Best MC of all time!(nominations)
- Thread starter kained&able
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The_Reverend_M
More bass, vicar?
Rakim or Mos Def for me.
Iam - what's the album by Invincible I should be checking out then ...?
Iam - what's the album by Invincible I should be checking out then ...?
I think, predictably, I'm going to say Rakim too. A quantum leap in technique.
Honourable mentions: I agree with tarannau about BDK and early LL, and I'll add Pharoahe Monche, Ghostface. Plus Doom for his deceptively loose cadence and being so lyrically off the wall.
Honourable mentions: I agree with tarannau about BDK and early LL, and I'll add Pharoahe Monche, Ghostface. Plus Doom for his deceptively loose cadence and being so lyrically off the wall.
The album's called Shapeshifters, released on her own label. You can buy it on UGHH.com, dunno about downloads I'm afraid...
http://www.myspace.com/invincilana
I believe she was offered major label deals a decade ago, but turned them down to do community projects and other stuff not usually related to being a star. She's a cracking MC and an amazing lyricist, though.
spacemonkey
I Love Noodles
Stevie Hyper D. 
edit: damn passenger beat me
edit: damn passenger beat me
What a silly question
My favourite 'gangsta' rapper of all time is Ice-T, but that's not just for his skills, he isn't really that skillful, he's just 'the whole package'. Maybe Ghostface, but he only did one decent album, lots of decent tunes, but without Rae and Cappadonna (and his youth
) he doesn't shine so much
My favourite MC based on skills is probably GZA, some of his wordplay is just insane
The coolest MC had to be Biggie, he was funny as fuck, but he told the truth as well
For freestyles, Redman has to get a mention, I love it how you can sort of imagine stuff clicking into place in his head
For consistency I would go with MFDoom, he's made about 20 good albums and it's pretty hard to get bored of him
overall, the best MC of all time is
Ya Kid K!!
My favourite 'gangsta' rapper of all time is Ice-T, but that's not just for his skills, he isn't really that skillful, he's just 'the whole package'. Maybe Ghostface, but he only did one decent album, lots of decent tunes, but without Rae and Cappadonna (and his youth
) he doesn't shine so muchMy favourite MC based on skills is probably GZA, some of his wordplay is just insane
The coolest MC had to be Biggie, he was funny as fuck, but he told the truth as well
For freestyles, Redman has to get a mention, I love it how you can sort of imagine stuff clicking into place in his head
For consistency I would go with MFDoom, he's made about 20 good albums and it's pretty hard to get bored of him
overall, the best MC of all time is
Ya Kid K!!
Ghostface has done more than one good album. Supreme Clientele, Cuban Links, Pretty Toney, Fishscale are all great.
Re: Rakim, he's the established choice and I accept he forwarded the genre but just cos he was first doesn't make him best imo.
Ice-T I have just never got, EVER.
Re: Rakim, he's the established choice and I accept he forwarded the genre but just cos he was first doesn't make him best imo.
Ice-T I have just never got, EVER.
Riuven
All of the MFDoom stuff I have heard has been good, although admittedly I haven't caned him as much as I did Ghostface.
With Ghost I rate Cuban Lnks, the other ones are ok, but they are 50/50 good tunes and shit tunes. And all of the freestyles that I downloaded by him are rubbish.
I'm not 'dissing' him, but I don't think he'll ever be 'the best ever'. He a bit like Man City or Newcastle United
With Ghost I rate Cuban Lnks, the other ones are ok, but they are 50/50 good tunes and shit tunes. And all of the freestyles that I downloaded by him are rubbish.
I'm not 'dissing' him, but I don't think he'll ever be 'the best ever'. He a bit like Man City or Newcastle United
To use a racing analogy. Rakim didn't just pip the others to the title by a few yards. He pretty much had time to dig up and improve the track, then thoroughly beat everyone and still be waiting for them at the finishing line, reclined on sun lounger and sipping cocktails. He could afford to bask in the limelight and pretty much retire, every so often surfacing to show just how far ahead of the game he was, even when clearly comfortable and half-arsed in his efforts.
This is no contest really. Sure, he's rested on his lapels and pissed much of his career away through contract shenanigans, but he's every right to do that. Pretty much all the contenders/pretenders to this throne on this thread have paid homage to Rakim for good reason - see NAS on URB, Jay Z on Blue Mag, Tupac, Snoop and all the Wu Tang.
This is no contest really. Sure, he's rested on his lapels and pissed much of his career away through contract shenanigans, but he's every right to do that. Pretty much all the contenders/pretenders to this throne on this thread have paid homage to Rakim for good reason - see NAS on URB, Jay Z on Blue Mag, Tupac, Snoop and all the Wu Tang.
Thing with Doom is, I love him, but I can't sit down and listen to him for a long period of time cos the nonsense style starts to grate a little bit after a while, whereas Ghostface paints a picture with his raps. Cinematic really is the best word I can think of to describe them.
Freestyle doesn't suit him at all, I don't think, he's not that kind of MC because his verses are clearly so considered and have a storyline to them quite a lot of the time. "Take me Back" "Back like That" "One" are some good examples. I just love his style so, so very much. Might be a personal taste thing but I can't think of anyone better out there atm or the last few years.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Personally, I like Rakim a lot but I don't place him all THAT much higher up in my opinion than someone like Big Daddy Kane, for instance. Maybe cos I'm a relative young'un and wasn't there to see it all unfold at the time.
I love the Rebel MC so much. I used to do a clubnight in Romford, stick on Street Tuff week in, week out, clear the floor and leave the booth to dance like a plum with my mate who was the only other person in the club to know the tune...happy days
I agree that he is fkkin amazing, and I prefer him to MFDoom for the reasons you just said. Another good thing about Ghostface is that you can see him develop over his albums, whereas most rappers just come out with a style and then try to keep that one style going. But I would just never call him the best ever
I loved Kane as a kid. Probably my favourite rapper of the time. I wore out so much Kane vinyl as scratch loops, Raw especially. Even loved Taste of Chocolate and the Rudi Ray Moore stuff
But Rakim, whilst I didn't warm to him in the same way, was a different beast entirely. He was almost too cool, the records too unfamiliar at the time - techniques, the internal rhymes in particular, trickling down into the mainstream and becoming more accessible.
To be fair, Rakim didn't haven't the immediacy and instant appeal of someone like Kane for me then either. More slow burning, a kind of insidious respect and influence that grew.
It's not my favourite track of his but "The Champ" off Fishscale (I think) really summed that progression up for me. He's a writer who seems to be really self-aware, like Eminem in a way.
Didn't really like the Big Doe Rehab though, bit thuggish and it seemed like a regression. CANNOT WAIT for the MF Doom collab to finally come out though...
Get what you mean, I think. Kane etc are more engaging whereas Rakim was the first rapper with mystique and authority?
Bear in mind I was young once too - a mere 11 year old at the court of UK Fresh.
Rakim was the man that older brothers and mentors talked about in hushed, awestruck tones, trying to match the skills. Gawd, just a smattering of months earlier, novelty and story telling rap was still prominent, Mike Allen was still the king and the Fresh Prince didn't even seem that annoying or big eared....
Rakim was the man that older brothers and mentors talked about in hushed, awestruck tones, trying to match the skills. Gawd, just a smattering of months earlier, novelty and story telling rap was still prominent, Mike Allen was still the king and the Fresh Prince didn't even seem that annoying or big eared....
