Alright so I used Adobe Photoshop to create photo art for the rappers that I think are top 10. I’m a huge hiphop head, I’m an 80’s baby so I came up…. off of real hiphop not that bullshit that’s out now. I respect rappers with talent , that really put effort into their craft. Lyrics, flow, metaphors, delivery, content etc…. is what makes a emcee great IMO.
Alright so heres my list….
1.2pac
Alright, now this is a tough one because I want to put Nas #1 but fuck it. Pac was more than a rapper…he spit from the heart. His work was deeper than just coming up with hot rhymes. His passion and fire is unmatched. He rapped from the heart and touched on social / personal topics that modern rappers wouldn’t ever dear talk about.
2. Nas
Nasty nas is a genius on the mic. His debut classic Illmatic is amazing just from the standpoint that he was 18 when he wrote it, living in the projects during the crack era and he was an high school drop out and the rhymes he spit were so vivid and sharp…that today colleges have courses about the record. Even though IMO the lost tapes , stillmatic & god son were better records…many people see it as the greatest album in hiphop history. Nas is like a hyper realistic painter, His words paint a scene like no other
3. Jay-z
When I was younger I never liked Jay-z…I always wondered what people saw in him. But as I got older and started to have ups and down…I can relate to Jay. Hes brilliant, He drop many gems in his music, but in order to fully appreciate it, you have to really be a student of the art form. IMO jay could have been G.O.A.T if he choose to be more of an artist than a business man. But jay is about $ first and art 2nd. Tacks like “shiny suit theory” shows his brilliance. He always balance his albums to appeal to everybody, which is smart from a business standpoint but not necessarily an artistic standpoint. But hov is an admitted hustler and worth half a billie so whatever….But his work is very subtle and pure genius, I can see why hes where hes @ in life, dude has a deep understanding about society. Very intelligent man indeed.
4. Biggie
Biggie used to be my #3 but his music lacks substance. He never really talked about social issues or personal things but his flow, delivery and word play were innovative. Many NY rappers took from Biggie esp right after his death, He created the punchline era that came in the late 90s.. early 2000s. Plus biggie music was hot, IMO life after death was a little overrated but Big had enough impact to make the top five.
5. AZ
AZ is most hiphop fans most underrated emcee…IMO AZ should be in the top 5 even tho he didn’t sell the same amount of records as other top rappers. AZ is the total package and the he earned his spot in my top 5. I cant find any faults with his music. AZ remind me of Tim Duncan, consistent and one of the greatest, he gets overlooked for whatever reason, maybe it was just timing, he came out in 96, and the game was filled with dope rappers, so it was hard to stand out.
6. Ice Cube
I love old Cube from the 90s. Jeri curled Cube had America shook. His voice, content, delivery, lyrics were powerful. His style birthed tupac IMO, he was like a angry more aggressive chuck D. The reason why hes 6 is because I’m tired of dick riding Brooklyn lol, but seriously its because the second half is career was disappointing. Instead of talking about socially issues he went more into the gangsta element of rap and started to focus on making movies which is fine, but his music quality declined when he got heavy into acting.
7. Big L
Big L is up there lyrically with the best of them. He really pushed the punchline style of rap to a new level. Big L got lines that to this day cant be topped. Big L career was short and he didn’t have alot of content but real hiphop heads hold L high on their list of emcees.
8. Ghost Face
Ghost face IMO is definitely a top ten rapper and is my personal favorite Wu-Tang member. His story telling ability is right up there with nas. Ghost is one of the most consistent rappers of all time, honestly I cant remember a bad verse from ghost.
9. DMX
X remind me of pac alot, except X rap more about street life than social or political issues. X is a tortured artist that pours his heart and soul on tracks. Too bad his personal demons slowed his career down, but its never to late to come back.
10. Fabolous
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Many hiphop heads would argue about this pick but IMO fab deserves it ….His talent is up there with all the greats. He has classic mixtapes but no classic albums because he chose $ over art but the soul tape series was legendary IMO. Fab remind me of jayz, hes an very intelligent person, I wish he would drop more gems in his music and focus on making conscious records like he did on the soul tape series, because when he takes that route…his talent shines.
Alright so that’s my top ten and once again I used photoshop to create these….
John Spain Art 