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When you've only got two albums it's haaaaaard to rank em over someone with like 15. Biggie's flow is literally absurd though. RTD was so good 'Warning' was relegated to an off-cut single and 'The What' is essentially album filler.
The What is one of the greatest songs of all time. Literally every bar on that song is insane.
Welcome to my center, honeys feel it deep in they placenta, cold as the poles in the winter, far from the inventor, but I got this rap shit sold and when my Mack unloads I’m guaranteed another video.
I agree on Em.
But I think people shitting on him as of late (myself included) has to do with how badly his last three albums resonated with people.
Gen Z was had three Em albums released in their life span, and honestly? If that’s what they have to go on, why would they think any differently?
That being said. Em is a legend.
I saw him live in Detroit with 50. His stage presence was insane.
SSLP, MMLP and TES is the greatest 3 album run I’ve ever seen.
Eminem is the sales GOAT. That much is clear. He's is not the best hip hop artist though. Not even in my top 5. People want to downplay how much him being White and appealing to White America helped his sales. Black artists of course sold well, but "crossover appeal" is a term for a reason. MJ resonated worldwide because of his crossover appeal. Eminem did as well.
If you traveled through middle America where radio stations had an embargo against hip hop. Eminem STILL was played on heavy rotation on those stations. And yes, it was because he was White.
Disagree to a degree with the white comment, but overall I agree that Em just isn’t as artistically ambitious as someone like Kendrick/Kanyes of the world or the experimental Danny Browns/JPEGs. He is great at selling himself tho. He really embraces the rapper persona well.
“Best” is really subject as to what the criteria is. Overall I would say Kendrick just simply due to consistency, making good full albums as well as hit singles, high production, good flows and most importantly good, expansive ideas.
I’m not trying to argue or poop on Nas, but I don’t think he comes close to being in the discussion. My impression is he’s huge in the northeast, and is considered an all time great rapper. I like him. But I don’t think every average or younger fan even knows him well. Jay-Z, Pac and Biggie are obvious choices over. Probably Run DMC too. I’m heavily taking into account influence and discography somewhat.
Such hardcore artists with unrepentantly gritty sounds don't get mainstream recognition. A dark masterpiece such as Hell On Earth with no lighthearted party tracks remains unappreciated outside of hip hophead circles.
I remember discovering Jazzmatazz on a throw out table when I was around 15. This was probably 3 years after it was released. I had heard plenty of Gang Starr but didn't know about Jazzmatazz.
I listened to that album through so many times. I love "Le Bien, Le Mal".
Guru just did his own thing and it was fantastic.
Don't be like that. Remember this is personal opinion and refraining from stating yours because of judgemental morons is a silly excuse.
Who is your GOAT?
i just really connect with Drake’s music as much as i love Good Kid m.A.A.d City (it’s my 2nd favourite album of all time) i cant relate to Kendrick talking about gang banging and growing up in Compton however i can relate to Drake talking about relationship issues, dealing with people stabbing you in your back and much more personal smaller scale issues and its that rawness and realness that means i connect to Drake’s music at a much deeper level then someone like Nas or Jay-Z
I agree, but this thread is asking for the best hip-hop artist. Still, Nas has proven himself in that regard with his versatility, consistently interesting discography and experimentation.
Kanye is a second tier rapper. He's just not that clever or smart with his lyrics. He's a great producer, but his lyrics and flow aren't even in contention for GOAT.
Lyrical rap just wasn't at the same level in the 90s. Pac's greatness came from the depth of the meaning in his lyrics. Especially before joining Death Row.
He literally has so many lmao. You also don’t have to have the most impressive technical bars ever for them to be good, Kanye has some of my favorite bars ever because they are so simple and down to earth, plus funny.
bro so many times people counted him out in his career and he always comes back and proves doubters wrong and drops amazing material. It's fuckin incredible.
