i know its kinda silly, but i was bored yesterday and playing this game in my head. Figured it would be fun to get yalls takes

(also kinda cool to see which letters are the deepest/weakest, so feel free to throw in a few runner-ups as well)

runner-ups:
Aesop Rock
Action Bronson

AZ should be up there though

Andre 3k

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The best: Andre 3000
My favorite: Ad-Rock

Yeah I know most people probably just know his big hit "Put It In Ya Mouth" but to me that's the one song I personally hate but it made him well known in strip clubs and shit.

Anyway his first album "Vagina Diner" is still one of my all-time favorites, his 2nd album "Anakonda" & his unreleased collection "Live At The Barbeque" got some ill joints on it.

runner-ups:
Big Daddy Kane (couldn't decide whether he should be B or K)
Busta Rhymes
Brother Ali
Baatin

i had said second for thought. thought is the better emcee but boots is more my style.

b-real should get a mention

Could consider Kane a “K”...where I’d actually take him over KRS by a little.

But I just kept it simple and went by the first letter even if it was just a word like “big”.

Thought....smh. It’s mindblowing how great he still is. He’s as sharp in ‘19 as he was in ‘96.

If I can't name a group it would be Beanie Siegal

Black Thought

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I know most people are tired of hearing how dope he was and that it's others who are still alive spitting rhymes close to his level but to me he was so enjoyable to hear, he always stood out on posse cuts & guest features, and even though his first album wasn't the greatest it was a solid album.

runner-ups:
Common
Canibus
Chuck D

he has trailed off for me. i dont play his music much anymore but at one point he was my favorite rapper.

chali 2na is a dark horse for me.

I really haven’t been into Common since Be.

But I like 1994-2005 Common way too much to not give him the nod.

specifically Still Standing era Cee-Lo.
follow closely by Common.

Chuck D with Charlie Brown coming in a distant second

Runner-up:
Defari
DMC

i was stumped

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if we take into consideration production he would be my fav over del. just rapping? del takes it. theyre both dope at rapping though.

glad others recognize how ill he can be on the mic

Does he still got it? Early 90s Dres was so good.

Infusing a message with same ease on the mic, but without the lightness and humor he used to have.
For instance:
For The Record:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm0Y_eNfVgk
Novakane:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRNL79F00tA


He'd be one of my favorite solely based on his Black Sheep work even without his newer stuff, but I like both phases. I actually appreciate the personal growth.

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runner-ups:
Elzhi
Eminem

Elzhi is a beast on the mic, to me he fit so well with Slum Village, when he spat on a song I usually had to hear his verse again cause how dope it was.

I just wish his solo albums were reflective of how dope an emcee he is, I loved "Witness My Growth" but that was basically old stuff and freestyle joints; the "Preface" was dope but it doesn't have much replay value from me, could've been better; "Elmatic" & "Lead Poison" were just okay too much skipable songs for me on both.

Elzhi and Eminem kill him there. But I enjoy listening to him the most on the whole. And yeah a lot of it was the production....but I usually like his rapping for what it is too.

I still play all 3 of those. In the 2000’s I was never really a fan beyond a few joints though I recognized that he had bars.

I’m a big fan now.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsX-xBXzu8gu06ZEZfPVcLm-D9_hb5ay3

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runner-ups:
Grand Puba
GZA
Guru

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Ghostface has some GODLIKE performances/moments on the mic.

When he was at his best he was panting vivid, absurd stories with a frantic urgency

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I'm a chubby light skin dude.

AND he shot that drug dealer on ROC

runner-ups:
Cube
Tech

runner-up:
Jigga
John Forte

mayyyyybe J-Live (on the bubble)

(i dont really listen to Jadakiss enough to be an honest man adding him)

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I think i rank BDK ever so slightly above KRS and Rakim, but since this is K, i'll give K to Kris Parker

Why do I rank Kane a sliver above KRS and Rakim?

KRS is the greatest live emcee i've ever witnessed, bar none. As a lyricist and wax-rapper, he's far from wack, but imo weakest of the 3

Rakim is probably the single most influential lyricist ever to grab a mic, sounds dope on wax, but i saw him live and was bored

Kane is a neck-breathing nosehair behind the best in both categories.


runner-ups:
Kool G Rap
(some would say he should be in the above convo and i wouldn't argue)
Killer Mike
Kurupt

krs is definitely a better rapper but i love how k-os makes music.

kendrick can pass him possibly.

if i'm being real, i like him more as an artist than as a rapper

he's far from wack, but on bars etc alone, i can't quite put him in the same class

My southern folks know dude was one of the funnest people to listen to ever recorded

fuck it I got two choices here lol

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My personal favorite rapper.

