Nothing units a hip-hop fan off faster than a debate in regards to the best rappers of all time. The contentious matter has been a supply of debate for many years now, in barbershops and on road corners in addition to Twitter timelines and group chats. Most not too long ago, Billboard and Vibe’s “50 Greatest Rappers of All Time” record has been on the middle of the most recent discourse. The shops’ rating — which rolled out 10 rappers weekly beginning on Jan. 11 and ending on Feb. 8 — sparked arguments throughout social media, with rap followers taking difficulty with the whole lot from their favourite artist’s numbered spot (or full exclusion) to the standards used to create the record. Even rappers themselves held the publications’ picks to the fireplace.
“I do not f*ck with Billboard or the editor,” a disgruntled Ice Cube, who ranked No. 18 on the record, informed TMZ. “Billboard ain’t Hip Hop so their opinion do not matter. So who provides a f*ck? . . . it is an irrelevant record.” Others, like Fat Joe and Ja Rule, shared related sentiments in regards to the record. The latter, who was snubbed from the rankings, tweeted, “There ain’t 50 rappers lifeless, alive or ready to be born higher than me… #ICONN #Vibes @billboard congrats to everybody on the record properly deserved however examine my resume… #ICONN #Vibes.” POPSUGAR reached out for remark from editors at Billboard however didn’t obtain a right away response.
According to Billboard, the chosen 50 rappers got here from the borders of North America and had been picked primarily based on, in no explicit order, “physique of labor/achievements (charted singles/albums, gold/platinum certifications), cultural affect/affect (how the artist’s work fostered the style’s evolution), longevity (years on the mic), lyrics (storytelling expertise), and circulate (vocal prowess).”
As thorough because the grading scale gave the impression to be, some critics had been nonetheless left displeased with the “chaotic” last batch. As music and popular culture journalist Shelby Stewart tells POPSUGAR, “One of essentially the most obtrusive issues, to me at the very least, is that it feels extra like a skewed timeline of rappers and their accomplishments than it does a complete record of best of all time. Because what’s the analysis measure of what makes somebody best of all time?” Good query.
Defining “greatness” is a difficult activity, particularly relating to rappers. “There’s actually no common standards for it, which is why these conversations are ongoing, as a result of there isn’t any closure,” Vibe hip-hop reporter and “Stay Busy” podcast host Armon Sadler explains.
“There’s no definitive method to decide [the greatest rapper of all time].”
Factors like a rapper’s time within the recreation, what number of data they’ve offered, and the variety of hits underneath their belt get difficult if you title of us just like the late Tupac and Notorious B.I.G., each of whom are nonetheless deemed rap legends (and included on the highest 50 record) regardless of their quick years of success earlier than their tragic deaths within the ’90s. Then you might have present superstars like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Future, all of whom have made an amazing affect individually and are nonetheless residing by way of their legacy period, but discover themselves on the identical pedestal as undisputed icons like JAY-Z and Nas. In different phrases, it is easy to say they’re all “nice” when there isn’t any set definition.
What’s extra, it is almost unattainable to grade all of the “nice” rappers on a good scale when the benchmarks do not apply to each single particular person’s profession or expertise; one thing, or somebody, is all the time certain to slide by way of the cracks. “There’s no definitive method to decide [the greatest rapper of all time],” Sadler provides, “and that is why these conversations can get very exhausting.”
To that time, as tiring because the impassioned discourse could be, multihyphenate podcast host Mouse Jones notes “that is the gorgeous factor” about hip-hop, too. “If you’d’ve requested me this 5 years in the past, I might’ve positively been like, ‘Oh, you bought to have the lyrics and storytelling,'” Jones says of the necessities for the best rapper of all time title and these “tremendous villain” lists.
