VIBE reader poll: Eminem is the best living rapper

Jim Carrey did a great takeoff on this that somehow morphed into a rapping Popeye. Classic. Edit: It's in the related videoes on that page.

 

OK, while I was at work, I dabbled in some TI, and I like him even less. I YouTubed about 12 songs, and liked one. As far as current rappers, he is pretty far down the scale for me.
I also busted out Nas, and though he is pretty damn good, I'd still take Jay Z by a landslide. He's fucking Jay Z, enough said.

 

Great post and you definitely understand the genre. My problem with Em is that he completely fell off after the brilliant 8 Mile soundtrack/"Lose Yourself". His work with D12/"Encore" was abysmal compared to his first three albums...some tracks on "Encore" actually sound purposely bad, with a few flashes of brilliance here or there. I blame it on 50 Cent - "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" dropped a few months after 8 Mile and Em went more gangsta and hard in his lyrics. Doesn't fit him. His legacy has really suffered, but he's still an all-time great.

Kanye will go down as the best hip-hop talent of this generation and "The Blueprint" will be regarded as the more important, and perhaps best, record. His beats are on another level compared to other producers and his raps are underrated.

Tupac > Biggie. But still give me "Ready to Die" anyday over any of 'Pac's records. That was Sean Combs' finest hour.

 

DD's post is one of the best I've ever read on this site. Well-spoken and 100 percent spot on.

I'd like to hear, DD, more on where you think Andre 3000 belongs, and am I too smitten with Tribe Called Quest to believe Q-Tip at least merits consideration?

 

DD,

great post. but what about rakim and q-tip and krs-1 and ice t and chuck d?

 

Yes.

 

And no mention of women rappers?

MC Lyte is an all-time great.

 

Yeah, Nas joined Def Jam, but he didn't tuck his tail in doing so. Listen to Hip Hop Is Dead. On the track with Jay Z, Jay is basically apologizing to Nas. If anything, Jay's decision to put out another album looked questionable. Kingdom Come was terrible and came out at the same time as Hip Hop Is Dead, an album that cemented Nas as one of the top 5 MCs ever. Plus, Nas killed Jay Z with Ether. There's no point in discussing hip hop with anyone who disagrees with the outcome of that battle.

As for Lil Wayne? Complete garbage until his most recent album, which, by the way, is clearly influenced by the challenge Nas presented the entire genre with on Hip Hop Is Dead. So how can you put Wayne ahead of Nas when Wayne's best stuff came out only when Nas declared the genre dead? Without that challenge, Wayne is still putting out the same old crap that high school kids are eating up.

 

But hey, Li'l Kim made the pool ... as did Lauryn Hill.

The thing is a bigger joke than "Who's Now?"

Bow Wow? Really, Bow Wow? I am not going to pimp for Flavor Flav as there are greater issues with this list, but Flavor Flav > Bow Wow.

 

When DD posts about anything entertainment (TV, music, movies), he reaches a height that most of us aspire to someday (if ever) stand.

 

Another thing I wanted to add: Kanye isn't that great of a rapper. Tremendous producer. He made Common's Finding Forever a beautiful record, yet his latest (I forgot the name of the CD) sorta sucked save one song.

 

Sage Francis is the best white rapper alive.