Dude puts out SO much material, some of which is pretty terrible, that sorting through it all would scare away people who aren't die hard fans

I respect that. I actually recently added a bunch of Kool Keith to my google music cloud in an effort to try and get up to speed

Lupe's in my top 5, so LL and L-Boogie will have to rock-paper-scizzors for shotgun on this one

runner-ups:
LL Cool J
L-Boogie
(both runner ups also are in the convo for top live emcees not named KRS, with Lauryn beating LL on lyrics, LL beating Lauryn on output)

Ladybug Mecca gets on this list because i said so and she's earned it.

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Dude might be the RAPPING-est mainstream rapper of the last 20 years.

Not necessarily the BEST rap artist, but he rapped more often than anybody else and at times was able to make classic original songs that connected with pop audiences and also put on some lyrical Clinics.

Dude has a way of taking other people's beats/songs and making them his own (I JUST found out somebody did Swag Surfing before him)

2 very close runner-ups:
Mos Def (he might've taken it, but the name change gave me an out for my indecisiveness on this one)
Myka 9

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Both in my top five, I kinda have to give Doom the edge based on him rapping over WAY better beats (often produced by himself)

runner-up:
Biggie

(don't chuck tomatoes at me, i'm just an older head that never really listened to Nipsey until a little bit after he passed, but my familiarity isn't there to be throwing him on a fav list insincerely. IMO that would be disrespectful/patronizing)

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runner-ups:
Planet Asia
Plug 1
Phife
Prodigy

Prodigy would be my 2nd choice, even Prince Po is nice too.

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and not even by default lol what other Q rappers are there though?

close runner-up:
DJ Quik (people do NOT give this man NEARLY enough credit for his ability on the mic)

and also Rakim lol

but i have to be real about the fact that Redman is in my top 5 and Rakim painfully isn't quite on that list anymore, even tho he used to be and if you asked me 20 years ago, I would have said Rakim over Redman all day. I wore out the 18th Letter more than any Redman album, Rakim has had a FARRRR greater influence on this artform, and yet...man, I think Redman is more unique, harder to mimic, and way better live.

runner-ups:
Raekwon
Rza (underappreciated as an emcee...acquired taste but great)

I also like listening to RZA rap and wouldn't even try to explain why lol

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honorable mention to.......Rosco P. Coldchain!

Rick the Ruler gets way too pigeonholed as a storyteller to the expense of the proper recognition he deserves as a complete dope af emcee

runner-ups:
Slim Kid 3
Scarface
Suga Free
Sadat X
Snoop

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Plug 2

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Yep, seconding Trugoy...unless he under the D´s for Dave

Kool Keith is my all time favorite rapper, but Ced was laughably bad.

There 2006 album was kinda groan-worthy

back then in groups, for me anyway. Quite a few groups had at least one member I wasn't big on or liked less (Dinco D, Pras, Vinnie, Jalil, etc... I actually didn't like Phife much when I was young, but appreciated him more when I was older). Plus I liked Kool Keith so much at the time that the 'other guy' didn't matter much. It wasn't even a huge deal for me, and I think the constant collaborative nature of groups helped me appreciate different kinds of rap voices.

Other than that, I got nothing.

i even thought of changing my choice, but U-God deserves a W lol

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from 94-97 dude was a nicer emcee on wax than he got credit for...after that, i can't think of a single verse that got me excited, but to this day he's always been dope as hell on stage, and can actually freestyle better than most of your favorite rappers

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and he still got it. Reminded me of when i first heard Mirror Music. Gonna add this one to the rotation.

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in addition to, or alternatively, you can post your full list below

https://genius.com/discussions/164752-Odb-has-28-nicknames-does-any-rapper-have-more

A- Andre 3000 (honorable mention Aceyalone)
B- Big Boi (honorable Bun B, Black Thought)
C- Common (honorable Cee-Lo)
D- Drake (honorable Del)
E- Eminem
F- ?
G- Ghostface
H- ?
I- Ice Cube
J- Jay-Z
K- Kendrick Lamar (honorable Kanye)
L- Lupe Fiasco (honorable Lauryn)
M- Mos Def (honorable MF Doom)
N- Notorious BIG (honorable Nas - this was the toughest one)
O- ?
P- Pharoahe Monch
Q- Q-Tip
R- Redman (honorable Raekwon, Rakim)
S- Snoop
T- Tupac (honorable Talib)
U- ?
V- ?
W- Wyclef
X- Xzibit
Y- ?
Z- Zack de la Rocha

There wasn't really anybody that I considered one of my "favorites" for those letters.

If forced to pick, I guess I'd maybe roll with:
F- Freddie Foxx or Fredro Starr
H- Havoc
O- Obie Trice or ODB
U- U-God
V- Vast Aire
Y- Your Old Droog