Growing up in the South, maybe I had more of a range even if I was more apt to listen to regional music because the radio fed it to me.

Besides that, I was beat over the head with how amazing New York rap was. Me and my friends laughed hard at how NY rappers generally caught hell with making catchy hooks even though they TRIED. But yeah...I got it. Kane and Rakim were ridiculous. I fell for Nas, Mobb Deep, and Wu in 95 pretty easily. I was onto JayZ as soon as I saw them playing Monopoly with real cash on that Dead Presidents video. 'Bout to start snitchin ain't cha...I forgive your weak ass. Hustling just ain't you' gave dude a lifetime pass in my mind as a holy shit rapper.

Short then NWA then Cube then Death Row seemed to actually sell the most records and be on TV all the time so that was my West Coast for a while. And the South stuff I had around me jammed because it sounded like folks I knew rapping. This was especially the case with Houston rap and then Louisiana shit once I went to college there.

By the time I was 20, I just liked a lot of stuff. I thought E-40 was weird but amazing. UGK's Ridin Dirty is still on my short list of best/most complete albums ever. I can listen fondly to even some of the shakiest core No Limit stuff from like 95 - 98-ish.

Common was my favorite rapper for at least a couple of years. Before that it was JayZ. Before that, OutKast. Before that, Tupac and Big before I knew they knew each other.

Since then, there's been everyone from Curren$y to Kendrick to Griselda. And now, I might take Roc Marciano today if I had to pick one rap cat to listen to. And that's even with my thought that the Wu is the best collective ever in a walk.

>Like if someone tells you that there favorite rapper is
>Jadakiss and E-40, I am going to side-eye them (unless they
>grew up in the Bay and then moved to NYC).
>
>
>I mean we should be able to appreciate the diversity in
>hip-hop, but the too short - E-40 versus had me side eyeing a
>lot of East Coast hiph-hop fans acting like they really can
>ride deep with 40 Bay Area songs. (though I can see
>Southerners being Too Short fans).
>
>It's great when UGK and Jay-Z can come together on a track,
>but they both can't be too of your favorite rappers.
>
>I mean you can love superstars like Snoop and Nas, but once
>you go into more regional acts, it seems like you are just
>being agreeable if you say you love Freeway and SugaFree.
>
>
>Respect all hip-hop, but I think someone would be lying if
>they tell you that they LOVE all regional hip-hop the same.
>
>Does that make sense or am I just making up new reasons to
>hate?
>
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>**********
>"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then
>they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
>
>"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"