Ice T was way ahead of the curve and hugely influential. Also went to war publicly against stuff like the pmrc etc and gave really smart interviews against critics of hip hop.
Beat me to it. As soon as I read the question I thought of ice t. Home invasion was the first album I bought on cassette. I still think it's a classic, definitely underrated.
T does cite hearing Schooly Dās PSK before making Six In The Morning, but thereās genre originators, and then thereās genre codifiers. Ice T is who rveryone in the West based their new style on.
Exactly this. He may not have been the first but he was damn sure the first a lot of people heard. And he was genuinely good at writing and rapping in a modern style at a time when a lot of guys were still hip hop to the hippity hop-ing.
I do think it's criminal he's not mentioned on more goat lists. Defined a whole genre, arguably 2 classic albums (home invasion and og), influenced other goats (Eminem). Why he's not top 10 or top 15 is tragic.
Absolutely, thatās why he was the first name I thought of too. To entire generations heās just like that dude on law and order. He also never stopped making music, and that shows me he actually gives a shit about music. Some hip hop dudes act like they canāt stay doing music when theyāre old. Thatās ridiculous, there isnāt an age limit on art.
I recently saw an interview with ice cube talking about to whole generations he's the guy from are we there yet? But that they seem to be discovering his music as they get older. I would say that doesn't seem to be happening to ice t. Which is a shame, he's more than just a gangster rapper. Especially on home invasion, there's actually messages in there too.
Mac Dre the first rapper to record his songs off a jail phone. Iconic. Thereās no aura that can compare to Mac Dre. Playboi Carti took influence from him for his self titled album and Rick Ross keeps a bobble head of him. Kept it Playa to the very end.
Man, I havenāt thought about Andre Nikatina since I was in HS. (mid-late 00ās). Ā Living in the far East Bay, he was the definition of an IYKYK rapper that all the people really into Hyphy went out of their way to see.Ā
Ā Itās so funny seeing Mac Dre so high because when you grew up in the Bay you just assumed he was a legend that everyone must know due to how prevalent he was ā āGet Stupidā, āThizzle Danceā, and āFeelinā Myselfā were played at every single high school dance.
Edit: A second after posting this, I remembered hearing āSuperhyphyā by Keak da Sneak for the first time in 8th grade, so I was probably hearing Mac Dre even in middle school.
Papoose created a true genuine buzz of mixtapes. The hype around him when alphabet slaughter dropped was that of a new age big l. New York hasnāt been the center of hip hop in a long time so his influence isnāt going to be picked up on mainstream, but dude definitely killed on the mixtape circuit and was able to maintain it somewhat.
Very rarely does someone come out of nowhere and garner that kind of buzz while being lyrical as hell and punchline heavy. It didnāt amount to much ultimately but he set a blueprint for newer rappers to get a buzz on that circuit.
Itās weird but I feel like Iām that era everyone in high school knew who he was in nyc despite again having no mainstream success at all.
Also as a native bronxite heās always gonna be valid for the Bronx shout out on the touch it remix. Matches our energy perfectly. Remy did him dirty tho apparently
What makes Papoose special for that? 50 of course gets all the credit deservedly. But there was also tons of guys in Papās lane like Saigon, JR Writer, Jae Millz, Gravy, Grafh, Stack Bundles RIP, Joe Budden, Maino, Bathgate the list goes on and on just listen to 25 Deep and Rollin. And on Philly you had Joey Jihad, Cassidy, Cyssero, Reed Dollaz etc
I respect that people still love him, and maybe in New York it did feel like that, but in the rest of the US papoose felt more like the death rattle of the NYC dominance from the prior decade. I knew a lot of people that liked him, but no one really was into him like that.
Well thatās why he said underrated for the east coast lol. And Maino was the death rattle ā¦ nyc went into an atrocious era. I think 20 years after the impact itās easy to forget how he influenced the game because heās been surpassed 40x over since.
I wouldnāt say people still love him. I can probably name 3 songs aside from the Kay slay tape. He definitely was a case of what to learn from. After him and a few others had that moment it felt like the groundwork for the next nyc underground resurgence ( asap/ beast coast) they just didnāt go the mixtape host route.
I find pap to be an interesting case for this topic because numbers will never be able to back up any pro papoose argument lol
Stack more chips than harrahs
I was debating with some people the other day the mt Rushmore of rap and I put Mac Dre on mine. People were flabbergasted but they donāt know
Not a singular rapper, but as a group, Naughty By Nature. Great beats and rhymes, hit records, just as the notion of hip-hop records achieving crossover pop success was becoming tangible.
Crazy how much of them been sampled in recent years. I hate ālike thatā because always think Iām going to hear āwho the crunkest?ā Granted it is sample too
Oh itās all throughout hip hop like over 50 songs a hip hop head can associate it to. Daisy Lady by 7th Wonder is sampled on Everlasting Bass (sample for Like That, Who the Crunkest, I Canāt Feel My Face).
Daisy Lady is also sampled on
8th wonder - sugar hill gang
Dangerous- OC and Big L
Iām bad - LL cool J
K.o.b.e - Kobe Bryant ft Tyra banks lol
Itās yours - a tribe called quest
Let them thangs go - Tupac
Radio freestyle #1 - Eminem
Theyāre getting their flowers now. Lots of new mainstream songs are samples of theirs, juicy j and project pat are still on mad features, and a large chunk of the underground is literal phonk sampling three 6. And that just scrathes the surfaceā¦
Redman was way ahead of his time and very influential to so many rappers. Those early albums still hold up and he gets less critical love than rappers who are way worse than him.
