Other then 2pac and Bggie

What are ur thoughts

tbh i've always liked eminem. also like 50 cent's 'get rich or die trying' album, although i think he sold out after that (just my opinion). also like nelly and a bit of kanye, although i thought his graduation album was a let down.

also like some stuff here and there by other rappers like nas, xzibit, snoop dogg, dr dre, the game, lupe fiasco, cassidy, etc, but i don't listen to them a lot.

i'm more into R&B myself, but Tupac will always be my favourite rapper. although the others i mentioned are all good and i am fans, they're just different to Tupac. Tupac, in my opinion, was in a world of his own. such a talented guy.

i'm not saying the rest aren't talented, of course...

not got any opinion about biggie, as i've never heard any of his stuff. i kinda took the westside road, lol!!

i like rappers who can sing about real stuff, like what Tupac did, Eminem has done ('the way i am' is one of his best songs, imo), i guess Kanye and 50 cent have done to some extent. 50 cent changed after get rich, though, now it's all about women, money and drinking, which i'm not keen on listening to. i prefer them to keep it real, and tell it like it is.

rapping, for me, is about telling a story in a song. take Tupac's Changes, Brenda's Got a Baby and Dear Mama (i'll stop there, cos could be here all day!) they tell stories of what it's really like, not some crap about candy shops!!

everyone is different though, and i'm sure some of the artists i mentioned aren't to everyone's tastes. guess asking for best rapper is hard, because they don't all have the same sort of style, i mean nelly can sing, too... and there are singers out there that can rap!

Too many to choose from -

Modern day hip-hop: Jay-Z, Nas, Mos Def, Common, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Redman, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Ludacris...

Old skool hip-hop - KRS One, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Gang Starr, Dr Dre, Tribe Called Quest....

My overall favourite (which would normally be Biggie) would have to be Nas.

Black Thought (from The Roots), Ghostface, GZA, Biggie, MF DOOM, Common, Skinnyman, Chester P from Task Force, Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Edan, Redman, Nas (on his day), Guru from Gang Starr, Big Daddy Kane, Chuck D, Rakim, KRS-1 ... these are all fine emcees and deserve maximum props.

On my crap list: Fiddy, Eminem, Lil Wayne, The Game, Nelly + any of those weak, pop rappers.

One Love xxx

Cold Chillin era Kool G Rap, B.I.G., Jay Z is not the best rapper, but he's smart. Klashnekoff, Roots Manuva, Phonte & Big Pooh, Talib Kweli, Doom. There's too many to mention. Some are great for just one album or whatever, but the last 6 I mention have bin pretty consistent. I've never understood the obsession with Tupac.

El-P, Divine Styler, Mr Lif, Gift of Gab, Roots Manuva, Immortal Technique, Ill Bill, J-Live, AOTP, Rakim, Kool G, Slick Rick, early Wu Syndicate, Chubb Rock, Jean Grae, Black Thought, Vast Aire, KRS, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel

nobody has mentioned Kool Keith..? Have they..?

just some thoughts. busta's a killer can't take is away from eminem, ludacris lives up 2 his name.dead prez the whole bunch just killer.old skool ice t still got it. some of the new gear lost the plot just taking the money not saying anything thinking about there new bling/houses.

km man must agree nas is the biz,lots of brit suff really great out there to.

I think there's 2 points here, just because someone is lyrically tight or talented - if they cheapen themselves by talking about how many guns they have or how many women they can encourage to remove their clothes in videos - surely they aren't as good as a rapper who may not be as talented with wordplay, but talks about real life, and relevant issues.

Nas is a very good story teller, his delivery is awesome, and when he is just being honest on tracks he is amazing - often taking apart the Gangsta image surrounding rap - Then he will make a record such as 'Got yourself a gun' and play along with everything he says he doesnt agree with. Talib Kweli, Pharoae Monche and many more also contradict themselves.

However having said this there are many rappers out there who are talking the truth. And there are those out there who not only do it well, but do it better than Nas or many other mainstream rappers could if they were ever truly honest in their lyrics.

I would say currently some of the best rappers are Eyedea, El-P, Murs, Sage Francis, C-rayz Walz, Slug (of Atmosphere,) Aesop Rock, Mr Lif, and Brother Ali.

BIG L, BIGGIE, NAS, GHOSTFACE, IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE, RZA, GZA, CHESTER P

BIG L, BIGGIE, NAS, GHOSTFACE, IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE, RZA, GZA, CHESTER P

Living? Naz (Dead? Biggie).
However, there are so many styles out there sonically, lyrically and musically the question is almost too general. Then there are personal preferences.
Eminem? Amazing skilzz but nowhere near my favourite. But I would buy/listen.
Mobb Deep? Amazing sound and style but content too negative.
GZA? Genius!
Gang Starr? Stellar!
Roots Manuva? UK treasure!!!!
Jay Z? ZZZzzzzzz.......
KRS? 1-derful.
Busta? Hot CHA CHA CHA CHA CHA!!!!!
LL? Quality and longevity

The list goes on and on and on........

