Seamus, I’m not sure since it’s Rizoh’s list but’it might have something to do with the points system. Dre had only one solo album and that was his worst effort. Let’s be honest, Hey Ya is a fun summer jam and I respect him for experimenting but ‘The Love Below’ is a rambling incoherent mess as an album.

rakim is sick, but jigga and biggie should be #1 and #2 …

Rizo, Redman’s got to be in your top-10 bro. Come on!

Nah, I’m cool with Rakim at #1. I think he has the perfect rap voice.

Bring a bullet-proof vest
Nothin’ to ricochet
Ready to aim at the brain
now what the trigger say
Tempos triflin’
Felt like a rifle
Massage ‘n’ melodies
Might go right through
Simultaneously like an uzi
Nothin’ can bruise me
Lyrics let up when lady say don’t lose me
So re-load quickly
And you better hit me
While i’m lettin’ this fifi get wit me
You steppin’ with .007
Better make it snappy
No time to do your hair, baby
Brothers are bustin’ at me

I feel u on Rakim bro. Some dudes are questionable and some should be higher in my mind, but it’s YOUR list like u said. Still, u know people are gonna be pulling their hair out on this one…LOL!!!

Eminem should be #10 and Nas # 2 .. the rest is very good.

that list was nice. no offense or anything, but you think redman is better than eminem lyrically? rakim is a good choice for #1, but em’s gotta be in the top 5. lyrically hes so insane. his alliteration, his poetry, his voice, everything is so far ahead of redman. for example:

Soon as the verse starts, I eat at an MC’s heart
What is he thinkin? How not to go against me, smart!
And it’s absurd, how people hang on ev-ery word
I’ll probably NEVER get the props I feel I ever deserve
But I’ll never be served, my spot is forever reserved
If I ever leave Earth, that would be the death of me first
Cause in my heart of hearts I know nothin could ever be worse
That’s why I’m clever when I put together ev-ery verse
My thoughts, are sporadic, I act, like I’m a addict
I rap, like I’m addicted to smack like I’m Kim Mathers
But I don’t wanna go forth and back in constant battles
The fact is I would rather sit back and bomb some rappers
So this is like a full blown attack I’m launchin at ‘em
The track is on some battlin raps who want some static?
Cause I don’t really think that the fact that I’m Slim matters
A plaque and platinum status is WACK if I’m not the baddest, so

Perhaps the most balanced list I’ve ever seen…..

Who else gives guys like Posdnuous and Del that kinda love?

Regardless of my preferences, I think there’s a difference between my favorite emcees and the “best” emcees.

^Well said.

Keep in mind: that Top 50 doesn’t represent “my favorites.” Hell, Rakim is not even my favorite of all time.

Perhaps the most balanced list I’ve ever seen…..

Who else gives guys like Posdnuous and Del that kinda love?
Ivan | 03.22.07 – 2:10 pm | #
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Thanks for the kind words. I don’t expect everyone to agree but you seem to “get” the point of this list.

I have to admit, I clicked the link expecting the worst as I usually do with these top whatever lists, but seeing Del suddenly made me optimistic about it.

Good list. A few I disagree with though. Lauren Hill higher than MC Lyte? Are you serious?

^ MC Lyte vs. L Boogie is a tough debate……that’s for sure……

^ MC Lyte vs. L Boogie is a tough debate……that’s for sure……
Ivan | 03.22.07 – 6:18 pm | #
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Not unless we recall that this is about “emceeing”…Lyte is the Greatest Female Rapper of All Time. Lauryn is the most prolific femcee of our era.

Very solid list. Although I think ‘pac is a little low, i mean c’mon, 8?!?! And also, if you put Method Man and the Chef on there, you gotta make room for Inspectah Deck. But im definetly feelin this list

I was going to comment about Del being on anyones list since “I Wish My Brother George Was Here” is the only memorable piece of work hes ever done (catch a bad one was a nice track, album wasnt) but after reading the commets I guess others are still listening to him too. wow who knew?!

i would have put the gza up higher… for me he is a top 10 mc

Anonymous, I Wish My Brother George Was Here isn’t the only masterpiece in Del’s catalog. Deltron 3030 was equally nice.

did anyone else notice 2pac at 7 hmmm lol cool list good to see some of my faves near the top

“I was going to comment about Del being on anyones list since “I Wish My Brother George Was Here” is the only memorable piece of work hes ever done”

You didn’t catch the arguments for eligibility at the beginning? Or are you sleeping on the Hiero albums?

Jake: “no offense or anything, but you think redman is better than eminem lyrically?”

Maybe technically he isn’t but overall I’d rate him higher than Em too. Red’s way more constant in his quality, Em made three good albums and it went downhill from there. Reggie still makes me laugh and has never made me cringe, unlike Shady. Plus, Em is mad influenced by Reggie (and rates Red above himself too).

Overall it’s a pretty solid list Rizoh, plus Lyte is looking good in that pic you got of here.

here=her

“Red’s way more constant in his quality, Em made three good albums and it went downhill from there. Reggie still makes me laugh and has never made me cringe, unlike Shady. Plus, Em is mad influenced by Reggie”
——————–

Some people REALLY do get where I’m coming from with this list. God bless you, J to the A.A.P.!!

Nice list. Only one question, where’s ODB at? He influenced a lot of cats to push the boundaries of hip hop.

