front that unless you're really into horror movies and the occult, you're not going to like Necro. However, if you can get past the topics that he raps about, you'll hear an extremely intelligent rapper with an incredible command of rhyme schemes and multis, as well as an insane vocabulary. Necro is also an accomplished producer, making all of his own beats, and some for the group Non-Phixion, which includes his brother Ill Bill.
Trivia Facts: His musical style is a combination of rap and heavy metal, though lyrically you could simply call him horrorcore. There's a handful of rappers who are the obvious "next up to bat" in terms of skill.
All have and will achieve even more underground success, but few will have mainstream appeal. That's okay, because it has nothing to do with our list of the most skilled. These artists are:. I'm sure there's others that deserve mention somewhere on this list, which is why this discussion always leads to arguments. There's just never enough room or time to mention everyone, and it starts to boil down to different tastes.
These are my tastes and opinions, and if you think someone else should appear on this list of the best rappers of all time, then let me know! Features Columns. Join Our Mailing List. Jared H. His run in the mids crowned him the new rap prince. Even years later, despite complaints a lot of people still look forward to hearing from Ms.
Lauryn Hill. Her lyrical ability is beyond measure which puts her in her own lane, especially being a woman! George : Kendrick Lamar, or as I refer to him King Kendrick, deserves his Top 10 slot for so many reasons as he checks so many boxes.
He is an elite lyricist. His lyrics are full of feeling and depth. His flow is distinct which makes him recognizable. His musical choices often attract non hip-hip heads, i. He also came along at a time when mainstream hip hop was, for the most part, lacking lyrical depth. Many people have frowned at putting him on top list, saying he is too new. Not true — his first mixtape was released in and he is still growing 13 years later artistically, continuing to find mainstream success along the way which is very hard to accomplish in this current era.
The ability to maintain major mainstream relevance and success while still pushing artistic boundaries alone earns his spot. The way he referenced Bill Cobsy and the Huxtables is still one of my favorites. Akhjan : Eminem is the best-selling hip-hop artist of all time and with actual substance behind it.
With respect of his peers and accolades such as his Grammy and Oscar wins you would be lying to yourself to not put him on your top list of 10 Greatest Rappers of all time. Victor : Andre bats around the English language like a soccer player juggling before a scrimmage.
Like Tiger Woods in that one Nike ad toying with a golf ball. It sounds unfathomably dexterous and effortless at the same time. From to about , Kanye was consistently in the discussion for best rapper alive, every year. The only unfortunate thing about Meth is that he never managed to translate his skills into making albums — Tical is his best album, and I could name five other Wu solo albums that are way superior. Only 10 years removed from his debut album, and Kendrick Lamar is widely regarded as, not only the best rapper of his generation, but one of the greatest rappers of all time.
No other rapper has ever had quite a run like Lil Wayne did during that to period. Then Tha Carter III drops in and cements his status, not only as the best rapper alive, but as the biggest rap superstar in the world. MF Doom is simply the greatest underground rapper of all time.
With an abstract, stream-of-consciousness style that Ghostface Killah inspired, Doom went on to drop classic album after classic album with his low-key, rugged monotone. What Slick Rick lacks in output relative to the other rappers on this list , he makes up for being a top five most influential hip hop artist of all time. Rick the Ruler took the art of storytelling in rap to another level — painting pictures with different vocal inflections — something that Big and Eminem would go on to do — and why there have been plenty of rappers who are worthy of the title, Slick Rick is the original, and greatest storyteller of all time.
How often does that happen? The epitome of a crime-hardened, street commentator, Scarface raps as if the whole weight of the world is bearing down heavily on his shoulders. Rap fans have really, really short memories. They see Ice Cube these days and they see a Hollywood actor who occasionally raps.
But in the earlys, there were a few back-to-back years where Cube was absolutely the best rapper alive. Aside from Chuck D, no other hip hop artist was wreaking havoc on the industry like Cube.
With a booming voice, a fearsome mic attack, relentless rhymes and fearsome battle reputation, KRS-One has been dropping knowledge non-stop for over 30 years. Rap fans forget how dope Eminem really is. But even though he perfected his rhyming ability, Em went beyond that — separating himself from rappers like Canibus and Ras Kass — and honed his songwriting craft.
This is perfect lyricism mixed with perfect songwriting. The fact that Black Thought has been getting his flowers these recent years, after 20 plus years of being one of the most consistent and slept on rappers in the game, makes me happy. The God MC approached the art of rapping like a jazz musician — effortless, smooth and with no boundaries.
There have been so many things written about Ra that anything I write now would be superfluous. The bottom line is: Rakim is the most influential hip hop artist of all time, and one of the greatest rappers to ever touch a mic. There are a lot of hip hop heads out there who get triggered when someone declares Tupac is the greatest rapper of all time.
No, he did not. The best rapper from the Wu-Tang Clan. A top-five hip hop storyteller. The most consistent, hardest working artist. But even before he was destroying guest verses, Stacks, alongside Big Boi, started the Southern hip hop takeover, as OutKast, putting out four classics back-to-back. Hailing from a different planet altogether, Andre is a space alien, consistently out there with his totally original rhymes, off-beat flow, spit-fire delivery and always charming subject matter.
Nas could rap well, Raekwon could rap well, Jay-Z could rap well, but Big became a pop star while keeping it lyrical as fuck.
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