The best rapper of all time

[Deadman]

Hip-hop and rap is wat i like to all the breakout genre of music, starting on the streets of brooklyn new york to becoming a world phenomn but, this thread is about the rappers that u think will be remembered as the best of the best, who will stand the test of time and music will always be blasting on the radio. Well my choices are:

1.

Tupac Shakur better known as 2pac or Makaveli is the best rapper of all time born in new york Pac had a rough childhood almost being born in jail family being part of the black panthers which lead to insipratoin for some of his early abumls like 2Pacalypse but what realy made him the best rapper was the east vs west coast rivalry all of his greast hits came from the fued the best diss ever Hit em up, his best song All Eyes On Me and sadly his death but he will be remembered for it.

 

[Mr. TM]

Well most people contribute rap or hip hop music from starting in The Bronx, not Brooklyn. But the best rapper of all time in terms of music, producing and other facts is Dr. Dre. The man was part of one of the most controversial hip hop groups of all time with the NWA, creating some of the greatest hip hop singles of all time. He then went on to having an incredible singles career. That is not all, he also worked hard on creating a new legacy of rappers as a producer. His Record label has brought forth the acts such as Eminem and 50 Cent. He, is one of the most successful hip hop producers and artists of all time.

 

[Pimpin]

2Pac without a doubt. 2Pac was one of the main guys in the east coast west coast rivalry & many of his greatest hits were created during that time. He also has the greatest diss track ever to this day in hit em up. If he had been still alive then the whole political thing that rappers are into now woulda started much sooner & I believe he woulda had released at least 20 albums at the most by now & still be rapping today if he was alive.

 

[Sparky]

I happy to see someone agrees with me a lot of fools would say bigggie but no one has so far god bless.

Maybe becouse only one person other then yourself has posted in this thread? thats just my guess.

the best Rapper of all time? I can't possible answer that, but i can Answer who is the best rap group of all time. and that is the Hilltop hoods. They don't rap about fucking prostitutes, drugs, and killing people. they rap about real things. Rap's that have emotion and ain't just Rapping to become famous. Hilltop Hoods > Eminem, 2 pac, Snoop Dogg, and even Dr Dre.

 

[Deadman]

Maybe becouse only one person other then yourself has posted in this thread? thats just my guess.

the best Rapper of all time? I can't possible answer that, but i can Answer who is the best rap group of all time. and that is the Hilltop hoods. They don't rap about fucking prostitutes, drugs, and killing people. they rap about real things. Rap's that have emotion and ain't just Rapping to become famous. Hilltop Hoods > Eminem, 2 pac, Snoop Dogg, and even Dr Dre.

WTF u must have never heard all eyes on me to say 2pac has no emotion also u just spit in the grave of tupac and B.I.G. by saying the hilltop hoods plz they shit is wac as hell but hey they are better than soujia boy

 

[Sparky]

WTF u must have never heard all eyes on me to say 2pac has no emotion

Please 2pac is overrated, why? because he is DEAD. its the only reason there is so many fans.

also u just spit in the grave of tupac and B.I.G. by saying the hilltop hoods

Right cos i can really spit that far.

plz they shit is wac as hell but hey they are better than soujia boy

wac? wtf is Wac? the Hill top hoods, are not like normal rappers. just because they dont sing about gang banging, gold digger drug dealers and all that shit it makes them wac? Right. at least the hilltop hoods aint a sell out trying to make money any way possible.

 

[Deadman]

Please 2pac is overrated, why? because he is DEAD. its the only reason there is so many fans.

Pac had billions of fans while was alive its called the whole west coast of U.S.A.

 

[twisterwrw929]

Pac had billions of fans while was alive its called the whole west coast of U.S.A.

That's weird, I wasn't aware that the United States had a billion people in it, let alone just the west coast.....

But with that being said, I'm gonna have to go with Pac as well. That guy rapped about real shit all the time. Pac could tell awesome stories with his music and get a great message across with his lyrics. Not that other people can't tell stories with their music, but I really think that Pac did it better than anyone and did it more than anyone. His music was real, a lot of rappers are just wanna be gangsters, but 2 Pac was as real as it gets. And not to mention he had awesome beats as well.

