who is the greatest rapper alive?

[UnOwn]

^^^^(Cold Truth)I think this is partially the point I was trying to get across, but in my mind it means that no one is the best. I'm sayin that there is no one rapper that is the best at every facet of rhyming and that is why I could never choose a favorite and would probably never choose a favorite when breaking it down into sub-categories either. Whether you break it down by word play, flow, topic, story telling, alliteration, etc., etc. I don't think there is any MC that consistently outshines everyone else, especially when considering all elements together, as you would have to, for best rapper alive. I think it is important that people support their choice with reasons, but seeing that most people don't have actual reasons for their choice, other than their opinion, that is probably why you won't get them. I'd say that the majority of people that purport to be fans, don't actually know a ton about the history or why someone would even be considered for the best.

I'll finish this one with my new favorite quote too:
"It's just, the kids these days, they don't check their history. Everybody knows how to read a fucking Billboard chart. " -Method Man

 

[AHXBEATS]

LL Cool J....(Yeah Right)
Lyrically. there aint to many to choose from... Most of the street cats make all the banga. There just under rated... I don't I can even answer that question.. To much indsutry BULLSHIT..

X-RAY
"aka" Jewel Avenue OX

 

[Cold Truth]

the problem i have with that is that guys like meth, who arent exactly the best today, want to be conisdered great based on what they have accomplished in the past. has anyone actually checked the wu's sales figures? with the loyal following they have, they should have a much higher salesfigure.... the reason they dont is because they dont put out the same quality material. rakim isnt the artist he once was. chuck d will never be a top 10 lyricist. krs one is likely the most overated rapper around- which doesnt take away from their accomplishments or contributions. but these are guys that have not made arelavant impact with their MUSIS in ages. sure, they deserve their respect. sure, they were great for their time.. but isnt the fact that they are so obsessed with people knowing the history a bit of an indicator of the fact that they cant/dont/wont put out good, relavant music today?? as much as i love black star, one album does not greatness make.

of course there isnt a best; but common IS a guy who is VERY consistant. jay pulled taht "one hot album every 10 year average line", but his albums were hot based on sales.each has had some very memorable songs, but he has produced two HIP HOP albums that were listenable front to back.

common has 4 out 5 and a possible 5 of 6 on the way..... all i am saying is taht here is a guy who for 12 years has been consistantly consistant. every time, it seems he has a solid verse. always. he RARELY comes weak, and minus the E.C album, he hasnt even gotten corny ala Nas. (oochie walley?? 'i wanna talk to the mayor, the governor,'......come one man...)....

and my favorite verses, would be a toss up between 1-9-9-9 (either verse) or the hunger.... but he has so many.. get em high was a wake up call and a half, i was about to give up on him.)

 

[UnOwn]

Yea, I agree with you. That is what I mean by cats needing to stay consistent, which most (including a lot of innovators) don't. That is a good illustration, as to why Common is above the average MC. As far as Rakim falling off, his last album was "The 18th Letter" and that was pretty good. So, I don't think he has slipped (unless you count that song on the 8 Mile soundtrack...LOL) I mean check that single with Canibus "I'll bust 'em You punish 'em, that was nice. And that is just an illustration because he is not one of my favorite "current producers" (and by producers I mean people consistently putting out new material). But I see exactly what you mean; I am just giving my reason for never picking a favorite. In my opinion (and this pertains to everything I really like), I think it is kind of disrespectful to an art form to say that one person has mastered it. I think that shows lack of understanding of the evolution of art. (And I'm not saying you here.) I just don't like to narrow my scope enough to say I have a favorite because I feel that this limits my ability to appreciate the artform as a whole.

 

[Cold Truth]

as honest an answer as i have seen...

 

[1d3nt1tY]

My reasoning, is a lil bit complicated and it is only an opinion:

Whoever states their life path truth outloud is a poetic pimp, even if their production suck back in the day. Some of these cats were straight up pioneers but were slept on because of the timeframe. greatness is something that has been acomplished, not "produced" or "compressed" by a bunch of equipment in today's studio. I'm talkin about people who have an innate talent to just spit everything that's on their mind, no matter what anybody thinks, even if it shocks the fucc outta some with an absolute flow that can't be denied.

Esham hit my ears around the time I was starting to get angry about the forever weakening of hip hop in general, when I was about 15... I saw the shit in a bubble records and just knew that the wicket shit will never die.