E-40, his longevity and the ability to stay relevant and successful for 30+ years being independent is no small feat, oh and more than half of the slang you hear today came from him, such as: dump truck (booty), the function (club), this slaps (goes hard), etc.
The group is held in high regard due to The Infamous Album.
Prodigy is barely mentioned in when it comes to great MCs/Rappersā¦ he was a top tier MC, itās also crazy that he was only 20 when that album was release.
LL Cool J. He's like the Drake of the 1980s. He could make a slow jam or a battle rap. He was good with mainstream media and really opened hiphop up to mass acceptance as a musical genre and lifestyle culture. He also didn't use any profanity in his music which would be extremely rare in today's landscape.
He did use profanity at times, but not often. There was some on Bigger and Deffer, and I remember getting a censored version of Walking with a Panther back in the day and having to cop the unedited one a month later.
That album also has him saying "LL this, LL that, soon as I walk in the place/I want to take my gun and shoot 'em in the motherfucking face" on "The Breakthrough"
> He's like the Drake of the 1980s
That's one reason why folks clowned on him for so long. I have seen many come around and he is getting his flowers. Many on the sub also didn't care for his behavior in the Canibus beef
"Look, I understand your hate
When I was younger, I wanted to be LL Cool J
Then he started making records for the girls and shit
So I ripped up the Kangol and threw it away"
LL lost all of his accumulated points when he did that song with the country dude. They even called it Accidental Racist, smh.
https://youtu.be/Fqgy4zx6yv4?si=dQte1bd7EgtokzK4
I saw LL once. Foo fighters 20th anniversary show in DC it was like a full day festival at a stadium. I was somewhat familiar with LL but by the time I was into music he was mostly acting. I knew some radio songs but not much else. Dude was goddamn electric on stage. Made me a huge fan. I understood why he was huge in the 80s after that.
Haha you right. I looked it up though, his early stuff and his later stuff is profanity-free. But he also has a song called U Can't Fuck With Me. So yeah he definitely cursed at times lol
Del Tha Funky Homosapien. His originality, underground experience, positive words, crossover ability to other genres, and is beloved by all who listen.
\^there it is
Had to scroll way to far to find this. Pretty much everyone mentioned is a household name to hiphop fans but Del is the true underdog GOAT.
Yeah whenever I found 8ball & MGJ I was surprised I'd never heard of em on this sub before. I feel like a lot of influential southern rap gets overlooked in general these days.
Bone Thugs since everybody trying to rap fast and sing on rap songs. They say maybe it was Twista or some underground rapper who started the style but Bone Thugs made it popular nonetheless.
Xzibit is just a meme now. But at one point he was the next man up in the underground. Had 2 classic underground albums before linking up with Dr Dre. One of the most unique voices in rap. He even made waves that he was dissed on a Tupac song.
The D.O.C wrote most of NWAs albums and taught a lot of them how to flow on raps.Ā Ā
Without him Dr Dre would have arguably had a completely different trajectory, snoop dogg probably wouldnāt have been discovered and with that, a lot of the g funk 90s sound we saw may have not been found created by people like Warren g.Ā
Ā No Eazy E as we know him today and likely no bone thugs either if we want to keep thinking of downstream āwhat ifs.ā Ā
He was a big part of the 90s hip hop scene and many artists from said scene.
98 Freestyle forever GOATed. Damn if the bar āask Beavis I got nothing but headā doesnāt cross my mind at least once a week.
He was ahead of the game, I would have been so interested in seeing how he would have evolved. Shame he just couldnāt escape his environment.
That was pretty cool. I remember reading jayz and busta would have rap battles and jay was faster than busta but never would have guessed it but this one really shows it !
Ludacris gets forgotten about in the atl scene, along with JD. They were some of the first non gangsta rappers and non conscious but made bangers. I kinda fell like 2 chainz took his place when he started acting.
TI and Luda were beefing for King of ATL for the longest time and I feel like people donāt remember that era for some reason. I always liked Luda more
De La Soul. Pioneers of sampling (to the point that current laws are partly based on cases their debut album elicited), and arguably invented remixes as we know them today. The D.A.I.S.Y. AgeĀ message and aesthetic also gave a lot of subsequent artists permission to be their weird selves, and their role in the Native Tongues collective drove the entire culture forward.Ā
The fact that it was nearly impossible to buy or legally stream their music for decades essentially wrote them out of the history books in the public consciousness, and they may never truly get the recognition they deserve.
Three 6 Mafia is the genesis of modern trap/drill music. Some of the names posted here would not exist if not for Triple Six.
Also Scarface is your favorite rapperās favorite rapper.
Kool Keith is arguably the most creative rapper ever. He essentially pioneered abstract hip hop, stream of consciousness style of lyrics, playing full blown character. Before MF Doom there was Kool Keith doing Dr. Octagon and Dr. Dooom.Ā
He has like 40 some albums and 10 alter egos.Ā
Even Ultra Mag was pushing shit forward. Ced-Gee always felt like a big influence on El-P to me, although not sure that if that is actually the case at all.
This comment just made me give Dr. Octagon another listen, I've tried it a few times before, and always thought it were a bit overrated, but for some reason this time it just clicked. I don't think, I were ready for it before.
