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1: J. COLE – Speaking of a generation, this emcee is far from unlikely. He’s not alone. Drake, Future, French Montana, Ye, and Big Krit are all in for the ride. Curren$y, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick, Schoolboy Q, and 2 Chains are all there. Every time I hear Rae Sremmurd, I instantly think of Kriss Kross. In 2015, we are in a different era. Hip Hop is in a new place. We need a few more female emcees, and ol skool or legendary emcees keep dropping new projects. Who’s to say Jay Z won’t drop another classic? Is Nas not about to bang with yet another knowledge-ridden masterpiece? We anticipate Lil Wayne’s “Carter V” highly.
I’m fiending for some new Luda or DMX. Fuck it,
what would I not give for a new Redman and Method Man album?”
I’ve been killing the last two Ghostface albums, “Twelve Reasons To Die” and “36 Seasons.” I’m fiending for some new Luda or DMX. What would I not give for a new Redman and Method Man album? A new Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Meanwhile, the one thing we can’t do is miss out on what’s happening when we don’t get it. J. Cole is number one on this list because he puts the game back where it belongs. I’m a conscious emcee with a street edge. Most of what I listen to is deliberate, like Mos Def, aka Yasiin Bey, Talib Kweli, Common, Dead Prez, 2Pac, Nas, The Roots, the old Kanye, Ice Cube, Immortal Technique or…
His music is unexpectedly dark, which I like. After hearing all the hard stuff, vibing to the party and gangsta shit I throw in a laid back CD that speaks to the soul…”
I’m a civil rights kind of thinker. So obviously, the moment I heard “Cold World,” “Born Sinner,” and “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” I was sold. After checking all the artists, I played J. Cole just a little more because it has that rawness and a bit of pain. His music is unexpectedly dark, which I like. After hearing all the hard stuff, vibing to the party and gangsta shit, I throw in a laid-back CD that speaks to the soul in an uplifting way—letting the listener have hope and inspiration like what you’d get if you popped in a Bob Marley album or a Burning Spear joint. J. Cole takes the cake on this one. He’s the most excellent new cat on the strip.
2: JEEZY – I keep repeating how we live in a different time. The top 5 emcees were Biggie, Snoop, Jay Z, Tupac, and Nas. Now, Nicki Minaj stands as the first female to be named on a top 5 emcee list. What’s even more; is we have legends like T. I., Drake, Lil Wayne, and Kendrick who deserve a spot… at the top. We have dope emcees like Jadakiss and Styles P, representing the hood with charisma and grit. What about Wu-Tang? You can’t forget them. However, Snap came. Before you knew it, Trap became the shit, and the entire focus shifted. Now we have East Coast emcees rapping over Trap and Drill beats.
So many dope emcees will be passed over if we skip to this new era.”
It became challenging to name the top 5 emcees because a new generation has arrived with its own. Ultimate 5 hardest, top 5 most lyrical, top 5 wealthiest, top 5 old schools, or top 5 conscious, you name it. When we split it up today, emcees like J. Cole filter to the top. We pass over many dope emcees when we include this 2015 era. Hip Hop is at that point. It’s comforting to see that if Nas, Snoop, Luda, Jay Z, 50, or Styles were to fall back, we would still have a hand full of emcees holding it down. That’s pretty good for the Kulture. Jeezy’s come a long way. He’s among the best of the best. I would liken him to The Game.
I cannot stress enough that my most fabulous emcee is Rakim. Every true emcee knows to get on Biggie, Nas, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Tupac, DMX, or Snoop Dogg and them. One of the fundamentals of becoming a good rapper or emcee is knowing the pioneers who laid the foundation—those who paved the way for your generation. Whether you like Chicago’s Drill or Down South’s Trap, the East Coast’s Boom Bap, or the West Coast’s G-Funk, you must know the key emcees. Right now, Jeezy is among the blameless pioneers of Hip Hop. Since the Kulture is heavy in the South, it’s only fitting that he appears on this top ten list.
3: EMINEM – I don’t think many emcees can rap better than this legend. I know. He’s white. Some say white guys jack black genres. That’s the narrative. It’s racist and unfair, but Em reps Detroit. Also, I know many ol skool Hip Hop heads who know their history. Eminem does not take from the legends who paved the way – Dr. Dre, Rakim, Snoop Dogg, MC Lyte, Too Short, EPMD, E40, Scarface, Salt N Peppa, A Tribe Called Quest, Ice T, Outkast, Tupac, Lauren Hill, Biggie, Ice Cube, Nas, Busta Rhymes, LOX, Queen Latifah, Mobb Deep, DMX, Jay Z, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Will Smith and the list goes on. Em doesn’t take from them.
