Thread: Who is the best Emcee of all time

Bob Barker for his work on the Price is Right.

Sorry, had to do it.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

Bob Barker for his work on the Price is Right.

Sorry, had to do it.

DAMN! Ya' beat me to it.

I always liked The Fat Boys, for the positive nutritional message they sent out. Plus, their acting skills were not to be trifled with. "Disorderlies" not getting nominated that year was just another example of the Man keeping talented brothers down.

Zach De La Rocha - Mic Checka
Hands down with the flow and the content of those in the know
his shit owned when it passed from the mic to the stereo
rockin' it from the 'burbs to the ghettoes and the barrios
dropped on your domes like aerials, raisin' dead activists from their burials.

WAKE UP - By Zach De La Rocha

Come on!Uggh!Come on, although ya try to discredit
Ya still never edit
The needle, I'll thread it
Radically poetic
Standin' with the fury that they had in '66
And like E-Double I'm mad still knee-deep in the system's shit
Hoover, he was a body remover
I'll give ya a dose
But it'll never come close
To the rage built up inside of me
Fist in the air, in the land of hypocrisy
Movements come and movements go
Leaders speak, movements cease
When their heads are flown'
Cause all these punks
Got bullets in their heads
Departments of police, the judges, the feds

Networks at work, keepin' people calm
You know they went after King
When he spoke out on Vietnam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot
Yeah!
Yeah, back in this...Wit' poetry, my mind I flex
Flip like Wilson, vocals never lackin' dat finesse
Whadda I got to, whadda I got to do to wake ya up
To shake ya up, to break the structure up'
Cause blood still flows in the gutter
I'm like takin' photos Mad boy kicks open the shutter
Set the groove
Then stick and move like I was Cassius
Rep the stutter step
Then bomb a left upon the fascists
Yea, the several federal men
Who pulled schemes on the dream
And put it to an end
Ya better beware
Of retribution with mind war
20/20 visions and murals with metaphors
Networks at work, keepin' people calm
Ya know they murdered X
And tried to blame it on Islam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot

Uggh!What was the price on his head?
What was the price on his head!
I think I heard a shot (5 times)I think I heard, I think I heard a shot

Background: 'Black nationalism' 'He may be a real contender for this position should he abandon his supposed obediance to white liberal doctrine of non-violence...and embrace black nationalism' 'Through counter-intelligence it should be possible to pinpoint potential trouble-makers...' 'And neutralise them'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!Spoken: "How long? Not long, 'cause what you reap is what you sow."

love Pac but he kinda talks about the same shit...canibus is my man tho..the shit he spits...wow

well I think that its impossible to answer the question of who is the best b/c different lyricists bring different qualities to the table, and it really boils down to being a matter of personal preference. Strickly basing choices on lyrical ability and the complexity of their rhymes schemes and NOT their messages or anything else I name a these names. In this generation of emcees, whether you like them or not, you have to mention Canibus, Big Pun, Twista, Eminem, Tech n9ne, Big L, Biggie, Yukmouth, Talib Kweli, Dilated peoples, E-40, Chino XL, Tupac... I am sure there are some cats I am forgetting so my bad. IMO the Emcees of yesteryear are not on the same level as the emcees of today but you have to give them credit, cuz the rappers of today wouldn't be where they are without them. KRS-1 is a great choice, you also gotta give credit to Big Daddy Kane, Scareface, DMC and all those cats, but I wouldn't say they are the greatest ever. My decision would probably be different based on what day it is, but its all good.
now if we are talkin the best all around rapper, including dimensions of their raps and not just lyrical ability Pac wins hands down of course.

canibus is my man tho..the shit he spits...wow

hell yeah, I love Bis. he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

THIS PICTURE SAYS IT ALL

2 of the BEST of ALL TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big L is the man. I also like Guru from Gangstarr.

Wait I just heard O.D.B on No Said Date, Old Man
ODB is a lyrical Genius
I want two beef patties, special sauce, onions, tomatoes
Lettuce, on a sesame seed bun...
on a a sesame seed bun, you big dummy!
Dah-dah-dah-deh-duhhhhhh (I want two beef patties)
Dah-dah-dah-deh-duhhhhhh (with onions... special sauce)
Dah-dah-dah-deh-duhhhhhh
(cheese on the special sauce sesame seed bun!)
Dah-dah-dah-deh-duhhhhhh (you big dummy!)
Dah-dah-dah-deh-duhhhhhh

this is hard,
I'm tearing my mind apart cause so many of these cat's spilled all their heart,
tryin' to pick one is like trying to seperate Van Gogh from art
each had their own style from the book smart to the street smart
spillin' stories and wisdoms the second the beat starts
of deep scars 'n fake drug wars armed with pen swords
mighty cause the wind soars from their mouths
disastrous like a twister in the south
blowin' out the doors where your mind's housed
each came with fresh sounds that bounced
your head like you were giving brain
over tracks so damned insane
words urged by pain
joy, not hope for fame
just love for the game
of life, love of all cause our bloods the same
in vein but still 2 brothers were slain

E40 went platinum out of the trunk of his car.

It's a hard question to answer. I think the ability to freestyle has to be there. Most of today's rappers are studio rappers, in my opinion.

It's not hard, it's easy.....

M.C. Hammer

Please Hammer Don't hurt'em----Here comes the Hammer------2 Legit 2 Quit

YEEAAAAHHHH BOIYYYYY

my fav. is and always will be TUPAC

this is one of my favorite pics of him !!!

Originally Posted by Hanz29

It's not hard, it's easy.....

M.C. Hammer

Please Hammer Don't hurt'em----Here comes the Hammer------2 Legit 2 Quit

YEEAAAAHHHH BOIYYYYY

my fav. is and always will be TUPAC

definetly a great emcee...Hammer knew how to work a crowd...