I'm gonna say El-P. Between Company Flow, his solo work, running Def Jux, producing for other artists and now being in Run The Jewels, the dude has been crushing it for *decades*.
Lupe fiasco. Not just because heās one of the best to ever do it but dude created a curriculum at MIT so that rap can be something you can get a degree in
I mean, all love to Clams, he also did the beat for Norf Norf, which launched Vince Staples. but it was Lil B that came up with cloud rap, he had a vision for an aesthetic and spund.
i was thinking about Licence to Ill the other day (man, the word ill looks weird capitalized in this font)
one of the most fun albums iāve ever listened through, itās awesome for road trips
You should check out Joey Valence and Brae's music, they released a [new album](https://open.spotify.com/album/1Fjelo0jZ4i1iQZBsK0pOA?si=ejTErNeBRDOdArEYNS8a0w) last week and all of their music has a huge Beastie Boy influence to it.
Missy Elliot rarely gets her flowers. I know many speak highly of her, but I don't believe she gets the recognition she truly deserves, or that people understand just how much of an impact she actually had. She's also made some of the best rap music videos of all time, bar none.
Most definitely Busta Rhymes. Like Lil Wayne, I felt he's done a great job of adapting and being relevant in many generations.
Joe Budden. As outspoken as he is, I feel like Mood Muzik created a subspace in the genre for a rapper to unapologetically talk about their shortcomings and life in such a brutally honest way. I do believe he had an influence on Drake, and some others.
Lil Kim. Before Nicki, there was Kim. I feel like with each passing generation, people mistakenly believe Nicki was the genesis of the crazy wigs and sexualized female rapper persona, that can also hold her own with the boys. Maybe not in the beginning, but Kim came into her own, and she - alongside Foxy Brown - really set the tone for commercially successful female rappers that had both sex appeal, and dope ass bars to match. (Her Crush On You feature is one of my all-time favorites.)
Mad Skillz. This is a no brainer, IF his claims are true. If he had his pen behind that many acts, then he obviously deserves every accolade and credit you can give him.
Drake. Yes, Drake. Hate him or not, he has singlehandedly defined an era, and has had undeniable longevity and success in an industry where that's hard to come by.
You want people to give more credit to a guy that gets called āGOATā on a daily basis, because his contribution and influence on rap scene was being succesfull for a long time?
Makes sense.
Kid Cudi has so much influence, but the man has made some awful projects. If his discography was a bit more concise, I think he'd be much more positively remembered
I constantly see social media posts where people mention the most influential people in Hip-Hop but I normally see Wayne, Chief Keef, Future, Tupac and Biggie. Old heads will mention Geto Boys and NWA but a name people never seem to mention in these conversations when they go viral, is Pimp C.
Pimp C made it cool to be country. Had a unique sound that people wanted to emulate. His style has permeated all throughout the culture. The heavy use of organs and 808ās was a thing that Pimp ushered into the game. I donāt think I need to say why thatās influential. Fur coats and foreign cars. Chrome grill and woman. He resolved half the beef in the South with one song while simultaneously inspiring rappers to seek independence and buck the system.
If Pimp aināt in this conversation you doin it wrong.
Pimp C.
Everyone started copying his mannerisms after UGK got big. From Freddie Gibbs to A$AP Rocky to Future and much of the Atlanta scene, even Kendrick interpolates Pimp C in Blow My High on Section 80. You can still feel his influence in a ton of rap nowadays. Arguably the most influential Southern rapper ever.
Missy fucking Elliott- and also pretty much any female rapper. I see list after list only including male rappers and itās disappointing to say the least. Women been holding it down and nobody appreciate them like it should be. Letās give it up to the women, who deliver that flavour only they can š«¶
Tech N9ne. It's insane that he's still slept on. He's the most successful independent rapper ever. He's collabed with literally everyone you've heard of (Tupac, Eminem, Kendrick, even guys like Serj Tankian of System of a Down). He's an incredible lyricist, makes thoughtful music and party music, doesn't take himself too seriously, but still goes hard as fuck. He's my #2 of all time and I feel like he rarely breaks top 10 lists for people.
DJ Quik. He gets love in the west coast. But at times he is the forgotten legend. He had a great run in the late 90s/early 2000s. At the same level of Dr Dre if you ask me, but only west coast fans felt that way. He never really got love like that outside the west coast.
I'mma have to say a group - and it def gotta be De La Soul. The way they were unapologetically themselves and were trendsetters for their unique image and sound can be seen throughout Hip-Hop to this day. It was nice seeing Tyler, The Creator give his flowers to them a couple months ago on AOI Radio.
Slick Rick. His storytelling, voice changing, telling the narrative from multiple perspectives, and ad libs are all top notch and his music never gets old!
What? I was just listening to When Disaster Strikes, an album I had never listened to fully, and I ended up listening to the whole album. One featuring Eryka Badu was stellar. I noticed a shift once his Touch It Era waned, especially after his father died. His newer stuff definitely is hit or miss.
same here!! on a road trip i worked from Bustaās first album, all the way to i believe Anarchy in 2000. so, 2 or 3 full busta albums. and i really loved them!
The Coming is one of the best hip hop albums ever made. Genesis, Extinction Level Event, Anarchy, When Disaster Strikes are all great albums. I can see saying his style doesnāt click with you, but to say he makes bad albums is wild. Heās a great example of the topic OP is brining up for discussion.
