FOUNDATION’S FINEST 20 MC’S OF ALL TIME
I feel that when discussing the top MC’s of all time there should be four guys that are automatically at the top. I don’t know if anyone ever watched Wheel of Fortune, but eventually what they did was remove R S T L N and E from the available letters to guess because they were so common in every phrase. I say this to say that I believe that 2 Pac, Biggie, Nas, and Jay-Z should be automatically in the top four. This list has been created based off lyrics, delivery, flow diversity, content, wordplay, voice, and creativity.
1) Biggie - Yes, I am making Biggie number 1. His voice could induce urgency and security at the same time. Story telling was phenomenal, delivery was 2nd to none, and I can not think of one Biggie song I have heard that was garbage. His worst track is better then 90% of today’s rappers best tracks.
2) 2 Pac - Close 2nd to Biggie. Pac was a revolutionary. His ability to bring you to a place emotionally was special. If you were sad, happy, angry, grieving, or whatever, there is a Pac song that could assist you in processing that emotion. There was no body better at doing this besides 2 Pac.
3) Jay-Z - Jay-Z the hit maker. Longevity, flow, voice, lyrics, delivery, diversity, wordplay, Jay-Z has it all. The ONLY reason Jay is 3rd to me is because I think Big’s voice trumps Jay’s and Pac’s emotional inducing music had more of an impact. After that though, Jay is above everybody. Jay-Z had the ultimate swagger and the whole world believed it.
4) Nas - Prophet. Street poet. Jay-Z is to Biggie what Nas is to 2 Pac. Illmatic brought the east back in 1994. The smooth flow, lyrical prowess, and hypnotizing stories has had us loving Nas for over 15 years now. Jay trumps Nas lyrically to me though. Even though I think Nas won the battle with Jay, I still have Jay above Nas, sorry to all you Nas fans!!
5) Kool G Rap - The 1st realest gangsta rapper to me. G Rap was ahead of the times. His rhyme schemes were so complex for the times that if any of the rappers said half the things he said that would be crowning these fools out here.
6) Big Daddy Kane This guys delivery was out of control. To me it is hard to compare him to G Rap since they had a different style. At the time Kane was the best at doing what it was he did. Nobody had his style, he was an original.
7) Jada Kiss The punchline king. The priceless voice that is so clutch that it almost doesn’t matter what he says, but he has always said something. Jada Kiss is the streets and if he never changes his content it will not matter because he is the best at representing it.
Big Pun Unbelievable MC. Delivery was insane. Pun was an MC’s MC. The way Pun masterfully molded words together was crazy. If you dis-agree please just listen to The Dream Shatterer . Lyrical monster.
9) Rakim Know the Ledge. Paid in Full. I ain’t no joke. Hits people. Lyrical, feel good hits. Add Rakim’s vicious wordplay, delivery, and diversity and you have “The God”. Many of you young buck’s need to step ya game’s up and know where rap is coming from.
10) Eminem I didn’t like Em when I first heard him. Then I heard all the mixtapes and freestyles. Eminem is the number one battle rapper of all time. One of the most creative lyrically of all time. His voice can sometimes be annoying though. White, Black, Yellow, it doesn’t matter. Eminem is one of the greatest to do it of all time.
11) KRS-1 - The Teacher. Most MC’s create the gangsta persona, KRS deemed himself The Teacher. Awesome. KRS had a special and unique way of portraying what was happening in the ghetto’s of America without sounding too preachy. Add on his multiple styles that he could spit at you from verse to verse. Ghetto Blueprint, Criminal Minded, and the list goes on. Check them people.
12) Busta Rhymes - Busta is one of the most under rated MC’s of all time. Busta has a crazy catalog of hits and styles that many can not compete with. His rhyme schemes are so complex that I am sure it is difficult for today’s rap fans to even pick up on. Most MC’s who can create such vicious rhyme patterns have problems turning them into hits. Not Busta.
13) Scarface The REAL king of the south. Scarface is a lyrical monster and great story teller. Another rapper who can induce emotion. If you don’t know about Scarface you better ask somebody.
14) Big L - Harlem’s finest. Real swagger. Lyrical beast with a monster delivery. Wordplay was masterful. Big L passed before his time and we miss what could have been.
