"...who's the best Emcee's?"

Yessir...it's that time again! I feel bad for MTV because BET pulled a straight up jack move on their “Hottest MC's in the Game” concept and created their own. This one is debating the hottest emcee's in the 21^st century (the past decade). First thing's first...there must be some clarity on the criteria on which these emcee's were judged. The decision was based on a rapper’s: flow, lyrics, subject matter, cultural impact, dough, and as needed in the arsenal of a 21st Century rapper –digital skills (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, their own website, etc.). BET's list is as follows:

# 10: Rick Ross

# 9: Jadakiss

#8: Young Jeezy

#7: Drake

#6. Ludacris

#5: TI

#4: 50 Cent

#3: Kanye West

#2: Lil Wayne

#1: Eminem

with Eve, The Game, Fabolous, Gucci Mane, Nelly as honorable mentions.


Personally, I think it's bs they left Jay and Nas off the list because they "came up in the 90's", but hey, these are their rules so I made my list based off of their criteria, not mine.  

My list is:

10. Lupe Fiasco – I thought it was a crime to leave Lupe off of this list. Sure he's not a platinum selling artist, but where he lacks in sales, he makes up for it in: creativity, artistry, lyricism, skills, digital skills, subject matter and cultural impact. Again, he's not a platinum selling artist...but Lupe can go on tour whenever he likes because he has a cult following that will attend his concerts and buy his albums everytime he drops. He has a cult following that will protest outside of Atlantic Records, demanding they give his highly anticipated Lasers album a release date. Lupe said it best: he's not in the game to sell millions of records. He's only here to provide balance. For every Gucci Mane, you need a Lupe, and vica versa. That goes a long way, in my opinion. Also - there's not a better lyricist to come out since Lupe. He is the best bar for bar lyricist to come out since Eminem. Flow, subject matter, lyrics, technique.  Name a better rapper? (besides the OG's: Jay, Nas, Em)........don't worry, I'll wait....

9. Young Jeezy – Ayyyyy! Jeezy showed us that less is more. When I first heard him, I never thought I'd ever include him on any top 10 list...he was a joke to me. But he has proven me wrong over time. Young Jizzle may lack lyrical complexity, but he proves you don't need wordplay as long as you have a little depth and substance. Think DMX in his prime. Jeezy has a knack for being motivational in his music. He makes you wanna get up and grind by painting a vivid picture, showing you the ups and downs in his story. Impact on the game? Lemme ask you this...you know what a “Young Jeezy beat” sounds like, right? You know when someone is using that “Jeezy flow” right? Most importantly, you know where rappers got their adlibs from, right? 'Nuff said.

8. Fabolous – How do you leave Loso off this list? He's been in the game since 99, cranking out hit after hit. "Can't Deny It", "Holla Back Youngin", "Trade It All", "Can't Let You Go", "Into You", "Breathe", "Baby", "Diamonds", "Make Me Better"...I can keep going.  Sure his first solid album came just last year with Loso's Way, but one thing's for sure – he's always been a dope emcee. Fab has had bars for days, but his problem was his delivery – at least until recently. He's probably the best punchline rapper in the game right now. In addition to his skills on the mic, Loso is killin the game via twitter. He's learned how to keep people interested and has gotten reactions out of everyone from Usher to 50 Cent. How's that for digital skills?

7. Ludacris – LUDA! There's no way you can mention this past decade without mentioning Ludacris. If we were only critiquing a rapper's flow, he'd be in the top 3 easily. Luda's always been a beast lyrically – his only weakness is putting together cohesive albums. It's impossible for him. I think Theater of the Mind is probably his most solid effort, but even that had its hiccups. Aside from that, he definitely had a huge impact on the game and the sales to go with it.

6. TI – I have this argument with people all the time. Why isn't TI ever listed in anyone's top 5? He....1.) has a catalog of hit records longer than every artist but Jay-Z, Nas, and Em. 2.)  He's sold millions of albums. 3.)  To say he's not a dope lyricist is a crying shame, especially after he murked Jay, Ye and Wayne on “Swagger Like Us” and finally 4.) He gave birth to many of our “trap-star” rappers that are popular today. So why? Why won't TI ever be in anyone's top 5? I think we all laughed when he claimed to be The King of the South on his debut I'm Serious. 5 albums later, I guess he had the last laugh. Aside from his poor decision-making abilities, TI has consistently cranked out hit after hit, while not compromising his skills as a lyricist.

