Hip-hop is competitive by nature and it always has been which is why it leaves us fans constantly debating on who the best MC’s of all time are. If you talk to a hundred different people and ask them who their favorite MC is you’re likely to get a hundred different answers ranging from Method Man to Ice Cube. While hip-hop is an art form and is therefore subjective and open for a bevy of different interpretations and opinions, hip-hop fans often seem to forget that the art of MC’ing is full of technical aspects. There are certain MC’s who cannot be denied their place on lists of the greatest of all time. There may have been people who weren’t fans of Whitney Houston but nobody could say she didn’t have a beautiful voice. This list was put together considering many factors, the main one being pure, raw, talent and ability. Other factors include influence, longevity, etc. We at Mens Mag Daily are sure this list will cause some minor uproar but without further ado we present our list of the 10 Greatest MC’s of All Time.
1. Rakim: Rakim Allah, where to start. This Long Island native has influenced every single rapper that has come after him for the last three decades. The word pioneer falls short when describing Rakim, he’s something more, a hip-hop immortal. Since 1985, he’s been responsible for the utter destruction of a thousand microphones and the instigator of endless street corner debates. He was always ahead of the curve and brought multi syllabic rhyme patterns and a flow that could mesmerize you and make you think he might rob you at the same time. His smooth flow, advanced vocabulary, and interesting subject matter left him in a league all his own. While many rappers make profanity laced death threats in their songs, Rakim was the antithesis to that, the iron fist in the silk glove who could secure his place as the world’s most dangerous MC without a single expletive. From Paid in Full to Don’t Sweat the Technique, Rakim set the standard for elite MC’s and is still regarded as one of the most potent lyricists of all time.
2. LL Cool J: The most mind boggling thing about LL Cool J, and not many people take the time to realize this, is that he was truly the first, the first massively successful MC ever. There were none before him. Please try to imagine that. He is the progenitor of hip-hop. Today’s MC can draw upon 30 years of hip-hip for inspiration. LL had no blueprint. He is solely responsible for creating key aspects of hip-hop as a culture and as a genre of music. While many rappers today brag about being from the streets, LL brought the streets to hip-hop. He didn’t have a rapper to emulate so he would pick up his fashion tips and his swag from the source, the dudes on the block. The fact that a 16 year old kid was able to do this is a testament to Cool J’s genius. He was the first of many things, including the first MC with real commercial appeal. From the moment he stepped on the scene in Krush Groove equipped with his powder blue Kangol and boom box and busted out a few bars of I Can’t Live Without My Radio, a star was born. He was Walking With A Panther, driving a Benz, flashing gold rope chains, and sipping champagne from the bottle years before Diddy or Jay-Z had even seen a studio. He’s reinvented himself time and again, managing to stay hungry despite sitting atop the game with multiple platinum albums to his credit. He’s battled both literally and figuratively against other MC’s and the perception of the public and always been victorious. LL is known for ending a career or ten. As far as I’m concerned there’s no room for debate, LL is easily, and I mean very easily, one of the greatest MC’s of all time.
3. Jay-Z: This dude is an enigma in every sense of the word. Jay dropped his first solo album, at 27 years old in 1996 and has been on nonstop fire since, minus a misstep from some well-placed Ether. Even in terms of the Nas situation, you have to give Jay-Z credit. He didn’t go at Nas for any reason other than he knew if he didn’t he could never really hold the throne. He would have been a paper champion if he hadn’t and he had the balls to do it, to go against the mastermind behind Illmatic. No matter how down and out Nas was, calling him out was dangerous and Jay deserves all the respect in the world for throwing himself into the line of fire like that. When Reasonable Doubt dropped, hip-hop was obviously dealing with a new breed. Jay wasn’t animated. He was flashy but in a low key way. His vivid tales of drug dealing laced with boasts about platinum Rolexes (In 1996, who the hell knew what platinum was?) had the public mesmerized. Jay’s advanced flow, which he seemed to switch effortlessly between tracks, was incredible. But let’s be honest, while Jay seemed ahead of his time from the moment Reasonable Doubt dropped, who would have thought he would have transformed into the poster boy for hip-hop? All of his business and financial successes aside, it’s Jay’s music that has kept him on top for this long. His music serves as the foundation for his success and has there ever been an artist who is more consistent? From Hard Knock Life, to the Blueprint, to the Black Album, Jay continuously dropped classic after classic. And don’t get things confused, Jay remains an MC’s MC. He will step out of a charity event at the Met, tuxedo and all, and tear apart any young MC in New York.