15) Black Thought - Another MC who I feel is completely under rated. His group unfortunately out shines his lyrical ability. I’ve always wanted to hear Black Thought over some Premier, Pharrell, and Timberland production. Black thought NEVER spits wack verses.
16) Snoop Dogg - The Dog Father. Doggy Style? Classic shit. Created his own flow and style. Freestyle game was crazy. Go back and listen to his verses on The Chronic and tell me he doesn’t belong on this list.
17) Ludacris - Hailing from Chicago, representing ATL, Ludacris has never let down with his creative and entertaining rhyme schemes. Ludacris is the #1 current MC in the South right now.
18) Andre 3000 - Outkast has been going strong for over 13 years. ATLiens is one of my favorite albums of all time. Andre has effectively switched Styles multiple times and pulled all of them off effectively.
19) Mos Def - A man of many styles. Ok ok, I know that he doesn’t have more then 2 albums which includes the Blackstar album. But there is also his mixtape which is 4 discs called “You, me, him, and her” which, in addition to his 2 albums, displays more styles then I can count on my fingers.
20) Ghostface Killah - The slang creator. Ghostface also created his own stlye which is important to me when talking about some of the greatest MC’s. There is nobody that ever sounded like GFK and there hasn’t been since.
That is Foundation’s 20 MC’s list! What’s yours?????
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OK, who in the world did this list??? First of all, how can you not have Canibus in this list, in the top 3 for that matter? Actually, lyrically, we’re talking no# 1. Also, how can you ave Snoop Dogg in here, and not have LL Cool J??? Are we using children of this era to do these lists, or are we using biased individuals? When we speak of top whatever lyricists, we’re not talking about record sales, we’re talking about LYRICS!!! Canibus is the best lyricist of all time. Not the best rapper or emcee, the best lyricist. Some of the other names on this list are very deserving and actually should be switched around a bit, but all in all, there were some emcees left out. Redman, Ras Kass, Chino XL, Royce Da 5′9, Skillz, Talib Kweli, Pharaoh Monch, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz even though he hasn’t been around for too long, but his lyrics are unquestionable…and that’s just to name a few. Come on, give credit where it’s due. Forget record sales, or who made the dance floor pack up, we’re talking about LYRICS!!!!!! Get it right!!! Atlantic City, NJ has spoke…SALAAM!!!!!!
Where is Cube???????
glad to see you acknowledged Slim Shady ( even though lately he’s lookin like Kyle Brady)
*shakin’ my head* First of all, are you REALLY listening and hearing Rakim? Why isn’t he at #1? Maybe you need to get more of his material and see what i’m talking about. Why do you think they call him the god? Personally, Biggie would make my top 10, but 2pac does not make a top 20 MC. As far as revolutionary, yeah, he comes from that type of b/g, but didn’t display it. Peeps didn’t start riding Pac’s dick until the east/west “beef”. Scarface is my peeps, but I don’t see him or Snoop as top 20 material. MOST of Snoop’s verses aren’t even his, so do your research. Better yet, notice how the content went sour post Death Row. Xzibit did a better verse on “Bitch Please” even w/ Dre producing it.
Why the hellz is LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Redman, Rass Kass, not on this list? I agree w/ Black Thought being highly underrated….the same way Redman is. Busta Rhymes? Dude has lost his way and is a rapper now…not an MC. As we say in the dancehall arena, Nas did a BIG TUNE when he dropped “Ether”, so how in the hellz can you say Jay Z is a better MC when Jay is a rapper also? Jay got killed in one blood-claat tune….LOL. Yuh MAD?! All Jay does is rap about money and clothes…first LP to present. He’s no different b/c he’s from NYC. I think you need to re-write this and have a Top 20 MCs and a different one that says Top 20 Rappers. Jay, Snoop, Luda, Jada, and Eminem are rappers…not MCs.
To get historical, Hip-Hop is an extension of Dancehall cullture. W/ that in mind, many of these rappers named need to be crossed out and have Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Merciless, Movado, Baby Cham, & Assassin added.
I’m over here crackin’ the f*** up. I know a few MCs who are gifted who would be doing the same. Matter of fact, I know a cat here locally that would snuff out a few of those in your top 10.
