Nas - He would have to be the most lyrically gifted rapper I've heard to date. Listen to some of his early tracks (Illmatic especially), and you'll realize that from a young age this man was on an entirely different level than most rappers out there.
Eminem - I don't listen to many of his songs, but you can't deny that this man is among the elite rappers of all time. By far the best rapper of the '00s.
Warren G - My personal favorite (my avatar should give that away). I feel as though he is an immensely underrated and underappreciated lyricist and producer. His style differed considerably from that of his half brother Dr. Dre in that he didn't incorporate murders, gang wars, etc. into his songs. In fact, Warren G had as much to do with the evolution of West Coast rap as anyone, as he introduced his high school friend Calvin Broadus (a.k.a. Snoop Dogg) to half brother Dr. Dre. The two went on to produce one of the classic rap albums of all time in The Chronic.
Tupac - While I don't believe his material was the greatest, he was arguably the most influential rapper of the 90's. Many of his songs preached strong and encouraging messages to teenagers in need of a sense of direction, and he delivered those messages very eloquently.
Dr. Dre - Superb producer who did a fine job incorporating rhythmic sine wave synthesizers into his early songs. He continued to contribute quality music into the new millennium, and I greatly anticipate the release of his Detox album. Dre's ability to spot talent surely helped amplify the rap industry as he brought artists such as Snoop Dogg and Eminem to a level of recognition in the industry.
I'm a huge west coast rap fan, so my list certainly may have a bit of a "west side" flavor to it. However, I have listened to a large enough sample of rap music to formulate a reasonable assessment as to what rappers are the "greatest". Certainly Jay-Z, Biggie, etc. are/were exceptional talents and are worthy of consideration on most lists.
Nas - He would have to be the most lyrically gifted rapper I've heard to date. Listen to some of his early tracks (Illmatic especially), and you'll realize that from a young age this man was on an entirely different level than most rappers out there.
Eminem - I don't listen to many of his songs, but you can't deny that this man is among the elite rappers of all time. By far the best rapper of the '00s.
Warren G - My personal favorite (my avatar should give that away). I feel as though he is an immensely underrated and underappreciated lyricist and producer. His style differed considerably from that of his half brother Dr. Dre in that he didn't incorporate murders, gang wars, etc. into his songs. In fact, Warren G had as much to do with the evolution of West Coast rap as anyone, as he introduced his high school friend Calvin Broadus (a.k.a. Snoop Dogg) to half brother Dr. Dre. The two went on to produce one of the classic rap albums of all time in The Chronic.
Tupac - While I don't believe his material was the greatest, he was arguably the most influential rapper of the 90's. Many of his songs preached strong and encouraging messages to teenagers in need of a sense of direction, and he delivered those messages very eloquently.
Dr. Dre - Superb producer who did a fine job incorporating rhythmic sine wave synthesizers into his early songs. He continued to contribute quality music into the new millennium, and I greatly anticipate the release of his Detox album. Dre's ability to spot talent surely helped amplify the rap industry as he brought artists such as Snoop Dogg and Eminem to a level of recognition in the industry.
I'm a huge west coast rap fan, so my list certainly may have a bit of a "west side" flavor to it. However, I have listened to a large enough sample of rap music to formulate a reasonable assessment as to what rappers are the "greatest". Certainly Jay-Z, Biggie, etc. are/were exceptional talents and are worthy of consideration on most lists.
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