namepeace said:

Actually LL is much better than what people think, people here the ladies type stuff and think he cant "spit" rhymes or meaningful shit. Listen to a few tracks on Exit 13, his last cd, a track called "ringtone murder" is aimed at wack rappers like Lil Wayne and Flo-Rida etc.... and the final track on that cd is almost like a retiring type song, though its nothing but truth in every word in that track "Dear Hip Hop" is and open letter to the "Game" how it sold its soul and now its on a slaveship.

Also LL did alot of stuff that others took an ran with, People think that JAYZ brought Rock and Rap together, LL was doing it even before DMC did it. And the tracks i have heard from his upcoming record, like "Whaddup" with Chuck D is the best thing Rap has had in ages, and the hilarious "Ratchet" shows LL's sense of humour ripping apart ladies just as much as loving them.

So i rank him high, alot higher than others may because he is a true pioneer, before DMC, he was there with the Beasties actually broke them.

Whoever placed Jay Z on a list and exempted Biggie and MC Lyte need to stop smoking

Well, in terms of having a career past his rap days, he's done fairly well with his acting career (tv shows, hosting award shows, etc.) So, in that regard, he's one of the best because he knew how to keep his career going in another area once his music stuff faded away.

SeventeenDayze said:

Well, in terms of having a career past his rap days, he's done fairly well with his acting career (tv shows, hosting award shows, etc.) So, in that regard, he's one of the best because he knew how to keep his career going in another area once his music stuff faded away.

Yea he also is a talented actor... maybe not Oscar worthy but his pretty good with the roles he has done unlike some rapper turn actors whe cant act.

phunkdaddy said:

Grand Puba is my boy. Dig him with Brand Nubian and his debut solo effort was nice. I have that on cassette. I'm gonna have to convert it to cd.

On iTunes for 10 bucks.

Mos Def has a nice flow. He seems to be the rapper who is very talented but he doesn't seem like he has done much music wise. I can probably count on one hand how many jams he has. I like him....I'm just saying.

jaimestarr79 said:

Mos Def has a nice flow. He seems to be the rapper who is very talented but he doesn't seem like he has done much music wise. I can probably count on one hand how many jams he has. I like him....I'm just saying.

A top 10 talent and one of my favorite MCs, can blaze on any given track but at most 1 classic album.

popgodazipa said:

You guys are clueless if you don't have JayZ in your top 10...absolutely ridiculous that there is no appreciation for his impact at all on the entire culture of the genre, business mind, influence, longevity..true power player in the industry and you can't relegate an artist influence to just lyrical word play since that's all just SUBJECTIVE. By any OBJECTIVE measurement he is the greatest by far.

You gotta be kidding me

Everyone in here said that he is probably the most successful rapper but as far as talent and lyrical merit he is not up there with Rakim, Nas or Krs One and he is very overrated in alot of ways.

Your clueless if you cant see that

Success and talent are two different things.

mjscarousal said:

popgodazipa said:

You guys are clueless if you don't have JayZ in your top 10...absolutely ridiculous that there is no appreciation for his impact at all on the entire culture of the genre, business mind, influence, longevity..true power player in the industry and you can't relegate an artist influence to just lyrical word play since that's all just SUBJECTIVE. By any OBJECTIVE measurement he is the greatest by far.

You gotta be kidding me

Everyone in here said that he is probably the most successful rapper but as far as talent and lyrical merit he is not up there with Rakim, Nas or Krs One and he is very overrated in alot of ways.

Your clueless if you cant see that

Success and talent are two different things.

Bingo.

He's an originator, an original, and should remain part of the roots of the art for as long as people talk and write about it. LL brought the love and the sexy to the game before anyone else, and he did it in a much more creative way than people are doing it now. In that sense, I think he's one of the greatest. Its just unfortunate for him, like many of the other old school cats, that the world moved on from his style/flow, which was never what I would call "great" to begin with. Powerful, original, but maybe not great.

Edit: Cerebus has been typing for a long ass time today. Please excuse him while he makes abundant spelling and grammar mistakes for the rest of the night.

[Edited 3/20/13 21:27pm]

Jay Z is a top 10 hip hop artist all time

LL Cool J is a top 20

Biggie top 5

Grand Puba (as part of Brand Nubian) top 30 hip-hop artist all time.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Jay Z is a top 10 hip hop artist all time on my list

LL Cool J is a top 20

Biggie top 5

Grand Puba (as part of Brand Nubian) top 30 hip-hop artist all time.

Fixed

popgodazipa said:

You can be the most talented baller in the 5 boroughs with a sick jumper and a 50 inch vertical but unless we can support that with some OBJECTIVE data you ain't gettin in the discussion with MJ and Kobe. Jay has enough talent to still be relevant in a market that has seen a total transformation from the days when most your top 10 had there heydays. Dude passed Elvis for number 1 albums, only the Beatles are left. Along with his ability to succeed in the business world, CEO DefJAm, Etc..etc. and a host of firsts for his genre. I could go on...the point is you have to consider more than the fact that you and 10 of your friends think MC Such and Such is the shit when looking at this. Everything else is just based on emotions and nostalgia. In the words of J "Men lie, women lie..numbers don't."