Here is Q the Question’s top 20, not in specific order, except for top 5
1.Nas
2.Ghostface
3.Jay-Z
4.Ice Cube
5.Eminem
6.2pac
7.AZ
8.Biggie
9.LL Cool J
10. Scarface
11.T.I.
12.Krs-One
13.Redman
14.Common
15.Talib Kweli
16.Styles P
17.Jadakiss
18.Big Pun
19.Kanye West
20. Snoop Dogg/Busta Rhymes
GREAT LIST !!!!!!!!
but nowadays, fuck a top 5, top 10 , top 20 (no offense B)
there are so many greats at so many different flows/styles/etc ….
anything less than TOP 50 will always have people hating and changing the list !!!!
this is my list in no specific order…….
01. 50 CENT (most consistent, most anticipated, best freestyles, $$$$ , and so on and so on)
02. JADAKISS (need i say more ???)
03. BIGGIE SMALLZ (NOTORIOUS B.I.G)
04. JAY - Z
05. LIL WAYNE
06. JUELZ SANTANA
07. WU - TANG
08. EMINEM
09. CAMRON
10. BUSTA RHYMES
11. GAME
12. JOE BUDDEN
13. JOELL ORTIZ
14. CANIBUS
15. ROYCE DA 5′9
16. BIG PUN
17. FAT JOE
18. GRAFH !!!!!!!!!
19. NAS
20. CORMEGA
21. SHAFT DA BONE
22. LLOYD BANKS
23. LL COOL J
24. SLICK RICK
25. MOBB DEEP
26. BEANIE SIGEL
27. PAPOOSE
28. BEASTIE BOYS
29. PUBLIC ENEMY
30. GANGSTARR
31. N.W.A
32. BLACKSHEEP
33. KOOL G. RAP
34. SNOOP DOGG
35. STYLES P
36. SHEEK LOUCH
37. SKILLZ (a.k.a MAD SKILLZ)
38. KANYE WEST
39. METHOD MAN
40. REDMAN
41. GHOSTFACE KILLAH
42. RAEKWON (DA CHEF)
43. THE GENIUS (a.k.a THE GZA)
44. BLACK MOON
45. SMIF n WESSON
46. RAKIM
47. KRS - ONE
48. TUPAC
49. DMX
50. CAPONE & N.O.R.E
51. SHYNE
52. FABOLOUS
53. STACK BUNDLES
54. UNCLE MURDA
55. UN PACHINO
IM SURE I FORGOT SOMEONE , BUT THESE ARE DEFINITLY MOST OF THE GREATS …..SO FAR !!!!!!!!!!
{whiteowl}
http://www.whiteowldropthat.com
I can’t hate on your list, the bottom line is you could ask 20 different people for their top 20 and get 20 different top 20’s. Nobody’s wrong, its all subjective. P.S. LL should be on the list.
D-Mizzy, I feel ya. On the contrary, and to put it in the words of KRS-ONE….”..some are just hopeless, thinking record sales make them the dopest”. This comes to mind when looking at Whiteowls list…LOL. Cracks me the hell up. These young cats think rappers who have these little “punch lines” are greats. Come on! Wake up dude. Look at the metaphors Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, and cats on that level dropped. Lil Wayne, and 50 damn sure ain’t droppin’ verses or any type of KNOWLEDGE like these cats do. But hey…that’s what happens when you’re more on that hot garbage that they are TRYING to call Hip-Hop. The rappers feel they always have to start beef w/ someone to get noticed instead of having TRUE SKILLS to make a name for themselves. Ignorance is easy for many, and easy to push to the masses. This is the reason why the “game” has changed and ignorance is put out. The “golden age” of Hip-Hop had more diversity and more messages. Of course there have always been a few ignorant ones back then, but the ART had far more integirty then. Now the DJ world is starting to suffer for a new breed of sellout cats who are tainting that art form. Mixtapes are a thing of the past. Now all we get are compilations w/ some faker who calls themselves a “DJ” who is no more than a talking jukebox and their club (clears throat)…”performance” is the same thing. What happened to your blends?
Take it from a DJ of 33 years pro, an all around artist, and a gifted musician who plays multiple instruments.
http://www.djkoolemdee.com
Contact me if you want to battle. LOL