25. Rick Ross
RAWSE! In 2006 this guy came out of nowhere with the LCD rap anthem "Hustlin'" and has stayed relevant ever since. With the help of J.U.S.T.I.C.E. league, Rick Ross has made some of the most listenable mainstream (not to mention southern) rap in the last decade, highlighted by the awesome "Maybach Music" series.
24. Blu
I held out on checking the Blu and Exile album because the album cover was so fruity, but that was a great album. Blu has since made a bunch of other collaborations, none of which I liked as much, but which showed his versatility as far as styles and subject matter. He is without a major label release, but has potential to make noise in the near future.
23. Kidz In The Hall
This group got lucky when Just Blaze used their beat for Jay-Z's big comeback flop "Show Me What You Got", giving them some much needed publicity. That was literally the only reason I downloaded the "School Was a Hustle" album, which actually turned out to be good. Next thing you know, they're signed with Duckdown, "Drivin' Down The Block" is on MTV, and "The Blackout" is on Madden 09. Naledge and Double-O's next album drops in 2010.
22. Jay Electronica
Perhaps no rapper has had as much hype and publicity with such little material to his name. Having a baby by Erykah Badu certainly has something to do with it, as does the cosign from one Justin Blaze. Jay Electronica is a talented rapper, and this sort of half rapper and half myth status makes him all the more intriguing.
21. Drake
I know, this guy just came out, but he is one of the most hyped newcomers this millennium (he got a bigger deal than 50 Cent), and has actually kind of lived up to it. His verse on "Forever" is great, his new song "Fear" is really good, and even "Best I Ever Had" started to grow on me a little. He's a good rapper, a good singer, and is big time even without an album. He could be the biggest artist of the '10s.
20. Black Milk
The Detroit producer/rapper is not the next J Dilla, but he is a definite talent who seems to improve with every song he puts out. He is becoming a go-to producer for underground artists and showed on his last album that he is more than a competent rapper.
19. One Be Lo
The better half of Binary Star, One Be Lo put out one of the lyrical masterpeices of this millennium with the "S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M." album. He has the raw rapping skills of legends, but is inhibited by beats from guys like Decompoze.
18. Supastition
Sort of the same deal here as with One Be Lo. Supastition is a hell of a rapper who has trouble getting decent beats because of whatever low budget label he's on. "The Deadline EP", which had beats by M-Phazes and Illmind, might be the most underrated peice of hip hop music in the 2000s.
17. Beanie Sigel
The Broad Street Bully was the best out of the Roc-A-Fella fam and proved it with the hood classic "The B. Coming". He even managed to put out a decent album just recently without Jay-Z's backing and dropped a great guest verse on "Cuban Linx 2".
16. Saigon
Saigon still hasn't managed to put out that fucking Just Blaze album, but he's done enough to earn a spot on the list. Think not? Listen to "The Belly of the Beast" mixtape and "The Moral of the Story" street album then talk shit.
15. Murs
Murs lacks the lyrical talent of most of the rappers listed behind him, but what he does have are those two great albums with 9th Wonder. "Murs 3:16", in his own words, "was genius", and the follow-up "Murray's Revenge", was criminally underrated.
14. Bishop Lamont
Like Saigon, Bishop can't manage to get a real album out there. He's on Aftermath, after all. Still, this guy shows enough talent and charisma to make it this high on the list. His "Ni**** Noize" and "Pope Mobile" mixtapes were gold and his newest Dre track "Hallelujah" is fucking amazing.
13. Little Brother
Little Brother made a name for themselves with "The Listening", but it's "The Minstrel Show", their devastating, commercial failure of an album, that stands out to me as their best work. It's rare that a song from that album comes on and I skip over it. The lyrics are sound, the beats are great, and the skits are funny and amusing and actually add to the album.
12. Elzhi
Speaking of "The Minstrel Show", #12 is the guy that murdered Little Brother on their own shit. Elzhi dropped the best verse on that album and on everything else he's ever been on. He even bested Royce 5'9" on "Glow", the best song of 2008. What he doesn't have is a defining solo album or even song, despite a Black Milk collab last year that fell short of expectations.
11. Joell Ortiz
Try getting on a track with Royce 5'9", Joe Budden, and Crooked I and out-doing all of them. Now do that for an entire album, and you have what Joell Ortiz did this year on Slaughterhouse. Joell has yet to make a big splash because he isn't marketable (at least that's what he'd like you to believe), but he is one of, if not the, best MCs in the game
10. Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco is one of the few rappers in the 2000s that brought a new, unique style and was able to gain mainstream popularity. The way he raps is distinct, and at times downright strange. In an era when many rappers were re-making children's songs, Lupe was flipping double-time flows, wordplay, and trippy imagery and still managed to keep listeners' interest. Not only did he offer a new style of rap, but he also had a hand in ushering in the hipster rap era.