And to the guy saying that Hilltop Hoods didn't sell out, and trying to make money anyway possible, I think its safe to say they are. What musician doesn't want to make money? And its not only musicians, how many just regular people out there don't want to make money. And I think its also safe to say the reason they haven't "sold out" is probably cause they're barley making any money anyways, cause they suck.

 

[hotwater10]

Young Jeezy - He just knows what he is doing. My President is such a good song. The whole recession is great. One day he will get the respect he needs. Although I do like his older stuff better.

 

[jmt225]

The three greatest in my book:

Nas
Eminem
Chamillionaire

Nas is my favorite rapper of all time and has been since I was a teenager. From "N.Y. State of Mind" to "If I Ruled the World" to "Hate Me Now" to "Ether" to "One Mic" to "I Can" to etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... all define the word 'Hip-Hop' to me. All his albums, with the exception of Nastradamus (which still included the spectacular track, "Shoot 'Em Up"), all his albums have been SUPERB.

Eminem has only officially released four albums thus far, but by my account, all of them were 5 stars. Every single one of them, with Marshall Mathers, in my opinion, being the greatest rap album ever created.

And then there's Chamillionaire. It's still very early in his career, but there is not a rap artist on this planet who can touch him lyrically right now. He is incredible. And what I love about him is that he's able to appeal to both the masses, and the underground. Very few rap artist today can do that.

So, there's your answer for me. I love 2Pac and Big, but the three names above me would destroy those guys on wax if they were still around and talking shit. Each one has proved themselves in their battles, and also each one has at least one album that is better then Pac or Biggie's best album. In my opinion, anyway.

Lastly, anyone who says Jay-Z and Lil' Wayne here needs to have their head examine. Both are completely shit.

 

[Big Sexy]

There really isn't one answer that you can give.

When it comes to revolutionizing the rap game then you have to go with a guy like Tupac. For every song he had about drugs and violence he had another song about trying to make the world better. The fact that he can still have a platinum album with just a lot of decent songs 13 years after his death shows how great he is.

If you're talking about actual ability in rapping then there are tons of guys who are all fighting for the top spot. From Eminem, to Nas, to Rakim, to Big Daddy Kane. These are some of the best lyricists ever.

There really isn't a wrong answer to this question (unless your answer was Hilltop Hoods). There have been so many great rappers over the years, it's almost impossible to just pick one.

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Tupac is definitely up there, no doubt. But, there's no way I'm putting him at the top of the list.

I find that Rakim, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J and Krs-One are constantly being dismissed. These guys have timeless flow, charisma and mic presence. They are also pioneers of Hip Hop, which makes them very significant for opening the doors to future greats. Without these men, Hip Hop would not be where it is today. Many of the greats today have been influenced by at least one of these men. If this thread was about the greatest Hip Hop group of all time, I would've also mentioned Run-DMC, Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest.

 

[twisterwrw929]

While I said Pac earlier, and stand by that, I do think its hard to just pick one. There are quite a few great rappers out there, and there are different things about all of them that make them great. And different people like different things so that makes it extra hard just to settle on one. For the most part though I think everyone here has had some pretty good ones, besides for Hilltop Hoods and Chamillionaire, at least I wouldn't put him on my top list or anywhere near it.

 

[Legendary_Undertaker]

OMG Young Jeezy? Hill Top Hoodz? Dr. F'n Dre. Are you serious?

first of all Young Jeezy only as two subjects he raps about and thats Drugs and more Durgs even the song my president is a durg reference. while I do liek Jeezy He's far from the best rapper alive he still has to go thorugh Lil Wayne Kanye west Lupe Fiasco, Eminem Snoop Master P. Scarface hell some would even say Gucci Mane.

I only ever heard 1 hill top hoods song and it was wack as hell. I would even say Soulja bay is better than them ( Listen to Gucci Bandanna). enough said.

