Rap

Hip hop culture has been with us for many decades. Not as many as in the inner Bronx of the 1970s and 1980s where it started, but over time it has reached all corners of the world, becoming the most popular and best-selling genre during the late 1990s and the early 2000s. That means there’s a lot of material to choose from on what’s the best rap and who are the best rappers ever, even more so if you don’t take into account if it’s just West Coast or East Coast. Of course, for many, the French far surpassed the Americans, who were carried away by pop and mainstream collaborations in recent years.

In any case, no one doubts that the golden age of rap has lasted for more than a decade, so below we will review what we like the most. A list with the best rappers of all time and another with the best rap songs, without getting too involved in order to cover more of each one, but without going crazy so as not to fill this with names and that’s it. Because we love hip hop culture from beginning to end, including deejays, breakdancing, graffiti, and the ways of dressing or acting as masters of ceremonies since the beginnings of this genre when it was just one, originating in block parties in the houses of the neighbors.

The best rappers in history

But if we talk about the most famous rappers, surely Kanye West is the one who has had the most impact in recent years. However, he will not be on our playlist, despite his importance, since what we like the most is in the role of his music producer.

Because it’s not the flow that has made him a star, but the mix of everything and being a character. This fact has marked other MCs and subsequent producers. In this sense, it is worth mentioning the Disc Jockeys who “invented” the genre with their vinyl records of other songs, inventing the concept of samples, from Grandmaster Flash to Afrika Bambaataa.

2Pac

Before you start, don’t forget that the criteria used to choose who is the best rapper in the world is completely subjective. It depends on the knowledge of the genre, the authors and all the songs from their beginnings.

Taking this into account, for us 2Pac is without a doubt the most influential rapper after the pioneers. He wasn’t nearly so, though he was collaborating with the Digital Underground before beginning his solo career.

In fact, the West Coast rapper did not stop producing new songs as his controversies grew, coming to publish records with unpublished material for several years after his death, although with the occasional snare and cut verses recorded before his death. being used a little crazy.

Among his best songs, the list would be endless, so we will shorten it with Changes, California Love, All Eyez On Me, Hit ‘Em Up, Dear Mama, Brenda’s Got A Baby, Keep Ya Head Up or My Block (Remix). A true urban poet. A rose that grew between the cement, as he titled one of his poetry books.

The Notorious B.I.G.

On the East Coast, another pioneer of the genre, especially in terms of flow and personal style, was The Notorious B.I.G., with a production somewhere between gangsta rap and R&B. The fights between the two coasts are still famous today, which led to two fatalities for 2Pac and Biggie Smalls, affecting many more people during the mid-90s.

Biggie’s best-remembered hits from Los Angeles are Hypnotize, Big Poppa, Juicy, Mo Money Mo Problems or Nasty Girl. And on the side of the conflict with Pac, the single Who Shot Ya, which the latter took personally, giving rise to the aforementioned Hit ‘Em Up and a terrible escalation of aggressiveness. Apparently, the output of that single wondering who shot “you” took place very shortly after 2Pac was shot. Much has been written about this, most deny that Notorious wrote it for him, while others claim that the person behind all this was Suge Knight, owner of Death Row (which produced 2Pac), after the New York rapper wanted to leave the producer

Eminem

The most famous white rapper in the music industry, Eminem, stood out from the beginning for his very white lyrics, often centered on images of murder and various types of violence, although always with a dose of humor. He soon attracted the interest of Dr. Dre (who had already produced 2Pac and released two of the greatest rap albums of all time, The Chronic and 2001) and, subsequently, the media.

As he happened to 2Pac, some of his lyrics generated such controversy that the debate on the limits of humor here would seem like nothing. They were rather similar to what happens in Spain with Pablo Hasel, although without going to jail. In the case of Pac, due to the murder of a policeman at the hands of a man who was listening to the album Me Against The World in his car. In the case of Eminem, because many interpreted those lyrics of his as incitement to violence.

To highlight among his best songs, Lose Yourself, Without Me, The Real Slim Shady, the immense Stan, Love The Way You Lie (along with Rihanna) or ‘Till I Collapse, which had the collaboration of Nate Dogg, the best reciter refrains from the 2000s.

Method Man

For many, Method Man is the rapper with the best flow in the hip hop universe. If you add to that his calm attitude and some always lucid verses, the result is a charismatic guy capable of singing alone a song titled with his name on the first album of his Wu-Tang Clan (where there were almost a dozen rappers) and make it one of the first presentation singles.

