Fan Mail

Posted by on . 35 comments.

“Rap is what you do,
Hip Hop is what you live” – KRS-ONE

The comments section on this site is always fun to read. We get feedback from all types, from gun nuts to Deaniacs to well-meaning (but misguided) right-wingers.

Last week, someone named Cavalryman commented on an entry I wrote two months ago.

I just can let the opportunity pass to comment on this:

Tupac/Jay-Z overrated. OK man, put down whatever weed you smoking and please eject the Emimem CD you’ve been listening to. I dare you to name 5 rappers better than Tupac/Jay-Z. Crack is whack, obvs.

Well it seems that the marketing has worked. Packaged superstars aren’t just for pop music anymore. What are we judging this on, t-shirt sales? Lifetime Cristal achievement award? I’d mention that the emperor had no clothes, but then you’d probably ask who stole his Roc-A-Wear.

You want 5?
How about a nice round 10?

hiphop_10mcs.jpg

Rakim
Nas
Guru
Jeru
Ghostface
Xzibit
J-Live
Deck
Chino XL
Bahamadia

To download tracks by these MCs, click here.

Comments

  1. forager says:
    January 26, 2004 at 6:32 am

    I not a big Tupac fan but I’ve liked Jay-Z’s stuff since back in the day…

    What, no love for the D?? Rakim would be in my 10 top, but Kool Moe Dee would def be too.

  2. matt says:
    January 26, 2004 at 7:45 am

    Kool Moe Dee? How about Big Daddy Kane while we are at it?

  3. Coolfer says:
    January 26, 2004 at 7:48 am

    Michael fucking Rappaport is a better rapper than Jay-Z.

    Blondie rapped better on “Rapture” 20 years ago.

    I’ve tuned into West African radio stations over the Internet and heard better skills.

  4. Coolfer says:
    January 26, 2004 at 7:53 am

    P.S. Is the right wing really misguided? Ah, the conceit of the left. It always puts such a smile on my face. I’ll stay right here in the middle…unless there’s a dirty word for us centrists.

  5. information leafblower says:
    January 26, 2004 at 7:54 am

    Sorry dude, Guru is wack. If he didn;t have Premier, he wouldn’t even be let in the studio.

    1) Gza
    2) Ghostface
    3) Rakim
    4) Mos Def
    5) Del tha funky homospaien
    6) Q Tip (pre sell out)
    7) Raekwon
    8) that dude from the Roots
    9) Nas
    10) Fresh Prince

    Jeru used to be hot, but hasn’t released anything in like 47 years. I loved his first joint though.

  6. matt says:
    January 26, 2004 at 7:59 am

    Kyle: Check out Blad Headed Slick and Da Click. Guru minus Primo. I used to think Guru needed help, but not anymore.

    I’ll guess you are kidding about big willy style, but rae over deck? not a chance.

    Mos Def can flow, but more misses than hits.

  7. matt says:
    January 26, 2004 at 8:02 am

    Cool: We cover a lot of different shit here, but i try not to mix politics and hip hop in the same thread…

  8. information leafblower says:
    January 26, 2004 at 9:57 am

    Shit, I forgot that dude who did “Wish i was taller, Wish i was a baller”, what was his name?

    I love the way Raekwon can come in and crush a verse but not say anything. I mean, it’s all slang speak and it sounds unreal, but he doesn’t really SAY anything with his rhymes (unlike Ghost). Normally this would be a bad thing but with Rae, it totally works.

    Deck loses props for never having any great solo material (that i am aware of).

    Funny you brought this topic up as I was waxing poetic about BDP’s “By All Means Neccesary” last night.

    “My Philosophy”, best rap spng EVER. no question.

  9. matt says:
    January 26, 2004 at 10:08 am

    Skee-Lo? Nah.

    Good point about Rae, WTF does this mean:

    “Caught 300, lab look royal wit a mean stomach
    Go broke, all seen, done it
    Words from the heavy set
    If I don’t eat, then we already met
    Fly ass bro, liver than coke”
    -from “The Jump Off”

    Deck’s Movement is hott. More hits than misses.

  10. information leafblower says:
    January 26, 2004 at 10:24 am

    I’m kidding dude.

    I’ll have to get that Deck joint.

  11. matt says:
    January 26, 2004 at 10:32 am

    Kind of tough to tell when people are kidding or not when the topic is “Jay-Z as best ever” Nahmean?

