Top 40 Emcees of All Time

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: #1

by MJ on Jul 1, 2011 • No Comments

So, I’ve dragged you through 39 of my favorite rappers over the past month or so, methodically going step by step through descriptions of what makes them my favorite rappers, YouTube videos, and recaps. So, before we get to the final emcee on this list, let’s make a quick run through the emcees that this person had to surpass before getting to the top. Drumroll, please… 40. Big L 39. Twista 38. Posdnuos 37. Guru 36. Pharoahe Monch 35. Ludacris […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: #2

by MJ on Jun 27, 2011 • No Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

You know what this means? You’ll have #1 by the end of the week? For a recap, start here and go backwards! 2) Big Daddy Kane Representing: Brooklyn No, I didn’t intentionally drop a Kane piece on the same night that his “Unsung” biography on TVOne airs (something I will unfortunately have to miss due to prior commitments), but I’m OK with letting today be a day that we put as much shine as possible on a man who pretty much […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: #4 and #3

by MJ on Jun 25, 2011 • 3 Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

I know, I know, I’m drawing this out. But #1 is within striking distance! Check out #5 and #6 here , and let’s keep it moving!! 4) KRS-ONE Representing: The South Bronx! South South Bronx! There’s no question that Kris Parker was one of the men who changed the game in 1987-1988 when hip-hop went out of the Adidas/brag rhyming era into something a little more lyrically complex. Truth be told, there were some compelling reasons to place him at #1. […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: #6 & #5

by MJ on Jun 20, 2011 • 5 Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

This was the part where I started to get a headache. After feeling relatively comfortable with my choices up till now, including Andre 3000 and Jay-Z at #8 and #7, respectively , organizing the top 6 turned out to be a fairly Herculean feat. I should correct that. #1 was pretty damn easy. Organizing the next five was rough, because seriously speaking, any of the next five gentlemen on this list could have placed anywhere from #2 to #6 depending on how I was feeling. So without further ado, […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: #8 & #7

by MJ on Jun 16, 2011 • 8 Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

Kool G. Rap and Nas finished 10 and 9. Who’s next up on the list? 8. Andre 3000 Representing: Atlanta It took a long time before I was able to appreciate OutKast. Not to say I was a purist, but…well, I was a purist. No one from outside New York was as good as artists from New York. Shit, prior to OutKast, rap from the SouthEast was booty music a la Luke. To this day, I don’t think Southernplayalisticadillacmusic is […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: #10-#9

by MJ on Jun 14, 2011 • No Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

For the Top Ten, we’re gonna switch up the format a little bit. We’re gonna jump from groups of five to groups of two, since this is the creme de la creme of rhymers, we figure these ten men deserve a little more love. If there was a hip-hop Hall of Fame, these would be the first entrants. Also, make sure you check out the rest of the list, with the most recent entrants posted here (you can backtrack through the […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: #15-#11

by MJ on Jun 8, 2011 • 6 Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

Sorry for a bit of a break from the countdown, I was taking care of some business in my old stomping grounds and hip-hop’s birthplace. I hope you’ve been enjoying the series so far. Check out past entries that you may have missed: 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 15. Ghostface Killah Representing: Staten Island Can you name anything good that has come out of Staten Island other than the Wu-Tang Clan? Consider the fact that I lived in New York City for almost thirty years […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: 20-16

by MJ on May 31, 2011 • 3 Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

Previous entries: 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 20. Talib Kweli Representing: Brooklyn Talib Kweli’s albums are a textbook example of a brilliant songwriter living or dying by his production. While his skills are practically unassailable, his music is capable of being completely brilliant or completely boring, depending on his beat selection. It’s an affliction that’s affected more artists in the upper echelon of this list than you might think. Despite the occasional beat-related mishaps, it’s hard to say anything bad about Kweli from a mic […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time (25-21)

by MJ on May 27, 2011 • 1 Comment

hip-hop / Lists! / music

Missed ’em? Check out previous entries in the countdown. 26-30 31-35 36-40 Now, moving on… 25. Del tha Funkee Homosapien Representing: Oakland Ice Cube’s bizarro cousin has never had the mainstream success that his relative has, but Del remains a cherished member of the hip-hop underground after twenty years in the game. With his slightly stoned (OK, very stoned flow) and free-associative lyrics, he is still one of the best to ever represent the Bay. At very least, he’s proof that there are […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: 30-26

by MJ on May 24, 2011 • 4 Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music / Uncategorized

Check out 40-36 and 35-31 . 30. Treach Representing: Jersey When you think of Naughty by Nature, you think of hip-hop anthems with huge singalong choruses (a tactic that made them popular but then proved to be their downfall). However, what gets lost sometimes when you hear “O.P.P.” or “Hip -Hop Hooray” is that Treach could rhyme his ass off. Versatile as all fuck, able to speed-rap DAS-EFX style or go for a more simplified flow, able to appease hardrocks, pop audiences […]

The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: 40-36

by MJ on May 17, 2011 • 5 Comments

hip-hop / Lists! / music

I’m not really good at the whole dramatic buildup thing, so I’ll try to keep this preamble relatively short. First of all, this list is about great emcees, and as I’d imagine you know, great emcees are perfectly capable of making crappy records (the same way Beyonce’s albums kinda suck even though she can sing her ass off). Average emcees are capable of making great records (see: West, Kanye), so let’s not confuse the two. What makes a great emcee? […]