Known for his fast-paced delivery, flow, and self-promoting, almost arrogant style, we have one of the greatest of all time. Kane jumped onto the scene with legendary New York crew The Juice Crew and became one of the very first artist to have his own type of gimmick. Aside from his early 90's identity crisis where he rapped about nothing but women, Kane was always pumping out great albums, delivering two undisputed classics in his first two albums.
With a few Outkast fans aside, you won't find too many arguments when claiming Scarface the greatest rapper ever to have rooted from the dirty south. Face has a legacy that stretches over twenty years dating back to his days with the Geto Boys up to his mainstream (sort of) days in the 2000s. Scarfaces unmistakable flow has voiced some of the greatest tales in hip hop history, as displayed below. One of the greatest songs ever. Period.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KutXyPEEbQs
KRS is one of the pioneers of hip-hop. In the mid to late 80's his crew, Boogie Down Productions, attempted to take over the landscape of hip-hop. Putting out two classic albums, and having one of the most famous beefs of all time with the juice crew during the "Bridge Wars". He has also had a successful solo career and consistently makes music to this day, even given his older age.
Most known for his work with Eric B, Rakim alongside Krs-one and Kane, paved the way for new age hip-hop. Paid in Full is often considered the greatest album of all time, and while less successful had some pretty solid follow-up albums. At a time when rap was first becoming popular, Rakim became the face of the golden era and forever changed the game with his razor sharp flow and groundbreaking lyrics. A true legend.
There's a type of person who will say that the three greatest rappers ever are Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, and Grandmaster Caz. All great in their own right, but Mel is the only one that makes our cut. In terms of pioneers, no one has done more for the rap game than Melle Mel. When he first appeared along with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, it was a time period when rappers took a backseat to the DJ. Mel changed all of this in a revolution that was spearheaded by The Message, often proclaimed as the greatest Hip-Hop song of all time.
Unfortunately for Nasir the apex of his career was his debut, and he was destined to only go downhill from Illmatic. This is not slap in the face to Nasty Nas, Illmatic might be the greatest album ever, but he never came close to duplicating what he brought to that debut. It only helped Nas that he was often accompanied by Dj Premier. Nas had a crazy flow and intelligence to his rhyme style, that is unlike anything you will see today. Although he is stuck in the shadow of past success, this guy is dope.
Hey Ice Cube, Hip-Hopinionated are considering you to be the only west coast rapper on their list! *Gives huge grin that you can see on the left* Believe it or not, Ice Cube used to rap, and he was pretty damn good at it too. Serving as a precursor to figures such as Eminem, Ice Cue is arguably the most controversial rapper of all time. You could feel the intensity of every song he made and could tell he actually believed in everything he was saying. I just like to pretend his career was tragically ended before 2000.
Contrary to what you may find obvious, the "G" in his name stands for Giancana... yeah. In the mid to late 80's Dj Polo and Kool G were paired up by leader of the Juice Crew Marley Marl, and the rest was history. The two were a perfect match, immediately recording the hit song, "Its a Demo". The two went on to record 3 great albums. Afterwards Kool G branched off to a more mainstream style, where he found less success, but continued to have a fantastic career.
Regardless of your opinion of the man, you can't say he didn't make his presence felt. Upon spiting some of the most controversial and vile lyrics ever heard, Em was able to do this in a manner that was perfect. Undisputably one of the greatest lyricist ever, shady was delivered his lyrics in a way that no one could ever forget, which shows in his record sales. 5 hip-hop albums have ever gone diamond, 2 of which are original compositions of Marshall Mathers
The lyricist of the Wu-Tang clan, Gary. He is know for being a genius of course, playing chess with his buddies, but outside of that, he just happens to be amazing at rapping. He created the masterpiece that is Liquid Swords, and helped propel Wu to levels of super stardom. He has had a very solid solo career, that he plans to continue this year with yet another album at the age of 46.
Sorry Pac fans, but he was no where near biggie on the mic. As the golden era of hip hop began to die down, one of the last gasp for air came in the form of Christopher Wallace. Biggie was able to take the rap game by storm with his blazing fast delivery and deadly lyrics. What sets B.I.G. apart from most though, is his shockingly vivid ability to tell a story of any sort.
Redgie Noble is a really weird guy. From his soopaman luva saga to his obsession of smoking weed, redgie is just on a different planet. He also happens to be lyrically on a different from most rappers, and can go from hilarious to downright terrifying in a matter of seconds. His first three albums are all personal favorites in my library, and i expect more from him in the future.
Arguably one of the most politically charged rapper in history, Chuck D truley changed the game. Chuck paved the way for other rappers to send their message but none have been able to deliver it in the way Chuck did. Along with Flava Flav, Terminator X and more, Public Enemy formed to give the Hip Hop audience some of the most passionate and gripping songs ever recorded.
The only other member of the wu tang that makes the list is the ghostface killah. Since day one, ghost has had the charisma to rock a crowd while talking about pretty much nothing. That only sometimes though, as ghost can become one of the games best storytellers. Ghosts longevity and consistency are what grant him a spot on the list though, as he is still pumping out top notch albums today.
Slick Rick is the greatest storyteller in hip hop history, and that is the end of that argument. After releasing his classic debut, Ricky ran into problems with the law and was never able to recreate his success. Even so, the legendary album and cameos throughout his career give him a spot on the list and his place in hip hop history as one of the greatest of all time.