    If Coolfer promises not to turn me in, I’ll hook you up with the Deck joint.

  12. information leafblower says:
    January 26, 2004 at 11:35 am

    By all means!

  13. Cavarlyman says:
    January 26, 2004 at 12:01 pm

    First off, I love that you took up the challenge. With the MC’s you named, you know something about the rap game, that’s good. But of the 10 you named, I’ll agree with 4. Rakim – that’s too easy of course, Nas – if he were more prolific, he’d be right there but he’s nice with his, Ghostface – nobody spits a tale like he does-the Wu’s soul, in my opinion, and Bahamadia -a highly underrated female MC. The others are very nice to great but the world is unfair and they have not, unfortunately, been able to get their work out there to the mainstream, be lauded, or it has been criminally overlooked, etc. I’ll admit, I’m East Coast biased but your choices are highly respectful. I wasn’t trying to disrespectfully piss in your mix but damn, Tupac and Jay-Z embody hip-hop artistry and are two good examples of it’s ethos and pathos, forget the t-shirts and Cristal. I’m like Ced: this is just good healthy conversation and I give you credit for educating some of these cats on who the better MC’s are out there.

  14. Cavalryman says:
    January 26, 2004 at 12:05 pm

    Damn…put the r in front of the l, my mistake.

  15. matt says:
    January 26, 2004 at 12:26 pm

    I thought we were talking about “better MCs” than Jay-Z and Tupac. Whether they crossed over or had any success at all has nothing to do with it. Chino’s lack of a big record deal has no relation that he could serve Jay or Pac (when alive) their ass on a plate in a battle or on record. Xzibit gets pushed to the back burner by 50 Cent? does that mean 50 is better? Not even close. J-Live might just be the most skilled writer/rapper ever, but because he doesn’t spit about bitches and Cris, he is on the DL.

    If you want to go heads up, I’ll print whatever you want to say about Jay-Z and/or Tupac on the main page. Lyrics, links to tracks, pics, the whole nine. Side by side with my picks.

  16. evan says:
    January 26, 2004 at 1:32 pm

    I can’t pass this conversation up.

    Matt I agree w/ a lot of your list. Rakim is the greatest rapper of all time, there’s no doubt in my mind about that. Rest of that list is solid, really dope stuff out there — though I’ve never really listened to Chino and I’ve definitely fallen off the Wu bandwagon recently (haven’t bought an album since Gza’s “Beneath the Surface” which i thought was pretty disappointing; although I place the blame for falling off exclusively on the shoulders of Cappadonna, cuz “The Pillage” was the worst album I’ve ever heard). That being said, Deck and Ghost are fresh, especially back in the day when Deck effing owned “36 Chambers.” Damn, that was hot.

    Some MCs I feel need to be included in this conversation:

    Black Thought (“that guy from the roots”)
    Big Daddy Kane
    Gift of Gab (Blackalicious)
    Talib Kweli
    Pharoahe Monch
    MF Doom

    And while I think it’s too early to put Moka Only in this category, that cat has put out 3 of the dopest albums I’ve heard in the past two years. Dude’s gonna blow up something huge.

  17. information leafblower says:
    January 26, 2004 at 1:58 pm

    I forgot Talib Kweli. I like his vibe. It’s uplifting and positive, unlike 9 out of 10 MC’s that feel the need to “keep it real.”

    Good call. His first solo joint was tight.

  18. tom says:
    January 26, 2004 at 3:10 pm

    gab is way underrated. the rebel ins will crush jigga and 2pac. “the bridge is over” owns “my philosophy”. ya’ll seem to have forgotten one rather chubby individual by the name of Biggie who no doubt would go up against rakim and nas for illest of all time. ll back in the day might crush any battle emcee. gotta disagree with the official mentions of xzibit and guru. good emcees, not nearly the best. mos def should be on there no doubt, not sure what youre smoking on his hits/misses ratio, matt. kweli is damn good too. for a mainstream emcee ludacris could wipe the floor with jigga. all i have to say about 2pac was that the man had a tattoo that said “thug life” yet for years appeared on the same stage as a man with plastic fake nose and glasses. how thug is that? what about big pun and big l? those guys murdered things. any list without the gza on it is surely lacking. and kool keith is still dope despite many garbage releases. matt, did you forget your main main Nine? q-tip should probably always receive a mention as well. KRS-1 is probably in my top 5. melle mel was the hotness, as was moe dee and BDK.

    as for the best hiphop track, currently my vote goes to either “juicy” or “top billin” both of which epitomize hiphop to me.

