Rap

[Zachstralkita]

damn idk how people can fuck with thug like that, i havent even heard his new shit but i never really been into him, i only like some of the stuff he did w gucci

also i talked about da$h and retch but didnt provide any da$h and retch, wtf





thank me later

Tre Mission goes hard and he's from Toronto, even though that's technically grime. I do like a lot of UK grime tho

[PJ.]

Honestly, I straight haven't been that impressed by the last two years. My fav album last year was Fetty debut. This year it's been Kamaiyah and Kevin Gates. Lately most rap I've been listening to has been like 10 years old.

[Deductive]

My Top 10 Rap Artists:

1. Big L
2. Notorious B.I.G.
3. 2-pac
4. Nas
5. Eminem
6. Big Pun
7. Rakim
8. Eazy-E
9. Ice Cube
10. Jay-Z

Honourable mentions: Dr Dre, Andre 3000, Method Man, Proof, Royce da 5'9, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole

[PJ.]

Bad list.

[Zachstralkita]

One of those Tuapc over Nas boys, huh? tsk tsk.

[PJ.]

Idk man, I'm west coast but I honestly think pac kinda sucks. And I like Big L as much as the next guy but having him at 1 is a joke.

[Psyche]

?

[Deductive]

Firstly it's my personal top preference and it's based on a technicality. I'll elaborate on why I think he's the top.

Big L is an extremely well regarded rapper but even with all the acclaim he's still really underrated.
In terms of punchlines & free-styling I've not heard of anyone better and I've listened to a lot of rappers.
Taking into considerations all that goes into rapping: Flow, battling, charisma, personality, lyrics, cleverness, song writing ability

Flow

- One of the greatest ever. You'll never hear Big L off rhythm on a song. His flow was so smooth. Every line was in sync with the last. Also, he had the rare ability to change speeds in his flow within a verse.

Battling

- He was an underground legend, and rumour has it that he never lost a battle.

Cleverness/Creativity

- Big L is known as the punchline king. No one came with more wittiness than him.

Song Writing ability

- Casualties of a Dice game is one of the best constructed stories in rap history. Though most often remember L for his punchlines, he could pen some pretty coherent songs, with each verse being relevant to the topic and backing up his thesis with points. Check, No ends no skinz, Casualties of a Dice game, How will I make it.

I honestly think that if you want to take all things into account, you'd have to say that L was the greatest, technically.

His flow variation is just remarkable even when looked at from a musically theoretical standpoint, going from 8h notes to triplet-16ths in a bar isn't an easy thing to do, let alone as seamlessly as he does.

[PJ.]

Battling is completely irrelevant, mostly because battle rapping is god damn awful. Even the guys that are considered the best of the best, they kinda all sound like extra aggressive slam poetry that lacks all the creativity of actual slam poetry.

Yeah L, had good flow(for his time) and was the punchline king(for his time) but the production of most of his shit was awful. Awful to the point that it detracted and distracted from everything else. Also the body of work is just not there man. Only two real albums of completed shit. He could of been the best. But unfortunately, between the small body of work and the fact that rap has progressed since he's been active, he just doesn't make the cut.

Pun misses top 10 for small body of work as well.

Eazy E doesn't even make a top 50 list. Didn't write his own shit and was bad.

And honestly, I've only listen to Paid in Full, but I feel like Rakim is basic as hell especially compared to nowadays. He definitely should get credit for how influential he is, because every one that inspired everyone that's out now has Rakim on there best list. But it's a different era now. I wouldn't include him or any of his contemporaries like Kane or Slick Rick.

[Zachstralkita]

Battle rap is completely different, I fucks with it heavy. But it's one of those things that you either like or you don't.

you can't really compare it to music rap though, most battle rappers can't make music worth shit (Caustic and Dumbfoundead are the two only exceptions I've found -- not that I've searched.)

but you can't watch Hollow Da Don's battles and say that man isn't a beast. This isn't no goofy 8 Mile shit. I haven't listened to Hollow's music, but he's most definitely a more talented rapper technically than most rappers that make music are, period.


Anyways I think Pac was more of a revolutionary than a rapper.

Nas goes to the top of that list for me, maybe I'm biased a little because Nas was how I really started listening to rap. Besides Illmatic which is probably the best hip-hop album of all time IMO, and IWW, Nas has an abundance of gems scattered across all his discography. He's still a GOAT no matter what he does.

[Deductive]

I think comparing from cross-eras is difficult. And remember that a few of the deceased rappers back in the day (Big L, Pun, 2Pac, Biggie, Eazy-E) all died at a young age which meant they weren't able to show more of what they were capable of. I personally think old school rappers were better than nowadays rappers but the rap game has definitely changed.

Nas is astounding:

- Lyrical Complexity in Music
- Has a great storytelling ability
- He's a true "Street Poet"
- He can ride the beat well for most of his music
- Stands up for what he believes in
- He Came from nothing and made it big in life
- Wise and intelligent, it shows in his lyrics
- Able to change up his style and has a versatile set of styles

[Deductive]

[Zachstralkita]

that one's a classic

[PJ.]

Yeah, Nas is a GOAT. Idk. I personally think I'd slot in Hova at 1? "2 hot albums every 10 year average."

[PJ.]

Old school rappers weren't better. I feel that's a very weird misconception. Their rhyme schemes were incredibly basic, especially when compared to someone like Cam or Weezy.

[Zachstralkita]

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww you put jay-z as 1 hahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Oman]

People trying to turn rap into math. Scoring out of ten on lyricism and battle skills.

Fucking. Lol.

[Zachstralkita]

everyones so sleep on this

dudes really got that classic westcoast sound thats groovy as hell



also free xxxtentacion, broward county fl

i'm disappointed i got put onto him so late but i dont regret it now

[PJ.]

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww you put jay-z as 1 hahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

He sells records and snuffed out Nas. Hova had 6 hot records in like 8 years. Nas is good. Nas is great. Nas hasn't released 6 hot albums, period.

[Zachstralkita]

Ether bodied Hov -- not even bias, I had a period a long time ago where I would be playing both tracks on repeat. Takeover came at the Mobb too, and they would eat Jay up.



whatever success he had in that beef was nulled when his mom made him apologize publically for Supa Hot

I guess you're either an Ether or a Takeover man, like you're either a Tupac or Biggie man. Let's not forget how they squashed it and came together on " Black Republicans " for the win

But can we discuss how Nas ate 50?


I still like Jay tho, Reasonable Doubt and the Black Album are classics -- sure, I like Watch the Throne too

also I prefer to not judge off records sales, wayne would be #1

[PJ.]

Wayne is top 10. Even if you disregard sales, Jay's run of hot albums from 96-03 is better than any one ever. Ever. On top of that Hov is an absolute kingmaker, he's made more bad rappers matter than anyone, aside from maybe 50.

[Zachstralkita]

mmmmm lets agree to disagree on the wayne part lol

he's nice just I wouldn't place in top 10.

[PJ.]

Ridiculous. Weezy is great and super influential. Great punchlines and has some complex rhyme schemes.

[Killthestory]

good rap to me will always be about the message and how much passion they have for their music.

That's why TPAB was so great for me. I loved that entire album.

[PJ.]

Couldn't get into it.