9. Fabolous
Unlike Lupe Fiasco, Fabolous brought almost nothing new to the table. He is your cookie cutter, New York mixtape rapper who uses Ne-Yo hooks to earn some radio play. While not creative, Fab has been effective. "Breathe" is one of the landmark moments in hip hop this millennium, and he's had his share of radio hits to go along with some hood classics.
8. Cormega
Though Nas wrote to an incarcerated Mega on Illmatic's "One Love", he didn't make his own debut on the mic until 2000. His first two albums "The Realness" and "The True Meaning" are borderline classics, and being kicked out of The Firm may have been a good career move after all.
7. T.I.
This is the part of the list when the artists' popularity tends to eclipse his talent. T.I. isn't a great rapper, but what he is is immensely popular. Though he isn't an Elzhi or Ortiz in the lyrical arena, he isn't garbage on the mic either, as evidenced by having the best flow on posse cuts "We Takin' Over" and "Swagga Like Us". A (sort of) real MC with legions of fans just has to be this high on the list.
6. Royce Da 5'9"
The only rapper to challenge Ortiz on "Slaughterhouse", Royce has been the most prolific lyricist this millennium. He still lacks a classic album, but Premo collaborations "Hip Hop" and "Boom" are easily two of the best songs of the 2000s. Throw in the "Bar Exam" mixtapes and the Slaughterhouse project and it's easy to see why underground heads hail him as the best doing it.
5. Clipse
"Grindin'" was one of the most groundbreaking tracks of the 2000s (how the fuck did I miss that?). The crazy Neptunes production and VA cocaine raps prevalent in that song made their debut album "Lord Willin'" a defining album of the 2000s. Their second album didn't live up to the debut, but Clipse seemed primed for a comeback with "Til The Casket Drops".
4. The Game
This may be a controversial pick, but if you've read this site before you know I'm a bit of a Game stan. Still, looking at it objectively, there are arguments to be made for Game being one of the top new artists. First of all, he makes good hip hop music. He isn't the most inventive rapper but he's pretty good and he knows a good beat from a bad one. This has allowed him to make three very solid albums, including "The Documentary", which may well be the best album of the 2000s. Secondly, he is both popular and talented, which isn't as common as it should be.
3. 50 Cent
50 Cent makes it this high on the list simply for being enormous. "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" is considered by many the best rap album of the 2000s, and it was undeniably the most ubiquitous. Every other song on the radio was by 50 Cent or G-Unit. I doubt any rap song will eclipse "In Da Club" in popularity, or any rapper will put "the game in a chokehold" like 50 Cent did between 2003-2005 or so.
2. Ludacris
Ludacris made a name for himself in the beginning of the millennium of the with the vulgar "What's Your Fantasy", and he utilized that charisma and sense of humor to make quality mainstream hip hop. "Roll Out" and "Southern Hospitality" are two of the best singles of the 2000s. "Area Codes" and "Saturday" are two of the most hilarious and entertaining. He is not only talented but also prolific, dropping seven albums in the last decade, including last years stellar "Theater of the Mind".
1. Kanye West
This was a tough selection but I think it's got to be Kanye. It seems like all of the rappers on this list had a fatal flaw. Some haven't made a real impact on hip hop (Royce) or even made any noise (Joell, Saigon, etc.). Others aren't all that talented as rappers (T.I., 50). Kanye far from strikes a balance, but he may come the closest, and that's good enough to top the list. As far as impact, it's irrefutable. Although this isn't a producers list, it should be noted that Kanye's work on The Blueprint changed the game. Also, if you look at my Best Songs of the Millennium list, like half of it was produced by Ye. His emergence as a rapper, though, came when he dropped "Through The Wire". Those who didn't know of him as a producer were introduced to his soul beats and chipmunk vocal samples, and those who were were introduced to a talented and refreshingly clever rapper. From the immensely popular debut College Dropout to his third album Graduation and it's commercial pwnage of 50 Cent's Curtis, Kanye West has proven to be biggest and most widely accepted artist in hip hop. The high musical quality and entertaining lyricism of radio hits like "Jesus Walks", "Gold Digger", and "Touch the Sky", made them downright impossible to dislike. His last album, the controversial crossover 808's and Heartbreak may have alienated his more traditional fans, but he has shown on Clipse's "Kinda Like a Big Deal" and Jay's "Run This Town", that he can still rap when he wants to. Kanye is big, he's good, and he's #1.
1 comment:
nice list. It's off course impossible to agree with everything, but definitely felt the love Joell & Elzhi, two of the most underrated.
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