>criticize a fan who doesn't have either in their Top 10 or
>even 25, and will be even more outraged if they have a Lil
>Wayne or T.I., or even Kendrick, and no mention of a Kane or
>Kool G Rap.

I've never understood the "had to be there" mentality that some people have when it comes to Hip Hop. I mean these are lyrics, flows, recorded. The whole point of recorded music is so that you don't have to be there to go back and listen to it. I wasn't in the Bronx in the late 70's or early 80's but I can easily listen to Melle Mel flow and know ok this dude is a highly skilled MC. I can also listen to say Kurtis Blow or Busy Bee and know that they were more entertainers and not super lyrical MC's.
>
>I am 28, which means most folks my age who put Rakim and KRS
>in there didn't see them in our prime, but we had to make an
>actual effort to go and study their music. People my age are
>more familiar with Slick Rick and LL for 80's Rap, because
>they had bigger hits. So if someone who's like 25-30 doesn't
>have either in there...I'm not at all surprised, and won't
>judge them like "you don't know your shit." BUT, it also
>depends how arrogant they are with their opinion. If they say
>"Rakim was boring as shit, Pusha T and Wayne are more
>influential than he ever was" then the convo is over.

I would judge them the same way I'd judge someone who suggested that Ne-Yo or Chris Brown were top 10 R&B singers.