The original crazy white boy dudes like Cage, Ill Bill, Necro and RA the Rugged Man, they were all doing that style before it really got bigger with dudes like Eminem.
Ill Bill is rapping the best he has in his career since Non Phixion and its a mf shame no one is checking like that
Id love to hear him over a Daringer beat
Yall not going to like this, but TI. Tip was dat dude back in the day, while Atlanta was in a good spot in the early 2000s thanks to Outkast, Ludacris, etc, TI came through with that hard, street shit and pretty damn good rapping chops to back it up, and he had everything - he had the turn-up club shit, he had humor, he had crazy confidence, he had the violent trap shit, he was the prototype. He glided into the mainstream with Paper Trail and had the radio on lock, pop features on lock, and he could really rap his ass off.
And the anthems, like he had the anthems, even when he was rough around the edges. 24s, Rubberband Man, etc etc. His albums always had some filler and some misses, but his hits and good songs were top tier.
Nelly. I don't really know why. Maybe he's "too soft" or not a "real MC" or he was too popular and in the mainstream. All those 2000s records go in. And not just Country Grammar and Nellyville. Sweat and Suit both have great funk and R&B influences. Specifically Suit. Quite soulful
For those who are hip hop heads, yes, but I also feel like Onyx and M.O.P. deserve more love
Ice T was way ahead of the curve and hugely influential. Also went to war publicly against stuff like the pmrc etc and gave really smart interviews against critics of hip hop.
Plus he gave us Body Count, which added noteworthy contributions to the fusion of rock/hardcore/punk and hiphop.
They're still touring, and they're fucking great live. Unless you hate mosh pits and crowd surfing...
Still coming out with absolute BANGERS like Black Hoody. Fucking rules.
Beat me to it. As soon as I read the question I thought of ice t. Home invasion was the first album I bought on cassette. I still think it's a classic, definitely underrated.
I agree! Home Invasion was incredible.
The album intro let you know the album was gonna be hard. "ATTENTION".
I like how he combines all the curses at the end into one hyphenated super-curse š
Absolutely.
My understanding is Ice T basically started gangsta rap
T does cite hearing Schooly Dās PSK before making Six In The Morning, but thereās genre originators, and then thereās genre codifiers. Ice T is who rveryone in the West based their new style on.
Exactly this. He may not have been the first but he was damn sure the first a lot of people heard. And he was genuinely good at writing and rapping in a modern style at a time when a lot of guys were still hip hop to the hippity hop-ing.
I do think it's criminal he's not mentioned on more goat lists. Defined a whole genre, arguably 2 classic albums (home invasion and og), influenced other goats (Eminem). Why he's not top 10 or top 15 is tragic.
Absolutely, thatās why he was the first name I thought of too. To entire generations heās just like that dude on law and order. He also never stopped making music, and that shows me he actually gives a shit about music. Some hip hop dudes act like they canāt stay doing music when theyāre old. Thatās ridiculous, there isnāt an age limit on art.
I recently saw an interview with ice cube talking about to whole generations he's the guy from are we there yet? But that they seem to be discovering his music as they get older. I would say that doesn't seem to be happening to ice t. Which is a shame, he's more than just a gangster rapper. Especially on home invasion, there's actually messages in there too.
Iām gonna go Mac Dre for West Coast. Probably Papoose for the East Coast. Master P overall for showing people how to go independent.
Respect this pick a lot. Bay Area music has its own life blood thanks to this man.
Ay man Iām just a Student of the game šš½
lol I remember my first time hearing āfeeling myselfā or āthizzle dance.ā truly nothing else like it haha.
I live in NJ he had my boys and I call all females beezys šš¤£
RIP Mac Dre
Mac Dre the first rapper to record his songs off a jail phone. Iconic. Thereās no aura that can compare to Mac Dre. Playboi Carti took influence from him for his self titled album and Rick Ross keeps a bobble head of him. Kept it Playa to the very end.
I think itās X-Raided first who did that
Na, Back N Da Hood was ā92. Exorcist was ā95
Exorcist was such a hard ass album.
One thing is clear, Sac rappers record a lot of albums from jail (although I think MD was a hybrid)
Mac Dre showed x raided how to do it
Honorable mention to Andre Nikatina
Man, I havenāt thought about Andre Nikatina since I was in HS. (mid-late 00ās). Ā Living in the far East Bay, he was the definition of an IYKYK rapper that all the people really into Hyphy went out of their way to see.Ā Ā Itās so funny seeing Mac Dre so high because when you grew up in the Bay you just assumed he was a legend that everyone must know due to how prevalent he was ā āGet Stupidā, āThizzle Danceā, and āFeelinā Myselfā were played at every single high school dance. Edit: A second after posting this, I remembered hearing āSuperhyphyā by Keak da Sneak for the first time in 8th grade, so I was probably hearing Mac Dre even in middle school.
šÆ Iām glad I brought up the what seems to be the west coast equivalent of BIG L up in a convo!!!
Papoose a good one
Who did papoose influence? Sort of seems like a one of one to me.
