who is the greatest rapper alive?

UnOwn

Sir Templeton Peck
ill o.g.
LOL, you always be crackin my ass up.
 

o-a-ksavage

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
UnOwn said:
Yea, very happy, I was sure I misunderstood you and I agree with you completly. "The great white hype" when there are white boys out there that are way better in my opinion. He is just a marketing gimmick.

WHAAT?!!! How is he a marketing gimmick? Can you honestly say he doesn't have skills? He was rippin foos in battles way before he was in the industry, so how is he a marketing gimmick? YOu come with hella average underground cats like the Grouch--Ooooooooooo, that couldn't see Eminem with binoculars.
 

gram green

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 1
theres too many... but GHOSTFACE will allways be da shit... pretty toney is pretty dope... he the most consistent from the wu i think...

oh yeah ... and eminem is overated as a muffucca... but he is still tight as fuck... and o-a-ksavage aint lyin bout that shit "how is he a marketing gimmick? YOu come with hella average underground cats like the Grouch--Ooooooooooo, that couldn't see Eminem with binoculars." hahahahaha da grouch shit suuuuuucks..... oh and holmzini might be right ....
 

UnOwn

Sir Templeton Peck
ill o.g.
I never said he didn't have skillz, he has way way more skills then most mainstream cats put together, but he isn't as dope as everyone gives him credit for. And I never said Grouch was the dopest either, I said there are too many different elements that have to be taken into consideration to determine that one person is the "best." I was saying that a true connoisseur would recognize different areas of the art form that make it virtually impossible to say one person is the "best." If you can say one person is the "best", I would say that your scope is too limited or that you are close minded. I'm not pointing fingers here, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but mine is based on what I like and has nothing to do with what corporations force feed me; since, I don't have TV or turn the radio on.

He is a marketing gimmick because, as he says himself "I wouldn't have sold half as many albums if I wasn't white." He is one of the first white guys in the mainstream that can flow, he is relatively good looking, and he cracks jokes all the time. So, he can market himself for more than he is worth in my opinion. As far as battle rapping, maybe he would kill the Grouch, but as far as saying something intelligent, I doubt it. Grouch is far from one of my favorite MCs, why you chose him out of a list that was merely used to illustrate the diversity of different types of rappers out there, I do not know, but I'd say that anything he says has a lot more feeling behind it than some juvenile shock-jock mentality. I prefer to listen to someone that has something more to say than how he kills his wife, gets crunk in tha club wit a 40, eats too many boomers, and so on and so on. Listen to what you want, I'm not gonna tell you who to like, I'm just stating my opinion.
Peace........
 

nasir jones

The Perfectionist!!
ill o.g.
Eminem...nah negro please!!
 

blak flame

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
face mob

The greatest rapper alive to me is Scarface. I think he is one of the most underrated rappers out. Everything Scarface spits is real. He ain't never made some ole' commercial party shit to sell records. He spits the truth and he's lyrical as hell.
 

sYgMa

Making head bangers!!!
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 26
Well, to me, NAS is tight, Eminem is ALL RIGHT, not ALL THAT... I mean, come on! Say what you want, but he was first known for saying shit about his own mother, about his baby's mother, and all that... that's what made him popular in the 1st place. Yeah, he had his reasons, but was it really necessary to wash his dirty clothes in public? NO! that was for shock and publicity! He's a wise guy and he knew what reactions he would have from that 1st LP.

And as others said, you cant really say NAS is the best either. He's tight, but not in all aspects of being an MC. You gotta look at lyric's content, flow, presence, charisma, freestyle level, etc... I wouldn't give him 100% on all of those. Some others are better than he is in some of those points... like Busta Rhymes, or Kardinal Offishal...
 

sYgMa

Making head bangers!!!
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 26
Freestyling is not the main aspect of being an MC to me... (maybe it is to you, but not to me) I think being able to write some tight lyrics with content, being able to make any kind of crowd move... and all the other stuff I stated are fare more important than freestyle abilities...

