No particular order:
- KRS-One
- Rakim
- Big Daddy Kane
- LL Cool J
- Kool G. Rap
- Ice Cube
- Redman
- Q-Tip
- Chef Raekwon
- Posdnous from De La Soul
This list changes by the week with the exception of the spots one thru five. Those guys are solid top ten material.
Top 10 Greatest MC's of All Time
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Solid list, a man who knows REAL Hip-Hop God Bless! Here is my top 10 in order:
- Rakim
- 2Pac
- NaS
- BIG
- KRS-One
- Eminem
- Big L
- Big Daddy Kane
- Jay-Z
- Scarface
Why no Pac, BIG, NaS or Em?
I debated putting both Nas and B.I.G. on my list, but opted out. I love the early Nas cameos, B.B.Q. and Back To the Grill . I also love B.I.G.'s early cameos, Dolly My Baby and his cut on the Who's the Man soundtrack, Party and Bullsh*t. Along with their first two albums. So yeah, maybe they should be on my list. Some weeks, they are. As far as 2Pac, I like him alot...but top ten, I don't know? I definitely have an East Coast bias. Eminem, he is alright. I like his stuff on the Dre album and on Dre beats. I also like the 8 Mile songs, but sometimes, I think he has questionable beat selection, and most of his own production is awful. Anyway...your list is solid. There definitely isn't any wackness on there.
Ok, you guys obviously haven't heard of the untouchable bang-slutsical Gunpowder Jones.
www.myspace.com/GunpowderJones
I have to warn you, though...there is some INTENSELY hot fire being spit at that site. It may melt your speakers.
My list would be: Nas, Pharoahe Monch, Ghostface Killah, Rakim, Scarface, Redman, Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, and Black Thought. Top 5 are in order, the bottom 5 less so.
Here's the text of an article I wrote not too long ago for another site about my 12 favorite hip hop albums of all time. Check em out if you haven't heard them but consider yourself a hip hop head.
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Organized Konfusion- Organized Konfusion
I'm not entirely sure why this is my favorite album, but I'm positive that it is. In fact, I don't even really know what to write about it here. I think that if I were to write any more- and I have a LOT to say about this album- it would lose some of its uniqueness and special meaning to me. Some of the tracks are much more than they appear to be. Basically I could write a 10 page essay on this album alone, so I'll just mention it in passing here.
Nas- Illmatic
It's Illmatic. Everything that I can possibly say about it has already been said, and probably better. By consensus of those in the know, it's widely considered the greatest hip hop album of all time. To be able to call oneself a serious hip hop fan, you have to have listened to it. To be a devout fan, it's necessary to have every word memorized. "It Ain't Hard to Tell" has the distinction of being the only track with over 300 plays in my iTunes, and the rest of the tracks on the album don't lag far behind. Nas came into the game with a tremendous leap forwards but all the while looking backwards, and much of the album is a reminiscent dedication to where hip hop had come from up until that point. It also captures the raw spirit of hip hop better than any other album, and does so effortlessly- it's as if Nas reached into the air and just distilled it into his palm, swallowed it, and spit it out at the mic. To truly understand many of the lyrics it takes a vast knowledge of hip hop's lexicon and history, but there's something here to be appreciated for everyone.
GZA- Liquid Swords
This one sucked me in harder than any other album ever has when I first heard it. It was all I listened to for months, and I still listen to it regularly. Wikipedia says that one critic calls it "one of the most substantial lyrical journeys in hip-hop history" and that's exactly what it is- this album seems to exist in an entire universe of its own creation. It's as if you were just walking down the street one day, and GZA all of a sudden sucks you down through a vortex into his alternate reality filled with slang-slinging samurais, two-faced mob bosses, and leery-eyed coke fiends around every turn. It's also the darkest and best of the Wu-Tang albums, and features the entire clan in some form from during their peak era. Replete with chess allusions, 5-percenter mythos, and a generous helping of dialogue samples from the movie Shogun Assassin, this album is unlike any other.
Main Source- Breaking Atoms
Breaking Atoms is, for my money, the best produced hip hop album- a major reason why I like it so much. It's a classic old school record and is also arguably the first major underground hip hop record, and served as a fitting exit from one and entrance into another. It's a perfect blend of old school rapping style over modern production. Most of the songs are considered classics, but my favorite, if I had to pick one, is probably Peace is Not the Word to Play. Breaking Atoms is an easy listen, but has a good amount of depth and a lot of replay value. The extended addition is even better- I can't imagine listening to it now without some of the stellar bonus tracks. This album isn't for everybody though, probably only those with significant interest in hip hop. The broader listener would likely find the rapping too antiquated or boring.
