Skibadee (top dnb mc) ic3 (another top dnb mc :)) j-live nine task force (both of em) RJD2 black twang rodney p killa kella (man, check is beatboxin, tis ill) roots manuva (cant remember the mc's name :/ )
thought id get some uk hip hop onto the list, reprezentin' :D
necro some of his stuff is amazing, tho some of his other stuff can sound kinda amature imo. check gory days, Dead Body Dispersal, Poetry In The Streets, Your Fucking Head Split and the reason why he's a class mc > ill Bill & Necro - Faggot Freestyle. one of the best freestyles i've heard easy
Those guys are gonna have to make way for this dude coming out, he's gonna be all over the news and mtv in a couple months, hot as hell, you can hear a sample of him here, I highly recommend it http://download.consumptionjunction.com/multimedia/cj_19382. mp3
you put best ever or right now and you didnt list any new ones.
i mean c'mon you look at lyricists right now.
jay-z has the nicest flow, he makes words rhyme that dont even rhyme.
eminem is up there i know he's white and the reason he sells 7-8 million records is because that otherwise he would be selling about 4-5 like his boy 50 cent.
both of them are great rappers.
nas of course is a great rapper and has a lot of good stories in his raps.
beanie sigel is another with good stories and shit that's true in his rhymes...
jadakiss is just another.... theres a lot of good rappers out there right now
the reason why eminem sells so much is dre and promotion, there are loads of better mc's. dont get me wrong, he's good and i respect the fact he's gone from rags to richs.
i think ur looking in the wrong place for great lyricists, look to the underground scene. ur just mentioning the most 'famous' not the best :) (tho nas is excellent) check cunninlynguists, they'r dope some of best lyricists abt.
eminem sells so much is because he's white... but its not the only reason... i think either way if he was with dre or not he would sell just as much... just like 50 cent if he wasnt with eminem and dre.
eminem is a greatt lyricst just look at some of the songs he made.... like assassins with 50, banks and obie trice and other songs he just came out with... and the comeback diss on ja rule with the hail mary beat...
eminem is defintly in the top 5 rappers out right now and it has nothing to do with how many records he sells and because of his color.
and as for mc's who arent 'famous'... man they really do suck and i dont know why people call them great mcs if there shit sounds like garbage... if they were so fucking good why dont dre sign em and make a bunch of his "hit beats" and make millions.... because they aint shit.
im just saying man... record labels have people out there looking for new artists all the time... but they dont have the whole package for them to be good...
the reason they dont get exposure is because they arent that good... cause if they were... wouldnt dre sign them and make a few hot beats.... or the neptunes who have been making hit beats by the minute?
kurupt908 - hahaha, why is Dre the one who gets to deciede who is a good MC? Em has loads of skill, and 50 has an interesting flow and definately knows how to put a song together, but that doesnt make them the best MC's right now. Jay Z has always put out good material, he's the full package, but again, that doesnt make him the best. Being signed by Dre and getting on MTV doesnt mean shit when it comes right down to it.
Now that thats out of the way I'm gonna list some of my current favorites (both MC's and groups). These are my favorites...not necessarily the best...theres no way to really know whose the best at any given moment, its just about who your feelin in that moment.
Aesop Rock Count Bass D (his album is called Dwight Spitz, buy it) Gift of Gab (from Blackalicious) El-P (get Fantastic Damage right now) Nas ("Made You Look" is hot shit) Infectious Organisms (live instruments...better then the Roots???) J-Live Killer Mike (who doesnt like "Akshon"?) MF Grimm RJD2 (although he's a producer, NOT a MC) Thaione Davis (this kid is the next big thing...hopefully)
Colin: Aesop.. amazing.. love that kid. in fact the whole def jux camp is putting out some great shit..
just to add a few... Eyedea MF Doom Necro (a bit tooo much sadism though in the content but the beats and rhymes are on point.) Brother Ali - from the rhymesayers Afu-ra Sole of Anticon MURS CANNIBAL OX!! both of them are tight as jail bait. The Grouch Eligh Masta Ace Mr. Lif
kurupt908: you clearly have a commodified view of hiphop, you picked the same cats my 13 year old little sister would pick. Beef up on your rhyme knowledge. There are much better lyricists out there below the mainstream. I'm sorry but Jayz, Nas, and Eminem do not represent the real hiphop scene thats going on right now. They represent MTV and money, not art.