If you really honestly think the reason why Jay is thriving is because of his talent than you are naive. Dude makes kindergarden punch lines There is nothing lyrically artistic or creative about anything that he does. He thrives because of his popularity and marketing because he damn sure not better than Nas but the thing is Nas makes hip hop not mainstream rap.

mjscarousal said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Jay Z is a top 10 hip hop artist all time on my list

LL Cool J is a top 20

Biggie top 5

Grand Puba (as part of Brand Nubian) top 30 hip-hop artist all time.

Fixed

You know I live you, but you can't deny Jay-Z. Of course, his past few albums have been duds. But early Jay Z, Reasonalbe Doubt through Blueprint or through Black Album. That puts him in the top 10.

Jayz is talented but yes...way over rated. Most Jay-z Cd's are lucky to have 2 jams on the them. He talks about the same shit on every track. He is like a comercial for all Material things in this world.

Another dude i forgot to add to my list...Black Thought from the Roots.

I still don't understand the facination with Biggie? He is in the same Category as Big Pun. Both over weight rappers with a few solid tracks but way over rated. I'm so glad that nobody put Fat Joe on their list.

jaimestarr79 said:

I still don't understand the facination with Biggie? He is in the same Category as Big Pun. Both over weight rappers with a few solid tracks but way over rated. I'm so glad that nobody put Fat Joe on their list.

Me either.

As a teen rapper debuting SOLO in 1985, he was an amazing trailblazer, and very influential as the quintessential dominant solo MC. Before him, it was all groups and duos making noise. So, without LL Cool J, you don't have all these later "solo" guys mentioned on this thread. Why are you even comparing a rapper from the 1990s to LL Cool J?

That's all I have to say on that.

Graycap23 said:

popgodazipa said:

Graycap23 said:

Me either.

BIG brought East Coast rap back. That whole Bad Boy movement was a game changing moment in hip hop. Definitely a top 10.

Wu Tang bought East Coast back the prevous year, big BIG had his part in it (as did Nas, Mobb Deep and Jay-Z like it or not)

Musicslave said:

TonyVanDam said:

1. Rakim Allah

2. KRS-One

3. Big Daddy Kane

4. Chuck D

5. Melle Mel

6. Kool Moe Dee

7. 2pac

8. Ice Cube

9. LL Cool J

10. Mr. Scarface

I dare you and/or anyone else to try to rank The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Jay-Z, & Eminem too much higher than the MCs in my Top 10.

Moe Dee Bruh? I liked Moe Dee just as much as the next man but Top 10? ......Nah

My top 10 is subject to change overtime, but Kool Moe Dee is legend. I stand by my words.

jaimestarr79 said:

I still don't understand the facination with Biggie? He is in the same Category as Big Pun. Both over weight rappers with a few solid tracks but way over rated. I'm so glad that nobody put Fat Joe on their list.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s biggest claim to fame is that he helped put East Coast hip-hop/rap "back on track" at a time when West Coast hip-hop/rap (especially the styles of gangsta & G-Funk) was more popular during the first half of the 1990's.

1. 2pac
2. The Notorious B.I.G.
3. Nas
4. Public Enemy
5. Run-D.M.C.
6. Eric B. & Rakim
7. N.W.A.
8. Wu-Tang Clan
9. Big Daddy Kane

10. Jay-Z

LittleBLUECorvette said:

1. 2pac
2. The Notorious B.I.G.
3. Nas
4. Public Enemy
5. Run-D.M.C.
6. Eric B. & Rakim
7. N.W.A.
8. Wu-Tang Clan
9. Big Daddy Kane

10. Jay-Z

No KRS-One?

Okay here is my issue.

Although he is not a personal favorite of mine, he probably deserves to make Top 50.

Top 10? Thats really overrating him because there are much more talented MC's that made albums that made a bigger impact on the genre.

NONE of his albums have had the same impact as some of the MC's you have listed.

Reasonable Doubt was HIS best but ranking that album next to Krs One and Eric B works... it

doesnt even hold a candle.

He does not deserve to be in a TOP 10 list... period, end of discussion

muah

[Edited 3/24/13 18:26pm]

TonyVanDam said:

jaimestarr79 said:

I still don't understand the facination with Biggie? He is in the same Category as Big Pun. Both over weight rappers with a few solid tracks but way over rated. I'm so glad that nobody put Fat Joe on their list.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s biggest claim to fame is that he helped put East Coast hip-hop/rap "back on track" at a time when West Coast hip-hop/rap (especially the styles of gangsta & G-Funk) was more popular during the first half of the 1990's.

He wasn't as commercial as Pun, either...

TonyVanDam said:

Musicslave said:

Moe Dee Bruh? I liked Moe Dee just as much as the next man but Top 10? ......Nah

My top 10 is subject to change overtime, but Kool Moe Dee is legend. I stand by my words.

Okay, I see ya Tony. I just had to challenge you a little bit to see if you were real or not. Moe Dee was the obvious stand out in the Treacherous 3. But for some reason I never considered him a Top 10 rapper. Hey, to each their own right? (Shades intended)

jaimestarr79 said: but I can't believe a lot of you guys are sleepin on Guru from Gang starr.

He's not sleeped on and mentioned by namepeace in post #43