Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1997
Honourable mentions: Common Scarface Inspectah Deck Missy Elliott Rakim Over five years since his last album with Eric B., and over a decade since he changed the rapping landscape with the one-two punch of Eric B President and…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1998
The Best Rappers Alive of 1998 Honourable mentions: Method Man Redman Busta Rhymes Mos Def N.O.R.E. 5. Inspectah Deck Notable releases: N/A Key guest appearances: Big Pun – “Tres Leches (Triboro Trilogy)”, Killah Priest – “Cross My Heart”, Gang…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1999
Honourable mentions: Prodigy Method Man Redman Pharoahe Monch Black Thought 5. Mos Def Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 4. Nas Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 3. DMX Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 2. Eminem Notable releases: Key guest…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 2001
Honourable mentions: Masta Ace T.I. Beanie Sigel Fabolous Cormega 5. Ludacris Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 4. Jadakiss Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 3. Nas Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 2. Eminem Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 1.…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 2003
Honourable mentions: Fabolous T.I. Cam’ron Canibus The name Canibus might prompt jokes amongst rap fans these days, but there was a time when his name inspired faith in lyrical rappity rap. For his fifth studio album, Canibus recorded…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1989
Honourable mentions: KRS-One Biz Markie Freddie Foxxx 5. Chuck D Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 4. Ice-T Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 3. Kool G Rap Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 2. The D.O.C. Notable releases: Key guest…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1990
Honourable mentions: Q-Tip Kool G Rap 5. Lord Finesse Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 4. Rakim Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 3. Chuck D Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 2. LL Cool J Notable releases: Key guest appearances: …
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1992
Honourable mentions: CL Smooth Rakim DJ Quik Lord Finesse 5. KRS-One Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 4. Kool G Rap Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 3. Ice Cube Notable releases: Key guest appearances: 2. Snoop Dogg Notable releases:…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1994
For our Best Rappers Alive series, we take a look at the top five best rappers, year by year – ranking them on projects dropped, guest verses and overall impact.
Ranking Lupe Fiasco’s First Week Album Sales
From his debut as one of the most hyped up major label artists of the 2000s to his current independent run, we look at Lupe Fiasco’s rankings for his first week album sales.
The 50 Greatest Third Albums in Hip Hop History
The third album holds a special place in an artist’s catalogue. Really, if you think about, it’s the third album that really makes the artist.
27 Hip Hop Beats that were Meant for Another Rapper
Have you ever listened to a hip hop song and imagined another rapper over it? Chances are, that beat probably made its way to a bunch of artists before settling on the one.
Ranking Snoop Dogg’s First Week Album Sales
Rap fans have short-term memories. Before Pac and Big, or Eminem and 50, or Wayne and Drake, there was no other rapper in the world bigger than Snoop Dogg.
Ranking Big Sean’s First Week Album Sales
While Big Sean hasn’t ascended to the levels of his peers like Drake, Kendrick, or J. Cole, the Detroit rapper has amassed a solid catalogue over the past 10 years that are both critically and commercially successful, and…
The Best Beat Switches in a Hip Hop Song
A great beat switch in a rap song can be a magical thing. Think about the first time you listened to Jay-Z’s “A Million and One Questions” and Premo flipped the beat right on the line “Motherfuckers can’t…
The 20 Greatest Drum Breaks & Breakbeats in Hip Hop History
Since the beginning of the culture, hip hop has revolved around discovering rare records and sampling the dopest breakbeats.
The 15 Greatest Guest Rappers of All Time
Picking the greatest guest rappers of all time is a monumental task. Especially when you think of how many great rappers have kicked off their careers with a dope feature verse – whether it’s Nas in 1991, Nicki…
33 Rappers Who Have Dropped Three or More Certified Classic Albums
If you’re ever itching to have an argument with a hip hop head, here’s a surefire way to do it – start a debate with them about how many classic records their favourite rapper has dropped .
Ranking Jay-Z’s Best-Selling Albums of All Time
“Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, but I did 5 mill’ – I ain’t been rhyming like Common since.” Before Hov was Hov, he was an independent rapper with a distribution deal through Priority Records hustling his…
The 15 Greatest Jadakiss Guest Verses of All Time
For the past two decades, Jadakiss has been an indispensable part of New York hip hop, his raspy flow and murderous punchlines holding strong for the Mecca while everybody else switches up.
The 50 Biggest First Week Album Sales In Hip Hop History
With the impending sales battle between Kanye’s Donda ( which moved 372,000 in its first week of sales ) and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy , there’s been a lot of talk about hip hop first week sales numbers.
54 Rap Songs That Use the Same Sample
Since the beginning of the culture, hip hop music has been built off the back of sampling other genres.
Ranking Travis Scott’s First Week Album Sales
Over the past few years, Travis Scott has vaulted into the upper echelon of rap superstars, most notably after the release of his 2018 magnum opus.
Song Battle Vol. 1: ‘Ready to Die’ vs. ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…’
Welcome to the inaugural Song Battle series, where we take two classic hip hop albums and pit them against each other, song for song.