<font color=red>ESHAM Can't take it witcha:
"you might get you a house, a woman, or maybe a baby, if you don't go crazy first.
And tell me what's worse, bein broke or a hearse, huh, money is a black man's curse.
but still, we got ta have dolla bills,
cuz if I can't see it then the shit ain't real.
where I live, crackhead heaven twenty fo seven,
no hope for the city of dope.
there ain't no heaven, and god don't like my hood,
cuz my hood is hell and it ain't no good.
got money to the ceilin, oh what a feelin, O.G dealin, caps get peeled and, whats next,
hoes want sex for some checks,
pussies gettin wrecked, dick shoved through they neck,
get the hex, you gets no respect,
so we hitcha, broke your love like picture, ho you can't take it witcha.

You can't take it witcha, no love, no lust,
no one, no gun, no cap to bust,
all the things in life you've ever had,
gettin zipped and locked in a body bag,
what's left, life after death, you don't know,
when you die, you might meet the people you owe,
death row, that's where we all gonna go,
sell your soul to the devil get a tag on yo toe,
Oh no! no more bitches and television,
get a trip to the morgue for your final circumcision,
what the fuck, you don't know what from what,
cuz they even stole yo dick n yo nutz.
<b>Man you can't take it witcha</b>"</font>


This was in 1994 everyone, this was real, and I still have more respect for someone like this producing out of their basement than ANY new day fuccn puss of a rapper we might see on tv.

The greatest has to be a peep who has NEVER come weak, too many people have gone the way of the dollar bill and started talkin bout 20's that gleam, diamond rings and everything just gets lost... I don't want to hear about the girls you have shakin their asses on the video, it's evident that the biotches are shakin it right? It's right there, and I don't care bout your 24" rims on your yukon, cuz that isn't real, that's after you got rich...

Those with true skills ooze talent ABOVE and BEYOND the normality of today's "hip hop radio".

If you really look closely at someone like even G-Unit (not hatin, just sayin) they are pretty weak in every aspect of the game. There's no real anger there... On the video P-I-M-P for 50 and snoop, all you see is them trickn and handin girls money. GIVING MONEY TO A GIRLIE IS NOT PIMPIN, IT'S TRICKIN, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. lol. it's just flash and flutter to me.


Everyone has their favorite, and it usually projects the type of person you are. If a person is really wack, you might love vanilla ice still...

 

[erkl]

a couple off the top of my head

kool keith motion man lyrics born lmno

 

[1d3nt1tY]

kool keith is good too, a tru represent of detroit's scene... esham and kool do shows together

 

[pancakebunnny]

Yea, I agree with you. That is what I mean by cats needing to stay consistent, which most (including a lot of innovators) don't. That is a good illustration, as to why Common is above the average MC. As far as Rakim falling off, his last album was "The 18th Letter" and that was pretty good. So, I don't think he has slipped (unless you count that song on the 8 Mile soundtrack...LOL) I mean check that single with Canibus "I'll bust 'em You punish 'em, that was nice. And that is just an illustration because he is not one of my favorite "current producers" (and by producers I mean people consistently putting out new material). But I see exactly what you mean; I am just giving my reason for never picking a favorite. In my opinion (and this pertains to everything I really like), I think it is kind of disrespectful to an art form to say that one person has mastered it. I think that shows lack of understanding of the evolution of art. (And I'm not saying you here.) I just don't like to narrow my scope enough to say I have a favorite because I feel that this limits my ability to appreciate the artform as a whole.

Actually, Rakim's last album was "The Master"..... and I have to say this... if you rate an emcee based on how well each album was produced or how good the songs sounded or whatever, then that's like rating an actor on how good his movies were... shouldn't the magnifying glass be on his acting in that movie? ----> Point: An emcee can only be judged on HIS (or HER) capabilities. Common is someone I don't even consider in questions like this, just because I think of him as totally beyond this.... like, rappers today are peasants, and he's that griot on a mountain 30 miles away. He's just on another planet, watching earth with a sad, ruefull smile. Even though Electric Circus was VERY risky and experimental (still a good album, regardless) HIS content on the album was quite nice. He really didn't have a disappointing verse (other than "I Got Tha Right To.."). What I'm saying is, Rakim for example.... Has he EVER dropped a lame verse? Sure, I've seen him over beats that even I wouldn't claim, but he has stayed consistant in his delivery, never letting us down. Nas, on the other hand, eh..... someone else said it on another thread. Two words: Oochie Wally.



