Best Rappers Alive
 

if we have anyone that likes rap i got a good site for you :) http://www.datpiff.com good for mixtapes and finding music to download....:)

holee shit boss...amazing site...thanx a million for the headz up...

I've always enjoyed the spoken word talents of Bill Shatner.

...While I prefer listening to the renditions by Dennis Hopper.

But seriously...
...Lauryn Hill is probably the most talented MC in the world. I'll admit I don't listen to rap often, but between the Fugees and the astounding 'Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' album, I'd say she's one of if not the best rapper. Usually people rush to 2-Pac (Me Against the World was incredible) or Biggy, and they were both amazingly talented, but I feel like they often lacked the soul necessary to really deliver rhymes. Lauryn Hill has the soul to really be an iconic storyteller in hip hop and R&B.

The most overrated would absolutely be Jay-Z. He has no talent. He sells like no other, but he lacks any discernible style or presence. I didn't even like 'Reasonable Doubt'.

At present time, I am appreciating a lesser-known rapper that evokes the true sense of 'rhythm and poetry'. He is MF Doom, and I like his style.

Aesop Rock, hands down. Labor Days is still the only rap album I own (though I'm looking into changing that).

Aesop is quite cool.
http://www.myspace.com/aesoprockwins

Nas, LL Cool J, Jin tha MC

what what lauryn hill - seriously?
agree that aesop is good but since you only have one hip hop or rap album not really sure that we can trust your judgement... ;)

i like the old school rappers. like Phife Dawg from tribe called quest and absolutely think that Gift of Gab is brilliant but I think my favourite come from across the Atlantic - Roots Manuva, Rodney P and Mc Solaar do the trick for me.

Sure. Any reason she shouldn't be on there?

dunno just always considered her to be a singer performer rather than a rapper or mc...i mean she does write some lyrics and occasionally rap but she ain't no mos def!

Aesop Rock is amazing. I heard of him after I started listening to Atmosphere and Sage Francis - two of my favorite rappers and overall artists

Pigeon John, Tech N9ne, Jin, Ya Boy, The Living Legends, The Cunninglynguists, Westurn Union

i'd have to say q-tip, also of tribe called quest.

Mos def is really talented, but some of his stuff still feels manufactured.

Mike D, The King Ad Rock, MCA
Common
Mos Def
Jay-Z

That's a good point that I can't really counter :), but think of it this way: I'm much much much much MUCH much pickier about my rap than I am about my rock/folk/pop/alt-country to the point where only one out of 500 is a rap album, so whatever rap music I actually recommend has GOTTA be good.

Well, either that, or I'm a middle-aged woman with 13 cats and an appreciation for that nice, wholesome Will Smith and any similarly uninteresting rapper. I guess they'll just have to trust me.

I also like the small amount of Atmosphere that I've heard. And I'll count Beck now, too, because I'm desperate for credibility at this point.

I came in here to say that. Atta boy WK. Talib Kwali is pretty good too.

My personal favorite has to be GZA, especially his first album and Grandmasters with DJ Muggs.

Speaking of Muggs, I've always had a soft spot for Cypress Hill.

I've always been a fan of Everlast too, whether he was with House of Pain, by himself, or now with La Coka Nostra.

Jedi Mind Tricks' new album is amazing lyrically.

Immortal Technique is absolutely fantastic lyrically.

Aesop Rock is very good as well.

I like Clipse, but hearing how much coke they're selling gets a bit tired after a bit.

Most over-rated absolutely have to be 50 Cent, Nas and Jay-Z (I'd throw Biggie and Tupac in there too, but they're gone). Nas and Jay have both had good songs and albums, but have since become so generic and over-hyped that it's sad. 50 was all hype from the beginning. The only song I ever liked of his was "How To Rob".

I like Ludacris :sp....But I think its more for that fact that he doesn't seem to bother with the whole "group" thing, and he just does what he does and makes his $$$$.....but I do like some of his stuff FWIW...

-Will

Can't believe no one has mentioned Chuck D or Ice Cube.

...or Ice-T for that matter

Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, KRS-One, DMC & Jam Master Jay....

Representing the ladies....MC Lyte.

old school is still the best

shame on you all for no mentions of Chuck-D or KRSOne yet

Hey, I mentioned them.

And after re-reading the title of this thread I must, sadly, remove Jam Master Jay...RIP.

the Gza

That site is rubbish but it's nice to see a thread like this here.

