[jennthebenn]

2pac is crazily overrated, but that happens from product saturation. they went up to like makiveli 56 or some stupid shit. makes me sick when people put him number 1 greatest mc ever. he was versatile as hell, had a commanding voice, influential flow, and yeah, an incredible work ethic, but his beat selection was not great and once you've heard 5 2pac records, you've heard what you need, pretty much. but he was murdered...hip hop martyr. same with biggie, who had the art of mcing down MUCH better. and even then he's not my top 10.
top 10 favorite mcs (not best; two different things entirely)
1. redman--humorous, streetwise, instantly recognizable; i give a fuck about failed fox sitcoms and deodorant commercials.
2. nas--when people talk about nas falling off...you mean with beats, right? 'cause he can't ever hope to match illmatic's sound ever. how many can? you had premier, large pro, pete rock, each of them hitting on every cylinder for this teenager out of qb no one outside that borough knew. lyrically? he's never fallen off. ever ever ever.
3. big pun--the deceased rapper i'd bring back, if given a choice by the genie of massive improbability. amazing multisyllabic rhymes that made sense within the song, great willingness to rap over any kind of music style (and fit right in).
4. slick rick--the great adventures of.. is bona fide classic. teach it in MC 101. great stories told perfectly. maybe the most recognizable voice in hip hop ever.
5. krs-one--the mc i'd most love to see live. he's insufferable about "owning" the cultural aspect of hip hop, provincial to a fault so big new york should start worrying about earthquakes, but wrote the second greatest diss song ever, and those bdp albums are must-listens. intelligent boom-bap.
6. grand puba--from brand nubian. a great group with no weak spots, but puba stood out as the most diverse. will absolutely sneak up on you and leave your mouth open with his wordplay. one for all is the masterpiece.
7. ill bill--raps about drugs, guns, bitches, death, gore, government, with breathtaking flow and wordplay. all of nonphixion are great...bill is just the illest.
8. aesop rock--does the whole mumbly-joe word salad shit better than el-p these days. tremendous voice to deliver lyrics that more often than not are so clever and sharp you could gut a fish with just the paper they're written on.
9. rakim--most influential mc of all time, has to be. made everyone rhyme slower and more precise. his deliberate style was born of studying the sax as a youngster. as a bragging battler--A+; as a storytelling mc--A+. often overrode the beats, which really became a detriment in later years.
10. ice cube--at his best, the best. still can put good verses together, but the amerikkkas most wanted/death certificate era cube was not being touched. lots of rappers have controversial songs that are misogynistic, racist, violent and nihilistic, but most of them arent' that special. cube was. was. barbershop, y'all.



the game had some really good tracks on his first album, but too much filler! and stop the namedropping, man. tell us more about you and less who you know. 50 cent and gunit? weak. i dont' know who mop need to beat up to get out of their deal, but do it, please. don't end up like mobb deep.

mr. lif's new one is really good, for the def jux fans. it's not better than i, phantom though. that's still the best lif.

hmm, anything else? yeah, if you haven't heard ll's "radio" and you like hip hop, get that. relentless rhyming! jay-z is overrated, but the blueprint IS worth the hype. the new apathy is great. i actually like the whole jmt/aotp/babygrande camp stuff. they're like perpetual second tier under def jux in perception, though.