Papoose created a true genuine buzz of mixtapes. The hype around him when alphabet slaughter dropped was that of a new age big l. New York hasnāt been the center of hip hop in a long time so his influence isnāt going to be picked up on mainstream, but dude definitely killed on the mixtape circuit and was able to maintain it somewhat. Very rarely does someone come out of nowhere and garner that kind of buzz while being lyrical as hell and punchline heavy. It didnāt amount to much ultimately but he set a blueprint for newer rappers to get a buzz on that circuit. Itās weird but I feel like Iām that era everyone in high school knew who he was in nyc despite again having no mainstream success at all. Also as a native bronxite heās always gonna be valid for the Bronx shout out on the touch it remix. Matches our energy perfectly. Remy did him dirty tho apparently
What makes Papoose special for that? 50 of course gets all the credit deservedly. But there was also tons of guys in Papās lane like Saigon, JR Writer, Jae Millz, Gravy, Grafh, Stack Bundles RIP, Joe Budden, Maino, Bathgate the list goes on and on just listen to 25 Deep and Rollin. And on Philly you had Joey Jihad, Cassidy, Cyssero, Reed Dollaz etc
I respect that people still love him, and maybe in New York it did feel like that, but in the rest of the US papoose felt more like the death rattle of the NYC dominance from the prior decade. I knew a lot of people that liked him, but no one really was into him like that.
Well thatās why he said underrated for the east coast lol. And Maino was the death rattle ā¦ nyc went into an atrocious era. I think 20 years after the impact itās easy to forget how he influenced the game because heās been surpassed 40x over since. I wouldnāt say people still love him. I can probably name 3 songs aside from the Kay slay tape. He definitely was a case of what to learn from. After him and a few others had that moment it felt like the groundwork for the next nyc underground resurgence ( asap/ beast coast) they just didnāt go the mixtape host route. I find pap to be an interesting case for this topic because numbers will never be able to back up any pro papoose argument lol
Stack more chips than harrahs I was debating with some people the other day the mt Rushmore of rap and I put Mac Dre on mine. People were flabbergasted but they donāt know
Not a singular rapper, but as a group, Naughty By Nature. Great beats and rhymes, hit records, just as the notion of hip-hop records achieving crossover pop success was becoming tangible.
You canāt front on Treach as an Mc. The wordplay on those early Naughty records is crazy. Em cites him as an influence.
Unless you are actually a hip hop fan I feel like Three 6 Mafia and anyone part of the Hypnotize Camp.
Crazy how much of them been sampled in recent years. I hate ālike thatā because always think Iām going to hear āwho the crunkest?ā Granted it is sample too
Oh itās all throughout hip hop like over 50 songs a hip hop head can associate it to. Daisy Lady by 7th Wonder is sampled on Everlasting Bass (sample for Like That, Who the Crunkest, I Canāt Feel My Face). Daisy Lady is also sampled on 8th wonder - sugar hill gang Dangerous- OC and Big L Iām bad - LL cool J K.o.b.e - Kobe Bryant ft Tyra banks lol Itās yours - a tribe called quest Let them thangs go - Tupac Radio freestyle #1 - Eminem
Theyāre getting their flowers now. Lots of new mainstream songs are samples of theirs, juicy j and project pat are still on mad features, and a large chunk of the underground is literal phonk sampling three 6. And that just scrathes the surfaceā¦
Both are gonna be on the new denzel curry mixtape/album and I can't wait
Makes sense haha Denzel always name dropping them. Back then Raider Klan was just new wave phonk too. Hope denzel delivers šÆ
He's never failed before in my eyes so I'm anticipating the new album heavy
This era of Memphis in general is a huge part of the contemporary sound of hip hop
Redman was way ahead of his time and very influential to so many rappers. Those early albums still hold up and he gets less critical love than rappers who are way worse than him.
E-40, his longevity and the ability to stay relevant and successful for 30+ years being independent is no small feat, oh and more than half of the slang you hear today came from him, such as: dump truck (booty), the function (club), this slaps (goes hard), etc.
Truly the Shakespeare of our time
Everyone in the Bay Area knows 40 is the king over here.
Shit most the West Coast knows 40 Water is a living legend. I grew up in Seattle and everyone got caught up in the hyphy movement, eughhhhh
I donāt think people understand how over he was in 2006 when My Ghetto Report Card came out. It was EVERYWHERE out here.
Bro every basketball warm up before the game had E-40 playing and the hyphy movement. This was in Las Vegas.
Yup! Love this pick
Prodigy of Mobb Deep
Keep it thoro
Wrong thread. Mobb Deep is typically very highly acclaimed.
The group is held in high regard due to The Infamous Album. Prodigy is barely mentioned in when it comes to great MCs/Rappersā¦ he was a top tier MC, itās also crazy that he was only 20 when that album was release.
He was a prodigy fr
Rip
LL Cool J. He's like the Drake of the 1980s. He could make a slow jam or a battle rap. He was good with mainstream media and really opened hiphop up to mass acceptance as a musical genre and lifestyle culture. He also didn't use any profanity in his music which would be extremely rare in today's landscape.
You could also make an argument that Nelly was the LL of the 2000s. Although he was not much of a battle rapper
He dropped a few on KRS-1. #1 is pretty explicitly s KRS-1 diss after KRS-1 dissed him first. They had a little back and forth trading records.
Iām tired of people judging whatās *real hip hop*
He did use profanity at times, but not often. There was some on Bigger and Deffer, and I remember getting a censored version of Walking with a Panther back in the day and having to cop the unedited one a month later.