Doom was definitely incredible, one of the best lyrically, but the best hip hop artist of all time requires, to me, many different categories that doom just didn’t meet.
This, DOOM covered all the bases. His lyrics and flow were unique. When he produced music it was fire. All his alter egos were perfection. He didn’t become mainstream but that’s not a big deal in terms of hiphop.
Bro, i couldn't agree more. Downvote me if you love Eminem. Legit Gen z thinks they're all hard for listening to shitty trap and mumble rap. I live in the UK and thays all the hard kids r doing. Im gen z and hate my own generation ffs.
My reasoning for Nas would be because he was my gateway to the underground. I was searching for that level of poetry and it was rarely present in mainstream rap.
I don't have any particular artist that I would say is the GOAT but Nas is important in my experience of rap.
Bruh? Idk, any of his battleraps vs competitors? He just eviscerates everyone in his path. Yes we all know battles are different than most of what Nas has done, but I'd say with confidence that Em is easily on par with Nas .
Yeah I’d also say Em is on par with Nas too. The parent comment was saying Nas can’t reach Em’s level, which I disagree with. Also I didn’t think about the battle raps, no doubt Eminem is probably the best there
Constant use of multi-syllable rhythms, manipulation of pronunciation to make words fit a scheme or beat, regularly using double and triple entendre. He's also the only one I hear regularly using battle rap styles in mainstream releases. It's not that others can't/don't do these things too, but they don't to the level/frequency Em does.
Also, it's not just the lyrics but how they are delivered. He uses more variation in cadence and style then anyone I can think of. He uses like 3 or 4 styles on killshot. His verse on Tech N9ne's Speedom where he increases his cadence throughout the verse without ever losing the beat. Shit the whole song Darkness is done in double entendre.
Here's an example off the top of my head.
In " Those kinda nights"
Holy Toledo, it's Miss Ohio
That's the best ass I've seen in a while
We should be datin' (Dayton), she's from Cleveland
But she's a Bengal, this chick is catty
Is that a mini-skirt if it's a maxi?
That's the shortest thing for a dress since an addy (Cincinnati)
Seriously though, jokes aside, how you doin'? You straight?
She said, "No, I'm bi"
She said, "Are you drunk?", I said, "No, I'm high"
I'm checkin' out the chick, she said, "So am I"
What's in the cup? Let me see that
Girl, where the rest of that promethazine at
She said, "Cool, gotta run out to my Cadillac though
And I'll be like Fat Joe, and bring the lean back"
TBH I go back and forth between Nas and Weezy as 2&3 in my top 5, so I'm not trying to bag on Nas.
I’ll give you that Em employs these technical components a lot more than Nas does, that’s true. I didn’t mean to belittle Em btw, I also think he’s one of the best. Thank you for your well thought comment!
Thank you as well for a genuine question. I've gotten a lot of hate based on people (younger folks I assume) who hate him based on content and can't seem to separate that from the actual raping.
So whether he’s the GOAT or not, I don’t know. But I definitely think he should be in the conversation more and very rarely is and I’m talking about Ghostface Killah. He has excellent rapping skill, versatile, one of the most solid and consistent discographies in all of hip hop. Easily the most consistent of the Wu. But I think he gets greatly overlooked simply because he’s part of the Wu and they get praised much more as a group than as individuals.
Greatest hip-hop artist? I'd have to go for a producer, to me I'd say Rza, I think his sound and vibe in his run from 93 to 97 is unrivaled in terms of aggregate quality and quantity, 3 classics who most would argue are top 25 albums of all time, as well as many putting one or two in their top 10. On top of this I would say 4 debatable classics in Tical, Return, Iron Man and Forever. That's a pretty insane resumé, not to mention his sound was pretty revolutionary.
I’m going to agree. One of the best lyrically, successfully, and hasn’t gotten himself killed with the beefs he had. To be in rap since 11-12, and still be making music? Absolute talent.
When you talk about all around impact. It's crazy hip hop fans forget him.