Dr. Dre has NEVER written his own raps how can he be the greatest ever if he never put pen to pad you might as well say Puffy is the Greates rapper of all time if you going with Dr. Dre.

TUPAC is the BEST rapper of all time hands down (including Biggie) His albums speak for themselves this man went to war with an entire coast SOLO and killed everybody. combine that with the fact that he had world wide appeal unlike any other rap artist ever. He is the highest selling rapper of all time one of the greatest thinkers of the 21st century. THE BEST!

 

[hotwater10]

Do you guys feel bad for Tupac just because he got shot? He was nothing until he died. Nothing. I got bad rep for saying Jeezy. I just like his music. I don't listen to anything but rap. Em's new album single is great though, Crack a bottle.

 

[Big Sexy]

I would even say Soulja bay is better than them ( Listen to Gucci Bandanna).

That is a horrible song. I really believe that Soulja Boy may be the worst rapper ever.

Dr. Dre has NEVER written his own raps how can he be the greatest ever if he never put pen to pad

I think whoever said Dre was trying to think outside the box and give him the nod because of everything he has given to Hip Hop. Without Dre there would be no Eminem, there would be no Snoop, and there would be no NWA.

some would even say Gucci Mane.

Jeezy is far from the best rapper, but he is a lot better then Gucci Mane.

He is the highest selling rapper of all time

Being the highest selling rapper doesn't make you the best. I agree that Tupac is right up there with all of the greats, and if he isn't the best then he is definitely top five, but I think that lyrically there were some better rappers. If you put Pac in a battle with guys like Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Nas, Jay Z, and Eminem I think he would get beat. But overall Tupac is right up there with the best.

 

[Legendary_Undertaker]

Pac wasn't really a battle rapper his songs were realistic and everybody white black read yellow or green could relate to them while Nas is great in his own right the song they did together "Thugs Mansion" was good but pac KILLED it. Jay-Z is like a candle in the sun compared to Pac thats why he never went back at the man eventhough he was going so hard at jay.

I love Jay-z, Jeezy, Nas, and Eminem (who might be the greatest lyricist of all time) but Pac is hands down he greatest rapper of all time bar none

honestly I expected to hear alot of people saying Biggie although I'm glad you didn't it was just something about him that didn't appeal to me.

 

[FromTheSouth]

The three greatest in my book:



And then there's Chamillionaire. It's still very early in his career, but there is not a rap artist on this planet who can touch him lyrically right now. He is incredible. And what I love about him is that he's able to appeal to both the masses, and the underground. Very few rap artist today can do that.

Chamillionaire is not even the best rapper in Houston. He's not even the best rapper on his label (Yung Ro)As far as it being early in his career, umm, not so much. I bought get Your Mind Correct almost ten years ago. He used to be good, but his style has gone to shit. He was always rapping about cars and jewelery, and for most rappers, I hate that shit. But Cham did it in a style that was great. His intelligence helped turn many phrases that other rappers wouldn't be able to pull off. Now, he's ok, at best.

The best rappers of all time are the Screwed Up Clique. Fat Pat, HAWK, Lil Keke, Trae, and Z-ro.

And the best of that group is Z-ro. Ro's stories about the hood come off as the realist. His style is amazing. He can rap fast or slow, hood or political, and never ever a love song. For a small sampling: (He's the first guy in this song)

[youtube]ye9JGy4JAZ8[/youtube]

 

[jmt225]

When I said it’s early in his career, I mean national wise. Just like you would say CM Punk is still early in his career, when the fact is he's been wrestling for ten years. Chamillionaire is only in his late twenties and will be around for a LONG time.

And I live in Houston, and I have had family here since I was young, so I've been following the rap scene here since the Lil' Troy and Yungstar days. And I still say Chamillionaire is BY FAR the best of the bunch. Dude, he would CRUSH those names you listed, just like he did Mike Jones. Z-Ro might be the 'realest' rapper of them all, but Chamillionaire is by far the best lyrically and there's no way I can see you make a logical argument against that.

