The Greatest Rapper of All Time

[mike24forever]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

My absolute favorite is Slick Rick. Greatest of all time....too difficult to answer. There are so many greats that have not even been mentioned.

[CabreraMVP]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

My absolute favorite is Slick Rick. Greatest of all time....too difficult to answer. There are so many greats that have not even been mentioned.

Ahh how could I forget Slick Rick. I think he is without a doubt the best storyteller of all time.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

My absolute favorite is Slick Rick. Greatest of all time....too difficult to answer. There are so many greats that have not even been mentioned.

That is a good way to put it. Too difficult to say who is the greatest, too many parameters that are subjective. Slick Rick is one of my favorites as well. Lodi-Dodi was the song that made me fall in love with Hip Hop back in 85.

[boomhauertjs]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

How can Chuck D not be on the list? Please listen to "Welcome to the Terrordome" and then change your vote.

[Streets]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

It's tough because music is so subjective. I don't think just because you did it first it automatically means you are the greatest (re: Rakim). And I LOVE B.I.G., I mean really love him, as he's personally one of my favorites, but it's hard to judge a guy off two albums. I agree with the the poster who said he probably would have declined like Jay-Z. You could already see a difference in content and sound from his first to his second album (more pop).

I have a hard time including popularity as a criteria, because, well, the Backstreet Boys sold records, but I wouldn't call them good musicians. On the other side though, I can't give votes to people no one knows. Impact is important and no one had more than Tupac. I personally never cared for him as he was an average rapper. He was revered more for his image and his having died than for his ability to rap, which was average.

Jay has declined and should have hung it up awhile ago as he has only ruined his legacy. Nas has been inconsistent, but I'm impressed that he still puts out quality music after so many releases (Distant Relatives is the most recent example). As I said, Nas would probably be pick out of all the popular choices.

People who are notorious for using ghostwriters (though one of the ghostwriters himself, Royce, is one of my favorite rappers) are disqualified for me.

It's tough. I don't know if there is a consensus greatest, but for me, my list is probably

1. Lupe Fiasco (A complete MC, flow, lyrics, storytelling, complexity, metaphors, rhyme styles, and with Lasers has also has proven the ability to reach the masses both in record sales and in impact with the whole Lasers movement/ protest. The only knock on him is his small discography)
2. Nas
3. Joe Budden (King of the interwebz)/ Royce da 5'9"

Obviously my list is different from everyone else, but it'd be like me putting Citizen Kane up for best movie of all time just because it's the consensus thing to do or for the impact it had. That to me doesn't feel right. If the best is always the one to do it first, or if the greatest always goes to the old school, then there is nothing a new guy can do to snatch the crown, which is silly to me. Even though you didn't do it first, you can still do it better.

[DJ]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

No doubt that Chuck D deserved to be on the list. Chuck was a good storyteller and had a good flow.

Biggie was off the charts but he only had 2 albums (one a double-CD so 3 discs worth of material) and a bunch of cameos on mix tapes and other people's albums, so it's hard to vote for him, although I do love his work.

2Pac was another great storyteller; his pre-Death Row stuff was amazing.

Like Moses said, Illmatic was just on another level. That entire album is bangin'; I was blown away the first time I heard that and 17 years later, I can still listen to that disc from start to finish and never feel the need to skip a song.

Eminem is up there, too. I really like his latest disc and his early stuff was trend-setting.

There's no right or wrong answer, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. For me, if forced to choose, I would go with Nas.

[bigfnjoe96]

Chuck D... KRS-1... Rakim... Kool G Rap... For me.

Sent from my Awesome Phone via tapatalk

[jmood88]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

There is no greatest ever.

[mike24forever]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

There is no greatest ever.

I agree. I have been listening to hip hop for as long as I can remember (I am 38 years old), and to pin down one artist/rapper as the greatest...impossible. I have over 300 cassettes in the basement with some of the greatest hip hop music ever made (from the early 80's to the mid 90's) and I would have a hard time giving you MY top 10 artists, let alone the greatest of all time.

[areobee401]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

Just based on the people listed on the poll Jay-Z with Nas a close second.

[TheBadazz]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

My all time favorite is Pac.

But there's no GOAT. Every one of those rappers can throw down. Everybody
s opinion is based on their location, when they got into rap (and stop listening to just beats and hooks), etc...

How can you really compare Rakim (serious Knowledge Based Style) against Eminem (Crazy Punchline/Deep torment style)? It's way different styles, but they're both great.

The true title of the thread should be "Who your favorite rapper of all-time"

[The 24th Letter]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

1. Lupe Fiasco (A complete MC, flow, lyrics, storytelling, complexity, metaphors, rhyme styles, and with Lasers has also has proven the ability to reach the masses both in record sales and in impact with the whole Lasers movement/ protest. The only knock on him is his small discography)

Has Lupe made a party\club track before? just wondering?

[BlueNGold]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

Has Lupe made a party\club track before? just wondering?

He tried to with Lasers, but it's a mess IMO.

[Other Guy]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

Jay-Z for me. Great story teller, and even better lyricist.

[Altimus]

Re: The Greatest Rapper of All Time

All I had to do was look for Pac's name. No one else matters. Biggie is my 2nd though follwed by Nastradamus (Nas) third. Surprised to see Eminem 2nd in the poll. Damn.