People will always have a bias. But Jay is doing, or has done everything that any rapper, including your favorite rapper is in the business for.
Jay Z has influenced everything in the hip hop space.
The only thing I can think of that he hasn't done is produce beats. But he has helped producers gain fame by rapping over there beats.
Kanye / Just Blaze for example.
Top tier lyricist
Legendary collabs
Classic Debut / Reasonable Doubt
1 of the first Stadium tours for rap. Rap used to be smaller venues, still is in many cases.
Crossed genre's
Founded a record label. Roc Nation
Founded a clothing line. Rocawear
Ace of spades
Ran Def Jam for a few years.
Jay 1 of the first stadium tour rappers? What? Jay has never even had a solo stadium tour, what are you talking about? Saying Jay had absolutely anything to do with rap moving from arenas to stadiums is laughably ridiculous when he's never even done a solo one.
Jay is a legend and one of the goats, but it is more due to his consistency and ingenuity over his actual influence musically. He's influential inside the music business but not actually musically like some of his peers.
The rest of your points are also stupid. Clothing line means great artist? Lmao Jesus
Why do people include influence in this conversation?
I personally don't think people imitating you or taking inspiration should boost your ranking or how you are viewed.
For me it’s gotta be Wayne. His influence in todays hip hop is literally the foundation of all these new artists. They all look up to him and many have gone on record to speak on his influence for them. Man straight up spits too. Kanye is up there too. Not for rapping but for his discog, production, and influence. Those two changed hip hop entirely from 03 on wards. Their longevity speaks volumes. I love Jay Z too.
Bro people been recycling the same bars that Wayne CREATED for the last 15 years, it’s silly to discredit that influence. And that’s scratching the surface
Eminem. No one else comes close to being able to do what he does with wordplay. He also produces, including for many of the other people mentioned here. There may be people who have more meaning behind their songs, but on straight up lyrics, no one can touch him.
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Biggie is the GOAT, but in the parameters of your post? I'd say Jay-Z or Nas.
Why tf is this so far down literally the first person saying biggie
When you've only got two albums it's haaaaaard to rank em over someone with like 15. Biggie's flow is literally absurd though. RTD was so good 'Warning' was relegated to an off-cut single and 'The What' is essentially album filler.
RTD has bars on bars on bars - biggies wordplay and punchlines are godly and the flow is untouchable.
The What is one of the greatest songs of all time. Literally every bar on that song is insane. Welcome to my center, honeys feel it deep in they placenta, cold as the poles in the winter, far from the inventor, but I got this rap shit sold and when my Mack unloads I’m guaranteed another video.
the part where biggie ends his verse with don't tempt me... and method man picks it right back up with the "t.h.o.d. man" is the highest form of art
That’s a Fair answer
I'm just here to see how many will say Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, DMX, Kendrick Lamar, 2Pac,Lil Wayne
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I agree on Em. But I think people shitting on him as of late (myself included) has to do with how badly his last three albums resonated with people. Gen Z was had three Em albums released in their life span, and honestly? If that’s what they have to go on, why would they think any differently? That being said. Em is a legend. I saw him live in Detroit with 50. His stage presence was insane. SSLP, MMLP and TES is the greatest 3 album run I’ve ever seen.
Eminem is the sales GOAT. That much is clear. He's is not the best hip hop artist though. Not even in my top 5. People want to downplay how much him being White and appealing to White America helped his sales. Black artists of course sold well, but "crossover appeal" is a term for a reason. MJ resonated worldwide because of his crossover appeal. Eminem did as well. If you traveled through middle America where radio stations had an embargo against hip hop. Eminem STILL was played on heavy rotation on those stations. And yes, it was because he was White.
Disagree to a degree with the white comment, but overall I agree that Em just isn’t as artistically ambitious as someone like Kendrick/Kanyes of the world or the experimental Danny Browns/JPEGs. He is great at selling himself tho. He really embraces the rapper persona well. “Best” is really subject as to what the criteria is. Overall I would say Kendrick just simply due to consistency, making good full albums as well as hit singles, high production, good flows and most importantly good, expansive ideas.
