Who is truly the best rapper alive

On Sunday Jan. Sharing an image of himself and Lil Wayne at the studio via Instagram, Baby captioned the carousel of photos, "Best rappers alive. It's evident that the North Carolina rapper is certain about his stance regarding his own rapping ability. Last October, DaBaby declared that he has one of the top five flows in the rap game. So now, he's added Weezy to the conversation and a few people in the comments section of his IG post have a difference of opinions.

Where's the love? Until The Blueprint , it didn't seem like hip-hop realized what it had in Jay Z. On Vol. But what remained evasive was critical respect.

The previous year, Jay Z's Roc-A-Fella label compilation, Dynasty , stood apart, thanks to its heavy use of soul samples. At the same time that The Blueprint changed hip-hop's musical blueprint, Jay achieved the critical adulation he'd been previously denied. He made that stride explicit throughout: " Reasonable Doubt , classic, should have went triple," he argued on "Blueprint Momma Loves Me ," and "Do you fools listen to music, or do you just skim through it? It was no longer "Politics as Usual" ; instead, he mastered the politics of the game, appearing with the Roots on an episode of MTV Unplugged , a chain banging against the Che Guevara T-shirt on his chest, and claimed the New York throne, vacated since the passing of the Notorious B.

Em spent much of doing live shows, including his much-reported embrace with Elton John at the Grammys. He also headlined the Anger Management tour, and he participated in both the Up in Smoke and Family Values tours as well, solidifying his fanbase in both hip-hop and hard rock circles. Ludacris hit his stride in , following his three-times platinum debut LP with the three-times platinum Word of Mouf. Everything you need to know about where Eminem was in you can hear in the second verse of "Till I Collapse.

So much so he realized he was living through his prime "This is your moment, and every single minute you spend trying to hold onto it 'cause you may never get it again" and began thinking about his place in hip-hop's pantheon, worried he'd never get the props he felt he deserved.

People tend to get caught up in the fact that Em named Redman Reggie ahead of Jay and Biggie in his infamous list, but really the most crucial detail is that Em lists himself last. He was as high as he'd ever get but still looking for another hit, on top but still unsatisfied. Regardless of what ideas were floating around Em's head, he dropped another monster album that year with The Eminem Show. The record didn't top his previous effort creatively but still managed to be one of his more accessible albums at least for hip-hop heads , which for once pitted his lyrics against a backdrop closer to hip-hop's sonic center—laying bare just how many light years ahead of the average rapper he was.

Yet, that album might not have even been his greatest achievement that year. With the release of the loose biopic, 8 Mile, Slim Shady became an unlikely people's champ, the rap Rocky. The first single to the film's soundtrack, "Lose Yourself," became Eminem's biggest hit ever and one of his best songs.

It was a rap song about the physical act of rapping, proving that Eminem was and would always be a rapper's rapper, a true student of Rakim. Yet, thanks to his songwriting skills it was also a massive pop hit and had middle Americans who would otherwise never interact with rap chanting along.

There may be unwelcome side effects to that as seen by the burgeoning number of white rappers , but Em still spread the gospel of hip-hop and did it in the most authentic way possible. It was only a short while after this that Chris Rock would point out that the best golfer was black, the tallest basketball player was Chinese, and the best rapper was indeed white. After ingesting nine slugs from a 9mm , Curtis Jackson licked his wounds and hit the streets to redefine what a mixtape could be.

He became the first rapper to flood the market in a modern way that wasn't really possible or expected previously. By the end of the year, he was signed with the best rapper alive, the best thing to ever happen to bootleggers, and he had already proved his soon-to-be unstoppable Billboard prowess with " Wanksta.

It was prophecy. Yet the early part of the year belonged to a Harlem rapper known for his unusual affinity for the color pink. Cam'ron joined the Roc and didn't disappoint when he made two huge hits, first "Oh Boy" and then "Hey Ma. In between he also wrote Purple Haze, as the intro to that album points out. Finally, following the personal hardship after the loss of his mother and a moment of clarity after beefing with Jay Z, Nas regained the visceral firepower to bring it back to the streets of New York.