Freestyle CAN make an album, but it wont be the tightest you could do...
 

Nuff B

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
eminem has rhymes but i don't think he has the mental stamana to be the best rapper alive he can't handle pressure without pullin a gun or hittin somebody over the head with a bottle but for right now the king has retired yall all know who i am talkin about he has the all around swagga mn holla at ya man word to philly
 

pancakebunnny

needs more fartnoise
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
No one thought about J-Live? Come on... he's unbelievable... But I agree that Rakim is there. He's on his throne alone,spitting poems with the microphone in tone. He's been like "if I'ma drop a verse, it'll be immortal. I can't drop any filler material. it'll fuck up my resume'..."
 

UnOwn

Sir Templeton Peck
ill o.g.
I thought about J-Live, but as I said before there is no best because there are too many different elements to consider in the process. This is one of the better suggestions I have heard recently, while most people just continue to sweat this mainstream garbage, admittedly some of the suggested MCs used to be really tight, but have they been consistent, NO. And the "Why consider what someone says to be best rapper," not trying to call you out here or anything, but isn't a rapper all about what he says and how he says it. That is ridiculous. Sorry you all don't get bored hearing MCs say the same things over and over and over, but I do. Maybe some people should look at what is really going on with hip-hop rather than just considering what the "hype" says is best...
 

pancakebunnny

needs more fartnoise
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
I agree with you, unOwn..... as far as what producergyal was saying... i think what she meant is that yes... eminem can say shit in an unbeleivable manner... but the actual lyrical content is sometimes lame... on the other hand, KRS One has great lyrical content, but he doesn't always say it in the best way..... but I believe a true, real emcee has to be able to do both. He(or she) has to bring real, insightful, creative, witty lyrics in a manner that is just jaw dropping...
 

Cold Truth

IllMuzik Moderator
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
whats with all these "nas, nuff said" "eminem, nuff said" responses?

for once, i would like to hear a REAL good choice with a REAL reason behind the thinking. saying "no one is even close, so sand so is the best by far" doesnt say anything.

im sorry but guys like esham, aesop rock, el p, eminem, nas, WHOEVER, are getting trendy choices based on who is the hot artist in their realm (maybe not esham,..) and being goven no real reasons behind them as choices.

lets see some logic here.... why is esham the greatest? why is aesop rock? why is nas? why is chuck d or rakim?

ho wabout this: define greatness? what is the measure? what constitutes skills? i could say wordsworth, or pharoah monch, and say "nuff said" because in my own mind, they are two of the most skilled, but that doesnt give them greatness.

what about common? it took him 5 tries to make an album that you could even TRY and say wasnt an excellent album, (electric circus) and even then he took a risk and transcended everything else that was out.... but he is about to drop another great one, i am positive. he has a 'landmark' song (H.E.R) that has importance to the history of hip hop itself, like planet rock or rappers delight, he is one of the few rap artists that have actually shown growth and change throughout his career, he alwayas has solid topics, or a fresh perspective on an old one, and he is a guy who can and regularly does, steal the spotlight from the tracks he GUEST stars on. (act too, UNIverse at war, respiration, get em high, the truth, etc..) as well a few classics of his own (the aforementioned h.e.r, 1999, invocation, the hunger, etc.... not to mention the fact that he is one of the few rappers around with TRUE freestyle skills that are ACTUALLY SOLID and not gimmicky (sorry, supernatural fans...) how many "freestyles" have you heard on other songs with other artists? some are VERY blatant. not that com doesnt have his moments 9i have heard a few...kweli as well)

and now he is about to begin a rebirth of sorts.....

just giving my reasons why.
 

pancakebunnny

needs more fartnoise
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 25
damn.... nuff said... literally. I've always been following common's heels since resurrection. I do have to agree... he was my number 1 pick for who i'd dream to produce for. SOMETIMES he has me a little puzzled, but 98% of the freestyles, guest appearances, solos, etc... are on point.

what do you think his best verse is, cold truth?
 

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