There's a thread from a couple years ago asking this question. I would have just posted in it, but I obviously can't.

Lists like this are subjective so it is impossible to actually get anywhere. Everyone's criteria are different. It is interesting to me that rap music seems to be judged the same way as a Sport. Other Genres do not review artists in the same manner. Does anyone have any idea why? There is more to it than just the bravado in the lyrics. The criteria used are always flawed. If this was judged like a sport, Jay Z would probably take the crown. But unlike athletes, rappers seem to be rewarded for bowing out early. (the dead ones)

Everyone agreed in the previous thread that Lil Wayne wasn't even close. I am not suggesting he is the greatest, but the people that suggested he was the best then, seem much smarter now.

5/7/2007 5:41:29 AM

yae hes not the BEST but hes one of the top 10

you gotta give the top two spots to biggie and Pac, in which ever order you put them in

then prolly goes Jay on credit alone

then it gets a little tougher, do you go with Dr. Dre, prolly so...

from fifth on, its a tough call...depends on if you put the originators like RUN in there

5/7/2007 9:12:43 AM

he is by far the best rapper making music right now

5/7/2007 10:02:43 AM

i tend to agree

he is the most popular to have on a track thats for sure.

although with the south having taken over for so long, you gotta think when the Detox album comes out whenever that is the west coast will be back.

5/7/2007 10:04:38 AM

5/7/2007 10:15:12 AM

Quote :

"then it gets a little tougher, do you go with Dr. Dre, prolly so... "

if you put Dre in your top 5 as a RAPPER, then you're completely wrong. As an overall artist, thats fine, but he's not a great rapper by any means.

5/7/2007 12:22:55 PM

He's gotten a lot better lyrically, and he's definitely one of the best doing it right now. Hell, Dedication 2 (Wayne & DJ Drama) has been in my car CD player for a few weeks now. I still think it's WAY too early to be talking about his legacy though. How many classic albums has he dropped?

5/7/2007 12:24:07 PM

Dedication II has been in my car for months too ^ Drought 3 is hot too

5/7/2007 1:00:50 PM

he doesn't have much in the way of classic albums, but his mixtape work has been fucking outstanding since about '01. All the SQ mixtapes, the Dedications...

"i'm the best doin it, c'mon niggas, fess up"

5/7/2007 1:39:38 PM

Drought 3 ftw

5/7/2007 4:06:50 PM

I made the first thread and still hold the same sentiments:

Quote :

" Lil Wayne is definately top five alive but of all time? Is he in the category of Biggie, Tupac, Jay-z, NAs, KRS, Rakim, Big Pun, Redman, MEthod, Kool G, SCarface, JAda, EMinem...etc... "

Add Ice Cube, Snoop, and LL Cool J

Dude swagger is crazy. Has a great flow. But his lyrics is meh. One day he says some hot shit, so days he say some Lyrically I think hes gotten worse. I think hes feeling himself to hard.

And Dr. Dre is not a rapper.

5/8/2007 12:52:12 AM

If wordplay (metaphors, similies and such) are your thing. Lil Wayne, Cassidy and Jay are the three best. But if the content of lyrics is what you're looking for, wayne aint shit.

Wordplay may not even be a criterion, tupac is loved but i wouldn't describe him as clever. His flow was sick and his lyrics were nice, but can't be judged like other three mentioned.

5/8/2007 1:26:28 AM

people who think this have a very small spectrum of rap that they listen to...my goodness that is absurd

5/8/2007 2:09:16 AM

Quote :

"Lil Wayne is definately top five alive but of all time? Is he in the category of Biggie, Tupac, Jay-z, NAs, KRS, Rakim, Big Pun, Redman, MEthod, Kool G, SCarface, JAda, EMinem...etc..."

WTF?? 11 of those people are still alive, so how is wayne in the top five alive but not better than those named?

5/8/2007 2:41:59 AM

you are forgetting about this man:

5/8/2007 2:51:37 AM

Quote :

"WTF?? 11 of those people are still alive, so how is wayne in the top five alive but not better than those named?"

You have a point...but at the current moment I hate to say it, he is top 5 rapping now. Some of the 11 mentioned have either not been puttin out any music or their music is under the radar. Personally my top five rappers right now in no order are Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco, Joe Budden, Ludacris, and either Jadakiss/Nas/Beanie Sigel.

And far as metaphors and similies, A lot lil wayne's are wack.
"These dudes air soft. Soft shell Taco Mild Sauce." ?

Thats horrible.

[Edited on May 8, 2007 at 9:15 AM. Reason : e]

5/8/2007 9:13:00 AM

fuck it - i'll say it

anyone who uses "lil" in their rap name is not and never will be top 5 dead or alive

lil wayne
lil scrappy
lil i don't give a fuck

your shit's weak

5/8/2007 10:14:03 AM

^please don't say that wayne and scrappy are near one another skillwise. Scrappy can't rap for shit.

5/8/2007 10:54:38 AM

Lil Fame > Lil Wayne

5/8/2007 11:07:49 AM

http://wiggerlover.blogs.com/index/2007/04/index.html

5/8/2007 11:57:22 AM

Quote :

"anyone who uses "lil" in their rap name is not and never will be top 5 dead or alive"

I used to think the same thing, but you gotta give credit where it's due. Wayne definitely has moments of greatness. Have you heard his version of "Show Me What You Got" or "Upgrade?"

