Hip hop GOATs

[u/Ok_Road_8413]

1. The Notorious B.I.G.

Anyone who thinks about it for a second can hardly argue. His flow was off the charts and freestyle came to him with absurd naturalness: he rhymed as if he were simply talking. He had a musical voice, impeccable beat choices, and a pen capable of giving meaning to every single verse. With Ready to Die and Life After Death, he delivered two top-tier albums in a very short career. If he had had more time, the GOAT debate might not even exist.

1. Nas

For me, he could even deserve first place. He has an insane flow and a knack for pocketing rhymes that few have ever had, and he debuted at a very young age with a masterpiece like Illmatic. His consistency is impressive: from his sixth album onward he's been criticized, but even his "mid" records had at least one flawless track. Someone who makes 5 albums out of 10 [masterpieces] and another 10 out of 8 shouldn't be criticized for the latter. He is too underrated, he’s had crazy beats, and for me, he beat Jay-Z in the beef.

1. Eminem

He is the most famous rapper ever and changed the history of the genre. He has style, technique, rhymes, and a viciousness (the "bullshit," so to speak) that no one has ever replicated. He has memorable collaborations and some of the best-known songs in rap history.

1. Kanye West

He completely changed the style and sound of hip-hop, and as a producer he’s a musical genius: whether you like his persona or not, you have to admit it. I put him fourth only because he isn’t a pure rapper like the ones above him, but his impact is massive.

1. Kendrick Lamar

He is the king of the modern era: songs, rhymes, beats, beefs, and awards. A brilliant lyricist with an exceptional pen, to the point that certain tracks blow your mind. He has fewer streams than Drake because he produces less, and he produces less because he doesn't make pop tunes. Quality versus quantity.

1. 2Pac

He’s very good, I admit it, but his truly rap songs are few (aside from Hit 'Em Up) and his technique is not comparable to the top five. As a generational leader he is absolute, he had a mind and thoughts light-years ahead of his time, and today we could use a voice like that. However, he was inconsistent between what he said and how he lived, and being a symbol doesn't change songs, albums, and technique. Let's be honest.

1. Jay-Z

Extremely consistent, with great rhymes and great, underrated albums. Unfortunately, he remained a bit in the shadow of Nas and the lost beef. He's a genius from an economic standpoint too, but we aren't judging that here.

1. Lil Wayne

He is the best after those seven, without a doubt, but the gap shows. When people talk about the GOAT, they always and only talk about them, and rightly so. He changed the genre by steering it toward autotune and trap, and he has always been the life of the party. YOU WON'T STOP LIL WAYNE!

1. Drake

He is the king of the streaming era and has numbers that no one has ever had. He has good technique, a decent pen, and the ability to span different genres.

1. Snoop Dogg

He’s the best right after the greats and a bit underrated. He has albums like Doggystyle and great collaborations, and he's still going strong today: he simply doesn't need to prove it anymore.

And what do u think??

[u/WickyNilliams]

You're putting Drake in and no Rakim???

[u/Rebelology → u/WickyNilliams]

Just Imagine Drake is better than rakim or guru or canibus even 50 cent

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahaa

[u/shamankingdom → u/Rebelology]

Drake is trash, he doesn’t even write his own raps lmfao

Oh and he’s a pedo

[u/only_delayed_fusion]

Biggie at 1 is the right call. The talking-rhythm thing you mentioned is exactly it, he made complex flows sound effortless.

Kanye feels too high here when you've got dudes like Jay and Pac below him. Production genius is separate from rapping ability so that ranking gets tricky.

[u/A_N_T]

I don't think literal Nazis should be allowed in a top 10 hip hop artist list (or anywhere else for that matter)

[u/professornutting]

Wrong sub, kiddo.

[u/OnlyFearOfDeth]

Yikes

[u/Rebelology]

Lil Wayne hahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahaahhaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahhahaahahahaha

Biggie had some terrible lines and his content isn't enlightening.... Sounds great tho

[u/Flex_Field]

You must be a millennial.

Nothing wrong with that.

But millennials tend to come up with these lists that seem to assume that hip hop started in 1994.

There was were a couple of eras that preceded that.

[u/Ok_Road_8413 → u/Flex_Field]

in 2011 and for examples i love rum Dmc & rakim and i have some knowledge abput the 80s rap, i onlu think that there are Better rappers. then everyone has his opinioni...

[u/Flex_Field → u/Ok_Road_8413]

To be clear, I don't think your list is wrong or that your opinions aren't valid.

I simply find it interesting, this pattern, that most of these discussions don't seem to consider anything before 1994.

And because it happens so frequently, the observation becomes that the authors of these lists don't seem to know and/or consider anything before 1994...as if entire eras did not exist before Biggie, Pac, Jay, Nas, and Em.

And I wonder why.

[u/noai4me]

Ice always been a biggie fan, dude was an undeniable talent, but he's nowhere near number one outside of your personal opinion. Juicy wasn't even entirely his, puff stole the idea from the notorious b1, a rapper for down south. Sorry to be the one to have to tell you, but Santa clause ain't real

[u/ChancePersonality592]

Nicki