Lastly, as far as you saying he's changed for the worse, I agree when he's trying to reach a broader audience, his music isn't as good as his underground stuff. But have you heard the Mixtape Messiahs he's been rapidly releasing? If not, pick them up and I think your opinion will change.

Again, the reason I think he's one of the greatest is because he can reach the masses (something none of those other names can do), while also staying true to the underground World and dropping mixtapes that are just as good as his mixtapes before he reached stardom.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

I am going to have to go with Nas (with Jadakiss a close second). Even though most think that Nastradamus is his weakest effort, it is probably my favorite album of his (You Owe Me is my favorite song by Nas), along with Stillmatic. Furthermore, I will always love Nas for putting the extremely overrated Jay-Z in his place with Ether (I don't know how anyone in their right mind can say that Jay-Z won this feud).

 

[Legendary_Undertaker]

Trust me when I tell you NOBODY thinks Jay-z won that feud. Nas Murdered Jigga ed of story. but my only problem with nas is he's so inconsistant. he'll drop a great album then his next two maybe 3 relesase are complete crap. this in my opinon is what leaves him out of the greatest of all time spot....Top 5 DOA for sure but not the greatest

 

[FromTheSouth]

When I said it’s early in his career, I mean national wise. Just like you would say CM Punk is still early in his career, when the fact is he's been wrestling for ten years. Chamillionaire is only in his late twenties and will be around for a LONG time.

And I live in Houston, and I have had family here since I was young, so I've been following the rap scene here since the Lil' Troy and Yungstar days. And I still say Chamillionaire is BY FAR the best of the bunch. Dude, he would CRUSH those names you listed, just like he did Mike Jones. Z-Ro might be the 'realest' rapper of them all, but Chamillionaire is by far the best lyrically and there's no way I can see you make a logical argument against that.

Lastly, as far as you saying he's changed for the worse, I agree when he's trying to reach a broader audience, his music isn't as good as his underground stuff. But have you heard the Mixtape Messiahs he's been rapidly releasing? If not, pick them up and I think your opinion will change.

Again, the reason I think he's one of the greatest is because he can reach the masses (something none of those other names can do), while also staying true to the underground World and dropping mixtapes that are just as good as his mixtapes before he reached stardom.

Chamillionaire was way tighter ten years ago than he is now....FACT.

And as far as Chamillionaire murdering The SUC...are you kidding me? He has a nice flow, but there are only say many ways to say rims, girls, and jewelery. That shit is for Soulja Boy and Lil Jon to rap about. Chamillionaire, right now, isn't even close to the top 10, much less number one.

And fuck all those Mixtape Messiahs. I already told you, Yung Ro wrecks those tracks way harder than Cham. I used to like Chamillionaire, but he needs to get back to the way he was.

Have you heard Z-ro's new album Crack? Every song is outstanding. Chamillionaire went nationwide because you can play that shit in the club. If you play a Z-ro song in the club someone dies.

 

[Paul Revere]

I think when it comes to longevity, quality, lyricism, and delivery Nas & Eminem have to be the greatest rappers of all time. Nas has made one bad album (out of 9 cds) and even that album had a couple real nice tracks (Come Get Me, Shoot 'Em Up). All of Eminem's albums are fantastic and deserve all the recognition they have received. While Biggie is actually my favorite rapper, I don't think he deserves to be heralded as the greatest because of his untimely death. I think if he was still around this question would be a lot easier.

Though most peoples' choices are fine, I feel there are many names neglected in this thread.

Guru from Gang Starr. The most underrated rapper ever, in my opinion. Had beats from one of the greatest of all time behind the boards, and still managed to stand out. He pumped out politically-charged lyrics with the best of them, but still managed to have many "fun" records. The best MC/DJ duo of all time is Gang Starr and it's not just because of DJ Premier.

Scarface. The best southern rapper of all time. This guy has been around for over 20 years and is a part of one of the greatest hip hop groups ever (Geto Boys). His sheer longevity and respect within the hip hop community merits him a mention on this list. Has 5 or 6 classic albums, more than almost anyone else can say.