I think we shouldn't confuse the term emcee with being a great overall artist. I think it was SaturdayNight Fev that said there are more studio rappers out there today, and he is absolutely correct. Unfortunately that correlates to ghost writers getting alot of work pretty much. Most rappers are out of touch from the true hip hop culture and that affects their work. Anyways, theres no doubt in anyones mind that Pac was the greatest and most influential rapper of all time, he had the whole package. Strickly regarding lyrical skill and emceeing thou, he is not quite the best. Being able to battle and freestyle comes into play (not that Pac couldn't freestyle), your uniqueness on the mic and your rhyme scheme and technique are factors that play into whether or not you are a great emcee or not. Lyrically speaking Pac was not the best, but what he had to say was so relevant and important and the way he said ti transcended cultural barriers. For instance Eminem, at least Slim in his prime, was a better lyricist than Pac. So was Big L and Canibus and Tech and some of the other top doggs I listed. Peep some of these freestyles from some of these cats if you have never heard them and dig the lyrical abilities of them.

This is a freestyle from Big L from the Wake Up Show with king tech and sway. you can ignore the young Jay-z thats rappin with him, but I love Big L's shit in this session, he was defn one of the best, He was truly ahead of his time lyrically IMO.
http://www.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=17223C1CD6F53BD009830BA62089AE9B

Here is a Freestyle from CaniBus on the wake up show also, this shit is tight. I love listening to him, he sounds like he was meant to be a great emcee, peep it:
http://www.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1332950837DCB395CE29D63CF4DD7696


This freestyle is from eminem's early days before he was beefin with dilated people's, its a 10 min freestyle and Em has three verses in there I believe, they are straight sicc and Eminem at his best, its definately worth a listen to:
http://www.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=43E6164A8A1EAFDC8908684E45C6C96D

These 4 freestyles are actually from the Rap Olympics Eminem participated in years ago, and anyone whose has ever said Em isn't really a great lyricist need only listen to this right here. This shit is straight FIRE, and much better than any 8 mile shit. Pretty unbelievable stuff, peep it:
http://www.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=EA9384FDB884D1EF2E67214DB7BA8279

I have lots more of this type of shit so if anyone else wants to hear, let me know, I shall post more. till then, peep that shiat

^^right on man!!

For those of you who like freebies....i've set up an FTP server on my PC

ftp:\\24.14.178.204

It's not running all the time, but there's some good stuff on there- IM me if there is a problem

Originally Posted by gr81

This is a freestyle from Big L from the Wake Up Show with king tech and sway. you can ignore the young Jay-z thats rappin with him, but I love Big L's shit in this session, he was defn one of the best, He was truly ahead of his time lyrically IMO.
http://www.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=17223C1CD6F53BD009830BA62089AE9B

Is this from an LP? Or a CD? Have a link?

From Masta Killa No Said Date: 'School'

[Outro: 2Pac sample]
They not on my level, but I can sit with the O.G.'s from there
And make it major, youknowhatimean?
Right, but, we not doing that until we get this business settled
And even while we doing that, we try'nna get the Wu-Tang niggaz
Cuz I love them niggaz, I feel as though
They represent the east coast, how we represent the west coast
And I love them... *echoes*

Originally Posted by gr81

Most rappers are out of touch from the true hip hop culture and that affects their work.
That's why we need a movement to bring the concious stuff back to the foreground, especially now with the aura of the world right now people are thinking deeper, so if we can lift those thoughts to the surface a shift can take place in the context of HipHop today. The shine of the bling will dull out, but the shine of enlightenment will last for ever.

Anyways, theres no doubt in anyones mind that Pac was the greatest and most influential rapper of all time, he had the whole package.
He was a poet first and a rapper second, written shit is like a katana folded a hundred times so it cut's deep and stay's sharp. That off the head stuff is more like a prison shank, dirty, raw but not as sharp and beautiful.
Being able to battle and freestyle comes into play (not that Pac couldn't freestyle), your uniqueness on the mic and your rhyme scheme and technique are factors that play into whether or not you are a great emcee or not.
Yeah it's all in the delivery, Pac could hype up any lyric his voiced rolled like a wave and he had you surfin' on it. Cadence and where to stress syllables, rhyming, word play, metaphors, similes, comedy. Some have all the tools, some had one part on lock and were decent with the rest. That's what makes it hard to decide who is the best.

The first post made it seem that we were looking for cerebral, thought provoking, teaching lyricists like KRS, so I chose Zach he is consistent with trying to raise our awareness. Public Enemy, Wu-Tang, Mos-Def, Taleb Kweli, Common etc. etc. fit in that category.

2PAC

....end of story

Kool Moe Dee is probably my all-time fave for his articulation and obsession with dismissing all competitors in every song. Great beats and lyrics. Funny too. Too bad we didn't hear more from him.

I'll be honest with you guys - I don't have enough of an educated idea of who's the best but I think of course you have to mention Snoop. Some of his newer stuff isn't too good, but pretty much anything he worked with Dre on was classic.

I'm currious as to where you guys would rate Eminem, especially some of our brothers out there. Give me an honest answer!

-Will

snoop dogg is a fuckin joke man, his lyrics are wack as hell. He is no where near the top of any emcee list unless you are talkin about rappers that sold out the most or some shit. sorry bro

Originally Posted by PreMier

Is this from an LP? Or a CD? Have a link?

are my links not working P? its just a freestyle from the wake up show. i think they have a cd of stuff from the show out somewhere, yeah. did you peep those other links?

Eazy-E when to the cupboard to get Snoop Puppy Ruff a bone motherfucker