4. Nas: Nas a.k.a Nasty Nas began his storied career with one verse on Live at the BBQ by Main Source. The pressure was instantly on with proclamations that he was the second coming of Rakim and he didn’t disappoint. Nas’ debut album is still considered possibly the greatest hip-hop opus ever created. It was ten tracks of street poetry, vivid pictures painted through words of the street life and the struggle. Nas was instantly the golden child. No artist has been able to do justice to DJ Premier’s flawless tracks the way Nas has. He’s the best of every world touching on every subject from drug dealing to the raising of children, a conscious MC who could rap about guns one second and the importance of proper parenting in the next, while still remaining genuine and believable. Nas’ sophomore album, It Was Written, despite what many people say, is a certified classic. It’s a classic for Take It In Blood and The Message alone. Nas simply made a progression, he moved forward and people had a tough time letting go of the uber-iconic Illmatic. Even Nas’ “failures” produced gems that most artists would kill to be able to say they created. Let’s not forget Ether, one of the most scathing and creatively written and structured battle songs, or songs in general for that matter, ever written. The Queensbridge legend is revered by hip-hop fans the world over and is a true legend, consistently dropping hot material for 20+ years.
5. Big Pun: People often commented how surprised they were that this gargantuan Puerto Rican had the rhyming ability he did. What surprised me when I first started hearing material from Big Pun was his vocabulary. Here’s guy who dropped out of high school and was even homeless for a time yet has the vocabulary of a college professor and not only that but he used these words in the right context (not something every rapper does). When you add Pun’s extensive vocabulary to his technical proficiency you had one bad dude. The way pun recited his verses was incredible especially given his size. Another thing you have to love about Pun is the heavy Kool G Rap influence you can hear in his rhymes. There are not many MC’s if any who could flip G Rap’s style and make it better. As hard as a lot Pun’s lyrics were when it came to spitting funny and witty bars he was second to none and his ability to be diverse made him an anomaly. He could spit a mind boggling verse on a song like Twinz (Deep Cover 98) and then turn around and make an ultra radio friendly track like Still Not a Player while not sacrificing lyricism for one second. Pun is one of the greatest and was taken from hip-hop far too soon. Rest in peace Pun. Had you stuck around there’s no telling what you would have been able to accomplish.
6. Eminem: While many would hate to admit this, Eminem may have come up with the most accurate description of himself when he recorded Rap God for his MMLP 2 album. Eminem’s official introduction to the world, The Slim Shady LP, showcased a hungry Eminem dead set on delivering the most lyrical content possible while shocking a few million people along the way. Yes, he shocked them with some of his vulgar lyrics, but I think people were mostly shocked that a white guy could rap that well. His second album, The Marshall Mathers LP, which showed a marked improvement in his flow, cemented his place as one of the greatest to ever do it. One of the things that made Em such a phenom is the fact that he started off great but continued to get better with every album. Em has mastered every flow, every style, and every technique there is in terms of rapping. He’s reached an otherworldly level of skill and is showing no signs of slowing down. There’s nothing related to hip-hop that Eminem cannot do. If he decided tomorrow to make an album full of trap music, it would be hot. He’s a lyrical monster and can’t be touched by many, if any at all. Think about it this way. Hip-hop is a genre that is fueled off of beef, rappers tossing insults at each other in search of supremacy. Have you ever heard a rapper that actually has something to lose say anything even slightly derogatory about Eminem? Nas knows, Jay-Z knows, Rakim knows, everybody knows that Eminem is dangerous lyricist.