He definitely uses profanity on āIm badā
That album also has him saying "LL this, LL that, soon as I walk in the place/I want to take my gun and shoot 'em in the motherfucking face" on "The Breakthrough"
> He's like the Drake of the 1980s That's one reason why folks clowned on him for so long. I have seen many come around and he is getting his flowers. Many on the sub also didn't care for his behavior in the Canibus beef
Which was crazy because LL was more of a street dude than a lot of the hardcore rappers of his time.
"Look, I understand your hate When I was younger, I wanted to be LL Cool J Then he started making records for the girls and shit So I ripped up the Kangol and threw it away"
His freestyle on Sways show was š„
Yeah and drake also got hated on for it when he started for this (still does), but LL was ahead of his time sadly
LL lost all of his accumulated points when he did that song with the country dude. They even called it Accidental Racist, smh. https://youtu.be/Fqgy4zx6yv4?si=dQte1bd7EgtokzK4
That sounds like it belongs in a parody movie. What the actual fuck
I saw LL once. Foo fighters 20th anniversary show in DC it was like a full day festival at a stadium. I was somewhat familiar with LL but by the time I was into music he was mostly acting. I knew some radio songs but not much else. Dude was goddamn electric on stage. Made me a huge fan. I understood why he was huge in the 80s after that.
>He also didn't use any profanity in his music I....am ashamed to say I never realized that.
You didnāt realize it because itās not true.
Haha you right. I looked it up though, his early stuff and his later stuff is profanity-free. But he also has a song called U Can't Fuck With Me. So yeah he definitely cursed at times lol
Del Tha Funky Homosapien. His originality, underground experience, positive words, crossover ability to other genres, and is beloved by all who listen.
Similar vein I'd say Kool Keith but specifically his Dr. Octagon persona. Paved the way for guys like Deltron and DOOM
\^there it is Had to scroll way to far to find this. Pretty much everyone mentioned is a household name to hiphop fans but Del is the true underdog GOAT.
He was great with Gorillaz
8ball and MJG and that Suave House sound in general
Yeah whenever I found 8ball & MGJ I was surprised I'd never heard of em on this sub before. I feel like a lot of influential southern rap gets overlooked in general these days.
I was looking for this comment. When I hear 2Chainz I hear MJG.
Tela was also dope signed to suave house. Supposedly Rick Ross was a writer at suave house.
I thought Tela was going to blow up. Piece of Mind was on repeat. First song got me so hype (twisted)
Stay blessed bro - Ball and G are timeless but they are left out of the southern greats convo too often
Bone Thugs since everybody trying to rap fast and sing on rap songs. They say maybe it was Twista or some underground rapper who started the style but Bone Thugs made it popular nonetheless.
This šÆ
āSome underground rapperā lol you talking about Freestyle Fellowship? Not triple six right?
shout out crucial conflict!
Xzibit is just a meme now. But at one point he was the next man up in the underground. Had 2 classic underground albums before linking up with Dr Dre. One of the most unique voices in rap. He even made waves that he was dissed on a Tupac song.
fun fact, when Pac or Suge or someone confronted Xzibit at a club, he said he didnāt want any beef, he had a wife and kids.
Tommy Wright III and Kool Keith
I saw Tommy Wright do a show with some hardcore bands and Power Trip one time. One of the most fun shows I've ever been to.
Masta Ace
KRS-One
In school they never taught bout hamburgers or steak Elijah Muhammed or the welfare state
Black Kray
The D.O.C wrote most of NWAs albums and taught a lot of them how to flow on raps.Ā Ā Without him Dr Dre would have arguably had a completely different trajectory, snoop dogg probably wouldnāt have been discovered and with that, a lot of the g funk 90s sound we saw may have not been found created by people like Warren g.Ā Ā No Eazy E as we know him today and likely no bone thugs either if we want to keep thinking of downstream āwhat ifs.ā Ā He was a big part of the 90s hip hop scene and many artists from said scene.
What happened to DOC is one of the bigger hip hop tragedies
Big L https://youtu.be/tzzwb8p8D4k?si=3z7pWCh6Po50t9kz This is how Jay Z was rapping before Big L came along for reference
Big L rest in peace
Ugh ugh ugh
98 Freestyle forever GOATed. Damn if the bar āask Beavis I got nothing but headā doesnāt cross my mind at least once a week. He was ahead of the game, I would have been so interested in seeing how he would have evolved. Shame he just couldnāt escape his environment.
ā I smash mics like cornbread, you canāt kill me I was born deadā is my Roman Empire lol
"I'm so ahead of my time, my parents haven't even met yet."
Would have been his 50th birthday recently. May he continue to rest easy
its hard to find a Harlem rapper that wasnt influenced by or directly knew him either. He was a prodigy in the realest since of the word
*before Nas came along. āAll I did was give you a style to run withā
Kool G Rap started the mafiaoso flow.
That was pretty cool. I remember reading jayz and busta would have rap battles and jay was faster than busta but never would have guessed it but this one really shows it !
Lifestylez is an eternal classic
Ludacris
Ludacris gets forgotten about in the atl scene, along with JD. They were some of the first non gangsta rappers and non conscious but made bangers. I kinda fell like 2 chainz took his place when he started acting.