  19. matt says:
    January 26, 2004 at 3:20 pm

    I think Big is overrated as well, though not to the degree that Pac or Jay-Z is. I could have thrown Em on there too, but I’ll reserve judgment on him.

    I like Luda more now than i used to, but not enough for top 10.

    Ms. Fat Booty is one of the all time joints, but Mos Def is fucking around too much with that band shit.

    Big Pun massively overrated by everyone. Big L good, but cut down too early.

    GZA’s last 2 albums didn’t do it for me, but his first one was ill.

    Nine is my main man, but he only had two albums and then straight disappeared.

    Tip fell off, and that can’t even be questioned.

    If i was breaking this up into old and new school, KRS, Mel, etc would make it, but the game is more advanced now, with different rules. Apples and Oranges.

  20. evan says:
    January 26, 2004 at 3:59 pm

    Oh I’m definitely a closet Ludacris fan. He’s amazing. Probably too modern to fall into a Greatest of All Time conversation, but he’s arguably essential listening right now, if you wanna keep your ear to what’s hot on the major-labels. And overall, I feel we’re at a good place with respect to mainstream hip-hop in ’04, from a creativity standpoint. Much better than ’01 or ’02.

    Mos Def is kind of beyond hip hop — him and Andre 3000 are on another level altogether, and are at this moment re-defining what we think of as hip-hop. And I think it’s a beautiful thing, really.

  21. Coolfer says:
    January 26, 2004 at 4:19 pm

    Mos Def…he belongs in any Top Ten list. Glad to see him getting so many nods here.

    I’m a little partial to Aesop Rock, as well.

    And, of course, Anthony Kiedis and his incredible performance in “Give It Away.”

  22. tom says:
    January 26, 2004 at 5:59 pm

    as for tip falling off, ill just say that the seiji rmx of “breathe and stop” kills it, tips flow on that is on point. if the discussion was emcees who at this very moment are better than jigga+tupac, my answers might be different. but i count all time records (youd have to do that when discussing 2pac, the guy hasnt cut a rhyme in like 8 years) so thats what made me pick my choices. nine’s performance on the one album that i DLed was very very hot, much better than anything jigga or 2pac did.

    ludacris i think will be looked back upon in a different light than people look on him now. the guy currently steals any track he guests on and is one of the few people making great party joints and great sex raps.

    i picked up the new mos def 12″. it has this 115 or so BPM joint on there that sounds like a combo of basic channel reverbs and old school uptempo hiphop. the flip has luda on a track with mos and its hot as well.

    also, someone said jeru hasnt done anything. not true, he had an album come out in 03, its still sitting in the shop i work at. its pretty lackluster.

    also also i forgot to mention slick rick in my all time great emcees.

  23. nick says:
    January 27, 2004 at 1:41 pm

    no one has mentioned redman yet? or posdunous from de la? and why does mos def not make it? (BTW – i think the track tom mentioned is the one sampling “magnificent seven” by the clash. very dope and VERY timely for all them punk-funk hipsters!)

    i agree that tupac is overrated – but it’s hard to disassociate his lyrical output from his iconic status.

    got to stand up for hova though. from 95 (or was it 96?) to today, he’s delivered more than enough effortlessly dope lines and high-quality, FOCUSED albums (roc la familia and blueprint vol. 2 notwithstanding – but still better than average) to qualify as an all-time great.

    sure, he has gone a little overboard at times with some weak, pop-crossover singles (“h to the izzo” and “you belong to the city” stand out as particularly wack efforts) but even some of those can be good – “change clothes and go” has grown on me since it’s release, and now that time has passed since it’s initial overexposure, “hard knock life” stands up as a classic track.

  24. matt says:
    January 27, 2004 at 1:56 pm

    Yeah, Funk Doc was an oversight. I think he’s earned it.
    De La’s fall off rivals that of tip’s, so as much as i like them both, they don’t make it.

    maybe it’s the “effortless” sound that i don’t like. I also think he loses mad points for sample reliant hooks that overshadow the flow.

    change clothes and go: very unnecessary. and that’s coming from chief neptunes fan #1.

