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Best Rapper Alive?

Jeez, lotta potato up in this mutha.

The definitive answer is, well, ME.

Nothing like a 54 year old white man layin' down some shit.



Sorry...that's all I got. Do like Fitty and FloRida, however....
 
My Hip Hop Mt. Rushmore

De La Soul - Snuck out in HS to go see them at the 930 Club in DC. Thought I was gangster until we saw lots of Howard U. daisy wearing students.

Public Enemy - Come on people!

Brand Nubians, Eric B. & Rakim, Black Sheep - One spot for the 5% Nation

Tribe, Jungle Brothers, The Pharcyde, Stetsasonic - One spot for Native Tongues

And a small monument to Fat Lip of The Pharcyde with the saddest Hip-Hop music video of all-time (directed by Spike Jonze).
What's Up Fatlip
I'm far from hard, emotionally scarred
On Pico Boulevard, I was regarded as a retard
I make myself sick, get on my own nerves
Immature, insecure grown up nerd
Has-been MC on a label that's unstable

 
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The person who holds this title seems to change almost weekly. Really tough to hold on in rap with how much it continues to evolve.

Jay Z isn't one of my favorites and I don't think he is as good as most think, but the fact he has stayed relevant in the rap game for so long makes him a Tier 1 rapper. His last couple of albums haven't been good though, as weird as it sounds for a genre that boasts about wealth, he has become to wealthy to resonate.
 
Best rap group: Outkast.

Unlike about 99.9 percent of other rap artists, they wrote their own stuff and didn't sample anything (to my knowledge, at least).

The Roots.

WAY before they were a late night talk show band they were one of the few rap bands playing instruments plus featuring Rahzel, incredible beatbox. I saw them in 1996 & 97 or 98, they were amazing back then. Illadelph Halflife & Do You Want More? are great albums.
 
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The Roots.

WAY before they were a late night talk show band they were one of the few rap bands playing instruments plus featuring Rahzel, incredible beatbox. I saw them in 1996 & 97 or 98, they were amazing back then. Illadelph Halflife & Do You Want More? are great albums.

I consider The Roots a great band first and foremost. Spectacular musicians.
 
Andre 3000. To add to what Larry said, Outkast are the only rappers I know of who actually included their lyrics with the album (I miss those days). I don't think a lot of people understand the depth of a lot of their lyrics.
 
The Roots.

WAY before they were a late night talk show band they were one of the few rap bands playing instruments plus featuring Rahzel, incredible beatbox. I saw them in 1996 & 97 or 98, they were amazing back then. Illadelph Halflife & Do You Want More? are great albums.
Best group without question. The Roots.
 
Great to see A Tribe Called Quest getting some love from the old guys like @Larry_Williams and @Paul Strelow. They are definitely all time greats. I recommend the documentary that Michael Rapaport did on them.

My favorite group growing up was Public Enemy. I still listen to them a fair amount today, as they have continued to make records. It's hard to fathom, but they were arguably the biggest band in the world at one point in time between It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet. So much controversy swirling around them back then. The balance between Chuck and Flavor was perfect, and they had such innovative production between Terminator X and The Bomb Squad. I had an opportunity to speak briefly with Chuck D after watching a PE documentary at a film festival. Very briefly...as in one question, but it was still an awesome moment. Chuck has one of the best deliveries of any rapper to ever cut records.

I have enjoyed Jay's career, but I definitely will always be more of a Nas guy. It's just hard to top Illmatic, much less when that's your debut full length. Also a huge Lupe Fiasco fan, although his career never took off after The Cool like I had hoped.

For anyone who likes classic hip hop, check out the Accuradio app/site. There is a channel on there called Check The Rhyme. Just classic tracks from the 80s, 90s, 00s mixed in with a few more current underground gems.
 
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Best Rapper Alive: Jay Z
Best Rapper Alive or Dead: 2pac
Best Rap Group: Blackstar/The Roots
Best Lyricist: Mos Def/Lauryn Hill/Lupe
Favorite Album: 2pac - R U Still Down

Personal Favorite: 2pac
 
I with the Tribe Called Quest vote...


I don' t really call the Beastie Boys rap ..

Paul's Boutique:

The end results: '''Paul's Boutique' is one of the top 10 most influential records ever made,'' exclaimed Q magazine. ''Every subsequent hip-hop album owes a nod to this one.'' Vibe recently raved that ''The brilliant, headspinning 'Paul's Boutique' is still probably the most underrated hip-hop album of all time.'' Rolling Stone called it ''the 'Sgt. Pepper's' of rap.'' And shortly before his death, no less than Miles Davis said he never got tired of listening to it.
 
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My Hip Hop Mt. Rushmore

De La Soul - Snuck out in HS to go see them at the 930 Club in DC. Thought I was gangster until we saw lots of Howard U. daisy wearing students.

Public Enemy - Come on people!

Brand Nubians, Eric B. & Rakim, Black Sheep - One spot for the 5% Nation

Tribe, Jungle Brothers, The Pharcyde, Stetsasonic - One spot for Native Tongues

And a small monument to Fat Lip of The Pharcyde with the saddest Hip-Hop music video of all-time (directed by Spike Jonze).
What's Up Fatlip
I'm far from hard, emotionally scarred
On Pico Boulevard, I was regarded as a retard
I make myself sick, get on my own nerves
Immature, insecure grown up nerd
Has-been MC on a label that's unstable


what high school? I was at Wilson in DC. I propably saw 25 shows at 930 in middle school/high school.
 
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Paul's Boutique:

The end results: '''Paul's Boutique' is one of the top 10 most influential records ever made,'' exclaimed Q magazine. ''Every subsequent hip-hop album owes a nod to this one.'' Vibe recently raved that ''The brilliant, headspinning 'Paul's Boutique' is still probably the most underrated hip-hop album of all time.'' Rolling Stone called it ''the 'Sgt. Pepper's' of rap.'' And shortly before his death, no less than Miles Davis said he never got tired of listening to it.
I just thought they were broader than rap.. it's only a part of their sound. I love the beastie boys.. I played licensed to ill so much when I was in 3rd grape my tape disintegrated.
 
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Who ya got?

Best Rapper Alive: Jay Z
Best Rapper Alive or Dead: Biggie
Best Rap Group: Tribe Called Quest
Best Lyricist: Eminem

Personal Favorite: Jadakiss

Alive: Jay-Z
Alive or dead: 2-Pac
Group: Outkast (Atliens is my favorite rap album of all time)
Lyricist: Cee-lo when he was with Goodie Mob

I love the C-Murder response....my favorite No Limit rapper
 
what high school? I was at Wilson in DC. I propably saw 25 shows at 930 in middle school/high school.

Good old Wilson High. My dad lived on 41st across from Ft. Reno Park and down the street from the Dancing Crab. When I was a kid, we used to walk over to the bandstand in the park and watch Fugazi. I went to school in Georgetown and lived in Kalorama. Then moved for HS, in Great Falls, VA and Herndon HS.

I saw everything from Punk to Go-Go to Indie to Hip-Hop at 930 Club. Lucky to grow-up in DC where two music genres - punk and go-go - were blowing up. Went to see Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers and Trouble Funk at Crystal Skate and the guy at the door stopped me to ask if I was the son of the band`s accountant. When I said no, he said I needed to go back to NW and stay out of trouble.
 
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