The Best Rap Bars in Hip Hop History
What distinguishes a good rap bar from a great one? What elements elevate a rap bar to become one of the most memorable in hip hop’s rich history? As we travel through the depths of hip hop, we…
24 Rappers and Their First Number One Song On the Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 number one song is the holy grail of pop music achievement. It took hip hop over a decade to its first number one song on the charts , and that was a Vanilla Ice…
A History of 56 Verified Hip Hop Songs Written By Ghostwriters
Hip hop has a long and controversial history with ghostwriters. While other music genres generally don’t make a big deal about who writes what, rap’s particular focus on penmanship and personal accounts has made ghostwriting a touch topic.
Ranking Migos’ First Week Album Sales
The impact of Migos extends far beyond their studio albums. Years before they dropped their 2017 masterpiece, Culture , they were defining an Atlanta rap generation with mixtapes like Y.R.N. (Young Rich Niggas) , No Label 2 and…
50 Rappers and Their Best-Selling Albums of All Time
Platinum plaques and chart-topping albums don’t mean everything in hip hop, but they do mean a lot, despite what people want to think.
26 Rappers and Their Best & Worst Reviewed Albums
Like Jay-Z once said – “Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?” While rap reviews may not hold the same weight today as they did back in The Source days, it’s still…
Ranking The Notorious B.I.G.’s First Week Album Sales
As one of the greatest rappers to ever touch the mic , Biggie had accomplished more in his time than other rappers in their entire career; almost singlehandedly shifting hip-hop’s attention from the West Coast back to New…
Ranking Jadakiss’ First Week Album Sales
Jadakiss has always been one of the most consistent and respected MCs in the game. With a catalogue that spans back to the late ’90s, the Yonkers rapper is still in today’s conversation about the best rappers alive.
Ranking A$AP Rocky’s First Week Album Sales
A$AP Rocky has always seemed like rapping was just a hobby for him, something that he was really good at, but never fully focused on. As one of the best rappers of the 2010s , Rocky firmly established…
The 32 Greatest Hip Hop Producer Line-Ups of All Time
Before Nas gathered up DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor and Q-Tip for the game-changing Illmatic , hip hop were dominated by one producer albums.
Every Single Sample Featured on J Dilla’s Donuts
In the world of hip-hop production, few names resonate as profoundly as J Dilla. The Detroit-born maestro wasn’t just a beatmaker; he was a sonic architect, painting expansive landscapes with layers of sound.
100 Rappers and their Age When They Dropped a Classic Album
There’s an ongoing myth that hip hop is a young man’s game. While that may have been true in the earlier days, where it seemed like every rapper was barely in the 20s dropping straight classics, things have…
Ranking 50 Cent’s First Week Album Sales
When 50 Cent stormed the rap game in ’02 off the strength of a handful of (now classic mixtapes), there was no understanding how big he was about to become.
The Top 15 Best Benny the Butcher Guest Verses
I wasn’t around when Wu-Tang was popping off in the ’90s, but I can imagine that the Griselda movement is similar in energy.
Every Nas Album Intro Song, Ranked
From the gritty streets of Queensbridge, Nas has always been a master storyteller, crafting narratives that captivate and provoke. One of the undeniable staples in his legendary arsenal is the power of his album intros. These tracks don’t…
The 28 Greatest Nas Guest Verses Of All Time
There’s a certain magic to a rapper who can hop on someone else’s track and absolutely murder their verse, leaving the listener in awe and desperate for more.
The Most Streamed Hip Hop Mixtapes of All Time
During the initial phase of hip hop, the genre was exclusively live, with its distribution occurring through tapes of parties and performances. The first hip hop mixtapes emerged in New York City in the mid-1970s, showcasing artists like…
The 53 Most Influential Hip Hop Songs of All Time
This is not a list of the best rap songs of all time, although many of these tracks would undoubtedly make that list as well. Instead, this list focuses on the most influential hip-hop records, measured by their…
The Best 3-Song Run on 58 Classic Rap Albums
So with a lot of these albums, you might be tempted just to say “all the songs are incredible.” Which is true for most of them, that’s why they’re classic rap albums.
The 11 Most Expensive Rap Videos Ever Made
Way back before Soulja was shooting DIY videos and Chief Keef was filming under house arrest, rappers were spending millions of their budget dollars on music videos.
The 50 Greatest Nas Beats Of All Time
Nas gets a tough rap when it comes to his choice of production. Over the years, he’s developed the reputation of picking uninspired, boring beats for his God-tier lyricism.
The Top 10 Greatest Inspectah Deck Guest Verses Of All Time
Inspectah Deck, aka the Rebel INS, may not have had the same solo success as his Wu-Tang brothers, but there’s no denying that bar-for-bar, he has the most memorable verses in the entire group.
Ranking DMX’s First Week Album Sales
R.I.P. to the late, great DMX. When he was doing it, there was no other rapper like him. When he was hot, he was scorching.
Ranking Tyler, the Creator’s First Week Album Sales
Tyler, the Creator has come a long way. From a 20-year old edgy kid eating cockroaches in the music video for “Yonkers” to becoming one of the most acclaimed musicians today, it’s been one hell of a decade…
Ranking Eminem’s First Week Album Sales
Eminem’s meteoric rise to fame and his continued commercial success over the years have solidified his status as one of the most iconic and influential rappers in hip hop history.
Profile: Nipsey Hussle, Running the Marathon Forever
The Marathon Continues . Crenshaw . Mailbox Money . Victory Lap . Nipsey Hussle’s catalogue encapsulated everything that he held dear to his heart: Los Angeles, entrepreneurship, patience and ownership.
