Top 10 rappers of all time?

[WebGem]

and put them in order. Do your top 10 as the 10 you think are the best overall. Not your 10 favorite rappers to listen to.

Yes it's an opinionated question, so give your opinionated answer. No there's no wrong answer, but it'll be funny to those of us who actually understand hip hop to see how awful some lists are.

1. Rakim
2. Jay-Z
3. Biggie
4. KRS-One
5. Nas
6. Big L
7. Pac
8. Eazy E
9. Big Pun
10. Eminem

Remember that this isn't name your favorite rappers in order, because if that were the case Nas, Eazy E and Big L would be my top 3 and neither are in the top 3.

[KurtCobain]

Originally Posted by luv

I never saw them rape people, so I couldn't possibly rank that.

Then go with other people's opinions then, sheesh!

[Backwards Masking]

Originally Posted by luv

It's a little more memorable when a white guy gives the middle finger to "the man" I guess.

Uh, Marshall Mathers isn't more memorable because it's a white guy, it's more memorable cause it's the most controverisal (and IMO the best) rap record I have ever heard. Now THAT quote is TRULY racist!

[luv]

Originally Posted by Backwards Masking

Uh, Marshall Mathers isn't more memorable because it's a white guy, it's more memorable cause it's the most controverisal (and IMO the best) rap record I have ever heard. Now THAT quote is TRULY racist!

You think it would have been just as memorable if a black guy was rapping about the same thing?

[Backwards Masking]

Originally Posted by luv

You think it would have been just as memorable if a black guy was rapping about the same thing?

Of course!

"i don't give a fuck if this chick was my own mother i'd still fuck her with no rubber and have a new son and a new brother at the same time and just say
that it ain't mine. What's my name?"

Again, that record was phenomenal beacuse it was phenomenal. Totally disagree with you here.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Backwards Masking

Of course!

"i don't give a fuck if this chick was my own mother i'd still fuck her with no rubber and have a new son and a new brother at the same time and just say
that it ain't mine. What's my name?"

Again, that record was phenomenal beacuse it was phenomenal. Totally disagree with you here.

Oh, I agree that it was phenomenal in it's own right. I just think it was more publicly recognized and controversial because it was a white guy rapping the lyrics.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by Backwards Masking

Uh, Marshall Mathers isn't more memorable because it's a white guy,

youre wrong...

yes, mathers is phenominal on his own...but to say he isnt even a little more special cuz he was a white kid is naive at best.

[Backwards Masking]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

youre wrong...

yes, mathers is phenominal on his own...but to say he isnt even a little more special cuz he was a white kid is naive at best.

It helped with his POPULARITY, I''m not arguing that. He isn't more special beacuse he's white, YOU'RE wrong. He IS more popular, but the record would have been just as phenomenal had it been written word for word and note by note by an unknown, sold less than a hundred copies and vanished into obscurity. Popularity and Sales DO NOT equal talent or greatness. Talent and greatness can be unheard of just as easily as garbage can sell 10 million copies.

[Backwards Masking]

Measuring the artistic merit or "specialness" of any work of art based on pupularity and sales is naive at best.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Backwards Masking

It helped with his POPULARITY, I''m not arguing that. He isn't more special beacuse he's white, YOU'RE wrong. He IS more popular, but the record would have been just as phenomenal had it been written word for word and note by note by an unknown, sold less than a hundred copies and vanished into obscurity. Popularity and Sales DO NOT equal talent or greatness. Talent and greatness can be unheard of just as easily as garbage can sell 10 million copies.

You originally asked about controversial, but then changed to memorable. If he only sold a few hundred copies and vanished into obscurity, then you probably wouldn't have been asking about anything it.

[Backwards Masking]

Originally Posted by luv

You originally asked about controversial, but then changed to memorable. If he only sold a few hundred copies and vanished into obscurity, then you probably wouldn't have been asking about anything it.

Doesn't mean it wouldn't still have been a great record. Would I have listed it if I had never heard it. Absolutely not. But it STILL would be the best rap record even sitting in somebody's basement collecting dust. And that would not have happened just because a black unknown wrote it. That record was good enough that osburity was not an option. It probably would not have sold nearly as many copies or been as popular (I admitted that). It still would be my favorite rap record of all time. I was kidding before with the racist remarks.

[KurtCobain]

This whole thread has been racist and reported.

[Ming the Merciless]

wrong again...He was a breakthrough artist....Its the same as in other areas..(Obama 1st black president....Black Athletes etc)....To ignore the racial context of Marshal mathers and how that affected his life and music is absurd......its like political correctness gone horribly wrong....it IS more special that he is white....theres quite a fewo better rappers/freestylers than him...As a matter of fact the only reason you are so adamant about this is precisely BECAUSE he is white and popular....Ironic eh?

[Backwards Masking]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

wrong again...He was a breakthrough artist....Its the same as in other areas..(Obama 1st black president....Black Athletes etc)....To ignore the racial context of Marshal mathers and how that affected his life and music is absurd......its like political correctness gone horribly wrong....it IS more special that he is white....theres quite a fewo better rappers/freestylers than him...As a matter of fact the only reason you are so adamant about this is precisely BECAUSE he is white and popular....Ironic eh?

Actually The Slim Shady LP came out BEFORE the Marshall Mathers LP.

Go back and read my posts I've admitted TWICE that the record would not have been as popular were he black. I think if he WERE black it would have been every bit as good a record. THAT'S ALL I SAID. Sheesh.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by Backwards Masking

Go back and read my posts I've admitted TWICE that the record would not have been as popular were he black. I think if he WERE black it would have been every bit as good a record. THAT'S ALL I SAID. Sheesh.

Well , although 'good' is a fairly subjective word, I disagree. To me, how 'good' a record is can depend on a number of contextual issues. For example, a record like Led Zeppelin I or Black Sabbath Paranoid. If you listen to those records, (most people with an ear for music) you will think....wow that is 'good.' But then you look at the DATE and you see they were written and produced in like 1968.....over 40 ****ing years ago....And you go...Holy Shit! For 1968 that is GODLY. Context matters.....Its the Same with Eminem.....You listen to him and you think...That kid is good...But then you understand the context of his music, being a white kid in detroit, one of the 1st successful white rappers...and it makes it BETTER.

Of course its just an opnion...I cant argue about your own definition of 'good.' I can only give you MINE. And in my world, context of music is important..

Another example is Lyrics Born...I listened to it, and immediately liked it...But then later on someone told me he was Japanese....it blew my mind. The context of it changed and it became even better to me. More special and unique.

Time, Place, Race, Gender, Sexuality....Politics .....Music has a context and to me that is an important aspect of it. Hip Hop is a culture.....




Yet another example is Bad Brains:



To ignore that they were black, rastfarians with dreads playing the hardest punk rock ever seen....would be....crazy. To ignore their blackness would be a shame and wouldnt paint the entire picture...and yes their music is better because theyre black rastas.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Dirt Nasty:

You can't get any sloppier or shittier than that.