Okay, I'll wrap this up.

A chef can only be judged based on the food quality, not the restaurant experience. A baseball/football/basketball/squash player can't be judged on the team's performance, only his or her own performance. Same thing for a rapper. If hip hop was a type of music with NO beats (AHHHH!! thank God it's not) and just acapella songs, well, everyone would have much different opinions on who's their favorite emcee.

 

[UnOwn]

Okay, you're right. I forgot if "the Master" was before or after "the 18th letter" and it was in the wrong order on his website. And I totally agree with you about judging the MC and not just the song in general. I was never implying that this was the case. I've heard plenty lame verses over dope beats and plenty dope verses over lame beats. I think your point should be taken into consideration before people say some of the lame things they say, but I'm still not convinced that I should pick a favorite MC (not that that is what you were implying).

 

[o-a-ksavage]

and he is a guy who can and regularly does, steal the spotlight from the tracks he GUEST stars on. (act too, UNIverse at war, respiration, get em high, the truth, etc..) .

Yup, he killed Get em high. I haven't heard much of his shit but that was one of the tightest verses ive ever heard.

Alright im gonna give my reasons why Eminem is the best alive. First of all it's bull-shit if anyone says the only reason he's been successful is because he's white. Name one other white rapper who's ever even made it near the top. He got big because of pure talent. His rhyme style is original as hell, especially since you can always tell when someone is trying to sound like Eminem. No one else has ever been able to creatively rhyme as many syllables together while having your shit make perfect sense and flo with perfect delivery. LIke Common, he murders whatever tracks he features on from other albums. (Renegade, What's the difference, Don't approach me, Lady), he is in my opinion by far the best freestyler of all-time, and a legend on the battle tip (He got second at the rap Olympics battle competition way before he was discovered as a white boy, I wanna see who won!) He never comes weak with his flo. He earned everything he got no matter what some of y'all think, and he is the best rapper alive.

 

[1d3nt1tY]

I can't hate that post o-a-k, I have been listenin to white america and we as americans plus some of the cuts that made him famous and the fool shares almost my every view with me... united states of embarrasment lol! (I feel that his view of his mother or wife are kinda hard, but you never know they could be skanless ass bitches... I've known a fair share of str8 cluck bitches and they can't be trusted... even and especially family)

Eminem is original and his style is even new, no white rapper ever made it there, you are right, he has hella talent and his flow is excellent and makes sense and he earned what he has.

heh sorry peeps... OFF TOPIC, SKIP THA PURPLE TEXT IF YOU WANT TO STAY ON TOPIC OR GET UPSET EASILY!!!

Man I just never shut the fuck up do I? controversey might be what sells.. sumpn like that...


This is a post of a topic inside of a topic, which happens.
<font color=purple>

I am white skinned (english, irish, dutch, german, and 1/4 spanish with 1/4 apache indian, but pretty much "white" skinned), but I don't share the same convoluted views most "white" people do. Neither does eminem. Most white folks I know say that racism has pretty much died out and that "black" people (or mexi fries, as 1/2 of myself iz) could get a job and need to stfu... They say it's bullshit and that whites are hated on now more...

"whites are the minority!" is what they say... or at least a guy I know from oklahoma says when we argue about black n white...

Maybe it's true, maybe whites are hated on more now, but the generations and generations and millenias worth of murder, rape, and generally enslaving, openly or behind the scenes, have proven that the majority of lighter skinned peoples (including my own spaniard background) have always been (from the beginning of recorded history, maybe it's just his-story, but whatever) murderous and hateful due to skin color, anyone who says otherwise is severely lying to themselves. sorry if that offends the light population here, but it is a fact by statistic... I am not saying that other nations of color haven't battled, raped and killed themselves, but when is the last time africa tried invading and enslaving america? or even mexico for that matter?

I'ma end this shit here, I know some of you are stewing in your britchez about that shit, but whatever, I know what I know, I know who I am and I have studied my ass off to know what is what. FROM A MOSTLY UNBIASED OPINION. I could fit in with any "white" crowd and hang out and be all about their cause, or their belief system, but I choose to keep it neutral and see what is really true from a human perspective, not white, or black, or brown, or yellow, or green, or red... I don't give a fuck, if you share my anatomy, you could be my homie.... or a punk ass bitch who needs his face punched into a puddle for fun... you never know.

finished.
</font>

I could say eminem is the best, but then there are so many peeplz who hate so much, like I once did due to feeling like he took the place I was supposed to have. I realize it is not my place, it is where I'm going. He may have opened the door for me. Who knowz?