Apart from his meteoric career with the Wu-Tang Clan, with whom he didn’t need many albums to stand out (because they all did), solo he has given us things like Tidal, as well as collaborations with Redman, his colleague from all life, almost, and with whom he has also starred in films like How High.

Among his most acclaimed hits are Da Rockwilder, I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By (along with the great Mary J. Blige), Bring The Pain or What’s Happenin’ (where he sang with Busta Rhymes).

Kendrick Lamar

If we followed the origin, arrival or discovery of some rappers, we would see what is the power of Interscope or Def Jam to find the best. It will be a question of money, but also of talent to see the talent. In this case, Kendrick Lamar’s is indisputable, so much so that we consider him the best of current rap, following the line of great MCs that Dr. Dre has introduced us to, from Eminem to 50 Cent, through the somewhat ephemeral The Game and now Lamar.

Productions like HUMBLE., All The Stars (with SZA), LOVE, his appearance in Family Ties (by Baby Keem) or King Kunta demonstrate the level that he is capable of offering, as well as the versatility to adapt to all kinds of rhythms.

The best rap songs of all time

Nor should we forget those who have best ridden it in the world of rap in monetary terms. Heading the list are Jay-Z and Puff Daddy (or P. Diddy or Sean Combs, depending on when you were born) or Dr. Dre, and all have many worthwhile hits to their credit and are highly regarded rappers (especially the first and last, despite being one of the few who don’t write their lyrics), but, as we will see, this review of the best rappers of all time is not easy, given the variety of styles and their influence.

C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me), by Wu-Tang Clan

This song was released 3 decades ago (in 1993) and it still sounds extremely clean. That’s how you know he aged amazingly. It’s one of the best hip hop songs of the ’90s, to say the least.

If you are a fan of hip hop and have not seen the television series Wu-Tang: An American Saga, we recommend it here. In addition to giving you a broader vision (and blown away for the better) of the beginnings of this supergroup, it will surely help to make you even more fond of this genre.

Ms. Jackson from Outkast

Black music (soul, funky, R&B, jazz, blues, etc.) have always been very well represented by the Outkast. Coming from Atlanta, their southern rap conquered half the world with Ms. Jackson, going a little further with Hey Ya a few years later. Without a doubt, one of the best songs in hip hop, the first, and in black music in general, the second.

Seriously, this song is a masterpiece. Apparently, before making this record, both BigBoi and Andre were going through some very difficult times with their partners. We don’t know if that had anything to do with it, although making such an amazing song about the emotional side of a man makes one think so. Just inspiring and forever an amazing song.

N.Y. State Of Mind, by Nas

This song by Nas will bring back non-existent memories of you running through the streets of New York. What’s more, it’s almost as if the beat itself can make you imagine the heat and business of New York, while his flow and lyrics add meaning to the difficulties of being a hustler.

That’s what you get with your base and your letter. In this sense, nothing is quite like ’90s hip hop. The beats, rhymes, and style are still unmatched, even if we love what came next.

Still D.R.E., by Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

The piano melody of this song is so legendary that it haunts the heads of everyone who has ever heard it. If we add to that the great performance that both marked in the rest of the Superbowl final, demonstrating that the level offered here is largely unbeatable, it helps us to understand why Dr. Dre has decided not to publish material again new in album form, although we’re all waiting for it to, to take rap to a new level once again.

In Da Club, by 50 Cent

One of the hardest beats ever produced to this day. Of course, thanks to Dre. Between that and the ability of himself and Eminem to turn 50 Cent into a legend anticipated long before releasing this single and the album Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ based on telling the story of his 9 bullet shots and how he survived them . Such was the interest generated that shortly after he would star in the film in which everything was told.

Rapper’s Delight, by the Sugar Hill Gang

To finish, we talk about the beginning, even if it was in quotes. Because, as we’ve already said, the origin of hip hop culture and rap music was already there when the Sugar Hill Gang released Rapper’s Delight over a sample of CHIC’s Good Times. Slightly belittled for being a group created by a production company, the truth is that this is an impressive song, from the base to the flow, as long as it is cool at all levels.

It crossed borders at a time when rap was considered an abnormal type of music in other countries, where they said it was boring and that people didn’t sing and just talked, as if it were true or that it took away an iota of musicality from everything. the rest.