5/8/2007 12:09:15 PM

Hands down these guys run any rapper out there

5/8/2007 12:14:57 PM

Quote :

"I used to think the same thing, but you gotta give credit where it's due. Wayne definitely has moments of greatness. Have you heard his version of "Show Me What You Got" or "Upgrade?""

My only problem with Lil Wayne's show me what you got freestyle is how he fell off in the middle of the song. His first verse was hot. 2nd verse I was like where the fuck did he go?

^And The Clipse are hot. Repetitive at times but Hot. If Pusha T keeps rapping like he does, people will be on him just like they are on wayne right now.

5/8/2007 12:31:44 PM

i havent heard anything from lil wayne that i thought was noteworthy. he's good enough to be recognized and get airtime, but i definitely would not put him in top 5, even right now.

perhaps he's not "my type of rap."

5/8/2007 1:22:35 PM

Hell Hath no Fury is one my favorite albums of all time.

5/8/2007 5:40:49 PM

no love for lupe? from what ive heard so far the new album is gonna blow up the scene...and id deffinitely put clipse over wayne lyrically plus theyve got one of the best in the business in pharrell producing for them...hell hath no fury is phenomonal.

5/8/2007 6:10:23 PM

that new Senim Silla has some good tracks on it

5/8/2007 6:53:36 PM

I have trouble objectively listening to the Clipse lyrics, the beats are so sick. Lyrics are hot, I wouldn't put them over Weezy, even if they rap about more substance.

5/8/2007 8:29:47 PM

Quote :

"i havent heard anything from lil wayne that i thought was noteworthy. he's good enough to be recognized and get airtime, but i definitely would not put him in top 5, even right now."

I agree. My students gave me a bootlegged copy of Tha Carter 2, and I roll to it now and then, but I dont think its anything that people will be blasting at parties in 10 years, a la dre, snoop, pac, biggie, etc

5/8/2007 8:47:27 PM

i repeat...

Quote :

"people who think this have a very small spectrum of rap that they listen to...my goodness that is absurd"

5/9/2007 12:40:33 AM

The idea that anyone considers Lil Wayne to be anywhere near the top is crazy...Nas, Pac, Big, Rakim, Wu-Tang (any), Outkast (both), KRS-one...and people are talking about Lil Wayne or Cassidy or whatever...that's just dumb

5/9/2007 3:09:33 AM

naw, he ain't in the top 5 alive or dead. The following are still alive:
Rakim
Nas
Andre from outkast
Common Sense
Ghostface Killah

And the following have passed:
Biggie
Big L
Tupac
Big Pun

I actually do like Wayne, I just don't think he's in the elite class though. Honestly, just looking at rappers from the South, I'd put him as my #5 behind Andre, Big Boi, T.I., and Scarface.

5/9/2007 10:08:52 PM

Quote :

"Wu-Tang (any)"

you mean Masta Killa, Inspectah Deck, and U-God are better rappers than Wayne??? REALLY???

5/10/2007 4:34:07 PM

Quote :

"If wordplay (metaphors, similies and such) are your thing. Lil Wayne, Cassidy and Jay are the three best."

really dude?

top 5 in no order...
nas, mos def, tupac, biggie, tariq of the roots
honorable mentions are too many to mention but canibus, jedi mind tricks, heiroglyphics, jay-z, kanye west, lil wayne, common, tribe called quest (q-tip), wutang, outkast, etc etc etc

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 4:49 PM. Reason : .]

5/10/2007 4:48:50 PM

^^the Rebel INS is definitely superior to Weezy...they're both nice people though IRL

^you might mean Black Thought from the Roots?

5/10/2007 5:00:08 PM

i was awaiting the hate on inspectah deck.

5/10/2007 6:15:07 PM

^^^Tupac isn't in the same league as far wordplay, at least the type that I was speaking of. Most of are your list are. Tupac was great, but his flow was more comparable to Eminem's in delivery than Wayne, Jigga or Cassidy. Cassidy, Jay and Wayne weren't my three best of favorite rappers.

5/10/2007 7:34:56 PM

tariq = black thought

5/10/2007 10:13:18 PM

there best not be any hate on Inspectah Deck or gza

also...that senim silla is hot

what about J5...i always loved how ALL OF THEM could rhyme

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UKGWAYS4ZyI

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 10:24 PM. Reason : gotta love that classic dinco d]

5/10/2007 10:17:09 PM

http://forums.sohh.com/showthread.php?t=841843

This is funny but true...

6/1/2007 11:25:36 AM

lil wayne comes with dope shit, alot of it simple, but dope nonetheless

but its mainly his swag that makes dude so ill, at least to the status quo of peoples opinion of "best rapper"

6/1/2007 1:22:44 PM

^^some of that is somewhat accurate, but if ANY rapper uses a checklist, it's memphis bleek.

6/1/2007 3:44:26 PM

saigons album was a flop

6/1/2007 4:13:21 PM

is this a joke??? top 5 all time? not even close, not even remotely close

6/1/2007 4:29:44 PM

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4d0pdv

6/1/2007 10:45:55 PM

^great song.

6/2/2007 1:35:13 AM

he's in the top 5 of the rappers currently making records, but he wouldn't even come close to making my top 5 of all times. I could put half of the wu-tang on that list before lil wayne got mentioned.

6/2/2007 10:50:22 AM

http://link-protector.com/209864/

new mixtape... surprise, it's really fucking good.

6/8/2007 9:44:47 AM

what, no fitty cent?

6/8/2007 9:57:36 AM

^no. this thread has nothing to do w/50

6/8/2007 10:06:54 AM