Collosus: i think im the only one old enough to get that joke... very funny. :)
lol @ kidtopher claiming that jada and beanie are "pop"...I know what you're trying to say, basically they're not "underground" and they talk about cars, money, women, and violence...that doesn't make them pop though. There is quality rap music out there that isn't made by white kids with horrible voices. You got a ways to go man..
god I keep going back and reading more of your idiotic comments... if you don't think Nas and Em are good lyricists and two of the greatest to ever pick up a mic then I'd say you aren't a fan of rap. Nas is possibly the greatest MC of all time, do some fucking research bro, you're clowning yourself.
the only reason i was brining up dre is because of what liqachu said, that eminem only does so well because of dre and promotion... if he does so well because of dre and promotion and everyone is saying how good these underground mc's are that rhyme so well... i was just trying to say why cant dre sign them and make a few beats and put them into the main stream and make money...
because they arent that good.
hip hop and rap are two different things... hip hop is more underground and im not really into that.
and by saying jadakiss and beanie sigel are pop rap artists... thats just acting stupid... artists like nelly and ja rule are pop rap artists... beanie sigel and jadakiss are more truth talking rap artists straight from the streets of philly.
you know you people who like these underground mc's and hip hop are always saying how someone is much better than an artist like eminem or whatever but yet thats why there performing in front of 20-30 people for a 100 bucks a night while eminem is making millions each year...
and like i said before they honestly cant be that good because if they were they would be signed by a major label already.
rappers like mos def, talib qweli, dead prez those are some good hip hop artists... who are GOOD hip hop artists... which is why they are signed to more of a main stream record label...
its just like rock music theres a ton of "garage bands"... and they all suck otherwise they would have some sort of thing going, and everyonce in a while a few are good and get signed.
im also not a fan of old school rap i dont really like it at all.
also for you not to admit that these artists are very good at what they do is just wrong, and your just a hater.
you people think a rap artist is fake when he raps about his money and girls instead of something else which is just wrong.
and as for necro... i've only heard a few songs... his flow is nice but his lyrics are sick anyone who could listen to that shit on how he kills or talks about cancer and rape and stupid shit like that is just gay, and that type of shit gives white rappers a bad name.
if u think 50 is not sellin records ur fukin stupid...he sold 800,000+ in the 1st 4 days "get rich or die trying" got released...so dont talk unless u kno wut ur sayin
also, when i think of hip hop, i don't associate it's music with that of the larger attitudes out on todays mostly 'pop' rap circuit ( i won't name names, but you know what i mean)....when i think hip hop, i do associate an alternative lifestyle, but the music that it accompanies is on such a different level than that of "Nelly" or anything similar....thus, i don't listen to 'rap'...but i've got tons of hip hop cd's lying around...who would of thought....1/2 of radiohead's entire discography sits in my cd player, sharing space with 'soundbombing 1 &2' and some of 'the grouch'. ------ wewt.
if anyone watched the making of the band 2 on MTV with puff daddy and you remember that white kid who rhymed who didnt make the cut... well he got signed on a up and coming record label who signed a bunch of new artists.....
kurupt908 : eminem is up there i know he's white and the reason he sells 7-8 million records is because that otherwise he would be selling about 4-5 like his boy 50 cent.
if eminem came out rapping like 50 cent acting like 50 cent he would go 10 times platinum
a white guy whos rapping about the stuff 50 cent was is what everyone would want to see...
50 cent is on top of the game...
he's up there now selling about 4-5 million...
the only othe rappers who sell that much are nelly, ja rule and ludacris and those three i dont really consider real rappers just more of a pop music they make.
as for rappers who sell that much... theres only
eminem, 50 cent and jay-z who sell that many units.
...
another thing god's son was a good album... but it only sold 1 million... so nas is on the downfall.
i'm sorry, but all of the bling bling rappers are fake. they are completely fabricated pop stars who were essentially "made" by big record execs. they rap about cars and women, not because thats their lifestyle (its not), but because thats what sells. dont fool yourself into listening to that garbage and thinking its real.
the reason good underground artists dont get signed with big record companies is because rapping about reall issues doesnt sell albums to the mass populus. but like i said before, it all basically comes down to what your feelin at the moment.
i do like to listen to trick daddy or trina or luda or whatever if the situation is right (like at a party or something) but when i listen to music for myself i like to listen to somethng that enriches my life in some way. jay z and eminem, although both are very talented, just dont do it for me, and therefore i dont really enjoy theyre music.
if you like pop rap thats fine, i just think its silly that people really think that its real. youre just living a pipe dream that maybe someday you will have the cars and women that jada and beanie rap about.
and finally, big record companies dont look for skill. they look for what will sell records. its really not that hard to understand.
colin said it all. however, i do agree that 2pac is one of the greatest mcs ever. the only thing that sucks is that after the 7 day theory came out, all his recordings that came out afterwards were tampered/edited by his mom and they just got ruined. that is not how 2pac would have wanted it. don't believe me? listen to the bootlegs. the original bootlegs were better. also lets not forget people, if pac were alive he would not collaborate with nas or even let jay-z cover his songs. people are really trying to destroy his name, and bring down the quality of his music. im glad someone mentioned black thought though, i love the roots! there are a few exceptions in the hip-hip community but regardless of what you kids wanna think these "real" rappers are just pop stars. its all for their teeny bopper target audience (i.e. TRL)
ill listen to whatever makes sense and sounds good if these underground artists are talking about true life events and stuff like that why cant they make it sound good... i dunno i think its all garbage...
i dont even wanna talk about this no more...
no one is bringing or giving 2pac a bad name either...
