What do you value most in an MC? Body of work? Technical ability? Innovation? Influence? Subject matter? Respect among other rappers?

I could go on, but depending on which of those you said yes to, you got a very different answer.

Rakim is considered to be the most influential, innovative and game-changing MC in hip hop history, being the metaphorical bridge between what is now considered old school vs modern rapping. Every MC wanted to be Rakim in his day, and he cemented his greatness and importance in hip hop forever.

Biggie was the crossover rapper. He kinda reminds me of how the beatles were in their day: both the best and the most popular. In his day, he was the king of NY, the birthplace of the genre. Have there been rappers with a skill equal to his since? Sure, probably, but have any been as wildly successful while being the torchbearer? Maybe not, only person I can think of would be Eminem, to be honest...

And then you have the whole body of work/longevity/consistency category that frequently gets overlooked. Now you've eliminated a lot of candidates while shedding light on some of raps most underappreciated talents. Some that come to mind are Dre 3k, Black Thought, Jay-Z, etc. People who have proven their ability time and time again, and not a flash in the pan (see Canibus).

My personal answer would have to be Andre 3k. He's gotten it all: the number 1 singles, the body of work, the respect among his peers, the raw technical prowess, and has been quite influential.

I could see why Biggie would be the GOAT, but I think misses too many of the categories (probably because of his untimely death) to be numba won.