Eric B. and Rakim- Follow the Leader
Choosing between this and their debut album Paid in Full was hard, but this one, despite having a lesser number of iconic songs, takes it to the next level. Rakim came into the game and advanced the art of rapping by about five years, and here he decided that that wasn't enough, and started going even faster and harder. His lyrics are full of mysteries and holes, and part of the joy of listening to him is using your own imagination to fill in the gaps in his narratives. The final verse of the song Microphone Fiend holds a special place in my heart, and it's the one I most enjoy reciting, especially when I need something to steel my nerves. Lyrics of Fury is another one that can't be ignored- Chris Rock claimed that nobody has ever done better rapping than Rakim on this song, and it's a valid opinion. This album is a testament to why Rakim's nickname is the God Emcee.
Souls of Mischief- 93 Till Infinity
This album takes a good share of the credit for being one of the ones that got me into hip hop in the first place, and my appreciation of it has only increased with time. The style of it is distinctly west coast but alternative, with funky beats and a seemingly overwhelming number of boastfully delivered battle rhymes. The pacing and composition of the album is great- all of the songs hit some sort of mood or note at the right moment. The Souls at this point in the group's history had amazing chemistry, and the four of them seem to blend right in with one another as they pass the mic back and forth. To maintain the album's focus, the only guest appearances do not do any rapping. The title track is legendary for its beat, but I prefer all of them almost equally.
The Boogiemonsters- Riders of the Storm
I think I'm probably one of about 5 people to have ever heard this album, but it's amazing. These guys came out of nowhere in the early 90's, and faded away just as quickly, but at least they managed to make this album. It's a Christian Rap album, a subgenre I usually stay well enough away from, but they never make god the focus, never get too preachy, and it's so bass-heavy and groovy it's hard not to love. All of the production on the album is done by a mystery figure, listed simply as 'D!' in the credits. Vex is the only emcee in the group who has any serious talent at rapping, but they work well together and there's not really any major flaw. Muzic Appreciation, Bronx Bombas, Strange, and Honeydips in Gotham Remix are classic hip hop tracks. Mark of the Beast is the most religious it gets, and Old Man Jacob's Well, a creepy track about a serial killer, even has it's time and place.
Diverse- One A.M.
The best hip hop album of the 00's decade by leaps and bounds. Diverse's highly distinct rapping style is heavily infused with abstract poetry and sing-songy lyrics that sometimes trail off into nowhere. It's a very hard style to initially get used to, but the payoff of giving him the attention he deserves is well worth it. I'd say in terms of emcee progression, he's the natural evolution of the style that Mos Def previously had advanced at the onset of the decade. None of the tracks are weak here, but the album is very bottom-heavy. Leaving, an ode to escapism, probably has the album's best lyrics, and In Accordance stands as one of hip hop's most touching love tracks. My only gripe with this album is the mediocre opening track, Certified- the single from his EP, Move, is a better song and would have made a far better opener.
Binary Star- Masters of the Universe
As the emcee Phonte of Little Brother states, the simple formula for good hip hop is "dope beats, dope rhymes." That's exactly what this album has, in a nutshell. It gets it right with the perfect consistency. Binary Star is two Midwest rappers, One Be Lo and Senim Silla, and at first they sound so alike that it's hard to tell them apart until you realize that One Be Lo, also known as OneManArmy, is a little bit better at rapping. The production is mostly done by them and their own in-house team. It's a long album, but in contrast to most hip hop albums its length helps instead of hurts, and even the skits are funny or poignant, and enjoyable to listen to. The album is formatted as a 'genre exercise' where every track is an attempt at something a little different- there's one that's a horror story, one about the ideal natural bond between man and woman, one is a reflection on lessons learned from time spent in prison, one is a classical style posse cut, and so on.