@so dam sik - you obviously had no idea what 2pac stood for post all eyez on me. otherwise you wouldn't say "no one is bringing or giving 2pac a bad name." well... i could go on forever but to keep it short. nas thinks hes down with pac?? lol check out against all odds by 2pac, the whole thing with jay-z covering me and my girlfriend was obsurd. the sad part is some people don't even know thats a 2pac song. 2pac was NOT cool with jay-z. do your homework before you talk. biggie was cool with pac too right?? listen to the music, it speaks for itself
i know all those artists werent down with 2pac and the only reason you see all these artists callobing with 2pac is for the money... but whatever im a big fan of 2pac for many years i know the whole story and everything about him.
jay-z is a genious he gives people what they want... instead of saying oh im a real thug i make real music and i aint gonna go turn ship like some people said jay-z did.... man jay-z is making millions and the guy who makes "hip hop" is barley making a living.
"the reason they dont get exposure is because they arent that good... cause if they were... wouldnt dre sign them and make a few hot beats.... or the neptunes who have been making hit beats by the minute?"
lol. the neptunes make beats for britney, justin, nelly, odb, and mistikal for god's sake. fuck "hot beats", i need quality lyrical content.
in "Fuck friendz" , tupac clearly said "fuck jay z, he broke". jay-z isn't just "not down" w/ pac, ok? also, you should listen to some eminem songs, the lyrical content of them is pretty good now. he has a certain quality to his music that just wasn't there at the beginning of his career
i made kurupt908 a long ass time ago... because my screen name at the time was kurupt908...
but since i made a new one so dam sik.. i now made a new user name... if you look at both profiles they both look the same and my screen name is the same on both of them.
did'nt know that there are so many hip hop heads in the community.. but why are we arguing about the music.. just bump what you like and forget everyone else.. we all have different tastes when it comes to flow style, underground, pop.. bling bling, grimey/gangsta whateva. So just be happy and dont hate on the next man except ja rule.. hate on him all you want that cat is "candy"
I agree with Max. Just say who you think is good and forget what other people say. The topic isnt asking for you to debate who is better than who, just who YOU think are some of the best MC's. If I were to follow in the example of everyone else here, I'd just say that Rap sucks, and you should all listen to something else. But since I respect your taste in music, Im just going to watch you guys flame each other. It makes for great comedy.
so dam sik - here are some songs you should download:
zion i - you know da drill cunninlynguists - linguistics rjd2 - aesop rock - daylight atmosphere - the modern mans hustle blackalicious - do this my way cannibol ox - the f word de la soul - trying people el-p - delorean handsome boy modeling school - the truth (with j-live) illogic - favorite things infectious organisms - 23rd psalm jurassic five - jurass finish first josh martinez - rainy day masterminds - stone planet mf grimm - landslide oddjobs - sleep walk prefuse 73 - black list sage francis - inhereited scars saul williams - tao of now sole - year of the $Exxxx $Ymbol the coup - heven tonight the mission - its the... the roots - swept away
aight, if you cant find something in there that you like, god help you.
the whole heiroglyphics crew (del, a-plus, pep love, casual, etc.) esoteric acrobatic jurrasic 5 the roots mos def common slug (atmosphere) dilated peoples swollen members de la soul
yo while i was at universal i saw on ebay that Jay-z is auctioning off 2 front row concert tickets to his madison square garden performance. If u wanna bid on it check out the site: cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI...gory=16122 or www.universalmusicstore.com Cop it
^ atmosphere is not an MC, it is a "group" (MC & DJ). Slug is the MC. and yes, he is good. and the people that put RJD2, he is a DJ not an MC. and yes, he is good also. but i do agree with most of the backpackers picks on here. i also agree with liqachu, quit bringing back year old threads! sheesh.
Proverbs 19:96 -- Custo helps those who help themselves... use Google
pigeon john(infact the whole la symphony), k-os, special ed, dr octagon.
- rush68 -"magisterofmayhem: if i hear one more word about tap shoes i'm going to blow my brains out Magic6###: with what? magisterofmayhem: a lawnmower Magic6###: hehe "-
you people don't half go on, I think you all need to listen to some rock and enless i am mistaken you all missed the most greatest MC of all time which is MC HAMMER baby!
"I am reading a lot about rappers at the hip hop music website which is also got news and history and stuff... "
Spammer, spammer....
But as long as we're practicing thread necromancy, I'll punch a few tips... lists are silly, but here's who I listen to now, mixed in with who I hold sacred in the hip hop game.
Talib Kweli (please come back to the real sh.t) De La Slum Village.... especially J Dilla Little Brother J Live Asheru Outkast --- Don't laugh... Elevators is in muh brain forever Brand Nubian (Sadat X, my namesake) I'll give Geto Boys a nod just for My Mind Playin Tricks on Me and that album cover with Bushwick Bill in the gurney.
Geto Boys ain't down only with "My Mind Playin Tricks". gimme a a break. Scarface is one of the greatest - any face song has got much more soul than Kweli's.