Only one year prior to the release of Get Rich or Die Tryin ' , no one could have predicted 50's rise. And 50's fellow Queens-repping street rapper Ja Rule was dominating the charts with a series of hip-hop ballads. In , 50 was stabbed in a conflict with rapper Ja Rule's entourage.

He was shot and survived an infamous attempt on his life that same year. Who knew what other kinds of trouble he could get into? Columbia promptly dropped him, and his debut record, Power of the Dollar , was shelved.

But the labels missed out on what made those songs resonate. As a rapper, 50 was ruthless and fearless. And more importantly, he was both of those things more convincingly than Jay Z, who had begun to make moves toward critical respectability and retirement. And then 50 Cent began releasing mixtapes. At the beginning of June came 50 Cent Is the Future ; the title was prophetic, and buzz built quickly.

It became readily apparent that not only did 50 Cent have a brash street-friendly presence, but he had an ear for melodic hooks. His tapes reinvented pop music for a street audience. Meanwhile, his slurred rap style had a national appeal, which enabled his verses to fit in well with the drawled Southern rappers who had begun to break out in Houston and Atlanta.

Around the same time, a copy of 50's Guess Who's Back? CD—a compilation of tracks recorded during the sessions for the unreleased Power of a Dollar LP for Columbia—found its way into Eminem's hands.

Dre would helm the project. Here was a rapper who seemed part artist, part action hero. Coming on a wave of hype, Get Rich or Die Tryin' was the most anticipated rap debut since Doggystyle. Released in February , the album dominated the year, becoming one of hip-hop's best-selling albums. By the end of that year, it had gone six-times platinum. It reoriented the entire genre toward street rap's hard edge, spawned a pair of No.

It also launched the careers of his entire crew, was Grammy-nominated, and became a full-on pop culture phenomenon. Meanwhile, his long-simmering beef with Ja Rule and Murda Inc. Ja had commercial success on his side prior to '03, but at that moment, 50 successfully got under his skin. Ja Rule released a slew of diss tracks in response, culminating in 's diss album Blood in My Eye.

The album was a commercial flop, relative to his previous releases; 50 Cent's debut, meanwhile, continued to spiral upward, ultimately selling more than eight million copies. He boasted that he was the "best rapper alive" at this point, and it was arguable in ; but his problem has always been a long-term consistency, and in spite of the top 10 success of single "Change Clothes" and standout guest verses on "Beware of the Boys," "Crazy in Love," and " Frontin ," it wasn't enough to compete with the 50 Cent juggernaut.

Eminem, always in contention in this era, released three singles from the previous year's The Eminem Show , two of which charted in the top 20 on Billboard.

Finally, T. It sold modestly at first, but in time it has become recognized as a Southern hip-hop classic. On the album, T. Tip's buzz began to build on a national level in earnest. Unlike much of the competition in Atlanta and the rest of the South at the time, Tip balanced his unapologetically Southern drawl with a lyrical focus.

As difficult as it was to hear much of a New York influence in his drawling syllables, the rapper had an elastic double-time flow and unquestionably deft rhythmic control that ran circles around the competition; witness his guest spot on 's "Look at the Grillz," which gives co-guest-star Twista a run for his money.

His rising profile was briefly tempered by legal problems in March , when the rapper was sentenced to three years for a probation violation. Luckily for him, he was work-released after only a month. While Tip was behind bars, rumors spread that rapper Lil Flip had disrespected the MC at a performance, a response to T.

An on-wax beef was sparked between the two rappers, one that would later result in a real-world confrontation in Houston. The record sold , copies its first week, besting his previous release, and lead single "Bring 'Em Out" became his highest-charting single to that point, breaking into the top Meanwhile, he nabbed a guest spot on one of the year's biggest hits, joining an ascendant Lil Wayne on "Soldier," a Destiny's Child single that hit No.