Andre 3000 from OutKast. I realize this an odd choice to some. But Andre's lyrics carry more weight than almost any rapper I can think of. He is an incredible lyricist, and can rhyme with the best of them. His pseudo-solo album The Love Below was a disappointment to me personally because it was mostly filled with singing. Put Andre on a rap-only solo album, and I guarantee it will would be an instant classic. Outkast is one of the greatest duos ever, and while Big Boi is a fine MC, he simply can't hold a candle to his Atlanta counterpart. Andre 3000 is extremely talented and is not amused by any trends within the hip-hop community. Probably the most unique MC ever.

Honorable mentions: Big L, Black Thought, Rakim, Ice Cube, Jadakiss, and many more.

Though I have different opinions than most, I believe there aren't many wrong answers to this question. Unless of course you choose Lil' Wayne or Cam'ron, who hold their spot firmly in a plethora of very overrated MC's (including the aforementioned Chamillionaire who doesn't even deserve MC of the week), in which case you need to have your head checked.

 

[The Dewbliners]

As I've never been too keen on hip-hop, my two cents is probably worth less than the American penny. However, I do hold a special place in my cd collection for real, true old school acts. As far as I'm concerned, best rap honors should go to the Furious Five, or DMC.

The Furious Five rapped about issues regarding pride, and the like. On top of that, they also had a track," White Lines", warning the kids against the coke. Top Notch stuff.

As for Run DMC, well lets face it, without them rap wouldn't have gone mainstream. It is because of their success that you are even able to listen to this music today. And also due to them, and their collaboration with Aerosmith
(classic), I have Nu-Metal.

Honorable Mention goes to Public Enemy.

 

[Ty Burna]

So from what I've read so far, its either an east coast rapper, a west coast rapper, or the south. Well I'm from the Midwest so let me at least throw a couple names from here out to properly represent my region.

1. Krayzie Bone from Bone Thugs-n-Harmony- Normally I would include all the members of Bone but Krayzie Bone's flow is so good I had to put him here on his own. He may not have the mainstream attention as others, but compared to the new shit that's out there (I'm lookin at Soulja Boy and Lil Wayne here), he would murder them both in any sort of battle. He's got songs that talk about thuggin and gangsta shit, then he's got songs about struggling, life and death, the list goes on. Plus I think he's one of the fastest rappers that you could actually understand. He's very versatile going from rapid fire spitting to slow laid back harmonizing.

2. Tech N9ne - This dude is straight crazy. I think Tech got into the game at the wrong time. If he was releasing music like he is now back in like '93 or '94, he'd be one of the bigger rappers out there. He's always been underground unfortunately. Tech can spit just as fast if not even faster then Krayzie Bone. What I like about Tech is how solid his story telling is on top of being able to make songs that make you wanna get wild. He's always been on the top of my list for abilities.

Tupac was great, Biggie was great, I love em both honestly. They've always been equal to me so I'm not gonna differentiate between the too. Dr. Dre has never been that great of a rapper, but as a producer, he's on the top of the game. West Coast wise I've always thought 2pac and Ice Cube's old shit were the best. On the east coast its always been Nas, Biggie, Wu Tang Clan, and DMX.

Finally, I noticed someone mentioned Chamillionaire. I agree with you that in the future Chamillionaire will be on top of the game. I think he's tryin to improve his ability at all times which is what I admire about him. Unlike Lil Wayne who actually dumbed down his abilities in order to get popular, Cham is constantly working on his music to be the best it can be. Recently I got Mixtape Messiah 6 and it was damn good. I'm lookin forward to his newest album Venom when that drops. But as of now, the best of the south had to be U.G.K. (R.I.P. Pimp C). Bun B and Pimp C were makin great music before the south even got hot. Think about it, they were on Big Pimpin with Jay-Z when Jigga was on top of the game. That speaks volumes considering I wasn't even in high school at the time of that song.

I apologize for the rant but hip-hop has been a big part of my life and I just wanted to share a little insight on my opinion on the music.