quote:

Thanks for including that. I always wondered why you'd use some Spanish if you're from Toronto!

Because the blood of the Iberians is flowing in my veins

quote:

Originally posted by Yay!:
For rap music to appeal to both sides, it has to have that je ne sais quoi "street" quality.

You brought up a very interesting point there, Yay.

I think it's important to have substance and intelligent lyrics in hiphop music, but because of the nature of the culture, street cred ultimately takes precedence.

quote:

Originally posted by Carlito's Way:
I think it's actually white (American/Canadian) people who are somehow divided.

Have to agree with this.

I am American by birth, but I am Hispanic and both of my parents were born in Mexico, but I have lived here my whole life. I can honestly say that in my short life the divide is created by the whites of our country. I mean, in many ways people “try” to listen to rap—that is they attempt to barely tolerate it or stomach it—but they never really appreciate it, let alone enjoy it. I used to know people that only listened to hip-hop/rap that was mainly underground or not really mainstream yet, they despised Eminem because of his large fan-base but loved The Roots before they released Phrenology and suddenly everyone was a fan—everyone forgets that Things Fall Apart is their best album and by far one of the most important, best albums of the 90s. That being said, I enjoy both artists—they are amongst my favorites. Others include, Talib Kweli (simply one of the most talented MCs still rapping) and his ex-Black Star buddy Mos Def (although like someone else said here, hardly makes music anymore,) Common (has always been a fave even since his feuding days, he still is one of the best, but his street cred has worn off,) Nas (Illmatic is classic,) A Tribe Called Quest (rap pioneers,) and a long list that includes old-timers like De La Soul and Wu-Tang Clan, relative newbies like Eminem (has already made his classic) and Outkast (which already had a classic before Stankonia—isnt it funny how after this album everyone was a fan?) continually rising artists like MF Doom, Ghostface Killah (founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan,) and Clipse and of course giants whose presence is still felt today like 2Pac, the Notorious B.I.G., and Jay-Z.

With that said, I have to just say that I really hate it when people dislike rap and never have a solid reason for it. I know people that when they hear rap—whether it be on the radio with the new Kanye West single or on TV with Common on the new GAP commercial—they automatically are somehow disgusted by it and there is no reason for it. Now if someone just doesn’t like it that’s fine. But for someone to just blatantly hate it and get so annoyed by it is inexcusable.

im my opinion, who the 'best rapper alive is' is more of a question for rappers to bicker about rather than for us to actually try to answer, not only because rappers are so different and everybody uses different criteria, but my favorites are..

talib kweli
nas
lupe fiasco
lil wayne
clipse
killer mike
chamillionaire
cee-lo

i guess in my sick little head, the best combination of talent there is probably cee-lo, even though many of them may rap better than Lo, but Cee-lo has them trumped on inventiveness and creativity.

but i could never answer that question... its crowded at the top, and depending on who currently has teh hottest album you could also make an argument that theyre the 'greatest'.

okay. i think the best rapper is Gift of Gab.
from Blackalicious. look him up.
he is mad talented.

quote:

Originally posted by b.taylor:
Personally, I think Jay-Z is the best rapper alive because of his sick flow and lyrical ability. He has the ability to connect to the listener at an unmatched level, which I think explains his album sales success.

Dude, Jay-z is a joke. He's a bitch that got rich off white boys like you buyin' his hyped up albums.

"Reasonable Doubt" is a joke?

Please.

quote:

Originally posted by Yay!:
"Reasonable Doubt" is a joke?

Please.

Yeah, and that album came out when? Over 10 years ago? Jay z is selling albums based on a reputation he built when he was a real person, not a bling blingin', ceo lookin' for another way to swindle a buck out of wannabe hiphop white boys. Rocafella yo! His new album blows. Talk about f#ckin' lame rap. It's the same way metallica are cashing in on a reputation built on music past. Look at metallica fans now. A bunch of middle school kids looking for hard music. Jay z fans are young white kids looking for good rap. But they don't know where to look.

quote:

Originally posted by hudson:
Jay z fans are young white kids looking for good rap. But they don't know where to look.

What's up with zooming in on "young white wannabe hiphop boys"? In general young kids, whether they're white, black, olive, yellow or brown wouldn't know where to look for good music --- that's why there's pop music that's specifically marketed to a young audience.

As of right now?Then Nas,Ghostface or Lupe Fiasco.Boots Riley is still real tight as well.

If you mean literally 'still breathing' then G Rap,Nas,Rakim,Common,Andre 3000 etc.That list could go on for a while but Nas is the current GOAT imo.

quote:

Originally posted by Carlito's Way:
What's up with zooming in on "young white wannabe hiphop boys"? In general young kids, whether they're white, black, olive, yellow or brown wouldn't know where to look for good music --- that's why there's pop music that's specifically marketed to a young audience.

Well, considering most shameless, artless, corporate rap albums(nelly, jay-z, pdiddy,etc.)are purchased by young, white(non-black, non-latino, non-asian) american boys, I really don't need to zoom in on them...the industry already has.

Now, go listen to your pop music youngin' and leave me be.

Yeah, seriously though, my taste has always been way far from Jay-Z.

