This is a list of
rappers who I feel are the best right now, not all time. It’s mostly based on
albums and songs from 2010-2011. Here’s the top 20
*For the 2013 list go here http://supermaxreviews.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-top-rappers-of-2013-1st-edition.html
1)
Kanye West: “Now
I’m on the top and everybody on the scrotum”-Kanye West. Mr. West is finally on
top. His discography is almost flawless. He really pushed rap to its limits
with his last solo album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Then he came out
with his big Brother to release Watch the Throne, another tight album. Kanye
has been a great rapper, but now I’d have to say he’s at the top. His lyrical
wordplay is just as good as ever. I don’t see him topping his last solo
effort….but hey, when you’re the best, everyone tries to get up to your level.
Kanye has dropped several hot verses on albums like on Ross’s Teflon Don, and
Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday.
2)
Eminem: It’s
no secret that the white boy, Marshall Mathers is a lyrical juggernaut. Em’s
been through a lot over the past few years. He reinvented himself with 2010’s
Recovery album. He and Royce Da 5’9’s Welcome to Hell album was also good.
Basically if Eminem has a feature on a song he kills everybody on it. Shady
still raps like he has something to prove which I think is a good thing. He
wants to be the best ever and that’s
obvious.
3)
Game: Game
(dropped the “The”) is one of my favorite rappers. He is always consistent for
one, and I think he had the album of the year last year; The Red Album. On his
latest album Game showed a lot of lyrical versatility. He has taken the throne
from Snoop as the top rapper in the west. He’s arguably the 3rd best
west coast rapper behind 2pac and Ice Cube.
4)
Drake: This
particular rapper is up here mostly do to popularity. But Drake is very
versatile and has a good way of staying relevant. His first 2 official albums
were both pretty good, and Drake seems to end up on everyone’s albums. The king
of Rap n B used to be Ja Rule, but now its clearly Drake.
5)
Big Boi: There’s
really no arguing that Big Boi is an elite rapper, especially after how good
his Sir Luscious Left Foot album was. He’s ½ of Outkast and clearly one of the
best dirty south MCs the game has ever seen. I can’t wait for the next Outkast
album.
6)
Common: Talk
about a jump on the list. Common is up here mainly for his 2011 album The
Dreamer The Believer. It was an impressive album and recertified Common as one
of the rap game’s elite.
7)
Rick Ross: The
big boss Ricky Rosay has certainly become a force since 2010. His Teflon Don
album was only the beginning. He’s stepped it up lyrically and has his own
group, Maybach Music Group which has been successful. I look forward to his
next album as always.
8)
Jay-z : So
what if Jay is not the top rapper anymore, he’s still makes the top 10, and is
still above the other Carter(Lil Wayne). This isn’t just due to the greatness
of Watch the Throne with Kanye, but also a fact that his guest features have
and will probally always be very good. The game just cant seem to get enough of
the Jigga Man.
9)
Lil Wayne: Once
a top 5 rapper, Weezy has slipped a bit. He seems to have changed his rapping
style a bit since 2008’s Carter III, and that’s not a good thing. Sure he’s
versatile, but at some point its too much.(HOW TO LOVE). I actually like that
song but a lot of his new material lacks creativity(Carter IV cough cough).
Complaints aside, Wayne
10) Nicki Minaj: You may be shocked at
Nicki making the top 10, but she has great delivery and she varies her flow
frequently. I’ve always liked her but I think she should let the beef wit Lil
Kim go, as it was Lil Kim who helped pave the way for her. Her debut album is
really Pop-ish, but its decent.
11) J.Cole: I’m not the biggest J.Cole fan
but I recognize talent when I hear it. J.Cole’s debut album was really good and
it touched a lot of bases….he kind of reminds me of an East Coast Pac(that just
came out). In any case I expect Cole World to crack the top ten on my next
list.
12) Young Jeezy: Jeezy has been one of my
favorite rappers ever since he came out. However his solo album absence from
2009 to mid 2011 is pretty noticeable. Jeezy came back hard with TM103 though.
Jeezy just never seems to disappoint these days. He is the Raekwon of the
south.
13) Kid Cudi: I wont say Kid Cudder has
disappointed me, but it would have been great if he had released a 2011
album….but hey no point in rushing out albums. Kid Cudi keeps it very real and
makes some really dark songs sometimes.With 2 great albums under his belt KC
looks poised to crack the top 10 in the future.
14) Lupe Fiasco:Ah the great Lupe…another
shocker to some. I liked his Lasers album but I didn’t feel it was up to his
standards lyrically, but it’s good enough for him to make this list. Lupe is
still a very conscious rapper, and that’s one of the reasons why his songs are
so interesting.
15) Black Thought: The main rapper of the
Roots deserved some recognition. The Roots had a great album in 2010 that I
really admired; How I Got Over. In fact that album made me a Roots fan. Then
later in 2011 they dropped Undun, another great album. Black Thought is a very
good MC that doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
16) Talib Kweli: Talib remains one of my
favorite rappers.His 2010 album with Hi-Tek Revolutions Per Minute was
excellent, then he followed it up with a solo effort Gutter Rainbows. GR wasn’t
all that great but it still sparked my interest.
17) Raekwon: Ever since 2009 I knew Raekwon
was an elite rapper. He has a flow that most East Coast rappers would envy. His
2011 album Shoalin vs. Wu-Tang was very good but not quite as good as OB4CL2.
However Rae is a really good storyteller and is sure to move up on the list.
18) Tech N9ne: Who is this rapper? Before 2011’s All 6s
and 7s album I really never listened to him. He has a very unique way of
rapping. He generally raps fast, but he varies his pace well. He’s just a force
to be reckoned with and I see him being higher up in future lists.
19) Nas: This may be a shocker to see Nas
THIS FAR BACK. However I don’t really feel he’s dominated the rap game like he
used to. He did it big with Damian Marley with Distant Relatives in 2010, but
that’s about it. If this were an all time list he’d be top 5…but this isn’t.
20) Kendrick Lamar: The first time I heard
Kendrick it was on Game’s latest album(The Red Album). He is a very talented
west coast MC….his debut album, Section 80 was very good and is the main reason
he rounds out the list.
Notables Mentioned from last time: Snoop Dogg, Ludacris,
Cassidy, Jadakiss, T.I.
Fabolous, Wale, Q-Tip, 50 Cent
Snoop has lost my interest,
Ludacris needs to drop another album….fast, Cassidy is falling off, Jadakiss
needs to reach his full potential, T.I.’s No Mercy album was horrible, Fabolous
just needs another album, and 50 Cent needs to come with more creative efforts.