His work with G-Unit, however, was more promising. Lloyd Banks and Young Buck were able to ride his coattails to strong sales, and Game was first introduced with singles "Westside Story" and, in particular, "How We Do," one of the strongest singles in 50's catalog. But relative to T. Cam'ron, in the meantime, prepared to follow up his crossover smash Come Home With Me and translate the modest success of the Diplomats to his own solo record. Purple Haze underperformed relative to its predecessor, but the album was a critical success, and its singles remain classics in the Cam'ron canon—even if, per the album's intro, they were originally recorded in Meanwhile, Game's buzz, aided by a 50 Cent cosign and the aforementioned "How We Do" and "Westside Story" singles, became an undeniable story, one he would better be able to deliver upon when The Documentary dropped the following year.

In , Jeezy first made an impact outside of his native Atlanta, grabbing guest spots on songs by Fabolous and Trick Daddy, releasing his Tha Streets Iz Watchin mixtape, and dropping a video with Bun B titled "Over Here," which prominently advertised—at least to those in the know—his Big Meech affiliation.

But the following year, Jeezy took off, beginning with the growing buzz around his Trap or Die mixtape. He first broke nationally on Gucci Mane's "Icy" single, which, that same year, would become a source of conflict for both rappers.

At the time, Jeezy was especially invested in obtaining the single; his appeal had been grounded in distinctive ad-libs and a searing vocal style, one that seemed more concerned with blunt, overwhelming force, rather than the dexterity or diversity of previous Atlanta stars like T. More to the point, he didn't have a certified hit. Jeezy shouldn't have worried. The record featured the group's biggest single, "Dem Boys," with a high-profile endorsement from P.

Jeezy would be the group's only breakout star. S ignificantly, the album introduced the world to the trap house sound of Shawty Redd, whose shards of synthesizers were a revolutionary brittle reinvention of hip-hop' s soundscape.

It marked the end of hip-hop's biggest crossover era, as populist gangster rap adapted a more underground, oppositional sonic template, rather than the pop-friendly sounds it had adopted in the TRL era. The album launched four charting singles, including "Soul Survivor," which reached No.

Young Jeezy's totalitarian vision engulfed the country from the grassroots to the top. Songs like "Candy Shop" became massive crossover hits—at the expense of much of the support of his traditional hip-hop audience, who were relegated to enjoying album tracks like "Baltimore Love Thing" and "Ski Mask Way. In '05, 50 was also responsible for some of the best tracks in his career, albeit under someone else's name.

The Game's debut, The Documentary , put him even more firmly in the conversation. The LP ultimately went double platinum after selling , copies in its opening week. Game's success, though, was split with 50 Cent, who was a major part of both singles; ironically, Game ended up with the stronger release, but 50 had scene-stealing verses and hooks on the album's biggest singles.

Common, meanwhile, released one of the best records of his career in Be , a major creative and unexpected commercial success. The rapper was signed to Kanye's G. Music label the previous year and appeared on The College Dropout. Produced primarily by Kanye West with an assist from the recently deceased J. Dilla, Common's Be received 4. It also became the rapper's second gold album, selling around , units.

The album featured a cut called "Best Rapper Alive," which seemed like another empty boast, but Wayne wasn't being cocky—he just realized his arrival before the rest of us did. After Tha Carter II , Weezy started his absolutely ridiculous run, highlighted by Dedication 2 and his joint album with Birdman, Like Father, Like Son , both of which featured some of the best rapping of his soon-to-be illustrious career. More importantly, his mastery on the mic gave him the confidence to feel his way through any beat and interact with it as he saw fit.

Once he started experimenting with more and more styles, the results were fascinating. With confidence came comfort, and with comfort Wayne's personality shined through as he talked more about his love of SportsCenter , motorcycles, and all things New Orleans. His rhymes made him famous, but his "Murder the adults and let the kids get adopted" approach to fame made him a superstar. Despite his great output since , T. Prior to King he often leaned too far into the streets—despite his penchant for Billboard hits, songs like "You Don't Know Me" didn't quite cross over the way they should have.

