List of my favorite rappers by year

2000: Jay-z- Jigga was my favorite rapper when I first getting into rap. Songs like Big Pimpin and Hard Knock life were some of my favorite songs by Jay-z. I really liked Eminem around this time, who had also burst on the scene around 2000. I wasn’t that heavy into rap yet, but I really liked Outkast as well.

 

 

2001: Ludacris- Around the end of the year I bought my first album, Word of Mouf by Ludacris. The album was a favorite of mine. I remember listening to it a WHOLE LOT.

I started liking a whole lot of rappers like Fabolous, Bubba Sparxxx, and others. Word of Mouf is still in my top 5 rap albums ever.

 

 

2002: Eminem- The great white MC was without question my favorite rapper at this time. Not only was his Eminem Show in heavy rotation, but the songs from his movie 8 Mile were good. Most notably the incredible Loose Yourself.I also started listening to Nas’s Stillmatic a lot around this time

 

2003: 50 Cent- 03’ belonged to 50 Cent. A lot of people found out about in 2003, but I had actually heard of him in 02’ due to Wanksta. 50’s debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin was in heavy rotation…..and would stay in heavy rotation for the rest of the year for the most part. Jay’s Black Album and Ludacris’s Chicken & Beer were also some of my favorites.

 

 

2004: Nas- 04 was an interesting year. I really began to know a lot about Rap artists and just music in general. Nas barely edged out Eminem here. Both realeased albums this year, but Nas’s was in more rotation at the time….even though I barely listen to it these days(Street’s Disciple)

 

 

2005: The Game/Young Jeezy- This one was too close to call, so I give the 1^st half of the year to The Game, and the 2^nd half to Young Jeezy. The Game’s debut album was in heavy rotation. I really didn’t like him in 04 based on his guest spots on other G-Unit albums. However his debut album was amazing. I got Jeezy’s debut album in late 05. It rarely left my cd player. Jeezy seemed to be a great new artist which was true.

 

 

2006: T.I.- 06’ was the year of the King of the South. I really liked his movie ATL. I saw it on my birthday. His King cd was incredible and is definantly one of top 10 favorite albums of all time. I started liking Lil Wayne later in the year when I copped the Carter II. Of course I liked Jay-z’s Kingdome Come album as well. Lupe Fiasco was actually the runner up though with his stellar debut album.

 

 

2007: Kanye West- There’s a lot to be said about Mr. West in 2007. By now I was already a Kanye fan, but this album would cement as one of my favorite rappers without debate. Graduation was a fun fun album. Lupe’s The Cool album was close tho, very close to being the album of the year imo. 50 Cent’s Curtis was also in heavy rotation. I cant forget about Ultimate Victory by Chamillionaire.

 

 

2008: Lil Wayne- As much as Weezy has fallen off…its hard to believe that he was my favorite rapper in 08’. Carter III was a very anticipated album. I thought it was great, and yes it was. I also liked Nas and T.I. a lot this year, who released albums better than Weezy’s that year respectability.

 

 

2009: Kid Cudi/Jay-z-I had first heard Kid Cudi on Kanye’s 808’s and Heartbreak album. Ironically I didn’t like Man On the Moon 1 that much at first, but after a few listens it really captivated me. I had never heard of a rapper as unique as Kid Cudi at this time. Jay-z ties with Blueprint 3….the album was highly anticipated, and it delivered. Other rappers I was feeling include Fabolous, Jadakiss, and Raekwon.

 

 

2010: Kanye West- Kanye-tida barely edged out Big Boi on this one. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is just better than most rap albums…..hell its better than most albums period. The beats were amazing, the album was creative, and the lyrics hit hard. Big Boi’s album was up there as well. Nas and Damian Marley were also had one of my favorites. Drake was another rapper I really started to like around this time.

 

 

2011:  Game- Game(the) was easily my favorite rapper in this year. His album had a lot of competiton but I still think it was the album of the year(even though I gave Common’s album the same score). Jay-z nad Kanye were also up there due to Watch the Throne. I also liked the albums from The Roots, Drake, and Tech N9ne.

 

2012: Nas- Nas really impressed me with the release of his 2012 album, Life is Good. The album wasn’t really the best that year, but it was a close second to Kendrick Lamar’s official album. I was also really feeling Kanye’s Cruel Summer collaboration album. There were 3 of my favorite rappers with releases late in the year; Game with Jesus Piece, T.I. with Trouble Man, and Big Boi with Viscious Lies and Dangerous Rumors.



 

2013: Eminem- Slim Shady returned in 2013 with a pretty damn good album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2. It was a collaboration type album, kind of like MMLP 1 mixed with Recovery. There were a lot of other great rap albums as well. Pusha T’s My Name is My Name album was a CLOSE second. Killer Mike and El-P’s Run the Jewels album was also dope. You can’t forget about J.Cole, Jay-z, and Kanye’s albums either.