Top 5 fav rappers of all time?

[groucho_marxx]

Krs 1
Biggie
Jeru Da Damaja
Guru
B.Real

[BaronVon]

Kool Keith
De La Soul
Jay -Z
B.I.G
Guru

At the moment

[grave dan]

B.Real

YES!
i rate Necro up there, same with Papoose. Planet Asia is pretty sick

[restless]

1) Rakim
2) Nas
3) Tupac
4) Redman
5) Kool g rap

[feral witchchild]

..Anyone else who stays real to the true roots of the music and what it's supposed to be, who won't be bought by fake media image like the majority of todays hip hop scene.

Nah man Kanye is mad talented stfu lollllllllllllll

...on a serious note, 5 is too skimp a number, but if I had to choose:

1. Big L
2. RZA
3. ODB
4. Nas
5. Raekwon

It was pretty much a toss-up between Rae and Ghost, Rae won out because Ghost has too much underwhelming shit out, even though he's mad skilled.

[godflesh fiend]

Ghost has too much underwhelming shit out, even though he's mad skilled.

Are you sure you're not talking about RZA????

[Coppola]

been feeling Craig Mack and Jeru at the moment

[alexchuck]

MF Doom
Brother Ali
Immortal Technique
Slug
Vinnie Paz

[spooKs]

Vaste Air on Iron Galaxy..........too good

[somejerk]

1. aceyalone
2. mos def
3. black thought (the roots)
4. krs-one
5. me.

[godflesh fiend]

1. aceyalone

Acey's the man. His new Do Wop Bee Bop Hip Hop album with the Lonely Ones drops this Monday after being pushed back about 100 times! Looking forward to it as the samples I've heard are fon-kay.

[ackbar]

01. Rakim
02. Ice Cube
03. Scarface
04. KRS-One
05. The Notorious B.I.G.

my current list would look completely different tho..

[legend4ry]

Chester P
Jehst
Nas
Skinnyman
Aesop.

[born beyond]

NAS = G.O.A.T , none comes close to his lyrical genius

then

Big L
Biggie
Akhenaton (of IAM)

and the number 5 spot is a tie between sean p, evidence, life, eminem and method man

i noticed almost none mentioned eminem.. the fact that he's so commercial doesnt mean that he isnt one of the illest cats on the mic

[godflesh fiend]

NAS = G.O.A.T , none comes close to his lyrical genius

Aceyalone slays him.

Saul Williams does too.

And numerous others......................

Nas is cool though.

I'm loving my Taggy Matcher 7" at the moment.........If you like Nas and Reggae....you'll LOVE the below 7" by Taggy!


AIN'T HARD TO TELL 7"
The 10th release on Stix Records. And Taggy Matcher doesn't let us down. Nas's 'Ain't To Tell' gets re fixed over some top Reggae grooves. If you have bought a Taggy 7" before you know they kill it and this is no different. Massive Christmas Party 7"!!! Also a version on the flip for some low down groovin.

[tkun]

In no particular order:

Andre 3000
MF DOOM
Gift of Gab
Nas
Joe Budden

[born beyond]

NAS = G.O.A.T , none comes close to his lyrical genius

Aceyalone slays him.

Saul Williams does too.

And numerous others......................

numerous rappers slay nas when it comes to lyricism? u serious? it comes down to individual taste ofcourse but when u have legends like krs one, big daddy kane and rakim say that he is the best, that has to count for something.. i'm not particularly objective cause 90% of the hip-hop i listen to is NY golden era but its blasphemy to say that numerous rappers "slay" nas

[godflesh fiend]

NAS = G.O.A.T , none comes close to his lyrical genius

Aceyalone slays him.

Saul Williams does too.

And numerous others......................

numerous rappers slay nas when it comes to lyricism? u serious? it comes down to individual taste ofcourse but when u have legends like krs one, big daddy kane and rakim say that he is the best, that has to count for something.. i'm not particularly objective cause 90% of the hip-hop i listen to is NY golden era but its blasphemy to say that numerous rappers "slay" nas

I hear what you're saying.....but you did say none come close to his lyrical genius. I disagree 100% and don't believe It's blasphemy at all when you have lyricism like this..........................

