- Apr 4th, 2008
- greg
- I was taking a coulpe of kids home and one of them asked me, "Coach, who's the best rapper right now, Little Wayne, or Cassidy?" It really caught me off guard, because i definitely wouldn't have considered either one of them in my top 100. Heck, I personally know MC's that are better than them cats. Not trying to offend anyone, but dang, I remember when that question would have spawned answers like, Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, or Biggie and Pac, or Common and Black Thought. Is this what we've come to? That just lets me know that we have a responsibility to re-teach the youth hip hop from it's very start.
- Apr 4th, 2008
- FLACA
- You know I totally agree wit'cha... However, lets not lose sight that music (no matter if we agree or not with the lyrical content) speaks to its own audience.
- May 17th, 2008
- J C II
- The kids would have been met with a question from me.....Best rapper in what sense? Record sales? Lyrics? Social content? Rhyme style? Lil Wayne used to suck really bad! He has come a long way. He is just doing what is hot and that kinda takes away from the talent that he does have. I dont listen to music for lyrical content. I just want it to sound good and not talk about sellin crack and shootin folk cuz well, these days these kids dont have the guidance needed to accept this stuff for what it is, entertainment...and the radio doesn't have the balance it had when we were coming up. We heard Krs-1, PE, Sir Mix-a-Lot, 2 live crew, ice t, ghetto boys, hammer, rob bass, kilo, shy d, rodney o and joe cooley, chubb rock, master ace, utfo, boogie boys, cool j, Eight ball and MJG, ghetto boys, Just Ice....there was a balance now you just hear gansta! That is all these kids know. Dayum i went back......Oma bout to pull out my old cassets right now. JJ Fadd!
- May 22nd, 2008
- greg
- yeah man, you got me out here bouncing around like Scoob and Scrap lover. My high top fade was special. But seriously, that's a good point. Good lyricism probably sounds like a foreign language to the kids of today because they aren't exposed to it much.
- Jul 21st, 2008
- e-tical
- um for emcee's recently getting known (other than there home towns) check Therapy (from ABs & Smile Rays) Akrobatik is pretty nice but one of my favs of all time is Ghostface
- Feb 3rd, 2009
- Dj G.L.I.
- as JC II stated in which sense are we rating the best at? in my opinion it would be a combination of these criteria (in no particular order) LYRICS, RECORD SALES, STYLE & STAGE PRESENCE here are a few of the contemporary EMCEE'S who embody all of these traits---- L.L. COOL J, LUDACRIS & BUSTA RHYMES there are more--but these are a few of my favorites
- Feb 24th, 2009
- K.U.P
- OMG. You know i used to listen to a lot of music and know i stick with the basics. I live in louisian and I know good and hell well I wouldnt even put lil wayne in the top 10000000000000. He is selling dont get me wrong but Common, Talib Kweli, Q-tip, Mos Def, Travis From Gym Class Heroes? I mean there is no comp with wayne or any of them. You see when he did the song with little brother the only word out of his mouth was like. he was trying to make metaphors to match them and wasnt even close. The best are the ones who can do it and hold there own like de la soul. Common. Q-tip. Phife. i mean these dudes wont hold water with any of them and they know it. Im a low level mc and when i meet wayne in valet he was richer than i was but he was giving me a card saying we need to do work. I said no. I cant rap about wat u rap about i like meaning i like content i like music not the money. anyone who puts him in the top 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 needs to listen to him and understand that if he is conforming to the times with wat he says there are a ton of people who can say lick me like a lolly pop or sing a song called a milli. Sorry I have to say common. hands down. he dont sell like him but wayne cassidy jay or anyone cant compare to what he says and what Common means.
- Feb 26th, 2009
- greg
- I try to respect everyone's opinion. I just don't see how people justify this stuff. Take music out of it. Let's look at dog poo for instance. Whether it's white, brown, green or that gross looking tan color, it's still poo. So, just because people some people like it and think it's cool, you have to remember that it's still excrement. And to answer the question in your mind: Yes, I am certified to say what is and isn't crap. Case and point: Would you want your children to spend a mint on cars, rims and jewelry? Would you want your children to abuse and rap about drug selling/using? Would you be ok if your mother was a Hoe, and then shamelessly publicized it? Would you be cool with your father being a shiny flossy pimp? If you answer yes to those questions, you are absolved from this argument. Please seek help ASAP. Spiritual and phsycological counseling is needed for you. Maybe you should also look up the Willie Lynch "How to make a Slave" doctrine. If you said no to those questions, you probably understand my point. Right is right and wrong is wrong.
- Mar 8th, 2009
- The Juice
- back to the original subject. I would like to throw Phonte from "Little Brother" into the mix. That dude is serious!
- Apr 3rd, 2009
- Politik
- I would say that your right... But thats we need new young hip hop artist to come out in order to filter out some of the garbage thats out there like real emcees the reason why the said those two b/c there the ones in the spot light right now as well as soulja boy and all the others... If you go to foot locker and all the have is pink shoes for sale eventually after a matter of time people are going to be wearing pink shoes cause thats all there putting out there... But i feel like i'm the best underground artist so check me out www.myspace.com/politikhiphop... good topic...
- Jun 3rd, 2010
- The Surrealist Idealist
What about GURU (RIP) y'all? His shit was deep and almost too sincere in that one could tell that he was dealing with some issues with his own life. Like you Greg, I coach and this past year I introduced many of my Seattle youngins to GangStarr. They felt it to the fullest. Of course, we did debate as to whether or not Lil Wayne was hot and I lost out. Man those kids love Lil Wayne, but as long as the love is balanced with the REAL from GURU, Mos, Talib, Ishmael Butterfly, GofGab, etc., they'll be alright! I just want them to listen.
And lyricial content is crucial for an MC and most of these guys are poets to the fullest degree. Ya, good production and DJs are essential to the game, but without the lyrics, the poetry, we only have a beat. While you can apply what you will to that beat, e.g. deep throught, your own lyrics, etc., it's the poetry that drove the music that is hip-hop that is the social movement; in it's original form: 2 T-Tables and A Mic! The lyrical content in Edutainment by BDP changed thousands of lives, including mine.
In fact, if I hadn't paid attention the lyrical content in hip-hop, I probably wouldn't have read A People's History of the United States and I know that I wouldn't be the couthful person that I am today. MCs and Hip-Hop alike expanded my mental boundaries, so I could escape my physcial ones; in a small-town, in Kansas, possessed by decades of ignorance, bigotry, racism, hatred, poverty, et. all. So, with respect to that, I say if the MC delivers poetry, if he or she gets deep, or simply stands up for a cause, I'm with them and will always show my respect.
So, maybe the "best" MC doesn't matter in a collective cause. Break Bread.