for just one moment.

I don't know..I think the influence factor kinda skews the tally when you start judging technique. However, influence might be applicable for a tie-breaker type scenario. While, my personal top ten would consist of cats that rank for nostalgia and influence. If I break it down to pure technique and skill then I can bring supporting evidence for the case of Thought being the best (one of the best..lets say).

I can only think of 1 MC that embodies and has mastered all the facets that Thought has in MC'ing. The other cats are not even contenders really. KRS is the only one that comes to mind.

My criteria for MC's is:

1. Flow/Pattern
2. Styles/Versatility
3. Vocal Range/Voice Quality
4. Delivery/Cadence/Breath Control (off beat/on beat/all over the damn beat!)
5. Vernacular (What seperates one author from another? All the intangibles. This includes the narrative aspect as well as slang and lingo)
6. Live Show Performance
7. Freestyle (off the top and pre-written)
8. Influence/Consistency/Career (thanks to the cat above for reminding me of consistency)

If we kept the the scale easy..say a scale of 1-3. Thought is pretty much 3's across all categories barring "Influence".

Let me just say, that Thought is one the best MC's of our times. He's an effing machine. But for all his superior ryhming skill and capability his failure has been releatability. I had to be honest with myself (as Thought is my favorite MC) and evaluate why love the cat so much. It comes down to his technical genius and raw execution. But I realized that Thought is not the MC to me that say, Q-Tip is (not that Tip is superior). It's that ability to exude your personality (ala Mos Def or Jay-Z) through your lyrics that Thought lacks. Perhaps he is just, "Black Thought", the deep weirdo cat. Or at least that's what I gather from his lyrics. But not many people relate to a cat like that.

I think that Thought is perhaps ahead of his time. He'll be studied and appreciated after his career is over. Unfortunately his influence may not be felt for years to come, if ever. He's still my nigga though.

**walks away with hands in pocket**