Favorite rappers

[Moliere]

Ice Cube was asked for his favorite MC's. He mentioned a few I had never heard of, including Rakim.

Eric B. & Rakim - Juice (Know The Ledge)

A lyrical genius combined with flow and paired with a great DJ. More impressive considering how great his music is compared to his 80s and 90s contemporaries.

[tjg_marantz]

https://youtu.be/E7t8eoA_1jQ
I remember this in the clubs. Much flow, so smooth.

[Alefroth]

Gift of Gab and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien come to mind right away.

[Moliere]

For those interested in the history I highly recommend this documentary narrated by Chuck D.

Founding Fathers

A factual report about unsung DJ's who contributed to the foundational principals of the music known today as Hip Hop. This documentary transports you to a journey back to the early underground disco days of the streets and parks throughout New York City.

[Daehawk]

I hate rap with a passion. But as a teen and a bit later of course I can enjoy Run DMC, Eminem, and Beastie Boys. Bout it.

[Isgrimnur]

Chali 2na - Comin Thru, former member of Jurassic 5.

[tgb]

Frankie "Halfpint" Jaxon

[AWS260]

Nas.

[Z-Corn]

Aesop Rock: Bazooka Tooth

It was analyzed and Aesop's rhymes are more dense than Shakespeare's prose.

[killbot737]

I listen to the SXSW songs every year. What I hate most is when a song starts with some funk or strings or other-than-rap thump bass intro and then drops the premise and goes immediately into "niggaz bitches money asses" garbage. It's almost all not even lyrical, just remixed "my ho be trippin and I gotta work 24/7 yo you don' unnastan" or some other nonsense slam poetry imitation with a backbeat.

I would never say I don't like All rap, but it's not on my list of styles I'd choose in a top 5 list of genres. There are a few songs that have come out of that SXSW group that I'd put on a favorite song list. Unfortunately I can't name one because it goes on the ipod on shuffle play at work and I generally don't pay attention to the thing unless I'm pressing "next" to skip the aforementioned garbage.

[JSHAW]

During my time in the military, from 1982-1991, I worked in several hospital kitchens, at several
different bases. In that time, especially during my time in Germany from 85-89' I was exposed to
the most amount of rap music than I ever had been before, other than what I saw on Yo MTV Raps!

I'm white, the guy's that brought their cassette tapes in, were black, but I still was able to keep an
open mind to what I was hearing, and I liked most of it.

In those kitchens we all took turns playing our music. Each person would get an hour to play whatever they wanted, and after the hour someone else would jump in and put their tape on the boom-box. Yes, boom-box. Back in the 80's if you were in the air force and you lived in the dorms, you either had a boom-box, or a killer stereo component system.

My faves were, and still are Ice-T, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, and Sir-Mix-alot.

Those are just the one's from the top of the list. There are lot's of different artists that
I'd call one hit wonders, that I liked from back then, that aren't doing anything these days.

If I had to pick just one, all time fave, it's Ice-T. Like his style, and even the stuff he did with
Body Count.

[Holman]

I listen to the SXSW songs every year. What I hate most is when a song starts with some funk or strings or other-than-rap thump bass intro and then drops the premise and goes immediately into "niggaz bitches money asses" garbage. It's almost all not even lyrical, just remixed "my ho be trippin and I gotta work 24/7 yo you don' unnastan" or some other nonsense slam poetry imitation with a backbeat.

I would never say I don't like All rap, but it's not on my list of styles I'd choose in a top 5 list of genres. There are a few songs that have come out of that SXSW group that I'd put on a favorite song list. Unfortunately I can't name one because it goes on the ipod on shuffle play at work and I generally don't pay attention to the thing unless I'm pressing "next" to skip the aforementioned garbage.

Rap and hip-hop sell like rock and roll used to sell, so of course there's a lot terrible stuff out there.

But the best of it can be amazing. I'm not a serious music guy, but when people point me to the good stuff I always love how much it's about the lyrics. Most lyrics (in any genre) are just dead-awful poetry, so finding someone doing something good with words is exciting.

I stumbled on this article: The Best Rapper Alive, Every Year since 1979. Some terrific links there.

[tru1cy]

No particular order

Grandmaster Caz
Big L (R.I.P)
Biggie Smalls (R.I.P)
Nas
Jay Z
Kendrick Lamar
Ice Cube
Tupac (R.I.P)
Rakim
MC Lyte
Queen Latifah
Eminimen

Everyone last one of the people above made tangible change to the rap game.

[LawBeefaroni]

Ice Cube
Tribe
Serengeti

[dbt1949]

I'm a fat olde white man. A favorite rapper?
Does MC Hammer count?

[Sudy]

I wrap rabbits up in red fabric that's abstract

[TheMix]

Not sure if I have a favorite. Depends on my mood, probably. Most of the rappers that I like have already been mentioned. But I will add DMX. He's got a few (checking the titles on Youtube, more than I realized) that I like. Eminem, definitely. But not the Slim Shady stuff. I like the introspective stuff much better. Dr. Dre and Tupac would also be on the list.

[Xmann]

Current favorites are Kendrick Lamar and Aesop Rock.

If you enjoy rap and haven't listened to Aesop Rock, do yourself a favor and do so.

All time favorites are Ice Cube and Tupac.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Hipolito]

Public Enemy. Fear of a Black Planet was my first CD and I love it (and P.E.) still.

Age has slowed and roughened Chuck D's voice a tad, but I kind of find that comforting.

[Odin]

I can only handle select rap/hip-hop in extremely small doses. Generally when it's associated with a movie I like. For instance, I like Will Smith's original Men in Black. And I like X Gon Give it to Ya to the extent that it's associated with Deadpool (same with Shoop), but I'd never sit and listen to it by itself. So... yeah, that's just about it. There might be a couple of others out there that I can tolerate briefly if they put me in mind of a film I liked, but not many. Rap pretty much annoys me into a channel-changing frenzy from about two seconds after my mind processes that that's what I'm listening to. It also applies to pseudo-rap like Rage Against the Machine (hate 'em) and Hollywood Undead.

[Isgrimnur]

For instance, I like Will Smith's original Men in Black.

Do I have a surprise for you.

[Odin]

For instance, I like Will Smith's original Men in Black.

Do I have a surprise for you.

That's mildly interesting, however since it has no direct connection to any movies I like, it does nothing for me. Though I'll grant that it doesn't make me want to Hulk smash the way most rap does, so there's that.

Walk in shadow, move in silence. Guard against extra-terrestrial violence.

[Moliere]

Rapping, Deconstructed: How Some of the Greatest Rappers Make Their Rhymes

Above are some lyrics from Eric B. and Rakim's 1986 cut, "Eric B. Is President," featuring internal rhymes highlighted in yellow and multi-syllabic rhymes picked out in pink. You’ll also find them escaping the tyranny of the bar line, continuing the rhyme on the first beat of the next bar.

[AWS260]

I have not paid attention to rap diss tracks since Nas's Ether, until this week. Kendrick Lamar (Pulitzer Prize winner!) has been repeatedly grinding Drake into paste, dropping a series of songs dedicated to how horrible the man is.

Defector has a breakdown here: Everybody Hates Drake: A Guide To Millennial Rap’s Midlife Beef Crisis. It was published on Thursday and is already out of date, because Lamar has released two more songs about Drake since then.

I recognize that this is all very juvenile, but boy is it entertaining. Drake is easy to hate, and Lamar's diss tracks, like Ether twenty years ago, are so ruthless and so good.

[Jaymann]

Snoop Doggie Dog.