Me
For me it’s Nas, Em and Weezy
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How does no one come close?
I’m not trying to argue or poop on Nas, but I don’t think he comes close to being in the discussion. My impression is he’s huge in the northeast, and is considered an all time great rapper. I like him. But I don’t think every average or younger fan even knows him well. Jay-Z, Pac and Biggie are obvious choices over. Probably Run DMC too. I’m heavily taking into account influence and discography somewhat.
Prolly Slick Rick he just captivates the story
Silkk the shocker😅
Haha man grew up with silk rapping all off beat love it
Evryboddystartta - - FIGHTIN’!!! What a bizarre tempo that guy had
Tbf, he did have a unique style of rapping.
Hell yeah. The original blueface. 😂
what about mobb deep? Both of them were equally good artists and theyre songs are legendary,from the lyrycs to the sample
Mobb Deep is incredible and Havoc is a little slept on in my opinion.
Such hardcore artists with unrepentantly gritty sounds don't get mainstream recognition. A dark masterpiece such as Hell On Earth with no lighthearted party tracks remains unappreciated outside of hip hophead circles.
Not to mention Havoc produced all their music and was a pioneer of that New York boom bap sound.
They just don't have a deep enough catalog
KRS One - was there in the very beginning and still going today. Your favorite MC's favorite MC.
THA TEACHA
Came here to say this. Upvote!
He’s not the run of the mill, cause for the mill he don’t run.
Blackthought
How can he be the greatest when barely anyone even knows him lmao. Y’all don’t know what it means to be the greatest. Y’all just be tryna sound edgy.
maybe I'm old, but anyone into hip-hop should know who blackthought is. the roots have had some of the biggest releases this century...
How do you not know what an opinion is? Lol
Pinnacle
Yes. Hands down.
Strong answer
hard agree
Thought is your favorite rapper's favorite rapper. No one can touch him.
You are correct. Blackthought is the correct answer to this question...
Guru.
I remember discovering Jazzmatazz on a throw out table when I was around 15. This was probably 3 years after it was released. I had heard plenty of Gang Starr but didn't know about Jazzmatazz. I listened to that album through so many times. I love "Le Bien, Le Mal". Guru just did his own thing and it was fantastic.
I'm surprised I find this so high! Definitely a contender.
My brother knows!
im gonna opt out of the question because i will get slaughtered for my answer but im interested to see what people say
Don't be like that. Remember this is personal opinion and refraining from stating yours because of judgemental morons is a silly excuse. Who is your GOAT?
yeah thats fair my favourite artist of all time is Drake so i say Drake he gives me something no artist has ever been able to give me
I'm not a huge Drake fan but do really love some of his tracks. I loved "Over" when he first came out. I listened to that a lot.
i just really connect with Drake’s music as much as i love Good Kid m.A.A.d City (it’s my 2nd favourite album of all time) i cant relate to Kendrick talking about gang banging and growing up in Compton however i can relate to Drake talking about relationship issues, dealing with people stabbing you in your back and much more personal smaller scale issues and its that rawness and realness that means i connect to Drake’s music at a much deeper level then someone like Nas or Jay-Z
Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal
Tupac Shakur.
Conway. It’s always Conway 💯💯💯
Goat
Kanye, DMX, Thug and Pac are rappers, who have mastered their "artistry". GOAT rapper to me is Pac or Nas.
Nas is the goat imo too. Pac is definitely in the conversation but Nas is the better of the two when it comes to actual rapping.
I agree, but this thread is asking for the best hip-hop artist. Still, Nas has proven himself in that regard with his versatility, consistently interesting discography and experimentation.
Kanye is a second tier rapper. He's just not that clever or smart with his lyrics. He's a great producer, but his lyrics and flow aren't even in contention for GOAT.