We have many legends from the East to West, North to South, and even outside the US in places like Canada, the UK, Africa, and France. Em being white, has nothing to take from anyone out there. Em does not even rap on the same topics the other rappers rap about. He has a rags-to-riches story but does not address issues like racism, surviving the system, police brutality, or poverty. He’s not rapping about civil rights, womanizing, or selling drugs. Lord Jamar once said Em gets a pass on the corporate level because he’s caucasian. Surprisingly, in Europe and Asia, their top rappers are nothing close to black men.
Plus, he has sold more records than any rapper when we talk about album sales. Will Smith sold a shit load, Tupac sold a shit load, Snoop Dogg sold…“
Em raps about relationships, decision-making, personal demons, celebrities, and dual personalities. These are general topics that anyone can understand. Em’s energy resonates instantly. Like the many great emcees before him and those in his time until the Snap and Trap era. Eminem has remained consistent. Plus, he has sold more records than any rapper when we talk about album sales. Will Smith sold a shit load, Tupac sold a shit load, Snoop Dogg sold a heap, and so did B. I. G. Since this list is about the emcees who are killing it right now, I’ll have to say Eminem is among the most excellent rappers out there.
4: NICKI MINAJ – Every female hiphoppa wants to see a female at the top. Sadly, the streets can’t hand those out. We don’t have enough female emcees in the top ten. Women have to try. Ladies have to step up and claim that. There used to be a time when we had more women in the game. Monie Love put Britain on the map when Queen Latifah made her bones. We’ve simultaneously had Roxanne Shante, Left Eye, Da Brat, Queen Pen, MC Lyte, Lady of Rage, and Salt-N-Pepa. Those were the times when sisters put pen to paper and wrote intricate prose when young ladies stepped on the stoop to spit with the fellas.
Yes, Iggy is a close competitor but when the hood listens, it’s not hearing that hood shit from Iggy. Yet so, Nicki is still the badder chick on stage.”
That Amil type of emcee, that Rah Digga cloth. Like Big Krit asked, “what happened to the soul food?” What happened to the females in our Kulture? Our women are distracted with “tell all” books instead of holding them down on the mic. As the years go by, many have embraced Reality TV. Lauryn Hill pushed back in ’98 with “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” while Lil Kim and Foxy Brown came, saw, and conquered. E. V. E. held the Ruff Ryders. Remember when multiple females rocked the stage in the same era? Back when Hip Hop was still considered “male-dominated,” – every crew needed the first lady.
Missy, Trina, Lil Mama, Mia X, Remy Ma, Vita …and then, Khia with “My Neck, My Back”…and then, silence. It seemed the female emcee was no more. We went from Yo-Yo to Charlie Baltimore. Right now, in 2015, Nicki Minaj sits on the thrown. She delivers new perspectives on the female experience. She’s holding Young Money. Yes, Iggy is a close competitor, but when the hood listens, it’s not hearing that hood shit from Iggy. Yet so, Nicki is still the badder chick on stage. In this hip-hop era, the game needs more hood female emcees. Today’s selfie-taking, self-idolizing entrepreneur-ess needs to spit that old hood poetry.
5: BIG K. R. I. T – This is where the list gets interesting! Here is a new skool emcee with respect of ol skool heads. Some might ask, if him, why not Schoolboy Q, Tyga, or Rich Homie Quan? They’re spitting fire too! Others might ask, well, why not Rick Ross or Meek Mill? What about A$AP Rocky or 2 Chains? All these artists are great for the game. The new skool is bubbling with dope emcees not on this list! That’s assuming we agree that Jay Z, Nas Bun B, E40, Too Short, or any of those top 90s emcees are on the Hall of Fame level. If this list were longer, you would see more of your favorite rappers in the top 20 or 50.
Do you disagree? Many rappers have a great flow, clever lyricism, and a good rep. We’re talking about the newest of the new and those who were not so hot in the old school but have transitioned pretty well in this era. Krit, Kendrick, and Schoolboy Q have that untarnished essence. If Krit keeps this up, he could run the game. Pound for pound lyrically, Rick Ross would come in heavy. No matter what, Ross can spit without a doubt—why K. R. I. T would come in this high on my top ten when Ross lands in my top 20 would be all the other qualifications that combine to make an emcee truly embraced on all levels.
When it comes to Ol Skool acceptance, it’s all about where an emcee came from, what they did before rap and what the music sounds like.”
You don’t like my order. Many emcees came into the game via an already accepted slew of mixtapes. These guys had already drawn a substantial crowd like Drake or Meek Mill before getting a record deal. When it comes to old-school acceptance, it’s all about where an emcee came from, what they did before rap, and what the music sounds like. The emcee may not be a commercial hit, but the hood may love him or her because the hood chooses what’s real. Besides, Hip Hop is hood music first before it becomes commercial. “Now they wanna hear a country nigga rap.” That’s what BIG Krit is saying out here. *
TO BE CONTINUED…