I personally wouldn’t have put Pac in my top 10… he is way overrated, but his influence on hip-hop as a whole makes him a Top 10 emcee…

And if it wasn’t for Rakim and Big Daddy Kane… Jay-Z wouldn’t have any steez… Same with Nas in regards to Rakim and KRS…

For me both Common and Chuck D are Top 10 emcees…

I think I would have replaced Erick Sermon and Kardinal Offishall with Treach and Buckshot…

I think I would have replaced Erick Sermon and Kardinal Offishall with Treach and Buckshot…
Quibian Salazar-Moreno | Homepage | 03.23.07 – 10:26 am | #
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This is actually a good argument.

Great list, always interesting to see those. Are “underground” MCs excluded because there’s simply too many? I always thought Phife was the stronger of the two in Tribe. And I might slot Serch and Cube in there somewhere. Perhaps Sadat X and Kool Keith? Oh yeah, and Kid N Play should be 1 and 1a.

^Cube is there.

I seriously considered Kool Keith. My original list was 200 deep, but I had to narrow it down to make it a decent list.
Thanks for the kind words.

No Top 10 luv 4 Ghostface?

I also think 2pac should be #1.

^Why?

Ill do a friendly critique of your list later, but Big L’s best album, wasn’t big picture (a post hom. album) it had to be his 95 classic, Lifestylez ov the Poor and the Dangerous

In poetry terms nobody has ever reach the highs of Saul Williams

idk, Pac bein number 7? thas really ruff to handle. i seriously believe he is a better lyricist than biggie. so switch them an your good. everythin else is pretty good

Only thing Pac has over Biggie is message (content), versatility (maybe), greater body of work, impact, and an amazing delivery (includes voice).

Lyrically, and flow he can’t touch Biggie, I prefer 2Pac despite being a New Yorker, but Biggie is a far better MC then Pac, an inferior artist though

Anyway Riz, this might be the best list I saw, but I got some qualms.

Royce 5′9 is a better MC then Canibus, have you ever heard C-Hollywood Stories? Canibus is one of my favorites, but his first album has underwhelming, his 2nd album was good (2000 BC) but since then they’ve been weak, no classics. Now how can you put him two ahead of Rae (Only Built for Cuban) and almost 15 in front of Royce 5′9

Eminem is also underrated a bit, LL Cool J is an influential artist but MC SKILLS wise he isnt close to Masta Ace etc.

I think it would be best to ignore the whole “impact factor” and just focus on a list for mic skills. A list with impact would be a best rap artist list, which would probably have Pac/Jay-Z 1 and 2

yeah i mean Charasmaticlly i think biggie might have pac, but still Pac had a nice delivery an was always fun to watch. like you said if you pay attention to everything else pac is untouched by biggie, idk its hard to put my finger on why biggie can beat pac in so many countdowns

I think I would have replaced Erick Sermon and Kardinal Offishall with Treach and Buckshot…
Quibian Salazar-Moreno

^Agree. Buckshot > Kardinal and I always thought Treach never got the respect as a lyricist that he deserves. But even tho Erick IMO is better off the mic than on he did give us classics with EPMD so he deserves his place in top 50 but Gift to Gab could definately get pushed off the list for Treach.

Those are the 2 on the list I have very little love for..Del and Gift.

Only thing Pac has over Biggie is message (content), versatility (maybe), greater body of work, impact, and an amazing delivery (includes voice).

Lyrically, and flow he can’t touch Biggie, I prefer 2Pac
___________________
This man speaketh the truth.

Royce 5′9 is a better MC then Canibus, have you ever heard C-Hollywood Stories? Canibus is one of my favorites, but his first album has underwhelming, his 2nd album was good (2000 BC) but since then they’ve been weak, no classics. Now how can you put him two ahead of Rae (Only Built for Cuban) and almost 15 in front of Royce 5′9
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“Catalog” is only a small part of the 25-point system used for this. Based on classic albums alone, Jeru and O.C. would be on this list as well. But there are other things to consider.

Overall, Bis is a marginally sharper emcee–vocal presence, imageries, concepts, poetic value–than Ryan.

As for the Biggie vs Pac debate, Pac is the better rapper, but Big is the better emcee.

Flow, delivery, storytelling (neck to neck), versatility, wordplay, freestyle skills, flavor…”Relax and take notes…”

I never understand why Outkast gets rated so low in these lists. No Big Boi, and Andre is only 23. I need an explanation of how he is below Big L, Big Punisher, Lauryn Hill, Black Thouht, etc. Those are all great MCs, but they are not in Andre’s league. And if you list an artist’s best lyrical album then ATLiens is absolutely required for Andre.

Seriously, I like Scarface, but Andre is the South’s best MC (with Big Boi second). What more could you want: distinctive flow, ability to ride pretty much any beat, topics upon topics. His contributions to emceeing are endless.

“Dre had only one solo album and that was his worst effort.”

Basically…

I don’t understand how folks expect me to rank him in the Top 10 when he hasn’t really proved himself outside of OutKast. With guys like Thought and Chuck, I can understand them getting props despite being in a group because they’re what you would call “Lead-MCs” or whatever.

I agree with Rakim at #1 and KRS at #2, but where are Reverend Run and DMC. They made hip-hop mainstream and opened the roads for everyone else.