Doodlebug (Digable Planets)
Rappin 4Tay
Lauryn Hill
Andre 3000
RZA

_

nd33 said:

Props.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

agreed. 4Tay is the fucking business. "Don't Fight The Feelin'" is a classic West Coast album.

Rakim
KRS-ONE
Nas
LL Cool J
Busta Rhymes

theAudience said:

I'm going to checkout The Last Poets. Thanks!

[1] Rakim
[2] KRS-One
[3] Q-Tip
[4] Chuck D
[5] Posdnous

I’ll have to fight the natural urge to make this about the best living artists and/or groups and at least ten in length so that I could add Outkast, The Roots, Wu-Tang Clan, EPMD, NWA, etc.

If I lean anyway, it’s with the material. In other words, I wouldn’t have Jimi Hendrix rated as the best guitarist if it weren’t also for his genius songs.

Andre 3000
MF Doom
Kanye West
Mos Def
Erick Sermon

1.LL Cool J
2.Rakim
3.Busta Rhymes
4.Chuck D
5.Krs One
6.Big Daddy Kane
[Edited 10/16/08 13:56pm]

C'mon, y'all? "Rappin 4tay"? "Bizzy Bone"? "TI"? Yikes, y'all GOT to be kiddin' me . And major props to Brendon's list. Mad respect.

Ok, here's pimp daddy's list:

Rakim
Dave/Posdnous
Baby Professor/Brother J
Chuck D
KRS-One

My criteria: Subject Matter, Delivery Style, Conscious/Social Impact

Ok, can we ALL just say #1 is EASILY gonna be The R?

rakim
krs one
brother j
chuck d
grandmaster caz

Rough Results Thus Far (from Reply No. 39 and OrgNotes from today) . . .

1. Rakim (13)
2. Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone (11)
3. Chuck D (7)
4. Nas (6)
5. LL Cool J (5)
6. Q-Tip (4)
7. Jay-Z (3)
7. Tupac Shakur (3)
7. Busta Rhymes (3)
10. [Kelvin Mercer a/k/a Posdnous (De La Soul) (FYI . . . Dave is Trugoy) (2)
10. Big Daddy Kane (2)
10. Andre 3000 (2)
10. Kanye West (2)
10. Baby Professor a/k/a Brother J (X-Clan) (2)
10. Queen Latifah (2)

Single Votes

15. Mos Def
16. Erick Sermon
17. Doodlebug (Digable Planets)
18. Rappin 4Tay
19. Lauryn Hill
20. RZA
21. Jalal Mansur Nuriddin
22. Ice Cube
23. Zev Love X a/k/a MF Doom, King Geedorah and Viktor Vaughn

25. Eminem
26. 50 Cent
27. Ludacris
28. Kool G Rap
29. Tragedy ("Arrest The President") Khadafi
30. Bizzy Bone
31. DMX
32. TI
33. Slick Rick
34. grandmaster caz
35. Grand Puba
36. Dice Raw
37. E-40
38. Quincy Troupe


[Edited 10/15/08 14:47pm]
[Edited 10/15/08 17:39pm]
[Edited 10/16/08 8:42am]

namepeace said:

Ok, how in the hell can Pac make the list?

And I had NO IDEA Zev Love X was MF Doom!

My picks, in no order . . .

Rakim (maybe singlehandedly made MCing an art form)
Chuck D (the voice and mind behind hip-hop's greatest monument)
LL Cool J (the prototype for 90% of the solo MC's out there)
KRS-ONE (inventive, resilient, clever, hard-hitting, controversial and durable)
Kelvin Mercer a/k/a Posdunous (out of the frame)
Common
Ghostface
MF Doom
Ice Cube
Mos Def

honorable mentions: Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Paris, MC Lyte, Brother J, Butterfly a/k/a Ish, Guru, Jeru The Damaja, and a host of others . . .

