I took sometime during dinner tonight and watched online that whole shpeel BET did about their countdown of the best rappers of the 21st century. And much like most of their stuff, I did not approve.
(Editors note: I did enjoy the video packages they put together for Guru which they played during the Hip Hop Awards)
I am a fan of Eminem. He's a really dope emcee. Notice I didn't say rapper. Big Difference. A rapper is someone who can rhyme words over a beat with no connection to the listener. They also have no wordplay, punchlines or lyricism. An Emcee is someone who can control the audience - be it on vinyl or on stage from the beginning of the show or the record to the end of it. Besides talking to your friend, going on the net, grabbing a beer from the bar, you are dumbfounded. Standing still. Bumping your head and are just in awe of the power that person on your record player or on the stage has over you right at that moment. That's an emcee. And yes, even though Hip Hop hasn't come close to the talent we met back in the 80's or 90's we did see some new emcee's come to the forefront that deserved to be on BET's list. Cue my own list. This list is comprised of emcee's that I think should've been on the list along with one that was on the BET list. Here we go..
**CRITERIA**
1. Released his/her first solo album in 1999 or after.
2. Has done something for the culture of Hip Hop.
** WILL BE JUDGED ON **
1. Lyricism
2. Originality
3. Punchlines
4. Diverseness of Topics
Fame's Top 21 Emcee's Of The 21st Century
10. Immortal Technique
Pound for Pound can be in a battle with any of the top emcee's in the game.
9. One Be Lo
I can say he's maybe the 21st century of KRS-One. That's saying a lot.
8. Blu
His conscience sense of rapping or beat poetry has given the west coast a whole new name in underground Hip Hop.
7. Phonte
His rhymes are memorable. His rhymeflow is magical. Help make Little Brother one of my tops in recent years.
6. Lupe Fiasco
He is one of the best at wordplay. I fell in love with his lyrics when I heard his first album. It was back to the essence of Hip Hop culture.
5. Drake
Who can dispute this guys success? Who can dispute what he has done for Hip Hop. Canadian Hip Hop at that?
4. Royce Da 5'9
His unique rhyme-flow. One of the only good battle emcee's on the list.
3. Kev Brown
This rapper/producer is maybe the most under-appreciated emcee's of this century. Defiantly the most under appreciated on this list.
2. Pharoahe Monch
As part of the legendary Organized Konfusion back in the 90s, Monch came full force in the 2000s with his debut solo drop Internal Affairs just before the turn of the decade. Solo he proved to be a true emcee and a student of the game.
1. MF Doom
MF Doom is defiantly before his time production wise and also on the microphone. Breaking out as a new superhero after retiring his alias Zev Love X, Doom came into his own as an emcee and a wordsmith. Most of his lyrics are classic. Ones that only he can make sense of. ("Make sure she don't wake from her dream, a killer get caught with a hand full of cream filled...cookies..." and "You do the sock hop,I do the drop drop/I make the rock rock, you make the rock rock/I shock the shock shock, you mock the crock pot/I do the do do, you do the do not.") His rhymeflow is top notch. Punchlines? Epic. And that's what Doom is in one word. Epic.