His later hits like "Live Your Life" were massive but leaned too far into pop territory. But 's "What You Know" struck the perfect balance, as did his album King. Still, even if T. Whatever it lacked in commercial appeal, Hell Hath No Fury made up for in cold, mechanical raps.

Pusha iced every one of his bars with detached debauchery and delivered them like he was about to hawk a loogie. The keys had opened doors, and suddenly King Push had hit the coke rap zenith. He might have been a newcomer, but as his impressive debut proved, h e could tell engrossing stories with pinpoint precision, adjust his cadence ever so slightly to give his words greater weight, and still sell a modest amount of records. He not only kicked first-rate rhymes but pushed an image of a rapper more akin to Kanye than 50 Cent.

A trend that would soon gain more momentum. Kanye West's career had been building toward this moment all along. By , the stars had aligned and Yeezy became the epicenter of hip-hop, both sonically and artistically. Despite releasing two stellar albums in and , he was seen as a great producer and great songmaker but never a great MC.

During the years when the rap zeitgeist was playing limbo with coke rappers, mixtape runs, and ringtone rap, Yeezy raised the bar up and got his bars up. His humor was still present as he spit the most Kanye line ever: "I'm like the fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans necessary. No longer did he flub verses with over exposition. Whatever his words lacked in humility they made up for in maturity.

His vocal performance was now poised and patient, characteristics best seen on cuts like " Flashing Lights ," where he employed a delicate nuance to his rhymes where a younger Kanye might have gone for a ham-fisted approach.

Beyond his flow, 'Ye dropped his best songs ever, " Can't Tell Me Nothing ," and finally found what he always sorely lacked: a true street anthem. With " Stronger ," Yeezy scored arguably his biggest hit ever, another testament to his crossover appeal and made Yeezy an early adapter to EDM. Still, it felt like this was happening right under our noses. When Kanye got into a highly publicized sales battle with 50 Cent, many believed he stood no chance against Curtis. Little did they realize 50's antics were starting to feel like an old Biggie line: "Fuck that beef shit, that shit is played out.

The album outsold 50's Curtis by a wide margin and not only proved Kanye was a cultural force but one who wasn't willing to settle. The guy that executives once told to stick to producing was now the Best Rapper Alive. Kanye must have realized it, too. As much as people think Kanye is obsessed with himself, in truth he's always been obsessed with challenging himself.

That might have something to do with why, as soon as people finally accepted his rapping, he abandoned it to move on to singing. We only say that because otherwise Weezy killed it in '07, releasing about songs.

The easy put down would have been "it was quantity over quality," but that's the thing about Wayne in his prime: Nearly everything he did was quality. There was always one random line or burst of flow that was worth hearing. The highlight was his spectacular double disc mixtape Da Drought 3 , which found Wayne blacking out over one instrumental after another. Jay Z was having a resurgence of sorts as well. After seemingly losing a step after retiring and coming back with the disappointing Kingdom Come , Jay got inspired by the film American Gangster and dropped an album of the same name.

He wasn't rapping about anything he hadn't rapped about 10 years before, but the fact that he found yet another way to say something we'd already heard and make it compelling remains one of his most under-appreciated achievements. Still, you couldn't shake the feeling that every time he dropped a verse it became the most talked about 16 of any given moment. Lil Wayne's commercial, creative and cultural ascent reached its peak in , the year he became a true crossover star and, without question, the greatest rapper alive.

It had been two years since his last album, but Weezy had flooded the industry, releasing a succession of hot street tapes and guest verses. First, his guest verses: Lil Wayne was a scene-stealing rap star, making his mark on T. But it was his work as a solo artist that made the biggest mark.

