PIMP_DADDY
10-07-2011, 08:59 PM
Who is the best rapper alive? There is a lot of debate over who the best is right now. Vibe magazine tried to settle debate with a NCAA style bracket tournament and in the end Eminem defeated Jay-Z in the championship. While this article is not designed to settle the endless debate, but rather to give reasons why my list is constructed the way it is.
Before I start listing the best rappers alive in my opinion, I want to give honorable mention to a few MC's who didn't quite make the cut, but are still quite good in my opinion.
- T.I.
- The Game
- Lupe Fiasco
- Andre 3000
- Ludacris
Ok let's start with the man who self declared himself as the best rapper alive in Lil Wayne. His last album, Tha Carter III, went platinum in it's first week, and multi-platinum overall. He has hit the mix-tape circuit hard and is seemingly on every major hip-hop album in some capacity. However he is not the best rapper alive. In fact, I don't even have him in my top 5 (he's like bottom of my top 10 list). While he is much better now than he was back in the "Block is Hot" days, but I feel that his material lately is a step down from tha Carter II. Lyrically, he is far from the top as there is a decent list of rappers who are better (ex: Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, T.I. Lupe). His metaphors can be clever at times, but other times they are either plain stupid or aren't clever. He also has a bad habit of rhyming the same words (which isn't rhyming). His flow is above average, but far from the best. Finally, the subject material he raps about is rarely anything that I haven't heard before. He seems content to rely on his name and marketing rather than make cutting edge material. In my opinion he is not the best rapper alive, but rather a decent at best MC who is the most overrated alive.
The next rapper I'm going to address is a favorite of many underground listeners: Immortal Technique. Immortal Technique is one of the most politically conscious rappers I have ever heard and his rhymes are very intelligent. He is definitely true to himself. I don't see him ever being a sell out. However, I do not find him as the best rapper alive either. While his subject material is often very deep, he many times comes across as an extremist and it feels like he is oftentimes shoving his beliefs down your throat. While his flow works the first couple listens, it often gets boring because he rarely switches it up. Also, many people often confuse having a large vocabulary with lyrical prowess. While Technique uses intelligent words, he doesn't have the lyrical prowess of a Nas or Eminem, who constantly use brilliant rhyme structures and word play. I value versatility, and that is one quality that Technique often lacks.
Jay-Z is an MC that has been around since 1997 and is often mentioned as one of the all-time greats. Reasonable Doubt is one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time and he has at least two more classics. His lyrics are among the best (even more impressive is that he never writes his rhymes down). He has many different flows to match the beat and subject matter. He rhymes about real things a lot more than the typical rapper. Also, he is oftentimes the MC that younger rappers look at as a model to follow. However he is not the best rapper alive. The fact that he's not getting the title is not necessarily a knock against Jay, but it is rather that the last two rappers mentioned are that great.
The second best rapper alive right now is Nas. In my opinion he is the greatest lyricist to ever step foot on this planet. More often than any other rapper as I've ever listened to, he makes me stop and just wonder how he thought of a particular rhyme. His debut album is one of the best of all-time. He has a very underrated flow and is one of the more conscious rappers out there. A big reason why I have him over Jay-Z is because he got the better of Jay-Z when they beefed head-to-head earlier in the decade. His song, Ether, was just different level than Jay-Z's impressive, but inferior The Takeover. Even Jay will admit that Nas got the better of him. His last album, Untitled, was very impressive and proved that he is still among the best in the industry. While I think that he deserves to be in the running for one of the greatest ever, I believe that there is one rapper who is better right now. While he is still making great records, he is a couple steps down from during his Illamatic days.
The best rapper alive is, as you probably figured out by now, is in fact the man who won the title in Vibe's contest: Eminem. I think he is the second best lyricist, just a few hairs below Nas. His flow is outstanding and he has just about as many flows as any rapper out there. His sophomore album, The Marshall Mathers LP, rivals albums like Illamatic and Reasonable doubt as the best ever. The thing that puts Eminem over the top of Nas is the fact that is hands down the most creative and versatile rapper alive. He can tell heart-wrenching stories, he can make songs that make even the most stoic listener laugh, he can make intelligent songs, diss songs, and songs that just absolutely make you wonder how he thought of it (Stan, 3 A.M.). He is also very capable of freestyling, making inspirational songs, and is generally the best MC in any collaboration regardless of whom the rapper is (Renegade for example). Even after a nearly 5 year hiatus, his last album, Relapse, proves that he is still on top and that he really hasn't fallen off that much. Regardless of mainstream appeal and the color of his skin, he is the best rapper alive right now and deserves to be in the conversation as the best ever.
The thing that really excites me about Eminem is that between him and the other legends of hip-hop, he has the most potential in my opinion to add to his legacy with Relapse 2. While Untitled was very good and I'm sure Blueprint 3 will be dope, Relapse 2 is the only one that has the potential to be a classic. Untitled simply solidified my respect for Nas and from what I've heard from Jay-Z over the past couple years; I think Blueprint 3 will do the same. The reason that I think Relapse 2 has so much potential is because Relapse, though dope, sounded to me like a warm-up. The album, outside of the odd placement of Crack a Bottle, started to shift away from all the Slim Shady-like material and more towards Marshall Mathers centered material. The way I see it, Relapse simply put Eminem's foot in the door and Relapse 2 is going to kick it down.