7. Pharoe Monch: Record sales have nothing to do with lyrical ability and Pharoe Monch is living proof of that. The things the man does with words are nothing short of mystical. His ultra complex rhyme patterns, fluid and diverse range of flows, as well as his multisyllabic and internal use of rhymes make him a one in a million MC, an MC’s MC. The fact that this man isn’t a multi-platinum artist is a testament to how hard hip-hop fans can be to satisfy and connect with. When you look at some of his more well-known tracks such as Simon Says, which is one of the hardest street singles of all time and Oh No which featured Mos Def and the late, great Nate Dogg, Monch goes as hard as the most gangster rapper while still sprinkling his own intellectual sensibilities all over the verses. To say that Monch has an extensive vocabulary is an understatement as he gracefully spits eloquent prose on top of the hardest tracks while making it look easy, and for Monch it just might be as an MC who so effortlessly spits such genius lyrics must have a God given talent.
8. Jadakiss: Jada is the great white shark of hip-hop; he’s never had to evolve. He came in hot, he’s still hot and he’s always done that by just being Jada. The Yonkers native is the quintessential New York MC. Whether he was killing it alongside DMX as part of the Ruff Ryders, giving his bars a pop twist next to Diddy, or spitting with his partners in rhyme Sheek and Styles as one third of the Lox, Jada has always been one of hip-hop’s finest. Let’s not forget, not many youngn’s could hold their own alongside Biggie Smalls. Jada has made a name for himself by dropping some of the hardest bars ever spit in his signature raspy voice. The knock on Jada has always been that his content doesn’t stray too far from money, women, and the streets. If you ask me, I say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Jada is known as one of the most consistent hip-hop artists of all time and can be diverse when he needs to be. Just listen to Why?, a dope concept song by Kiss touching on injustices in the world or U Make Me Wanna, an ode to the ride or die ladies with Mariah Carey on the hook. The Hawk is one of the greatest of all time and the heart of New York.
9. Kool G Rap: G Rap epitomizes what it means to be an East Coast MC. G Rap began his career in the mid-eighties and was way ahead of his time. Proof of that lies is his style and lyrics. At a time when complexity wasn’t exactly the norm in hip-hop, Kool G Rap emerged with a rapid-fire delivery and complex rhyme schemes full of multisyllabic patterns that allowed him to stand out amongst nearly all of his peers. Kool G Rap has influenced nearly every prolific MC, and in no subtle fashion, as you can clearly hear his style in so many of the greats who came after him. Rumor has it then when Big Pun met him for the first time he got on one knee and kissed his ring, a fitting greeting for a man who was essentially the inventor of Mafioso style hip-hop often citing gangsters such as Sam Giancana. Unfortunately, Kool G Rap wasn’t able to enjoy the success and longevity of a Jay-Z or Nas but that doesn’t take away from his greatness or the influence he had on so many artists and on hip-hop in general.
10. Biggie: The Notorious B.I.G is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. Biggie did so much for New York and so much for hip-hop. He put big dudes on the map with his suave aura, charming wit, and slick clothes. Biggie was diverse in every sense of the word. He loved rapping about money, the ladies, the Benzes, and the bling more than anybody but he could snap his fingers and turn into a battle MC or an almost horror core rapper in the blink of an eye. I still get a kick at Puffy probably having a heart attack when hearing some of Biggie’s lyrics. Biggie’s main strength was his fluid flow. He used his voice as an instrument. He didn’t rhyme over a track, he became one with it. It was as if the producer had programmed his voice on there with an MPC. Like his Bed-Stuy brethren Jay-Z, Biggie allegedly never wrote his rhymes which would explain this phenomenon of his silky smooth flow. Biggie could do it all and has been a huge influence on every MC that has come after him. Brooklyn misses him, the world over misses him. He was another MC who was taken too soon.
Honorable Mentions:
The following rappers were considered for this list, Outkast (as a group), Kurupt, Twista, Big Daddy Kane, Redman, Tupac, Royce Da 5’9, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg.
Article By: Jon DaBove