I would also add MC Zumbi from Zion i, Klashnekoff, Vinny Paz from Jedi Mind Tricks, Phonte and Big Pooh, Mos Def, Jeru da Damaja and Canibus to your list. Also some people are not objective when it comes to this arguement. You have to forget 'pop' and you cant associate pop with 'weak'. I personally hate most of Em's tunes but i think he's a good lyricist and I also think the Game's realer than most out there so he's got my respect (not that he'd want it!).
I have favourite rappers for different feelings:
feeling old skl - Jeru the Damaja!!!!!
feeling londonish - Jehst and K Lash!!!!!! (over chessa chess any day!!!)
feeling grime - Dot Rotten, Wretch 32!!!!!!!!!!!!
feeling jazzy - The Roots!!!!!
feeling chilled - Zion i, Mos Def!!!!!!!
feeling angst - Jedi Mind Tricks!!!!!!!!!!!
Feeling West Coast- Doggstyle Album!!!!!!!
Feeeling experimental - DJ Shadow, RJD2, Herbaliser!!!!!!!!
Feeling for good music - MF DOOM!!!!!!!!!
Feeling deep - Canibus!!!!!! (mainly rip the jacker)
Feeling good - Little Brother!!!!!!!!!!!!
Feeling reflective - Common!!!!!!!!
Feeling poppy - Kanyeezy!!!!!!!!

Last Empreror, Pharcyde, Little Brother, Phat Kat, Elzhi, Q-Tip, Sway, Blak Twang, Talib, Doom, GZA, Nas, Black Thought, Redman, CL Smooth (He, and Pete on the beat) amongst many other.

most rappers with a name thats containing any of these words are mostly wack: lil, *eezy, young, rich.

"everybody got dreams of making cash money, but the flashing guy is bound to be a casuality"

one love to all the beatmakers

Im glad somebody has mentioned AOTP. u cant have a list of top rappers without mentioning any of them. for me apathy, celph titled, vinnie paz, kamachi, reef and planet are all excellent mc's. other than that uv gotta mention GZA, Eminem, Xibit (1st album is pure hiphop). iv got too many more to name so ill stop her

RA The Rugged Man has 1 of the best flows in the game !!

I think people forget about Rakim man, he gave Nas his flow, which gets reciprocated so much these days.
I think it's really hard to pin point one particular person. There are several up there. All have good attributes,like id put it into five categories.
Rhyme flow (from your Rakim's to your Tony Yayo's)
Lyrical ability (from your Nas's to your Bizarre's)
Microphone presence (from your Method man's to your Az's)
Sentence complexity (from your Eminem's to your Trick Trick's)
Poetic Value ( from your Commons to your 50 cent's)
These values have nothing to do with production. e.g 50 cent (although Guess who's back, on Columbia records, I think is a great album)so....
my top five to explain no1.
JAY Z : Rhyme flow = 9 2PAC : Rhyme flow = 10
Lyrical abilty = 8 Lyrical abilty = 8
microphone presence = 10 Microphone presence = 10
sentence complexity = 9 Sentence complexity = 9
poetic value = 8 Poetic value = 9

NAS :Rhyme flow = 10 B.I.G: Rhyme flow = 9
Lyrical ability = 9 Lyrical ability = 9
Microphone presence = 8 Microphone presence = 10
Sentence complexity = 9 Sentence complexity = 9
Poetic value = 10 Poetic value = 8

EMINEM : Rhyme flow = 9
Lyrical ability = 10
Microphone presence = 10
Sentence complexity = 10
Poetic value = 8
Obviously ive missed out a lot of other peoples favorites, people such as Ghostface,Common,KRS, Rakim,Talib Kweli, to name a couple.

So that is my synopsis, i think Freestyle ability also speaks volumes about a rappers credentials. So to conclude (lol) in the only way concieveable......

'It's different, it's a certain significance, a certificate
of authenticity, you'd never even see
But it's everything to me, it's my credibility
You never seen heard smelled or met a real MC
who's incredible, up on the same pedestal as me.'
Eminem, 8 mile road, (8 mile ost)

masta ace, big l, asheru, gza (before pro tools), jonny soundscape, skinnyman, black twang. AG, Defari......the list goes on. but top 5 would be gza, big l, masta ace, skinnyman and b real (cypress hill)

masta ace, big l, asheru, gza (before pro tools), jonny soundscape, skinnyman, black twang. AG, Defari......the list goes on. but top 5 would be gza, big l, masta ace, skinnyman and b real (cypress hill)

cool list, spot on. the roots and little brother have gotta top that list

think jurassic 5 deserve a mention and gift of gab from blackalicious
if i could only pick 1 best rapper it would be big l closely followed by phonte & black thought

Tank did you not like Pro Tools? I thought it was pretty good personally and RZA's digi snacks was also good.

Of the new Mcs out my personal favourite is The Last Emperor, he is a very clever man and very lyrically talented its just a shame he doesnt get the respect he deserves and probably never will. Check him out on the Clint Eastwood remix http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5q7SuwhHUM

Tame-one is also a personal favourite of mine, his latest was good and easy to listen to and also pretty funny. The Last Public Enemy album was good.

R.A the rugged man is good but I doubt he will ever put another album out because I dont think Die Rugged Man Die sold very well and has never really got the fame. Of the UK guys I liked Stig of the Dumps last EP I thought it was a pretty good set of tracks although some were corny.

Theres loads more and i tend to listen to alot of different artists both old and new school.

Because Hip Hop culture has stayed despite the hating & nay-sayers, we now have the luxury of a real wide "palette" of artists- golden era, gangsta, underground, packpacker, UK, worldwide et al..Soooo, the best rapper? It's a tough one...My favourite eras are 87 & 95, but if I like it, I like it, even some Little Wayne...But I digress...Right here, right now (& I can't quite believe it myself) JAY Z.

Agree with you there. Most of these posters appear to only know popular or mainstream rap. Most of the roster of the rhymesayers record label beat any one mentioned. Add Gift of Gab from Blackalicious, Chali2na from J5, even the guys from Ugly Duckling are cleverer with their word play than Eminem or 50 could ever hope to be. S'pose there is a difference between rap & actual hip-hop.