Cancel the apocalypse
cartons of the milky way with pictures of a missing planet
last seen in pursuit of an American dream
this fool actually thinks he can drive his hummer on the moon
blasting DMX off the soundtrack of a South Park cartoon
n****s used to buy their families out of slavery
now we buy chains and links, smokes and drinks
they're paying me to record this, even more if you hear it
somebody tell me what you think I should do with the money
yes, friend tell me what you think I should do with the money
exactly how much is it gonna cost to free Mumia?
what's he gonna do with his freedom? talk on the radio?
radio programming is just that - a brainwashin' gleamed of purpose
to be honest, some freedom of speech makes me nervous
and you looking for another martyr in the form of a man
hair like a mane with an outstretched hand
in a roar of hearts, thoughts, reactionary defensiveness and counter
intelligence
what exactly is innocence?
fuck it, I do believe in the existence of police brutality
who do I make checks payable to? (How 'bout I pay it in prayers?)
a young child stares at a glowing screen transfixed by tales of violence
his teenage father tells him that that's life, not that Barney shit
a purple dinosaur that speaks of love, a black man that speaks of blood
which one is keeping it real, son?
who manufactured your steel, son?
hardcore, ancient elements at the earth's core
fuck it, I'mma keep speaking 'til my throats sore
an emcee told a crowd of hundreds to put their hands in the air
an armed robber stepped to a bank and told everyone to put their hands in
the air
a Christian minister gives his benediction while the congregation hold
their hands in the air
love the image of the happy Buddha with his hands in the air
hands up if you're confused, define tomorrow
your belief system ain't louder than my car system
****** walked down my block with his rottwiler, a subwoofer on a leash
each one teach one
the DJ spins a new philosophy into a barren mind
I can't front on it
my head nods as if to clear the last image from an etch-a-sketch
something like Rakim said- I could quote any emcee, but why should I?
how would it benefit me? karmic repercussions
are your tales of reality worth their sonic laced discussions?
suddenly, the ground shivers and quakes
a newborn startles and wakes
her mother rushes to her bed side to hold her to her breast
milk of sustenance heals and nourishes
from the depths of creation life still flourishes
yet we focus on death and destruction, violence, corruption
my people, let pharaoh go
what have you bought into? how much will it cost to buy you out?
what have you bought into? how much will it cost to buy you out?
what have you bought into? how much will it cost to buy you out?

[spoken]
how much it gonna cost to buy you out of my mind?
penny for a thought, y'all ****** is half steppin' wastin' my time
please, n***a what? you talkin to me?
please baby, baby, baby can I borrow - can i borrow a nickle, a dime, and
that quarter
penny for a thought, penny for a thought
how much will it cost to buy you out of buyin' into a reality that
originally bought you?
dime a dozen, y'all ****** a dime a dozen
penny for a thought, ******, c'mon, penny for a thought
think fast, think fast, c'mon, time is money

time is money, money is time
so i keep 7 o'clock in the bank and gain interest in the hour of God
I'm saving to buy my freedom, God, grant me wings, I'm too fly not to fly
I soared further past humans without wings so I soar
and fine tickling the feathers of my wings
flying hysterically, over land numerically
I am seven mountains higher than the valley of death

Seven mountains higher than the valley of death
Seven dimensions deeper than dimensions of breath
[x12: gradually mixed out]

we're performing an exorcism on all this keep it real-ism
violence, sensationalism
in the name of the hip hop that nurtured me, cultured me
we are ordering all evil entities to exit this body, leave this body
in the name of microphone fiends and a young boy's b-boy dreams
we draw you to leave this body, leave this body
all evil entities, all wannabe emcees
decoys, decoys, send in the true b-boys
the true b-boys be men, motherfuckers
be men in the name of Scott La Rock
in the name of T-La Rock
motherfuckers don't remember how to do the reeboks
walk, hop, I told you to leave this body
leave this body, leave this body
I told you to leave this body
leave this body, leave this body
motherfuckers must think I'm crazy
shit, I think y'all motherfuckers is crazy
I want my fuckin' MTV
penny for a thought, n***a, penny for a thought
what the fuck have you bought into?



Or this.......................................

The fiery sun of my passions
Evaporates the love lakes of my soul
Clouds my thoughts and rains you into existence
As I take flight on bolts of lighting
Claiming chaos as my concubine and you as my me

I of the storm you of the sea
We of the moon land of the free
What have I done to deserve this? Am I happy?
Happiness is a mediocre sin set for a middle class existence

I see through smiles and smell truth in the distance
Beyond one dimensional smiles and laughter
Lies are hereafter where tears echo laughter
You'd have to do math to divide a smile

By a tear times fear equals mere truth
I simply delve in the air and if that's the case
All I have to breath and all else will follow
That's why drums are hollow, and I like drums, drums are good

But I can't think straight
I lack the attention span to meditate
My attention spans galaxies here and now are immense
Seconds are secular, moments are mine

Self is illusion, music's divine
Noosed by the strings of Jimmy's guitar
I swing Purple Hazed pendulum
Hypnotizing the part of I that never dies

Look into my eyes are the windows of the soul
It's fried chicken collies and cornbread
It's corn milk flour sour cream eggs and oil
It's the stolen blood of the earth

