Best rapper?

[matt-]

Continuing the theme of the other threads.

Who do you think is the best rapper? Combining lyrics, flow and whatever else makes the rapper great!

I personally think that Immortal Technique is amazing. His lyrics have such a great meaning and his flow is impeccable.

Some other honorable mentions

Talib Kweli
The Notorious B.I.G.
2pac

[Thrash]

LTJ Bukem

He has one vocal "rap" song. It's the best thing ever. He should make more. I hate rap but I'd listen to him if he made more rap.

[matt-]

I love his non-rap stuff. What's the name of the song?

[drone]

J5 (as a group, so i guess this really didn't answer your question.)

[Ignatz]

The first great rapper, to me, was Chuck D.

Everything before around 1988 was old-school in the rhyming sense, rhymes were made on the end of verses. Chuck was the first that I heard to start putting rhymes and alliterative sounds on the beats instead. Then he packed more and more complementary sounds into each line, like a poet, in fact I know that he got his approach in part from beat poetry.

Plus Chuck's voice was one of the best ever, super-full, deep and strong, and on top of all that, he was shouting out some hardcore political shit, which to me gives those raps more weight than someone rapping about how bad they are or how much they want to hit it.

Speaking of political rapping, honorable mention to Zack de la Rocha. Every American should listen to RaTM's first album.

[Thrash]

I love his non-rap stuff. What's the name of the song?

Run The Gauntlet (Vocal)

Message me on AIM or #boredomTFC I'll hook you up.

[Smeg]

I don't listen to toomuch new RAP. Being that Im 30ish fat and white...

Old school rap that I listened to when I was in school.. Chuck D or KRS-1

[Milosenpotion]

For me, Tupac by FAR

[VeeKaChu]

Bah, it all starts and ends with Tone Loc!

[jerriko]

For me, Tupac by FAR

^^

[Cart]

Talib Kweli
Chali 2Na (from J5, Ozomatli)
Slug (from Atmosphere)

I just feel that they have the best flow, style and lyrical content of most rappers out there.

[Hard`]

IMO there is no such thing as *the* best rapper because rapping (and a lot of other types of music) involve too many things to be all mastered by a single person.

Although they are certain individuals that clearly dissociate themselves from the others because they did master a few of these things.

Biggie, Beatnuts, Big Pun, Big L, Pac, Rakim, eminem, (Deny it all you want.) IAM .(If only you guys could understand french ect..

The list could go on forever, so many great rappers/group out there.

[Unfor]

Chuck D, man he just tore shit up. I'm sure everyone will probably throw out guys like tupac, and biggie, as they were titans of the rap industry in their time.

Zack de la Rocha...man oh man, i know RATM doesn't fit into the rap genre, but him on the mic was pretty unparalleled.

finally, i'm surprised no one has mentioned Nas yet.

[matt-]

eminem

He's very good, but his voice makes me want to shoot myself.

[Unfor]

yeah, thats the major complaint i've heard about him.

[sani]

chuck d by far, the man just tore it up and was the my first foray into hip hop back when i was a mini-mexican. i remember early nas and loving that shit too. 2pac, to me, wasn't that grand. Brenda's having a baby word.

[YourFavoriteWeapon]

It's nice to see Chuck D getting some love in this thread. There's a Public Enemy greatest hits collection coming out soon along with a (separate) DVD. They were both supposed to come out on the 21st, but I'm not seeing them anywhere.

Some other rappers already mentioned that I agree with:

Rakim - smoothest and most intricate flow I've ever heard
Nas - the most "human" rapper there is; no one shows more personal and artistic growth from album to album
Immortal Technique - most entertaining political rapper by far...his attacks on the music industry are a work of genius
Talib Kweli - his new album is yet another step down from the Black Star days, but he's still worth mentioning
Biggie - I absolutely hated him throughout my whiteboy backpacker days, but I've seen the light

My contributions:

Mos Def - the first man to rap and act without fucking sucking at both
Common - he sees The Bitch In You
Black Thought - he's one of a kind, along with the rest of The Roots
KRS-One - last time I counted, he's got 13 albums over the course of two decades
Jay-Z - one of the most versatile and charismatic rappers of all time, but to be honest, his catalog is pretty terrible...and he fakes retirements more than TFC players
Canibus - vicious battle rapper who recently got back from serving in Iraq
Vinnie Paz - homophobic Islamic fundamentalist (and he's white!)
Wu-Tang Clan - no amount of shitty releases can ruin their legacy
Slick Rick - one of the best storytellers ever
Big L - not the biggest fan, but he was and still is the premier punchline rapper
Kool G Rap - another oldschool great


And I agree with sani about 2Pac, though my views on him are probably more extreme. To me, he's the most overrated rapper of all time. He was merely a subpar lyricist with lots of charisma who made his fame and fortune off of starting shit with everybody on the east coast. Sound familiar to anyone? I'll give you a hint: GGGGG-UNIT!!!!!

[Lose]

My top 7 lol
2pac
Biggie
J5
The Roots
Big L
Method Man and the rest of Wu-Tang
Bone Thugs in Harmony

oh and jay z is fucking terrible

[matt-]

Jay-Z has really good lyrics but his flow blows :P

Immortal Technique's flow is like cursive.

[Ser]

i love rap

my favorite rapper of all time is tupac because of his lyrics on the more serious songs

i love big (ready to die era) his lyrics and flow are just unmatched

i like old nas i think some of the best rap songs are found in illmatic/it was written

jay z is also a favorite of mine. durin reasonable doubt era his flow was so sick

i think he has sold out in the last couple of records tho. he said it himself. he just comes out with club music nowadays

the best rapper right now is eminem imo. his flow and rhyme patterns are just unique