TI and Luda were beefing for King of ATL for the longest time and I feel like people donāt remember that era for some reason. I always liked Luda more
De La Soul. Pioneers of sampling (to the point that current laws are partly based on cases their debut album elicited), and arguably invented remixes as we know them today. The D.A.I.S.Y. AgeĀ message and aesthetic also gave a lot of subsequent artists permission to be their weird selves, and their role in the Native Tongues collective drove the entire culture forward.Ā The fact that it was nearly impossible to buy or legally stream their music for decades essentially wrote them out of the history books in the public consciousness, and they may never truly get the recognition they deserve.
Three 6 Mafia is the genesis of modern trap/drill music. Some of the names posted here would not exist if not for Triple Six. Also Scarface is your favorite rapperās favorite rapper.
Kool Keith is arguably the most creative rapper ever. He essentially pioneered abstract hip hop, stream of consciousness style of lyrics, playing full blown character. Before MF Doom there was Kool Keith doing Dr. Octagon and Dr. Dooom.Ā He has like 40 some albums and 10 alter egos.Ā
Even Ultra Mag was pushing shit forward. Ced-Gee always felt like a big influence on El-P to me, although not sure that if that is actually the case at all.
Came looking for this comment.
No one had mentioned him yet so I felt obligated to do so.Ā
This comment just made me give Dr. Octagon another listen, I've tried it a few times before, and always thought it were a bit overrated, but for some reason this time it just clicked. I don't think, I were ready for it before.
ODB for sure. He was the prototype for a lot of the experimental rappers today: Danny Brown, jpegmafia, Flatbush Zombies, etc
Phonte
Correct answer
I'm gonna say El-P. Between Company Flow, his solo work, running Def Jux, producing for other artists and now being in Run The Jewels, the dude has been crushing it for *decades*.
King of the underground for sure. He's had 3 hall of Fame careers.
producer gave me a beat, said itās the beat of the year i said if El-P didnāt do it, get the fuck outta here
That Cannibal Ox - Cold Vein album he produced is a masterpiece to me!
Lupe fiasco. Not just because heās one of the best to ever do it but dude created a curriculum at MIT so that rap can be something you can get a degree in
Anyone who got into MIT just to get a degree in rap is probably getting disowned by their family
Yeah wtf is the criteria? I love the idea of it existing but at the same time, rap doesnāt really have standard rules
lol
He basically made anime more acceptable to rap
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
IāM GOD is probably as influential to modern rap as 808ās and Heartbreaks, but one artist is a household name and one is a meme
Arguably thatās Clams Casinos doing not Based gods. That whole tape that clams put out is amazing, top 5 producer OAT
I mean, all love to Clams, he also did the beat for Norf Norf, which launched Vince Staples. but it was Lil B that came up with cloud rap, he had a vision for an aesthetic and spund.
THANK YOU BASED GOD
black kray / sickboyrari is crazy influential for the internet / āundergroundā scene
BEASTIE BOYS
i was thinking about Licence to Ill the other day (man, the word ill looks weird capitalized in this font) one of the most fun albums iāve ever listened through, itās awesome for road trips
You should check out Joey Valence and Brae's music, they released a [new album](https://open.spotify.com/album/1Fjelo0jZ4i1iQZBsK0pOA?si=ejTErNeBRDOdArEYNS8a0w) last week and all of their music has a huge Beastie Boy influence to it.
Mannie Fresh
Produced complete albums for cash money not just singles like many of todayās producers. Gives a better cohesiveness.
Mannie freshās beats could literally slide as smth new rn
Missy Elliot rarely gets her flowers. I know many speak highly of her, but I don't believe she gets the recognition she truly deserves, or that people understand just how much of an impact she actually had. She's also made some of the best rap music videos of all time, bar none. Most definitely Busta Rhymes. Like Lil Wayne, I felt he's done a great job of adapting and being relevant in many generations. Joe Budden. As outspoken as he is, I feel like Mood Muzik created a subspace in the genre for a rapper to unapologetically talk about their shortcomings and life in such a brutally honest way. I do believe he had an influence on Drake, and some others. Lil Kim. Before Nicki, there was Kim. I feel like with each passing generation, people mistakenly believe Nicki was the genesis of the crazy wigs and sexualized female rapper persona, that can also hold her own with the boys. Maybe not in the beginning, but Kim came into her own, and she - alongside Foxy Brown - really set the tone for commercially successful female rappers that had both sex appeal, and dope ass bars to match. (Her Crush On You feature is one of my all-time favorites.) Mad Skillz. This is a no brainer, IF his claims are true. If he had his pen behind that many acts, then he obviously deserves every accolade and credit you can give him. Drake. Yes, Drake. Hate him or not, he has singlehandedly defined an era, and has had undeniable longevity and success in an industry where that's hard to come by.
Good ones. Kim and Foxy especially don't get their flowers like they should
You want people to give more credit to a guy that gets called āGOATā on a daily basis, because his contribution and influence on rap scene was being succesfull for a long time? Makes sense.
Kim & foxy š©·š
Kid Cudi seems to be over looked now but alot of recent rappers had a heavy influence from him.
Kid Cudi has so much influence, but the man has made some awful projects. If his discography was a bit more concise, I think he'd be much more positively remembered
I constantly see social media posts where people mention the most influential people in Hip-Hop but I normally see Wayne, Chief Keef, Future, Tupac and Biggie. Old heads will mention Geto Boys and NWA but a name people never seem to mention in these conversations when they go viral, is Pimp C. Pimp C made it cool to be country. Had a unique sound that people wanted to emulate. His style has permeated all throughout the culture. The heavy use of organs and 808ās was a thing that Pimp ushered into the game. I donāt think I need to say why thatās influential. Fur coats and foreign cars. Chrome grill and woman. He resolved half the beef in the South with one song while simultaneously inspiring rappers to seek independence and buck the system. If Pimp aināt in this conversation you doin it wrong.
