Which rapper do you think, old/new, best represents hip hop

[Wreck]

Whether that means legacy, respect, lyricism, or just the true definition of the hip hop & rap prototypical culture/music? Past or present.

I say 2pac, Nas Jay-Z, Rakim & Eminem top 5.

You can name 1-2, or top 5, top 10, etc. whatever works for you, but just curious.

[Wreck]

pac, biggie, em, dre and ice cube i guess ( NWA if a group counts as 1 )

Yeah a group can definitely count as one, so you're saying Pac, Big, Em, Dre (solo career I assume), & NWA.

[Man1x]

2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Diddy, Eminem, Kanye West, 50 Cent, & Kendrick Lamar eventually will. Those are the names most people know when talking about hip-hop. Others would be Drake, Lil Wayne, & Nicki, but fuck them. These aren't all in my top ten rappers list, some are.

[Wreck]

2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Diddy, Eminem, Kanye West, 50 Cent, & Kendrick Lamar eventually will. Those are the names most people know when talking about hip-hop. Others would be Drake, Lil Wayne, & Nicki, but fuck them. These aren't all in my top ten rappers list, some are.

I disagree, sorry, but

01. 50 Cent does nothing for hip hop that significantly. He's not lyrical, he doesn't make songs about real life topics like Nas or Pac did/do, & he's not even classified as a gangster rapper- he's half street, half pop.

02. Diddy is not hip hop. Great entrepreneur, good producer, shitty rapper, asshole of a person. Yeah he made Biggy big (pun not intended) but he's really not done much for the actual craft of the game/music.

03. Kanye's last album was great, & he's a great producer, & runs his own label, so he could eventually be in the conversation. Not yet though IMO.

04. Lil Wayne? Nicki Minaj? I like some of Wayne's songs I'll admit, but I'm sorry, that is not hip hop. It's rap, & Nicki Minaj is a pop-rap artist.

Kendrick Lamar, like Jay Electronica, could be great, I think these guys are super talented, also Black Hippy as a overall group as well, but they aren't there yet. Lamar is in the process of dropping his solo album debut, you can't put him in the conversation w/ all time greats. Maybe 8-10 years from now, down the line. Same w/ Electronica, who hasn't even released an album yet to this date.

[2GunzUp]

Eminem, 2pac, Nas, Jeezy, 50, Common

[Man1x]

2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Diddy, Eminem, Kanye West, 50 Cent, & Kendrick Lamar eventually will. Those are the names most people know when talking about hip-hop. Others would be Drake, Lil Wayne, & Nicki, but fuck them. These aren't all in my top ten rappers list, some are.

I disagree, sorry, but

01. 50 Cent does nothing for hip hop that significantly. He's not lyrical, he doesn't make songs about real life topics like Nas or Pac did/do, & he's not even classified as a gangster rapper- he's half street, half pop.

02. Diddy is not hip hop. Great entrepreneur, good producer, shitty rapper, asshole of a person. Yeah he made Biggy big (pun not intended) but he's really not done much for the actual craft of the game/music.

03. Kanye's last album was great, & he's a great producer, & runs his own label, so he could eventually be in the conversation. Not yet though IMO.

04. Lil Wayne? Nicki Minaj? I like some of Wayne's songs I'll admit, but I'm sorry, that is not hip hop. It's rap, & Nicki Minaj is a pop-rap artist.

Kendrick Lamar, like Jay Electronica, could be great, I think these guys are super talented, also Black Hippy as a overall group as well, but they aren't there yet. Lamar is in the process of dropping his solo album debut, you can't put him in the conversation w/ all time greats. Maybe 8-10 years from now, down the line. Same w/ Electronica, who hasn't even released an album yet to this date.

I thought this was a thread about who are the rappers most known in the general public. I really didn't read too much, so forgive me. I agree with some you're points but I am under the impression that they are invalid here. I may be wrong, so forgive me in advance. Also, I said Kendrick Lamar will eventually be there, I didn't say he was. I also understand Lil Wayne and Nicki are utter shit, never said they were good. Anyway, Kanye West has been around for a long while now, Diddy is an iconic figure whether he's shit and/or does nothing at all, and 50 Cent is shit now.

[Wreck]

2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Diddy, Eminem, Kanye West, 50 Cent, & Kendrick Lamar eventually will. Those are the names most people know when talking about hip-hop. Others would be Drake, Lil Wayne, & Nicki, but fuck them. These aren't all in my top ten rappers list, some are.

I disagree, sorry, but

01. 50 Cent does nothing for hip hop that significantly. He's not lyrical, he doesn't make songs about real life topics like Nas or Pac did/do, & he's not even classified as a gangster rapper- he's half street, half pop.

