Originally Posted by TXSpeedDemon (Post 2556312)

5 is a really small number to narrow it down to....

1) Tupac. There's really no contest to me here. No other rapper can tell a story as well as he could. Nor does any other rapper have the charisma to cross over race and gender boundaries like he did.

2) A Tribe Called Quest. Individually...Meh. But together they helped create the foundation for hip-hop culture.

3) De La Soul. Best authentic Hip Hop live show you will ever go to, even now. I saw them back in 2010 and they were great.

4) Talib Kewli & Mos Def. At their best as Black Star but each could hold their own as a solo artist as well. Saw them live in 2011... not bad, but no where near as good as De La Soul.

5) Joell Ortiz - this is a personal preference. Probably not really top 5 all time (prob not even top 25), but consistently underrated. Really funny lyricist.

Over favs - Notorious BIG, Wale, Outkasts, The Roots, Mobb Deep, Little Brother, Slum Village, Wu-Tang, J-Live, Akrobatic, Guru, Eric B and Rakim... too many to list. Been listening to Hip-Hop since the mid 80s.


If you guys like Hip-Hop music (more specifically east coast) then you should check out TTTradio.net. They do a live show every friday night with multiple DJs across the country. Great show on from around 6pm-11pm depending on the DJs playing. You'll hear a lot of classic 90s stuff and some new ones too. I honestly listen to downloaded mixtapes from these guys more than anything else. best way to get a great variety.

Originally Posted by SmokeEater27 (Post 2557622)

Yea Id have to agree and say top 5 is such a small group for me to pick but ill give it a go..In no specific order just my top 5 would be.

1.DMX (before the bad crack habits and impersonating a police officer)
2.Wu-tang Clan (bigger fans of Ghostface Killah & Raekwon out of them all)
3.Big Pun (always amazed me how someone sooo big could lyrically spit so smooth and fast)
4.EPMD
5.Eric B. & Rakim

Of course theres bunch of others..Slick rick, dougie fresh, Geto boys, talib kweli, tribe called quest, leaders of the new school, mos def and the list goes on.. Ive always been a fan of lyricism and rap songs that told a story or could paint a picture of what the song is saying.

Originally Posted by dAvenue (Post 2593528)

mc hammer
coolio
vanilla ice
heavy d
kris kross

Originally Posted by H2O_Doc (Post 2593349)

Cypress Hill
Beastie Boys
Tupac
Tribe
NWA

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 2629426)

Are we picking our favorite 5, or the five most important/influential rappers? Those are two entirely different lists.

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 2629426)

Are we picking our favorite 5, or the five most important/influential rappers? Those are two entirely different lists.