My faves tend to be more towards:
Weezy F
Killa Mike
All of Wu (I saw em in september w/ some friends and... wow. It was so nice.)
Nas
Three 6 (just kidding... they're old ish was good for smokin though)
Clipse
Tip (oh, wait, my bad, TI)

Anyways... I like how my speech goes gangsta when I talk about rap.

Oh, and Sage ain't shit. He's crazy as hell though.

And Yola is sick.

Personally, i think that Nas is the best rapper alive because all the people who are claiming that they are the best (i.e Jay-z etc...) Nas has owned them all.Also, unlike most rappers, he talks about real life issues not how much money he makes, how much CD's he sells. And if some of you think Jay-z is the best rapper alive , just listen to either by NAs.

okay i'm new to this but i was hoping to get into a discussion just like this one. i was talkin to one of my associates about this very topic.

get this!!!

Nike is putting out an Air Force 25 album to go with their new shoe. i was flippin through the channels and ran into a video with Kanye, Nas, KRS, and Rakim with Premier doing the production. i was thinkin in my head, "i wonder who's track this is? it better not be Kanye's track!!!!!"

sure enough. it WAS Kanye's track featuring KRS, Nas, and Rakim. that to me is a crime. thats the equivilent to hip hop rape!!!! Kanye being the title emcee on a track featuring those legends!!! Kanye's not even on close to being on that level. Kanye's not even in the discussion of being on the top tier producers,...let alone emcees. he's really trying to make it seem like he belongs as part of one of hip hop's greats .

yo kanye, try spittin a delivery that doesn't make me want to go skip around the block. call it what you want (hatin) but i'm hatin.

and while i'm on the topic of the Air Force 25. how is nike gonna have juelz santana make essentially the title track on the ground breaking shoe! credibility lost!!

best emcees alive:
in no order,

Rakim
Mos Def
Common
Nas

L.A all day

I think my favorite MC right now is Dizzee. But after my latest exchange with Borachon in another thread, I went back and started listening to some English hip-hop I have, and must say Sway is pretty awesome.

quote:

Originally posted by damien felps:
Kanye's not even on close to being on that level. Kanye's not even in the discussion of being on the top tier producers,...let alone emcees. he's really trying to make it seem like he belongs as part of one of hip hop's greats...best emcees alive:...
Common...

Ok, you do know that one of your "best emcees alive" had Kanye West produce almost his entire 2005 album (save two tracks) right? Do you also know that "top tier artists" are the ones that seek West's producing chops? Artists like Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Alicia Keys, T.I., Slum Village, John Legend, Mos Def (another one of your "best emcees",) and many more. He is clearly at the top of the hip-hop world, surrounding himself with great people to work with to put out the best possible music. No one has ever claimed that he is the best rapper around, but he is getting better. A quality that can be attributed to his consistent work demeanor. He is someone that has already established himself as a top tier artist currently making music. Not to mention that his own two albums are not only two of the best hip-hop/rap albums of the past five years but arguably two of the best albums in the past five years period. He only got better from his first to second album and as good as he is, here's hoping his next effort is just as good (can't get much better than that.)

okay, this whole arguement is about "best RAPPER alive" right??? fragilekida.....lets be honest here, your arguement is that some of the best emcee's are getting production from Mr. West, but lets not make the mistake his lyrical skills are nowhere near on par of those he's had the pleasure of producing. yes he's made a name for himself as a producer but there's a reason he was a producer for rocafella BEFORE he was even considered as a legitimate lyrical force with his standard formula "high pitch vocal sample looped throughout the entire track". as far as his own albums are concerned...to say they're possibly some of the best within the last 5 years is laughable. seriously though, all his hits are straight straight club bangers. those two albums fall under the category of what i like to call "hip-POP"

lets remember how this tyraid came about, mr. west on the same track as nas, rakim and krs.
when those 3 emcee's names are uttered, you don't think of kanye west as a name that would follow immediately after. NO, those 3 emcee's hold weight in the begining through the golden age history of hip hop.
krs has been nice since day 1
rakim revolutionized the game.!!! rakim made every rapper in the late 80s rethink their elementary rhymes....
rakim is THE most influential emcee PERIOD.
nas came out the box with an instant classic. and although his albums may not have had the same commerical success, lyrically they're still better than most emcee's careers can even phathom. not to mention his latest just pushed the envelope creatively.

heads give kanye props for comin out on a track with his jaw wired shut. okay he gets an A for effort but he wasn't spittin anything noteworthy except his own saliva. a good gimmick nontheless. when it comes down to it...kanye on the same track with legends is like John Starks trying to guard Jordan...he kept up but still got bashed on.!!!
oh and by the way, common and mos def don't preach about prenups.....nuff said.

Wow you sure are touchy huh? Like a time-bomb.
I never said West was one of the best around and yes the discussion is "the Best rapper alive" but you said he wasn't even a good producer and that's laughable. I never denied Rakim's or Nas' importance or talent, I was merely defending West.

And I love Common and Mos Def and probably know more about them than you do but not all of their songs are about great subjects. "Go" is about a fantasy, with lyrics about how some girl is "getting off while serving him." Plenty of rappers can not be serious sometimes.

A lot of rappers (and many "pop stars"/people with millions of dollars at their disposal) come off as assholes with huge heads, but (maybe it's just me) Kanye comes off as an enormous douche.

quote:

Originally posted by damien felps:
"hip-POP"

Did you make that up? I like it (even though it sounds painful)!