Favorite rap era and your 5 favorite rappers from the time and your favorite quality about them? (lyric, hardcore)

[mosdefinitely]

For me,

1993-1999:
1. Nas- story telling and the production in Illmatic was impeccable. Everything after cannot match this masterpiece.
2. Tupac- his story telling is as good as Nas but I felt some of his songs were a little slow paced for my tasting. In terms of story telling, I think he may even edge out Nas a bit.
3. Mos Def- BlackStar and Black on Both Sides are great albums. Although I will admit I usually skip a few tracks when I relisten to them. I have 5-6 tracks I absolutely love in each album. Mos Def has a very unique voice and always seemed to have a great flow. He also never seemed to have beef with any rappers and purposely tried to stay neutral and its' evident in a lot of his songs or at least I think so. He's still relevant and making millions still.
4. Big L- I think the best lyricist on the list but he was one-dimensional in his hardcore gangsta rap. Greatest punchline king in rap. Didn't have much time on mainstream if any. If he lived, I do believe he would have been top 3 greatest all time. Talent wise, I do believe he may have had more potential than who I think is the GOAT rapper, Nas. I feel if he had better production, he would have had a few legendary albums. I think he was on pace to sign with Rockafella Records (Jay Z). He was so close to exploding on the mainstream scene. Nas has even said he was "scared to death" to compete with him once he heard him freestyling.
5. Modd deep- The Infamous is a great album. Storytelling is good.

[SoLongTexas]

Oh good lord, let the floodgates open!

The Golden Age:

1) Big Daddy Kane - Taste Of Chocolate

Did you catch Jay-Z @ 1:52? And the extra verse @ 2:04?


2) A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation

They never topped this album.

3) Brand Nubians - Wake Up (Reprise in the sunshine)

That bass line? I don't always agree with their politics but the talent is undeniable.

4) Chubb Rock - The Chubbster

Underrated. Nice flow.

5) The D.O.C - It's Funky Enough

Had to include at least one West Coast artist. lol.

Honorable mention: De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Kwame, King Tee, Geto Boys, etc...

They just don't make funky, uplifting rap anymore.

[SoLongTexas]

lol, so much for those floodgates.

[BigSwede]

I am not a fan, but I prefer 70s and early 80s when it was fun.
Rap went down the drain the second they turned gangster.

[lucky4life]

Early 90's

Doggystyle is still probably my all time favorite rap album

[mosdefinitely]

Originally Posted by SoLongTexas

lol, so much for those floodgates.

Lol I actually thought this would be a big thread by now.

[SoLongTexas]

Me too!


Here's a few more from The Golden Age:


De La Soul - Double Huey Skit


Digital Underground - Same Song (ft. 2Pac)

Love that silly, carefree, good time rap. Good vibes.
At the start of gangsta rap... it was comically stupid.
Then it got serious and dark and not fun any more.

[ATUMRE75]

90s

2 PAC: straight forward emotional story telling.

Rakim: greatest lyricists to ever live.

Wutang Clan: greatest rap group ever. Many different styles.

Scareface: see 2 PAC

Outkast: greatest duo ever

[UrbanLuis]

Early 90s is probably my favorite era 90-95. I like a lot of 80s stuff too, but i was still pretty young and only had a handful of records back then. Its always hard for me to make these top lists, theres too much Hip Hop I like. But heres my list right now....

1. Diamond-d

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ3YTsDc0nQ

2. gang starr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izYHIcLVzIw

3. cypress hill


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2a8x8g-ELI

4.funkdoobiest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjvCf0kvuUU

5. bpd/krsone (late 80s early 90s stuff)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTiD2LFc1T4

[NoddingDog]

As we can all see here, rap's boat has sailed.

If it ever had a boat.