Scarface- The Diary
The best album to come from the best southern rapper. The central theme of Scarface's work is death, and here we find him articulating his unique perspective of it on tracks like the iconic "Seen a Man Die," one of hip hop's greatest songs. Some of the songs have gained some notoriety from their inclusion in the movie Office Space, particularly "No Tears," and "Hand of the Dead Body" featuring Ice Cube and Devin the Dude is among hip hop's finest posse cuts. All in all, this album deserves the extremely high acclaim it's always been given in the press and from fans.
Notorious B.I.G.- Ready To Die
One of the most popular hip hop albums, and one with considerable merit. Biggie was, above all, the master of what is known as 'mic presence' in hip hop. He took over the track, effortlessly utilized the beat, and kept the listener's interest strong at all times. Some of the more commercial tracks get a little cheesy, and the album would have been that much better with Diddy locked up somewhere far away, but there are just too many strong moments to ignore. The songs Things Done Changed, Machine Gun Funk, Warning, Ready To Die, The What, Unbelievable, and Suicidal Thoughts are all on a plane of rapping exellence that has served as a standard for emcees ever since. A larger than life album from a larger than life figure.
The Roots- Illadelph Halflife
The best album of the Roots' long and illustrious discography. This one is the closest they ever got to the style of their NYC contemporaries, and although they did sacrifice some of their uniqueness on this one (compared to the jazzy and experimental Do You Want More? for instance, their second best), it's also their most focused effort. The only thing wrong with it is it's way too long- about 8 tracks too long, to be precise. When I listen to it I tend to just ignore the last 8 songs, even though none of them are bad- it's just too much, and the front of the album is much better. But then again, The Roots have never made an album without considerable amounts of filler. Concerto of the Desperado is my second favorite Roots song (after Can't Stop This) and Respond/React is another favorite.
That is a solid list. Nice write up tbierig as well! As far as the Souls album, Casual has the last verse on Limitations. Pep Love is listed on That's When Ya Lost, although I can not confirm he has a verse. The Boogiemonsters did release a sophmore lp, The God Sound, but I have not heard anything from it. I have never listened to the Binary Star lp and I've never heard of Diverse. I also have to admit sleeping on Organized back in the day. But since catching up, my favourite Organized Konfusion track is the Stress (Remix) with Large Pro.
Yea I've listened to God's Sound a couple of times, it's pretty solid. But they were definitely a one-time thing. I got a friend who says that one of the guys still actively releases material underground.
All 3 Organized Konfusion albums are really good. The third one The Equinox takes a long time to get into because it's very high brow, but it has some of their best songs (numbers, invetro).
That is true about '93 Till. The Hiero group album Third Eye Vision would be a 'personal classic' for me, and the Souls album that just came out has a lot of great material. Pep Love's album Ascension, Casual's Fear Itself and Opio's Triangulation Station (another personal fav) are all worth a listen aside from Del's material.
Workin' on a list of my favorite 00's albums. I like how it's shaping up. If anyone wants to hear a crazy good mixtape from 09 that should have gotten much more attention google "Snappage vol. 1"
I have all the early Hiero stuff, 93' til, Fear Itself, Del's first two albums, and Extra Prolific's album. I have heard some of Opio's newer stuff and it is alright. It just doesn't hold my attention like the early 90's stuff. I guess I am getting old. Now, I have mostly been checking stuff I have either slept on, had on cassette only, or getting stuff I have lost in the past. I have also been scooping up some re-releases if they have alot of good bonus material, like Marley Marl's In Control re-issue and MF Grimm's Scars and Memories. Has far as albums from the 00's, I do like Madvilliany, Masta Ace's Long Hot Summer, Murs album with 9th Wonder. I also some stuff from the early 00's like De La Soul's AOI, Supreme Clientele, and Tha Eastsidaz. Recently, I have been listening to Can Ox's Cold Vein. When I origninally bought back in 01, I didn't like it much. But it is starting to grow on me.
Cold Vein took me a while to get into. Initially I only listened to the highlights, Stress Rap, F Word, Iron Galaxy, etc. Neither of the rappers are amazing but the album comes together pretty well.
Every now and then I'll totally rediscover an album. When I first heard 'Refutation of Time and Space' by Digable Planets I didn't much care about it, but over the past week or two I've been playing it nonstop.
Ice-T and Ice Cube. That's about it for me on the hip hop front.
A burning debate that has been going on for years, Who are the top 10 greatest mc's of all time? This should bring up some heated debate. All opinions are welcomed. I'll show my top 10 later on...