*forgot my own thread title edit*

[Edited 10/15/08 14:49pm]
[Edited 10/16/08 6:51am]

MuthaFunka said:

Cuz yo cuzzins won't ack right.

SCNDLS said:

MuthaFunka said:

I knew 2Pac would get votes!

sextonseven said:

The sad part is, I'd allow Pac to get on the list before I would Rappin 4tay, DMX, Bizzy Bone, and TI .

MuthaFunka said:

SCNDLS said:

Hey! I'm just sayin'!

Rakim
QTip
Black Thought
Kanye West
Common

It's 5 or 6 more rappers i could put on this list

phunkdaddy said:

I know, huh? Yo, Name-O! Since there are so few of us participating, how about we each get to add a total of 10 MCs just so we can make 50?

Well damn, 'Pac would be my number one, but it was my understanding we were voting for best rapper alive.

as for the R-A-K-I-M, he hasn't dropped anything relevant in years. And from the stuff that leaked out when he was on Aftermath, it would seem he has lost his touch. Same with KRS.

You have to look at modern day relevance as well.

Muthafunka - Bizzy Bone would tear most MC's a new asshole, I don't know why you're sleepin on him. He's probably the only MC alive that has outshined 2Pac (on 'Thug Luv'), Biggie (on 'Notorious Thugs') and Eazy (multiple songs). I don't know anyone else that can lay claim to that. Check out the "Art of War" and "E1999 Eternal" albums for the real proof that Bizzy is one of the best alive.

Hell, I'd listen to Bizzy over LL, Busta, Kanye, QTip (bitin ass motherfucker) and a bunch of other cats that have hit the top ten.

Militant said:

Militant.

Man.

You.

Are.

Buggin'.


If you write a check that large, you best have the funds to cash it.

With that, explain what you just said.

MuthaFunka said:

Okay . . .

10.

Everyone go back to their original post and Revise.

Militant said:

if it wasn't 4 the likes of the 18th letter and KRS there would b no bizzy bone..relevant u say? okay let's c..i never HEARD of bizzy bone..but EVERYONE knows of The R and Krs ONE ..relevant means legend!!! and bizzy bone will not b around that long 2 have that lasting impression in the rap game trust me on that

okay top ten rappers:

rakim
krs one
chuck d
brother j
grandmaster caz
eminem
slick rick
common
q tip
ice cube

L4OATheOriginal said:

Bullshit. Bizzy was already a name and had won Grammys before The 18th Letter ever dropped. Did you mean to say Paid in Full? That would be a stronger case, but still, I'd like to see you explain how KRS and Ra had a DIRECT influence on Bizzy.

Because really, I can't see it, and if you never heard of Bizzy.....then how the fuck are you trying to claim there would be no Bizzy without Ra and Kris?

Bizzy will not be around that long? Ummm....well Bone were signed to Ruthless Records by Eazy-E in the EARLY 90's. Like '92 or so. So that's 16 years in the game and counting. Don't act like he's some new jack, I'm not talking about T.I here.

Everyone knows about Ra and KRS? Not really, outside of hip-hop fans. While they both had hits, their status does not come from the commercial songs they did.

namepeace said:

namepeace, i'm gonna hit yo up with an orgnote about that. Reason being, I'm not interested in every motherfuckers opinion on the QTip situation. but since you asked....i'll give you the facts.

Militant said:

in the imoratal words of Public Enemy "WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT A GODDAMN GRAMMY?" cause young mc won one and so did hammer does that mean they r great MC'S? fuck no!!! i have never ever heard of bizzy bone and out of the acts that Eazy E signed..damn Ren and yella r more famous than this person ur speaking of. and by ur accounts, he hasn't been in the game longer than either rakim or KRS. but i'm gonna match ur "commercialism" with this: on the top 100 hip hop songs on Vh1- both krs and rakim were in the top list..bizzy bone was NO WHERE 2 b found ..

no particular order

Rakim
Nas
Kane
Andre3000
MosDef/KRS ONE (tie)