If you are gonna listen to Nas, pretty much Illmatic is the thing you need to hear. Its classic reputation is deserved, no doubt. Hip Hop is Dead is really mediocre, lots of preaching, lots of beats that are only so-so.

I am gonna have to say Coolio, now I don't know much about his music or rap music in general but what I do know is that I likes saying "Coolio". Now before you dismiss this as just some inane post, some tactless attempt at humour at the expense of people who listen to rap music, try saying "Coolio" and tell me thats not fantastic. Go ahead try it....your welcome.

All right, I don't listen to much rap either. But every now and then I do, and even enjoy it sometimes. For example, MF Doom and his various projects (Madvillain, Danger Doom, Viktor Vaughn, etc.) are quite good. He gets my vote.

But Coolio. Yeah. I listened to him the other day because I liked him as a kid. Nostalgia, I suppose. But in all honesty, I very much enjoyed "Gansta's Paradise." It actually seemed quite heartfelt. It portrayed a bleak view of the gangster image that (presumably) made him rich.

I am not ashamed to say I love that song! Good job Coolio!

quote:

Originally posted by Nhazghaal:
See, and everybody acknowledges Illmatic as a classic, but most of my friends that have heard it say it's kind of boring. I mean, I think Ready To Die is overrated honestly. And I kind of associate them in my head, maybe not lyrically or thematically but as a sound and an era. I'm just not that big a fan of old old hip-hop outside Wu-Tang (another reason they're the GREATEST THING EVER.) I figured Hip Hop Is Dead would be like, Nas in a relevant-to-me today kinda package. Does that make sense at all?

First off, Wu-Tang is by far the greatest rap group ever. Second, I've never heard Nas do anything boring. Illmatic is brilliant. Third, Ready to Die is amazing. I listened to it for a week non-stop about 3 weeks ago, it was totally random. I was all like, I'm ready for some "Ready to Die" and then I got in a funk and it became the only thing on my WMP NP.

Once again, I remember that I'm not supposed to post here, and I certainly believe Wu-Tang has major cred, but how, exactly, can they be better than Public Enemy? Chuck D, all by himself, has more Authority than most groups who've been around since God.

I've tried listening to "It Takes A Nation of Millions.." and "Fear of a Black Planet" but they did nothing for me. I prefer the Beasties to Public Enemy.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Once again, I remember that I'm not supposed to post here, and I certainly believe Wu-Tang has major cred, but how, exactly, can they be better than Public Enemy? Chuck D, all by himself, has more Authority than most groups who've been around since God.

I love both Public Enemy and Wu-Tang but what might separate them is the fact that Wu-Tang had more "pure talent" on their side than Public Enemy. Not one member of Enemy, including Griff and Chuck D, released any solo work that would even closely merit greatness. When you look at Wu-Tang, they were one of those super groups containing individual talent that not many others could rival.

As a group, Public Enemy released four, maybe five, classic masterpieces. As a group, Wu-Tang crafted two and maybe four classic masterpieces as well. But after their success with the clan, they showed that they were immense, individual talents in their own right.

Genius made two masterpieces, the RZA was a top of the line producer and made three or four solid albums, ODB made at least one amazing album if not two, same for Method Man, we all know of Raekwon's classic, Ghostface already has three masterpieces and more to come, even lesser known talent like Inspectah Deck and Masta Killa had one great album each, maybe only U-God was the one who didn't have huge success.

Boy all this talk gets me excited for Wu-Tang's new album with all eight original members, save ODB.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
Boy all this talk gets me excited for Wu-Tang's new album with all eight original members, save ODB.

Hell yeah it does. I miss the day I saw them in concert

i would say that even though i don't like a lot of his stuff, the game deserves a place on this list for the sole reason that he ripped on 50 cent (and crew) for 15 minutes straight. Who does that? other than that he is just okay. Some other emcees who earn my props are:

Guru(nobody can beat Gangstarr, sick jams)
Mike Skinner(has originality & a funny accent)
The Roots as a band
and Rakim, I know he kind of fell off, but i just cant get over paid in full...wow.
O, and Eazy E. even though hes dead, he still rules all of rap.

ok so
every single one of you who have reolied to this is wrong. Jay-z isn't even close to being the best rapper alive right now. If anyone has heard "show me what u got" you would know, hes possibly the worst out there.
Lil wayne on the other hand has talent. He has good rhymes good flows and good songs But he still isn't the best rapper out there.
Juelz Santana, J.R. Writer, and Papoose are 3 of what i'd say are the best. Juelz is young and has potential and hes already making sick rhymes, and J.R. not as popular around the world is also young and makes sick rhymes to. Same goes for Pap just hes not as young

This is where we get into that whole East Coast v. Dirty South v. West Coast thing right?

Look im from everywhere and when it actually comes down 2 it, its all about the type of person u are if u lived a life of crime and what not yeah ur gonna go with a Lil Wayne or something but if u are a more complex individual such as myself then ur gonna lean more towards your Black Thought, Common Jay-z Nas, and alot of other people i didnt mention

Jay-Z? "Big Pimpin spendin the cheese, Big Pimpin, blah blah blah"... I've never really understood the hype around him. He's had some good songs but the majority of his catalogue I can't stand. And he's sounds mentally challenged...

I'll take Weezy and Nas, thanks.

Has Gift of Gab been mentionned?

THERES ONLY ONE...
IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE... PERIOD!

quote:

THERES ONLY ONE...
IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE... PERIOD!

Really?
It's all hate and conspiracy theories, and he hasn't dropped anything significant in years.

I think that Kanye West is the best. He raps about things that I think matter, he is not just about degrading women and having the most bling bling.

Another thing:

I don't know a lot of 50 cent but just listen to In Da Club and Candy Shop. He may have good beats but his lyrics are just terrible.

Some rappers who are definitely not are:

50 cent: Good beats, but terrible lyrics (In Da Club, Candy Shop)
Mims: "I'm hot cuz i'm fly, you ain't cuz you not" Enough said.
Lil Jon: Get Low has terrible lyrics, but a good beat.

My candidates for best rapper:
Kanye West: His lyrics mean a lot. (Jesus Walks, Can't Tell Me Nothing)
T.I.: Some of the best beats ever (Big Things Poppin, Top Back)
Public Enemy: Some of the best lyrics I've ever heard, great beats. They have it all.
Beastie Boys: Great mix of rock and rap.
Ludacris

You can't base whether a rapper is good or not on their beats... that's on the producer's end. The artist generally does not make the beats, and even if they do that has nothing to do with their flow.