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top 5 dead or alive [rappers]


chizzua

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top 5 in order---

notorious b.i.g.

slick rick

jay-z

common sense

nas

didn't want to make a new thread.

if cam didn't ruin his shit with "oh boy" after s.d.e. and confessions of fire he would probably be up there too.

honorable mentions

big l

big pun

krs-one

rakim

gza

no pac. wanna know why? his flow was mediocre. he was better off writing books/poems. just because he was controversial, does not make him great.

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Eh...I dunno -

Nas

Cormega

KRS

Ace

Common

Its really hard to make a top 5 list because ask me again next week and Jay would be up there somewhere, along with Pac. This is more of a top 5 in my current rotation.

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1.Rakim

2.Outkast

4. Notorious BIG

5. Big Pun

6. Ghostface

7. Scarface

8. J-Live

9. 2Mex

10. Common [sense]

wow this was my second post on superfuture, pretty much still the same.

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some of these are pretty on.

Rakim

Big L

GZA

BIG

Edan (yeah he's new school, but seriously trumps the shit out of most everyone else)

Nas would have been on there if he didn't fall off so hard

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Probably no one has taken this as seriously as I have, sorry for the rant:

(1) RAKIM - without a doubt he's #1. People sleep on how big of an influence he was on all the east coast rappers that came after him. He has always been a good lyricist, and his flow is still decent. With the proper backing, he could still run shit.

(2) Nas - In my opinion, a Rakim disciple. He can tell stories, speak on political or social issues, ball out, or just plain spit battle rhymes.

(3) 2pac - Never have I heard an emcee spit with as much soul or passion as 2pac.

(3) Jay Z - He has clearly gotten better with age. The Black Album, in my opinion, is one of the best hip hop albums of all time.

(4) Black Thought - Another great all around emcee. Compared to other emcees from the Okay Player / Rawkus / mid 90s underground era, he's the most consistent in terms of putting out quality material. Great live presence too.

(5) Posdonous of De La Soul - More of a personal pick, he's the sole reason why I fell in love with hip hop in the first place. His verses on "I am, I be", and "Stakes is high" are reasons enough for him to be considered one of the greatest.

Honorable mention:

-Notorious B.I.G. - Hasn't released enough material. Had incredible potential, but potential isn't enough to be top 5 dead or alive.

-LL Cool J - His late 80s to early 90s releases were great. All his releases post mid 90s, on the other hand, have been garbage.

-Eminem - Annoying (very nasally) voice, but pretty good flow over all. Has a ton of hits, and has the ability to write decent songs from time to time ("Stan", "Lose Yourself"). Can also battle when needed, but has a tendency to recycle rhymes.

-Slug - 'Overcast', 'Ford One' and 'Ford Two' aka 'Lucy Ford EPs' are some great records from the late 90s - early 00s underground scene. The quality of his releases went down after Lucy Ford, but his last release was suprisingly solid. Slug has the ability to cross over and actually be successful mainstream wise (and he has already done so to some extent).

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1. Nas

2. Rakim

3. Common

No question my top 3, after that I have a collection of rappers who i cant put above one another like: KRS, Pharoah, Kweli, Mos Def, Black Thought, Biggie, Tupac, Jay Z, GZA.

Mos Def would be in my top 5 for certain, just needs to be more consistent.

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i personally think big l is already in the top 5. perfect in every way. one of the most well rounded mcs dead/alive. he only lacks in storytelling, but even thats not too bad.

he goes right after b.i.g. for me.

would work if lamont 'big l' coleman was still alive.

okay, you've all made good choices, alot of them underground/old school that you may have seen on some list so you decided to put it up here. now let me spill some of my brain.

christopher george latore wallace, the notorious b.i.g., frank white... greatest rapper. he had everything. from punchlines, to flow, to storytelling, to humor. great songs that could be accepted by the mainstream-- big poppa, hypnotize. his flow was unmatched and remains that way. one thing about biggie that i believe no one will be able to recreate is his ability to change flows. from a slow paced rhythym, with a falsetto-sung chorus to a bizzy bone tribute in notorious thugs. i can't think of a biggie VERSE that did not flow well, let alone a song. beyond that, the content of his songs did not stray from his personal experiences-- which you cannot say for many rappers. the only aspect i see lacking in biggie's content is conscious rap-- similar to mos def and common. but i would say that just wasn't his style and it would be a mistake. but his style was versatile enough as is. i mean, who do you know could make a song with shaq rapping about food and what not, good? practically of the verses released in biggie's post mortem albums were taken from radio freestyles. if you follow biggie's songs and know his lyrics front/back like i do, you basically can't listen to a hip-hop cd without hearing a biggie lyric repeated. although, biggie's style is evidently influenced by slick rick, biggie's influence on hip-hop after his death... actually, even during his emergence is evident. in the game less than 3 years before his passing, yet he left an indelible mark on not rap, but hip-hop.

not even seeing biggie on some your TOP 5 lists has disturbed me. and for those with lists who don't contain the late great-- i suggest you take a listen to the proclaimed hour and a half long suicide note, Ready to Die. if you can't admire the loose easy flow, even when regurgitating multi-syllabic rhyme schemes i truly question your appreciation of hip-hop.

x-post.

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