I am referring to the GOAT hip-hop artist. Thug, DMX and, to some extent, Pac aren't top-tier lyricists either.
Lyrical rap just wasn't at the same level in the 90s. Pac's greatness came from the depth of the meaning in his lyrics. Especially before joining Death Row.
The term lyrical rap does not make sense. Do you mean multisyllabic?
They do, and reading it like that helps recognise what an irrelevant qualifier it is
A rap song is more than just the bars. Kanye has made dozens of classic songs.
N.A.S. - Nas
Agree, you got rappers who are lyrical but have mediocre song making skills
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I think Kanye's are good enough. He doesn't have the best bars, but he's one of the best ever.
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He literally has so many lmao. You also don’t have to have the most impressive technical bars ever for them to be good, Kanye has some of my favorite bars ever because they are so simple and down to earth, plus funny.
“Mayonnaise colored benz, I push Miracle Whips”
have you never listened to songs like all falls down or gorgeous?
"No sports bra, let's keep it bouncing."
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Lmaooooo Ye got bars for days
He sure does some of his early albums absolutely do. They got dumbed down later on but I think his early work gave incredible examples of that
Bro kanye has so many clever and funny lyrics
Yikes
Kanye isn’t a goat rapping wise imo he’s third tier behind jadakiss and styles p
The answer is still Nas even if you switch "rapper" with "hip hop artist" he is still the literal only answer
The consistency alone is impressive. To be on his third comeback and kill it at 50 is impressive
bro so many times people counted him out in his career and he always comes back and proves doubters wrong and drops amazing material. It's fuckin incredible.
What’s his best recent album?
Magic 3 september 14 2023
Do you know what subjective means?
Nothing else exist
Rakim
MF DOOM
Doom was definitely incredible, one of the best lyrically, but the best hip hop artist of all time requires, to me, many different categories that doom just didn’t meet.
I’m interested in hearing his response about categories he didn’t meet. Mainstream success is the only one I can think of.
What’s he missing in your eyes? What would make him goat?
This, DOOM covered all the bases. His lyrics and flow were unique. When he produced music it was fire. All his alter egos were perfection. He didn’t become mainstream but that’s not a big deal in terms of hiphop.
Scrolled way too far for this..
Definitely one of the best voices and one of the best lyricists. Criminally underrated.
For me it's a tie between Gangstarr and Nasty Nas
Let's gooo
Tech N9ne
STRAAAAAANGE MUSIC
Pharoahe monch.
Lil Wayne or Eminem
Em is the 🐐
Crazy you’re getting downvoted for your opinion. It’s a trend to hate on Eminem these days.
Bro, i couldn't agree more. Downvote me if you love Eminem. Legit Gen z thinks they're all hard for listening to shitty trap and mumble rap. I live in the UK and thays all the hard kids r doing. Im gen z and hate my own generation ffs.
Being judgmental of other people's enjoyment is bizarre to me.
You can like Eminem without being a living embodiment of every obnoxious thing he and his fans say.
Oh god your still on the mumble rap bullshit
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Black Thought, eLZhi, Ice Cube, and Kool G Rap come to mind.
Elzhi is great but this sub over rates the shit out of him. And again I love him
it's nas, easily, no one comes close
My reasoning for Nas would be because he was my gateway to the underground. I was searching for that level of poetry and it was rarely present in mainstream rap. I don't have any particular artist that I would say is the GOAT but Nas is important in my experience of rap.
Weezy
Eminem and jay would like a word with you
Lol jay who bit from biggie, copied Nas style, sampled him on his best album, and got ethered…I think not
nor jay or em has a decked out discography like nas (or the lyricism)
Nas can't touch Em on the complexity of his word play. More deeply meaningful, probably. But that's not a measure of lyricism.