02. Diddy is not hip hop. Great entrepreneur, good producer, shitty rapper, asshole of a person. Yeah he made Biggy big (pun not intended) but he's really not done much for the actual craft of the game/music.

03. Kanye's last album was great, & he's a great producer, & runs his own label, so he could eventually be in the conversation. Not yet though IMO.

04. Lil Wayne? Nicki Minaj? I like some of Wayne's songs I'll admit, but I'm sorry, that is not hip hop. It's rap, & Nicki Minaj is a pop-rap artist.

Kendrick Lamar, like Jay Electronica, could be great, I think these guys are super talented, also Black Hippy as a overall group as well, but they aren't there yet. Lamar is in the process of dropping his solo album debut, you can't put him in the conversation w/ all time greats. Maybe 8-10 years from now, down the line. Same w/ Electronica, who hasn't even released an album yet to this date.

I thought this was a thread about who are the rappers most known in the general public. I really didn't read too much, so forgive me. I agree with some you're points but I am under the impression that they are invalid here. I may be wrong, so forgive me in advance. Also, I said Kendrick Lamar will eventually be there, I didn't say he was. I also understand Lil Wayne and Nicki are utter shit, never said they were good. Anyway, Kanye West has been around for a long while now, Diddy is an iconic figure whether he's shit and/or does nothing at all, and 50 Cent is shit now.

No, my bad for the confusion there. & my bad, I must of read the Lamar part fast, so I missed what you meant fully, so I agree w/ you there, & yeah I heard what you said about Wayne & Nicki, I was more so echoing the sentiment more so, than arguing with you about it, cause I agree w/ you there. & I can agree w/ the latter 2 points as well. I wasn't attacking your opinion, just giving my counter opinion, & it seems that we agree pretty much on everything.

But I feel Rakim doesn't get his just due, whether when it comes to, compared to mainstream, pop rap artists, such as Lil Wayne or 50, or lyrically. Not to mention he's a rap legend/pioneer.

[Man1x]

I agree about Rakim, but he doesn't represent hip-hip well except among rappers who give him his due. He doesn't get it much from fans of the genre and is generally replaced with Nas as an icon.

That being said, he is great and he deserves more recognition. I love his work and he's one of the best and changed the face of rap.

[Wreck]

I agree about Rakim, but he doesn't represent hip-hip well except among rappers who give him his due. He doesn't get it much from fans of the genre and is generally replaced with Nas as an icon.

That being said, he is great and he deserves more recognition. I love his work and he's one of the best and changed the face of rap.

I understand that, & agree. He was really good when he was working w/ Eric B in the late '80s, & obviously Paid In Full is one of the best albums in hip hop history as well.

[emin3m_stan]

Lil Kim is underated she would eat Niki poser Minaj for breakfast wouldnt even class Niki Minaj as Hip Hop old school shits on new school.

[CrashBand]

This is all pretty arbitrary. Wreck's classification seems to be who is the greats.

Anyway, similar to name, when I was younger Mos Def and Talib Kweli seemed to encapsulate Hip Hop for me.

Specifically this song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeTnog5RRQo

[Man1x]

Lil Kim is underated she would eat Niki poser Minaj for breakfast wouldnt even class Niki Minaj as Hip Hop old school shits on new school.

Lauryn Hill still the best women to ever rap.

[Spyder]

Nas

there are others better, and lots of others i like more.
but they either talk about drugs or guns or killing people or what not
Nas could be liked by old people who like good stories

he is knowledgable and best represents the game, if any type of person were to look at lyrics along with other greats, Nas would be the most accepted

by like i said there are loads better

[emin3m_stan]

Why hasn't Big L been mentioned yet? Better than Nas and Jay Z surely my opinion bromosexuals.

[Wreck]

This is all pretty arbitrary. Wreck's classification seems to be who is the greats.

Anyway, similar to name, when I was younger Mos Def and Talib Kweli seemed to encapsulate Hip Hop for me.

Specifically this song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeTnog5RRQo

I was just about to say Mos Def & Talib, glad you mentioned them, cause I totally agree. Two dope MCs who don't get quite as much recognition as they deserve.

Common is the same way. I Used To Love Her- probably the best storytelling song in hip hop history.

& Edit: Big L is one of the best, I totally forgot about him, mistakenly, emin3m_stan.

In fact my top 5 rappers of all are:

01. Eminem
02. 2pac
03. Nas
04. Jay-Z
05. Big L

With Biggie being in the mix/conversation.

2GunzUp, I like Jeezy's music, but he's not lyrical at all, not even in the least bit, or stretch of an argument. 50 isn't lyrical either. He's not a gangsta rapper, he's a wanna-be gangster rapper, pop artist, who I think people talk about all the time, but who I feel is totally underrated a lot.