And I listed like 20-25 rappers I felt were qualified of being in a Top 5. It was a month after TPAB had dropped, so that was still sinking in...but I remember saying Kendrick was still new and I wouldn't put him in a Top Five just yet. But then...my homegirl basically said "that makes no sense. He has 4 full albums, and he's been around for 6+ years. You say Biggie qualifies, but he only had 2 albums, and was around for four years. You even said Big Pun could qualify...Big fuckin Pun??? He was around for like two years with only one or two albums!!!"

And it made me think. It's a combo of things that make it difficult for us to put someone who's currently building their resume in a "Top" list, or even giving them a top spot, even if they've accomplished more than folks in the past did. It could even be that it feels impossible to place someone current above those that we grew up on, and those that obviously influenced and inspired that current artist.

With allllllll of that said......I still look at how much someone's impact mattered at the time of their prime. And with that, Cube may have fell off after 96, or even 93-94 to some folks...but NOBODY from the West and possibly even East could touch his 88-92 run at all, especially counting NWA. Pac's 93-96 run was very close...nearly equal overall, but the albums weren't as strong.

If Kendrick comes back with an album next year that's at least 85% of what his last two were...then I think he may really qualify to be the best we've seen from out here, and will even start qualifying for GOAT status.