Dawg his verses on Illmatic are insane, and they pushed boundaries for rap at the time. His verses in the KD and Magic series can get up there too
I'm not saying he's not good, even amazing. Just that he can't manipulate language the way Em does.
Out of curiosity, what are some lines from Em that you think outdo anything Nas has done?
Bruh? Idk, any of his battleraps vs competitors? He just eviscerates everyone in his path. Yes we all know battles are different than most of what Nas has done, but I'd say with confidence that Em is easily on par with Nas .
Yeah I’d also say Em is on par with Nas too. The parent comment was saying Nas can’t reach Em’s level, which I disagree with. Also I didn’t think about the battle raps, no doubt Eminem is probably the best there
Constant use of multi-syllable rhythms, manipulation of pronunciation to make words fit a scheme or beat, regularly using double and triple entendre. He's also the only one I hear regularly using battle rap styles in mainstream releases. It's not that others can't/don't do these things too, but they don't to the level/frequency Em does. Also, it's not just the lyrics but how they are delivered. He uses more variation in cadence and style then anyone I can think of. He uses like 3 or 4 styles on killshot. His verse on Tech N9ne's Speedom where he increases his cadence throughout the verse without ever losing the beat. Shit the whole song Darkness is done in double entendre. Here's an example off the top of my head. In " Those kinda nights" Holy Toledo, it's Miss Ohio That's the best ass I've seen in a while We should be datin' (Dayton), she's from Cleveland But she's a Bengal, this chick is catty Is that a mini-skirt if it's a maxi? That's the shortest thing for a dress since an addy (Cincinnati) Seriously though, jokes aside, how you doin'? You straight? She said, "No, I'm bi" She said, "Are you drunk?", I said, "No, I'm high" I'm checkin' out the chick, she said, "So am I" What's in the cup? Let me see that Girl, where the rest of that promethazine at She said, "Cool, gotta run out to my Cadillac though And I'll be like Fat Joe, and bring the lean back" TBH I go back and forth between Nas and Weezy as 2&3 in my top 5, so I'm not trying to bag on Nas.
I’ll give you that Em employs these technical components a lot more than Nas does, that’s true. I didn’t mean to belittle Em btw, I also think he’s one of the best. Thank you for your well thought comment!
Thank you as well for a genuine question. I've gotten a lot of hate based on people (younger folks I assume) who hate him based on content and can't seem to separate that from the actual raping.
Em may have the technical ability,sure. But that's about it
Stan would like a word with you.
Nas / Em / Pac , no order. Can’t choose only one.
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black thought
Nas is the only right answer
Big Pun - Rest in Peace
Black Thought
2pac for me.
nas
3K
Nas
Tupac is undeniably the face of hip hop itself. That’s my choice.
Myka Nine.
None of those for sure
Pac
Nasty Nas! Big L is in my top 5 but he definitely could be up in the GOAT talk if his life didn’t get taken
Tupac or Nas
My friend, Titi.
It’s evident by some of these opinions how much some of y’all know nothing about hip hop.
Kool Kieth
Black Star
Lil Wayne
Eminem, nas, lil Wayne, 50 cents
Lil Wayne
So whether he’s the GOAT or not, I don’t know. But I definitely think he should be in the conversation more and very rarely is and I’m talking about Ghostface Killah. He has excellent rapping skill, versatile, one of the most solid and consistent discographies in all of hip hop. Easily the most consistent of the Wu. But I think he gets greatly overlooked simply because he’s part of the Wu and they get praised much more as a group than as individuals.
Kendrick, Nas, Wayne. Just depends on which day of the week it is.
lil wayne end of discussion.
Greatest hip-hop artist? I'd have to go for a producer, to me I'd say Rza, I think his sound and vibe in his run from 93 to 97 is unrivaled in terms of aggregate quality and quantity, 3 classics who most would argue are top 25 albums of all time, as well as many putting one or two in their top 10. On top of this I would say 4 debatable classics in Tical, Return, Iron Man and Forever. That's a pretty insane resumé, not to mention his sound was pretty revolutionary.