5. Nelly – Yep. Nelly's #5, dammit. Why? If we're going by BET's criteria, Nelly is the obvious pick. I remember Nelly at the height of his popularity. Country Grammar – 10 million and some change. Nellyville – 6 million and some change. Even Jay-Z shouted him out saying “...the only rappers moving units is Em, Pimp Juice and us...”. While he gets minimal points on lyrics, he gets major points on flow. His melodic sing-song flow set the standard on how to deliver your lyrics for a hit single. As far as influence goes, he made a good point himself - who sang on record before Nelly? Which rapper incorporated melodic bridges in their songs before Nelly? He may not be your favorite lyricist, but he taught rappers how to re-structure their hit singles. His impact on hip-hop was so strong, he actually made you wonder who really won the battle between him and KRS-One? I'm not saying he did, but his career certainly wasn't damaged by it. Oh yeah, and he put St. Louis on the map. The only place he lacks is digital skills, and I'll say that's probably because he came up before social media took over.

4. 50 Cent – I had a hard time putting 50 at #4, but after thinking about it and BET's criteria: 1. He's still relevant. 2. He has lots and lots of dough. 3. He had a huge impact on the game with his Get Rich or Die Tryin and Massacre albums 4. He's the only rapper with a successful website (thisis50.com). Artistically, he's been a hit or miss with me lately, but one thing's for certain: 50 is probably the most respected (and feared) rapper in the game. Nobody wants it with him. We may even like his interviews more than his music because he's so unpredictable. You never know what he's gonna say about who...and that makes him exciting. Let's not forget, it was 50 that started the whole mixtape-game. He showed us how to build your buzz off of them, which is a formula that's still being used today.

3. Lil Wayne – I admit, I didn't know just how big of rapper Lil Wayne was until I saw his Rebirth album sell almost 800,000 (in this downloading era) without a smash single and a huge mistake by Amazon.com, leaking it six weeks before its actual release date. Even in prison, we feel Wayne's presence. He is the face of the new generation. He's always had the flow, but his lyrics finally caught up when he dropped The Carter in 2004. His work ethic made rappers step their game up, otherwise they'd get left in his dust. There was a point when Wayne was featured on EVERYTHING, in addition to mixtapes circulating throughout the underground market. Only Pac had a stronger work ethic – and it paid off by the time The Carter III sold 1 million its first week. As far as impact goes, there's no denying that Wayne has a tight grip on the game right now. He's introduced the world to Drake and Nicki Minaj and has no plans of stopping, even from prison.

2. Kanye West – Everyone has their opinion on Kanye West: you either love him or hate him. Outside of his many controversial statements and actions, Mr. West deserves the #2 slot for many reasons, but mostly because he is the most consistent across the board in terms of sales and artistry. By this point, you know if you buy a Kanye West album, you know you're going to get nothing less than high-quality music that is timeless. He is one of the few rappers who can say they have (arguably) 3 classic albums under their belt. Even his 4^th album 808's and Heartbreaks set a new musical trend by fusing hip-hop and pop. And although he didn't start out as the best technical rapper, his skills have heavily improved since his 2003 debut. Outside of his artistry and sales, Ye's impact on the game was very evident since he stepped on the scene. In an era dominated by gangstas and thugs, Ye made it cool to be preppy and revived socially conscious lyrics. In addition to resurrecting the careers of fellow Chi-Town rappers Common and Twista, he also introduced the mainstream to underground rappers like Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

1. Eminem –  Make no mistake, if Em were black he wouldn't have sold half the amount of records he sold – even he admits that. But outside of him being the top-selling artist (not just rapper) this past decade - you cannot deny the man's skills as a lyricist. He's not dope for a white guy – he's dope for any guy. Flow? Flawless. Lyrics? Always pushing the envelope. Battles? His track record speaks for itself. And while you may not be able to relate to all of his subject matter, you can relate to his overall story and struggle. You feel where he came from. The amazing thing about Eminem is that his influence and impact stretch beyond hip-hop. This man is the poster child for an entire generation of adolescent teens who observe the many hypocrisies of our society, but have no voice or platform to speak on it. In short - he is every conservative parent's worst nightmare. He has the skills to please any underground hip-hop head, but also has the commercial appeal to sell millions of records.



 

Honorable Mentions: Drake, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Joe Budden


Thoughts?  Speak on it!