Used to make cars run and kill the fish
Who me? I play scales
The scales of dead fish of oil slicked seas
My sister blows wind through the hollows of fallen tress

And we are the echoes of eternity, echoes of eternity
Echoes of eternity maybe you heard of us
We do rebirths, revokes and resurrections
We threw basement parties in pyramids

I left my tag on the wall
The beats would echo of the stone
And solidify into the form of light bulbs
Destined to light of the heads of future generations

They're releasing it up in the form of OM
Maybe you heard of us
If not then you must be trying to hear us
In such cases we can't be heard

We remain in the darkness unseen
In the center of unpeeled bananas we exist uncolored by perception
Clothed to the naked eye
Five senses cannot sense the fact of our existence

And that's the only fact
In fact there are no facts, fax me a fact and I'll telegram
I'll hologram, I'll telephone the Son Of Man and tell him he is done
Leave a message on his answering machine

Telling him there are none
God and I are one
Times moon times star times sun
The factor is me, you remember me

T slung amethyst rocks on Saturn blocks?
'Til I got caught up by Earthling cops
They wanted me for their army or whatever, picture me
I swirl like the wind tempting tomorrow to be today

Tiptoing the fine line between everything and everything else
I am simply Saturn swirling sevenths through sooth
The sole living air of air and I, and, and all else follows
Reverberating the space inside of drum hollows

Package and bottles and chips
And tomorrow then sold to the highest ******
I swing from the tallest tree
Lynched by the lowest branches of me

Praying that my physical will set me free
'Cause I'm afraid that all else is vanity
Mere language is profanity
I'd rather hum or have my soul tattooed to my tongue

And let the scriptures be sung in gibberish
As words be simple fish in my soulquarium
And intellect can't swim so I stopped combing my mind
So my thoughts could lock

I'm tired of trying to understand
Perceptions are mangled matted and knotted anyway
Life is more than what meets the eye and I
So elevate I to the third and even that s*** seems absurd

And your thoughts leave you third isolated
No man is an island but I often feel alone
So I find peace through OM


And lastly this...........................

Nah, I wasn't raised at gunpoint and I've read too many books
To distract me from the mirror, when unhappy with my looks
And I ain't got proper diction for the makings of a thug
Though I grew up in the ghetto and my ****** all sold drugs

And though that may validate me for a spot on MTV
Or get me all the airplay that my bank account would need
I was hoping to invest in a lesson that I learned
I thought this fool had jumped me just because it was my turn

I went to an open space 'cause I knew he wouldn't do it
If somebody there could see him or somebody else might prove it
And maybe in your eyes, it may seem I got punked out
'Cause I walked a narrow path and then went and changed my route

But that openness exposed me to a truth I couldn't find
In the clenched fists of my ego or the confines of my mind
Or the hipness of my swagger or the swagger in my step
Or the scowl of my grimace or the meanness of my rep

'Cause we represent a truth, son, the changes by the hour
And when you open to it, vulnerability is power
And in that shifting form, you'll find a truth that doesn't change
And that truth is living proof of the fact that God is strange

Talk to strangers, when the family fails and friends lead you astray
When Buddha laughs and Jesus weeps and it turns out God is gay
'Cause Angels and Messiahs, love can come in many forms
In the hallways of your projects or the fat girl in your dorm

And when you finally take the time to see what they're about
Perhaps you find them lonely or their wisdom trips you out
Maybe you'll find the spot where cycles end
You're back where you began
But come this time around, you'll have someone to hold your hand

Who prays for you, who is there for you, who sends you love and light
Exposes you to parts of you that you once tried to fight
But come this time around, you'll choose to walk a different path
You'll embrace what you turned away and cry at what you laughed

'Cause that's the only way we're going to make it through this storm
Where ignorance is common sense and senselessness the norm
And flags wave high above the truth and the two never touch
And stolen goods are overpriced and freedom costs too much

And no one seems to recognize the symbols come to life
The bitten apple on the screen and Jesus had a wife
And she was his Messiah like that stranger may be yours
Who holds a subtle knife that carves through worlds like magic doors

And that's what I've been looking for, the bridge from then to now
Just watching BET like what the fuck, son? This is foul
But that square box don't represent the sphere that we live in
The earth is not a flat screen, I ain't trying to fit in

But this ain't for the underground, this here is for the sun
A seed a stranger gave to me and planted on my tongue
And when I look at you, I know I'm not the only one
As a great man once said, there's nothing more powerful
Than an idea who's time has come


Don't get me wrong though.....I think Nas is great.....BUT......there are people out there who imo can take him to the cleaners in the lyricism department. Like you said though It's all taste.