His radio single, the Static Major—assisted "Lollipop," topped the pop charts, went five times platinum, and helped drive Carter III to 2. Officer" reached No. By this point Weezy's claim to be the greatest living rapper on Tha Carter II no longer seemed nearly so audacious.

Despite taking a "break" from official releases, his album went three times platinum, opening at No. It became the rapper's best-selling album to that point.

It was the first to reach 1 million in sales since The Massacre. As impressive as the numbers were, though, what made Lil Wayne the greatest rapper alive in transcended popularity. He had broadened what was thought possible for a rapper. The boundaries of the genre were pushed to their logical breaking point. He was still rapping, retaining his innate cleverness and style, but had such intoxicated confidence that he didn't need to live by the formal limitations adhered to by lesser MCs.

And then, not content to rest on his laurels, he released Dedication 3 , another mixtape with DJ Drama, before the year let out. Despite the relative flop of T. The album, Paper Trail , included two more major singles including another No. It was his second No. He also appeared on Usher's "Love in This Club," which would also find the top spot. He didn't regain the widespread commercial appeal that he had on his debut record, but the album was a creative success, particularly after the disappointment of 's The Inspiration.

Kanye West had a fairly low-key year in , but in the wake of Graduation 's release, he remained one of hip-hop's biggest stars. His final single from Graduation , "Homecoming," was released, and he began working on his tortured melodic album s and Heartbreak. But as a rapper, he kept the flame alive with a series of hugely popular guest verses, appearing on Estelle's "American Boy," Young Jeezy's "Put On," and T.

In the wake of Lil Wayne's utter domination of , was, to say the least, a rebuilding year. Kanye had become an Auto-Tune performance artist. Lil Wayne began pushing his Young Money crew, and into the void came a rush of rookie artists from across the spectrum.

Amidst all the confusion, a veteran stepped up and released the biggest single of his career. When you're the best rapper alive, and you release your most successful single ever, it's hard for the mantle not to fall to you. Hov also proved that he'd retained his nimble technical abilities; love it or hate it, he was still the most envied rapper in hip-hop.

Part of that was a result of his business moves. After appearing at the president's inauguration, Jay crossed over in a way no rapper had previously, unless you count Eazy-E's visit to the White House. But after all is said and done it all comes down to the music. While his first single, "D. Death of Auto-Tune " had some chart success despite its obvious failings as prophecy , its follow-up singles were two of the biggest of Jay's career. Then the monster that was "Empire State of Mind" took over, becoming Jay's biggest-ever hit and sitting atop the Billboard charts for five consecutive weeks.

There are few acts able to retain that level of success this deep into a career, but for Jay, even in the twilight era, consistency has been his trademark. Drake, meanwhile, had begun to show signs that he was really about to be that successful. Rounding out the honorable mentions is Gucci Mane, easily the most prolific artist on this list. He rose up from his rabble-rousing grassroots, flooding the market without over-saturating it, releasing a handful of mixtapes that are now considered classics, including Writings on the Wall and Burrrprint: The Movie 3D , while his singles "Wasted" and "Lemonade" had considerable chart traction.

Can we get much higher? In , Kanye West made a triumphant return to rapping full time. Lost in the hype of his post-Swiftgate comeback was the fact that Kanye wasn't just the best rapper alive but also the best rapper he's ever been.

Yeezy reached the height of his technical proficiency. Gone were the pesky lapses of supreme competency where he uttered "Funny when you thought of them but only to you" type lines. Instead it was all genuine wit with rhymes like "Got caught with 30 rocks the cop looked like Alec Baldwin. Ye's G. Friday releases kept him consistently anticipated week to week, and when My Be autiful Dark Twisted Fantasy finally did arrive it was hailed as an instant classic and arguably Kanye's best album.

Instead, he was able to coax inspired performances from Nicki Minaj and Rick Ross, the latter of whom saw his growth as a rapper reach its apex on "Devil in a New Dress.