I think eminem could very well be "one of the best rappers" in history, except there are plenty of fools who worked as hard and have as much talent without making it in the industry since they choose not to suck the dick of a large company.

I know a couple peeps who could battle eminem and win
(destro-D - dealah, tahaji, or even g no)

I know a person who has already outproduced dr.dre
(to me anyways, someone of these very forums who I'll leave blank, cuz someday soon you'll see wassup)

Anyways, if a moderator deletes this, I will not be too upset, but you know tha dizzl

 

[1d3nt1tY]

oh ya, I *still* think that esham is the greatest rapper ever, he just hits tha money from his basement too well for me to think otherwise. Him n his brother made the shit back when it was barely comin to light that there might actually be a problem in the ghetto, and I was listenin... impressionable youth I was, but this shit was better than anything I heard, even though the music was distorted, I felt the shit resoundin in my soul, like a favorite marvin gaye song in the 70's...


Eminem makes reference to his shit every once in awhile (i don't acid rap but I rap on acid, etc. is this a subliminal hint? no! lol)

Esham been in the game alot longer than eminem and comes from the REAL 8 mile, and was sayin way more controversial shit since eminem was like 10. I guess maybe he went too far and was slept on cuz of it...

hit his tracks on ka-zaa or whatever and then judge, and keep in mind it's 1988 till now:

esham:
the eulogy (richard prior omg this shit is the best damnit... I was sprung, love richard prior 70's)
my homie got shot
make me wanna holla
brainwashed
mental stress
sunshine
premature ejaculation
closed casket

natas: (esham's group, like D-12): piggity pop (piggidy?) - pack the steel - scream - doyoubelieveingod - I DON'T WANNA GO CHURCH - Telly Savales - cancun (another hot track to get to fuck [literally] with lol) - Oriental Spaz [again, another one like cancun] - worldwide - motivate we all die - funeral parlor

esham & dice: poemz


He is truly from the ghetto, a true ghetto superstar, he made a million in his career sellin out of his house and "underground" distribution, anyone who says he is a "falloff" is a bitch.... anyone who discredits his shit is a bitch, plain and simple

 

[UnOwn]

he is in my opinion by far the best freestyler of all-time, and a legend on the battle tip (He got second at the rap Olympics battle competition way before he was discovered as a white boy, I wanna see who won!)

"Wize is probably best known as the winner of Rap Sheets' now infamous 1997 Rap Olympics battle against Eminem in the finals of what would prove to be Em's last emcee battle. However, in an effort to blow up on the merits of his own skills, Wize refuses to use the victory as a stepping stone in his career and, up until recently, preferred not to answer questions about the battle. Although this battle was the end of Eminem's underground career, this was only the beginning for Wize."

"At the same time the legend of Otherwize, the battle emcee, was growing at Elements, a weekly open-mic club where he maintained a 90 percent winning ratio over a 3-year period, often battling as many as 4 times a night. After establishing himself as one of the best freestyle emcees in Los Angeles, Wize's reputation led to the recording of a couple of tracks with Dr. Dre in 1999 for The Chronic 2001 project. Although recording with Dre was a dream, the request for Wize to be more 'gangster' wasn't the direction he intended to travel."

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otherwize

I guess "more gangster" was where Em wanted to travel. I'll just let the rest speak for itself and then you tell me marketing doesn't have a lot to do with it.

 

[o-a-ksavage]

I guess "more gangster" was where Em wanted to travel. I'll just let the rest speak for itself and then you tell me marketing doesn't have a lot to do with it.

I think you're addressing me with this statement. Even if it's true that he sold out, in what way does what you proved make him a "marketing gimmic", which was what I disagreed with.

 

[Chrono]

ME


only Mr. Ray Charles Robinson is better.

 

[andreas]

I personally think Zion I is the most, perhaps not technically acclaimed rapper. But he really spits good rhymes and his lyrics is reall good.

Speaking mere flow and style, well then My 2 cents go for Charlie 2na

 

[Fury]

Canibus and Immortal Technique straight up

 

[Louie Lou]

Mainstream:

Cannibus, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Keith Murray.

 

[Dolius]

kweli
mos def
black thougth-highly underrated by the way
one be.lo.
mf doom