being a white kid where all my friends idolize the dude, this can be difficult.

>I've
>spent a lot of time thinking about this, and while I'll
>admit I don't know hip hop as well as I should either, I do
>feel confident in saying that Pac belongs in most all top 15
>lists.

he might sneak in 15 if its a west coast day

>If we can agree that he's one of the (if not THE ONE) most
>influential and important rappers ever, to me at least,
>there is a direct corallary; enough respect is due to
>involve him in discussions of greatness.

mc hammer is an important rapper. run and dmc are important rappers. wonder mike is an important rapper. debra harry is-well, nevermind on that.

of course pac has more "skills" than all of them, but importance shouldn't be the litmus test for top ten.

>(Give me more than your 2¢, and I'll try to
>elaborate).

penny for my thoughts?

tupac-the most recognizeable and respected rapper within and outside the genre (until eminem came along-recognizeable at least.)

i can't say if and how he spoke for people. i am an 18 year old white kid. he kinda missed me (us.)

lyrically-he said alot. covered the spectrum topicwise. just rhyming words and wordplay he wasn't that special. no, you dont have to be all scientific, but have some vocab and depth.

he is a four mic mc-that got martyred and blown out of porportions. do i respect him? yes. would i respect him more if he didnt become hiphop kurt cobain? maybe. its my subconscious backlash i guess.

>pharoahe monch - dunno

listen/download to the organized konfusion records. the first two primarily. take a notice on the flow, the voice, the words, the story, the whole business.

>ras kass - dunno
maybe pac's catalogue is more impressive.

>aceyalone - no
freestyle fellowship made me realize hiphop was something special. a book of human language made me realize it could be art.

>kool keith - dunno
ultramagnetic and dr. octagon.

>big daddy kane - from what I've heard I think he belongs at
>least a tier below Pac

ehhhh, probably. but back at his prime he was untouchable. but that was over fourteen years ago really.

>posdnuos - dunno
de la soul-anything, but especially early stuff.

my top mcs (having thought about it, not just reacting)

1.pharoahe monch
2.krs-one
3.rakim
4.biggie
5.common
6.posndous
7.aceyalone
8.chuck d
9.ghostface
10.jay-z
11.black thought :)
12.nas
13.tupac

so he is 13 (kinda comprimising, but hes there.)