“But I feel hip hop, particularly on the flip of fifty [years], what we’re seeing is there isn’t any one grading scale,” continues Jones, who cohosts podcasts like “The What?! Hip Hop, Questions, Legends, and Lists” and “Guys Next Door.” “‘Who is one of the best rapper for no matter you maintain close to and pricey for rap?’ For a few of these youngsters, it will be [Lil] Durk. For the older guys and the those that had been there the 12 months hip-hop [was born] and from then on, it is HOV (JAY-Z) and B.I.G. and KRS [One] and [Big Daddy] Kane, as a result of they’re capable of story inform and use similes and metaphors.”
Impact and status vs. lyricism and music high quality aren’t the one points that make the best rappers of all time dialog really feel obtuse — particularly if you add within the regional bias of East and West Coast rap over the South and Midwest.
We must level out that what would be the most egregious oversight of all is that the hip-hop debate and respective lists come off flat-out sexist towards girls rappers. These artists are sometimes both dismissed, under-appreciated, or ranked low (it is price noting that Billboard and Vibe’s record contains solely six girls whole, and just one within the high 10).
“Not solely are these lists sexist towards girls, [so is] all the style of hip-hop,” says Ebbony Pinillos, founding father of Two Bees TV and digital producer at “Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God.” “Men are allowed to be mediocre, lack range and development, however nonetheless discover success. Meanwhile, their feminine counterparts are criticized for not rapping in addition to Nicki Minaj.”
While this merciless shade might not be intentional, sadly, “rap has all the time been checked out as a male style,” Sadler notes. Thus, “girls have had a more durable time getting on and getting that recognition.” And that truly speaks to a bigger downside inside hip-hop: the tradition’s refusal to acknowledge its mistreatment of girls, particularly Black girls.
“No one desires to have that dialog, not to mention the individuals in hip-hop,” Jones says frankly. “They do not need to admit it. They do not need to speak about why it is really easy in our tradition for our girls to be essentially the most disrespected, underserved, and under-protected . . . Of course, nobody desires to try this as a result of then it’s a must to change the whole lot.”
Hip-hop has loads of flaws to deal with however that does not negate its huge world affect throughout music and popular culture, which we proceed to have fun as its fiftieth anniversary nears. As followers, it is our job to carry the style to a sure normal of high quality and be inclusive of discussing all artists worthy of the best rappers of all time title. So it is OK to have fun our trailblazing Mount Rushmore faces of hip-hop who’re nonetheless as sharp as they had been of their prime. But we must also be open to rewarding these underrated rappers — regardless of their age, gender, or background — who’re simply as expert, however do not get almost the quantity of reward they deserve.
“These lists will all the time be related as a result of there’ll all the time be some kind of competitors.”
Part of upholding hip-hop itself is maintaining the always-relevant debate of rap fanatics’ high 5, 10, or 50. No matter how irritating or vexing these conversations are — and whether or not they’re dictated by publications, music critics, or common bloggers — they’re going to proceed on for years to come back. Why?
“Because individuals love watching automotive crashes, that is why,” Jones remarks. “There’s a gaggle of those that love being upset and love being pissed off, then there is a group of those that love pissing individuals off. So so long as these two sides exist, they’re going to all the time want one another.”
Consequently, for lists like Billboard and Vibe’s, Stewarts says they’re “all the time going to get a sure group of individuals outraged merely due to who they really feel is ranked too low on the record or ranked too excessive.”
For each public outcry over a controversial record, there’ll all the time be a passionate fan able to defend their GOAT to the dying. Which, on the finish of the day, is admittedly the purpose of those discussions — to spark a dialogue in regards to the state of hip-hop. Whether it yields a optimistic or unfavourable outcome, any chatter about hip-hop’s high leaders retains the style alive and properly. As Pinillos places it: “Hip-hop is nearly like a sport, so these lists will all the time be related as a result of there’ll all the time be some kind of competitors.”
Music debates of any type will solely ever be subjective, no matter whether or not of us like journalists are anticipated to present their neutral and knowledgeable opinion. In instances like these, we’re in the end simply enthusiastic followers who need to see who we consider as one of the best get acknowledged. Hopefully for hip-hop, we’ll nonetheless be having this age-old debate for 50 extra years.