I watched a VH1 special about the legendary rap group NWA last week and it made me want to list my top 10 rappers of all time. You may hate rap music. If so, skip this post. Today, I hate rap too, but I once loved it, and so did my boys. Therefore, you aren't going to see Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, etc. on this list. What you will see are classics. Feel free to dis my selections in the comments section and show us your own list.
10. Bone Thugz n Harmony - These guys brought a unique and never before heard style to the rap game in the mid 90's. They flowed so fast that it was sometimes hard to keep up. They had many classic songs and I think they belong on the list.
9. LL Cool J - LL is an all time great. He even calls himself the GOAT. He is also an accomplished actor who has made many successful films. "I'm gonna knock you out, Momma said knock you out". Classic.
8. Ice Cube - Cube makes this list because he has my all time favorite rap song, "It Was A Good Day". He was a part of NWA and has gone on to become a popular movie star as well. He still puts out the occasional song, just to let us know he can still do it, but his early stuff is where you'll find the best music. "Today I didn't even have to use my AK. I gotta say it was a good day". In honor of Ice Cube, I am gonna mess around Sunday at Bremen and get a triple double.
7. Snoop - Snoop was big time when I was in high school. Fo shizzle my nizzle. He had many great songs and still remains popular today. You can catch him on his reality show, Snoop's Father Hood.
6. Dr. Dre - Another NWA product. Dre made the beats that put Death Row Records at the top of the game in the 1990's. He still makes albums and has one coming out soon. He discovered Snoop and Eminem, and he has produced and composed beats for many artists over the years. A true legend. "Dre Day every day". "Inglewood, Inglewood always up to no good".
5. Eazy E - NWA founder. Classic rapper who died of AIDS in 1995. What would Eazy be up to now if he hadn't passed on? I think he would still be putting out good stuff. If an Eazy E tribute album is ever done, I want the Slim and V-Dogg live, unedited, unrehearsed version of "Automobile" from Sausagefest '97 included. That was a classic recording.
4. Run DMC - These guys were the pioneers who took rap music to great heights. I loved how they fused rock and rap together, and their "Walk This Way" remake with Aerosmith is considered an all time classic. I was able to see Run in concert with Kid Rock and I loved every minute of it. Run and Kid were doing all the old classic Run DMC hits and I was rapping along with every word. Jordan and I went with one of her friends from nursing school and her husband. These 3 are all at least 8 years younger than me, so they were looking at me like I was an idiot for knowing all the words to the classic songs. To them, Run was just the dude from the MTV show Run's House. I told them he was once a superstar rapper. They didn't believe me. I told them, "It's Like That, And That's The Way It Is".
3. Eminem - The white boy who became a rap star. I don't know what else to say except that I think Eminem is great. He's controversial, but great. He's the only rapper out there today that when he puts an album out, I've gotta get it.
2. Too Short - Classic old school rapper. He has so many classics that you need to make about 3 cd's just to get all the classics together. He was one of my favorites in my high school and college days. He still puts out stuff on occasion, but nothing will ever touch his early work. "Short Dog ain't nothin but a dog".
Ok, I should have prepared more for this post because I have come down to the end and I have 2 rappers left with only one spot. I guess that's what you get when I make posts off the top of my head without preparation. So, Biggie Smalls is tied with Too Short for the #2 spot. Change this to the top 11 list.
2b. Notorious B.I.G. - Yet another all time great who is not with us anymore. Biggie is a legend of the rap game. He loved it when they called him "Big Poppa". I often wonder if I would still be a rap fan if Biggie and Pac hadn't been taken away. I bet if he were still alive, he'd still be "puttin 5 karats in his baby girl's ear", and "sippin on private stock". He had some of the best lyrics ever.
1. 2Pac - Tupac Shakur. In my opinion he is the greatest rapper of all time. You want proof of his greatness? 2Pac died in 1996. He still puts out a couple of good songs each year. 2Pac has sold more records dead than most rappers could in a lifetime. It was a tragedy when he went down, and the conspiracy theories about who done it and whether or not he's even dead are very interesting. 2Pac was also an actor. He didn't do many films before he was laid to rest but directors who worked with him have been quoted as saying he was one of the best young actors out there and was about to explode in the movie business. They claim he had a natural ability to become the character and filming was always easy with him and took very few takes. I wonder if he would even rap much if he was still around? I bet he would be kinda like Ice Cube and LL Cool J and do the occasional song for a soundtrack, but mostly just concentrate on movies. Oh well, we'll never know. Rest in peace Pac. You were the greatest.
Others who sit just outside the top 10: Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Outkast (the early stuff), Nelly (I know, but I like him), Master P, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer (you can't deny the popularity of Ice and Hammer in their heyday), Scarface, Geto Boys, Timbaland, Coolio (gotta love "Gangsta's Paradise), and Ludacris. Let me know of anybody I've left out.