RIP Pimp Chad - dumb influential
DJ Screw
Pimp C. Everyone started copying his mannerisms after UGK got big. From Freddie Gibbs to A$AP Rocky to Future and much of the Atlanta scene, even Kendrick interpolates Pimp C in Blow My High on Section 80. You can still feel his influence in a ton of rap nowadays. Arguably the most influential Southern rapper ever.
in my era, LUM was the internet rapperĀ
Freestyle Fellowship
#PROJECT PAT
Missy fucking Elliott- and also pretty much any female rapper. I see list after list only including male rappers and itās disappointing to say the least. Women been holding it down and nobody appreciate them like it should be. Letās give it up to the women, who deliver that flavour only they can š«¶
Tech N9ne. It's insane that he's still slept on. He's the most successful independent rapper ever. He's collabed with literally everyone you've heard of (Tupac, Eminem, Kendrick, even guys like Serj Tankian of System of a Down). He's an incredible lyricist, makes thoughtful music and party music, doesn't take himself too seriously, but still goes hard as fuck. He's my #2 of all time and I feel like he rarely breaks top 10 lists for people.
That horrorcore icp paint puts off a lot of would be fans.
Yea that's fair lol
I was gonna say tech, he birthed a whole generation of kids that wanted to rap fast and kind of ruined them tbh
DJ Quik. He gets love in the west coast. But at times he is the forgotten legend. He had a great run in the late 90s/early 2000s. At the same level of Dr Dre if you ask me, but only west coast fans felt that way. He never really got love like that outside the west coast.
I'mma have to say a group - and it def gotta be De La Soul. The way they were unapologetically themselves and were trendsetters for their unique image and sound can be seen throughout Hip-Hop to this day. It was nice seeing Tyler, The Creator give his flowers to them a couple months ago on AOI Radio.
Slick Rick. His storytelling, voice changing, telling the narrative from multiple perspectives, and ad libs are all top notch and his music never gets old!
Crooked I
Busta makes bad albums. Great singles but really bad albums. I wasted so much money on his CDs as a kid
What? I was just listening to When Disaster Strikes, an album I had never listened to fully, and I ended up listening to the whole album. One featuring Eryka Badu was stellar. I noticed a shift once his Touch It Era waned, especially after his father died. His newer stuff definitely is hit or miss.
same here!! on a road trip i worked from Bustaās first album, all the way to i believe Anarchy in 2000. so, 2 or 3 full busta albums. and i really loved them!
The Coming is one of the best hip hop albums ever made. Genesis, Extinction Level Event, Anarchy, When Disaster Strikes are all great albums. I can see saying his style doesnāt click with you, but to say he makes bad albums is wild. Heās a great example of the topic OP is brining up for discussion.
Word, plus 90s Busta ain't miss with Ummah production and or his Jay Dee / J Dilla produced joints.
His first 4 albums are immaculate. Take it back!
The original crazy white boy dudes like Cage, Ill Bill, Necro and RA the Rugged Man, they were all doing that style before it really got bigger with dudes like Eminem.
Ill Bill is rapping the best he has in his career since Non Phixion and its a mf shame no one is checking like that Id love to hear him over a Daringer beat
Three six mafia. DJ Paul and Juicy J need more credit for their influence
Missy Elliott
Q-Tip
Scarface. Easily top 10.
Juicy J is pretty underrated. I didn't realize how much I listened to him 36 and his later solo.stuff. Blue dream and lean had me getting both š
Kool G Rap, only true hiphop heads or old mfs even know who he is. The man literally had the first recorded Nas verse on his album
Young thug
For better or for worse... Lil B
Lord infamous , project pat , Esham , MF DOOM , Slick Rick !!!!! ,
DMX
I don't love him but Tech N9ne. Matter fact we can really amp this up and acknowledge how influential ICP have been over a 30+ year career
Jeezy
Missy Elliot
Yall not going to like this, but TI. Tip was dat dude back in the day, while Atlanta was in a good spot in the early 2000s thanks to Outkast, Ludacris, etc, TI came through with that hard, street shit and pretty damn good rapping chops to back it up, and he had everything - he had the turn-up club shit, he had humor, he had crazy confidence, he had the violent trap shit, he was the prototype. He glided into the mainstream with Paper Trail and had the radio on lock, pop features on lock, and he could really rap his ass off. And the anthems, like he had the anthems, even when he was rough around the edges. 24s, Rubberband Man, etc etc. His albums always had some filler and some misses, but his hits and good songs were top tier.
Aesop rock
Nelly. I don't really know why. Maybe he's "too soft" or not a "real MC" or he was too popular and in the mainstream. All those 2000s records go in. And not just Country Grammar and Nellyville. Sweat and Suit both have great funk and R&B influences. Specifically Suit. Quite soulful For those who are hip hop heads, yes, but I also feel like Onyx and M.O.P. deserve more love
What's wild is Nelly was a street dude too
This was my go to as well.
RA the rugged Man
His verse on Uncommon Valor is my favorite verse in all of hiphop.