I couldn't agree more. Listening to any of their albums is like playing the $100 guitars at a music shop - it all sounds so lifeless and devoid of anything evocative.

I wouldn't be bold enough to say they're of the best rappers alive but I'll definitely second those that mentioned:

Aesop Rock
Jedi Mind Tricks
Immortal Technique

and I'll add:
Jehst
El-P ("I'll Sleep When You're Dead" is phenomenal)
House Of Pain
La Coka Nostra
The Wu-Tang Clan (especially Ghostface and Gza)
Sway
...

Another addition worth considering for the top spot is Phi Life Cypher of the Pharcyde.

He is a lyricist that will amaze you more so than you have ever been before.

huh...

old school: rakim. where the hell is rakim above? is it possible that folk have already forgotten rakim-allah?

kool keith/dr octagon<=the finest hip hop record ever i think. kool keith would be among the greatest even had the ultramagnetics never happened. but they did.

micah 9 (from freestyel fellowship) is the charlie parker of freestyle.
you have to see em live.

those fine folk from saian supa crew (there are many great french rappers, but these folk are my favorites).

i want to mention poor righteous teachers too. i just like them alot.


i think hip hop is largely over. there are still alot of folk in the more or less underground doing cool things---technique-wise, brother ali and immortal technique are great but i dont listen to them much. battle mcs are in the main not that interesting to me, even though the battles are.

busdriver is excellent.

Atmosphere, Mos Def, Brother Ali, Busdriver, Aesop, Murs, Latyrx, Mr. Lif, and P.O.S. all getting multiple listens right now on my computer... they all have some really amazing stuff out there right now..

Any of these artists are very very worth looking into!!

RB above mentioned Kool Keith, and I second that. Dr. Octagon is one of a kind. I have a soft spot for Black Elvis, also.

And speaking of Freestyle Fellowship, Volume 10 (who frequently joined them on stage) produced my favorite rap album of all time: 'Hip-Hopera'. Talk about originality! Nothing else like it. Just off-the-wall nuts. Sometimes, when I'm in the right mood, it can bring tears to my eyes, make me laugh out loud and terrify me, which, I believe, is what all great art should be able to do.

Damn... I'm not really sure how I forgot KRS-One.



Small story.

A good friend of mine plays drums. He had a band going for a while... great live hip-hop group. Drums, bass, and piano with three MCs. Fucking amazing. So one night I'm sitting there with my girlfriend watching them preform and a guy walks in front of me and sits down in the seat next to me. It was KRS-One. Yep. I was fucking dumb founded. He leans over to me and says, "These guys are really fucking good." And just like that he walks up and stage and grabs a mic. And yeah... no one had any idea what to do. They just kept playing and he rocked the mic for the next half hour. I'm shaking just thinking about it.

27 replies before roachboy mentions Rakim? This thread has some issues but at least it's here...

I cringe at the Lauryn Hill mention, can't stand her.

Ludacris makes me puke. Garbage.

Who is Phi Life Cypher from The Pharcyde? He must be a replacement for one of the founding members...the last album I bought was "Plain Rap" and if he's on there I'll have to go back and check it out.

My vote for best of all time is Rakim, and while Biggie is overly commercialized he is still unbelievable...go back and listen to his verses and you're sure to be blown away with his flow and content...

World's King...great story by the way. I assume that was in a NYC club?

Oh, yes... KRS-One is a definite contender for one of the greatest.

Others to re-emphasize would be:

Chuck D. of Public Enemy

Eric B.

Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

Common

Nas

And the top spot would go to: Rakim

If we were to consider rap groups,
Greatest Rap groups as a whole because of the best rappers within:

Mobb Deep, A Tribe Called Quest , De La Soul, Outkast, Wu-Tang Clan

Oddly... Denver, Colorado.

Hurm... I like Ice Cube, Ice-T, and Everlast, and own stuff from all of them, but their rhymes are sometimes just... bad.

(insert obvious joke about "best rappers alive" being an oxymoron.)

Edan.

Simple as that. I haven't bought any rap that was made post 1998, but Edan is the shit. You can't fuck with it. Seriously. He goes from silly to serious from old school to new. Do yourself a favor and check him out. And give it a really good listen.

Be careful... I might not let you hug me ever again.

Snow.

Informer is my ringtone...