Before I start listing the best rappers alive in my opinion, I want to give honorable mention to a few MC's who didn't quite make the cut, but are still quite good in my opinion.
- T.I.
- The Game
- Lupe Fiasco
- Andre 3000
- Ludacris
Ok let's start with the man who self declared himself as the best rapper alive in Lil Wayne. His last album, Tha Carter III, went platinum in it's first week, and multi-platinum overall. He has hit the mix-tape circuit hard and is seemingly on every major hip-hop album in some capacity. However he is not the best rapper alive. In fact, I don't even have him in my top 5 (he's like bottom of my top 10 list). While he is much better now than he was back in the "Block is Hot" days, but I feel that his material lately is a step down from tha Carter II. Lyrically, he is far from the top as there is a decent list of rappers who are better (ex: Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, T.I. Lupe). His metaphors can be clever at times, but other times they are either plain stupid or aren't clever. He also has a bad habit of rhyming the same words (which isn't rhyming). His flow is above average, but far from the best. Finally, the subject material he raps about is rarely anything that I haven't heard before. He seems content to rely on his name and marketing rather than make cutting edge material. In my opinion he is not the best rapper alive, but rather a decent at best MC who is the most overrated alive.
The next rapper I'm going to address is a favorite of many underground listeners: Immortal Technique. Immortal Technique is one of the most politically conscious rappers I have ever heard and his rhymes are very intelligent. He is definitely true to himself. I don't see him ever being a sell out. However, I do not find him as the best rapper alive either. While his subject material is often very deep, he many times comes across as an extremist and it feels like he is oftentimes shoving his beliefs down your throat. While his flow works the first couple listens, it often gets boring because he rarely switches it up. Also, many people often confuse having a large vocabulary with lyrical prowess. While Technique uses intelligent words, he doesn't have the lyrical prowess of a Nas or Eminem, who constantly use brilliant rhyme structures and word play. I value versatility, and that is one quality that Technique often lacks.
Jay-Z is an MC that has been around since 1997 and is often mentioned as one of the all-time greats. Reasonable Doubt is one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time and he has at least two more classics. His lyrics are among the best (even more impressive is that he never writes his rhymes down). He has many different flows to match the beat and subject matter. He rhymes about real things a lot more than the typical rapper. Also, he is oftentimes the MC that younger rappers look at as a model to follow. However he is not the best rapper alive. The fact that he's not getting the title is not necessarily a knock against Jay, but it is rather that the last two rappers mentioned are that great.
The second best rapper alive right now is Nas. In my opinion he is the greatest lyricist to ever step foot on this planet. More often than any other rapper as I've ever listened to, he makes me stop and just wonder how he thought of a particular rhyme. His debut album is one of the best of all-time. He has a very underrated flow and is one of the more conscious rappers out there. A big reason why I have him over Jay-Z is because he got the better of Jay-Z when they beefed head-to-head earlier in the decade. His song, Ether, was just different level than Jay-Z's impressive, but inferior The Takeover. Even Jay will admit that Nas got the better of him. His last album, Untitled, was very impressive and proved that he is still among the best in the industry. While I think that he deserves to be in the running for one of the greatest ever, I believe that there is one rapper who is better right now. While he is still making great records, he is a couple steps down from during his Illamatic days.
The best rapper alive is, as you probably figured out by now, is in fact the man who won the title in Vibe's contest: Eminem. I think he is the second best lyricist, just a few hairs below Nas. His flow is outstanding and he has just about as many flows as any rapper out there. His sophomore album, The Marshall Mathers LP, rivals albums like Illamatic and Reasonable doubt as the best ever. The thing that puts Eminem over the top of Nas is the fact that is hands down the most creative and versatile rapper alive. He can tell heart-wrenching stories, he can make songs that make even the most stoic listener laugh, he can make intelligent songs, diss songs, and songs that just absolutely make you wonder how he thought of it (Stan, 3 A.M.). He is also very capable of freestyling, making inspirational songs, and is generally the best MC in any collaboration regardless of whom the rapper is (Renegade for example). Even after a nearly 5 year hiatus, his last album, Relapse, proves that he is still on top and that he really hasn't fallen off that much. Regardless of mainstream appeal and the color of his skin, he is the best rapper alive right now and deserves to be in the conversation as the best ever.
The thing that really excites me about Eminem is that between him and the other legends of hip-hop, he has the most potential in my opinion to add to his legacy with Relapse 2. While Untitled was very good and I'm sure Blueprint 3 will be dope, Relapse 2 is the only one that has the potential to be a classic. Untitled simply solidified my respect for Nas and from what I've heard from Jay-Z over the past couple years; I think Blueprint 3 will do the same. The reason that I think Relapse 2 has so much potential is because Relapse, though dope, sounded to me like a warm-up. The album, outside of the odd placement of Crack a Bottle, started to shift away from all the Slim Shady-like material and more towards Marshall Mathers centered material. The way I see it, Relapse simply put Eminem's foot in the door and Relapse 2 is going to kick it down.