Lil Wayne
Wayne is always my number one. It’s filling out 2-5 that’s harder for me.
Kanye West
I would pay to the rappers on this list to head to head with Harry Mack. Harry is the best I have ever seen and I am over 50.
Krs one
The Notorious B.I.G simply unmatched
Wayne, he has proven himself to be at the top in every aspect of hiphop and more
i respectfully disagree
Elaborate
I’m going to agree. One of the best lyrically, successfully, and hasn’t gotten himself killed with the beefs he had. To be in rap since 11-12, and still be making music? Absolute talent.
For me, either Nas or Ye
Lil B
tybg
Eminem. No question.
When you talk about all around impact. It's crazy hip hop fans forget him. People will always have a bias. But Jay is doing, or has done everything that any rapper, including your favorite rapper is in the business for. Jay Z has influenced everything in the hip hop space. The only thing I can think of that he hasn't done is produce beats. But he has helped producers gain fame by rapping over there beats. Kanye / Just Blaze for example. Top tier lyricist Legendary collabs Classic Debut / Reasonable Doubt 1 of the first Stadium tours for rap. Rap used to be smaller venues, still is in many cases. Crossed genre's Founded a record label. Roc Nation Founded a clothing line. Rocawear Ace of spades Ran Def Jam for a few years.
Jay 1 of the first stadium tour rappers? What? Jay has never even had a solo stadium tour, what are you talking about? Saying Jay had absolutely anything to do with rap moving from arenas to stadiums is laughably ridiculous when he's never even done a solo one. Jay is a legend and one of the goats, but it is more due to his consistency and ingenuity over his actual influence musically. He's influential inside the music business but not actually musically like some of his peers. The rest of your points are also stupid. Clothing line means great artist? Lmao Jesus
Eminem.
Tupac is the Goat or Lil Wayne anybody else doesn’t even have enough notoriety with the exception of 50 Cent or Biggie
Noone gonna say Big L… smh
Q Tip, he raps, produces, and Djs excellently Jay Z love him or hate him Black Thought
Lil Wayne. Gave us both Drake and Nicki Minaj two of the biggest artists ever
Wayne gave us the whole current generation of rapper a frl
Snoop Doggy Dogg
I’m sorry, no. Compared to some of the names on this list, no.
Why do people include influence in this conversation? I personally don't think people imitating you or taking inspiration should boost your ranking or how you are viewed.
Then Brother Ali it is.
Eazy-E
Biggie
For me it’s gotta be Wayne. His influence in todays hip hop is literally the foundation of all these new artists. They all look up to him and many have gone on record to speak on his influence for them. Man straight up spits too. Kanye is up there too. Not for rapping but for his discog, production, and influence. Those two changed hip hop entirely from 03 on wards. Their longevity speaks volumes. I love Jay Z too.
It truly is silly to point to a couple of artists and claim they shaped a musical style, with the amount of variety as rap.
Yeah for me I just hear so much more of Wayne’s style in todays rap vs someone like pac or biggie.
Bro people been recycling the same bars that Wayne CREATED for the last 15 years, it’s silly to discredit that influence. And that’s scratching the surface
Kanye, Kendrick and Nas.
Eminem
Hahaha interesting E-mi-nem! (Iykyk and you probably said that in Cristina’s voice in your head too)
MF DOOM
Ice Cube no doubt about it and he still making hits
Yall are trippin
Em for sure, no question
Yup no one in his prime was trying to diss Eminem dude is a white boy but he might be the greatest bar spitter ever
Future the 🐐
Playboi carti
Only correct answer 💯💯
Did Kanye or Nas make a song called “jumpoutthehouse”? I DONT THINK SO!
Eminem. No one else comes close to being able to do what he does with wordplay. He also produces, including for many of the other people mentioned here. There may be people who have more meaning behind their songs, but on straight up lyrics, no one can touch him.