  25. tom says:
    January 28, 2004 at 7:28 am

    im not really a hova-hater, im just not really a fan. i have double copies of the “big pimpin” 12″ and thats really all i need to own by him.

    and yeah that mos def apparently does sample the clash, which i find moderately irritating as im not really a fan of the clash at all. id never heard that track before though. red man has been really hit or miss, and i cant even individually name the de la emcees casue theyre pretty much one unit in my mind.

    one more dope emcee who has been rocking things recently: mf doom

  26. SkyFoxx says:
    February 5, 2004 at 10:07 am

    Jay-Z is #1 on my list. Those that say otherwise dont know what they talkin about

  27. y2jibroni says:
    February 19, 2004 at 12:12 am

    Currently, I don’t even listen to hip hop as much anymore but I would put any of the following artists up against Jay-Z to bury him… Nas, Tha Liks, Roots, KRS, Clipse, Eminem, Mos Def…

    The bottom line is Jay-Z is a “now” artist. Everyone thinks he’s good now but in 10 years will anyone remember? Who remembers Mace? His songs were flashy and popular but didn’t live in anyone’s heart. I think Jay-Z is similar. There are a ton older groups whose stuff still rocks the house. Some artists who released music back in 1990 who can still get a party going… Tribe, Biggie, KRS, Nas, PE, Wu-Tang, Kane, LL, Rakim, Biz Markie are just a few that have older songs that live in my heart today. Will Jay-Z’s songs live in your heart in 5 to 10 years like these other artists? I may be wrong but I’m guessing most of his fans will be on to the next new thing. If you can still gain joy from his music in 5 – 10 years than I pat you on the back, in realizing he has passed the test of time.

    Terry

  28. DJ MadMax says:
    April 16, 2004 at 1:11 pm

    And what about phife dawg? I think q-tip falls behind phife, especially when ya compare their albums. Da Ventilation LP is some proper good stuff. Mos def and j-live are up in my tops along with biggie and MOP. Anyone checked out’death is certain’ by royce 5’9, definitely worth it.

  29. DJ MadMax says:
    April 16, 2004 at 1:11 pm

    And what about phife dawg? I think q-tip falls behind phife, especially when ya compare their albums. Da Ventilation LP is some proper good stuff. Mos def and j-live are up in my tops along with biggie and MOP. Anyone checked out’death is certain’ by royce 5’9, definitely worth it.

  30. Atrayu says:
    April 27, 2004 at 10:16 pm

    No one remembered to mention the greatest entertainer of all time- ODB.
    and what about Killah Priest and Too Poetic/Grym Reap

  31. molly says:
    October 11, 2004 at 1:08 pm

    I just want Eminem to know that I love him. We grew up the same. I would do anything for him to hear me rap to him… ha ha … well almost anything. I am 22 and I will be there to meet him in that nursing home flirting. Just look for that beautiful young lady that keeps spitting out old eminem lyrics. I’ll be like “hi my name is shady’s lady”. Oh only in my dreams. I am your biggest fan.Bye . ……. . molly bankes 10/04

  32. JAY says:
    October 25, 2004 at 9:43 pm

    Lil’ Flip is probably better than Jay-Z, just cuz Lil’ Flip is easy listnin too. Hes laid back and dosnt have an annoying voice.

  33. B easy says:
    December 5, 2004 at 10:58 pm

    Bottom line…pac and jay are overrated, but still better than most. Hip hop is so different now in comparison to say 15 years ago, and to compare an artist like jay-z to lets say chuck d isnt fair. Different motivation and differnt message. But having created my list and revised it millions of times, i will share it with all of you.

    10. Jay-Z
    9. MC Ricky D (slick rick)
    8. Common
    7. LL Cool J
    6. Ghostface
    5. Chuck D
    4. Tupac
    3. Biggie
    2. Rakim
    1. Nas

  34. lance says:
    December 24, 2004 at 10:34 pm

    how can u put nas as number one? granted illmatic was classic, he hasnt released anything worth listening to since….i would have to say slug is the greatest emcee of all time, b/c he constantly releases dope material. my top 10 of all time

    1. slug
    2. brother ali
    3. aesop rock
    4. eyedea
    5. del tha funkee homosapien
    6. musab
    7. common
    8. mos def
    9. talib kweli
    10. krs-one

  1. low culture says:
    February 2, 2004 at 8:13 am

    Grey on Grey
    Enough, now. Whether you’re a writer for Rolling Stone, or a producer at MTV.com, or some ad-agency employee in Detroit, or, ultimately, Ben Greenman writing for the New Yorker, you really have to calm down a bit regarding your…