But the nearly flawless Teflon Don — supercharged with the street anthem of the year "B. Yet, the verse of the year belonged to Nicki Minaj, whose manic energy on "Monster" took her from buzzing to being invited on stage with Jay Z and Kanye West at Yankee Stadium. Chilling backstage while Jay, 'Ye, and Nicki performed "Monster," a rejuvenated Eminem was returning to the forefront of the rap conversation after kicking his drug habit, abandoning the accents, and dropping the well received Recovery.

Bill Simmons once called LeBron James the car wash "everything" package, saying, "You see an athlete get handed the 'everything' package maybe only five times in your life. When Drake emerged on the scene in he was more than just a rapper with crossover potential—just like LeBron is more than a 6'8" dude with a jump shot—he was a rapper with superstar potential. So Far Gone put Drake on the map in '09, and his debut album, Thank Me Later , was released in a stacked hip-hop year.

But Drake didn't claim his championship ring until rolled around. After the dust of settled, Drake unceremoniously started rolling out songs on his OVO blog. Every release, from "Dreams Money Can Buy" to "Club Paradise" to "Marvin's Room," instantly became an event—and some of the most discussed songs of the year. So much so that end-of-the-year Best of lists had to leave off Drake cuts, lest he overwhelm the lists by the sheer quantity of his quality output.

Drake was so hot he gave away that year's summer anthem and one of his best songs ever to DJ Khaled "I'm on One" and it didn't even hurt the quality of his album, Take Care. Coming late that year, h is sophomore set showed that Drizzy had many skills but his greatest gift was his ability to internalize his struggles and make them universal. Call it "emo" if you like, but feeling regret over a lost lover, feeling proud of your accomplishments, and feeling like you're the best but still have 10 years left is what we ought to expect from brash young men.

With Take Care, we finally got to witness the full breadth of his undeniable talent. Suddenly, the throne was no longer for the taking. Similar to 50 Cent in , Ross didn't put out a ton of solo material, but his Ashes to Ashes mixtape was released in the closing days of and carried into as he prepped Maybach Music Group's Self Made Vol.

Even in an off year, Drake was on one. And even without those songs Drake was still an omnipotent force in hip-hop who dominated the rap conversation. Jay Z once boasted, "For the right price I can even make yo shit tighter. Drizzy unleashed one monster guest verse after another and gave away Billboard hits that introduced buzzing artists to a wider audience.

Rule of thumb: You're definitely in the Best Rapper Alive conversation if people will listen to any artist's song just because you're on it. And if you can make any song you're on a possible anthem, then you probably are the Best Rapper Alive. To understand his impact, consider that even throwaway lines like "Good ain't good enough" sparked intense debate about perceived shots at G.

More importantly, consider that if Drake had strapped together all his major guest verses and added a couple of strong solo cuts, he would've had a third album better than most rap releases last year.

Honorable Mentions: Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross We have no knock against Kendrick Lamar but are obliged to point out that he was relatively quiet for most of before dropping good kid, m. However, last year more and more fans got hip to his stellar release, Section. Still, most were left wondering if K-Dot could pull off a classic debut. But more on that later. Meanwhile, 2 Chainz' momentum from 's T. Music's "Mercy" and had Kanye telling him to start charging K for a You know you're having a special year when you not only spit the last verse on the premier posse cut but Kanye is the one who throws up the alley.

Not that it really mattered. Ross still ran the rap game with an iron fist and gave us Rich Forever , one of his best overall projects, at the top of the year. Still, for the first time since , it felt like Rozay's reach wasn't continually expanding but contracting ever so slightly.

Kendrick Lamar spent most of crafting his masterful debut album, good kid, m. The release of good kid cemented Kendrick's status as the Best Rapper Alive and earned comparisons to other legends who jump-started their careers with unforgettable major-label debuts. It wasn't just a great album, it was a great conceptual album with a storyline throughout—a Herculean hip-hop feat. As the critical praise poured in and K-Dot fans supported their artist—a music-biz mantra that's more often said than followed—a mainstream audience slowly started to appreciate this West Coast rapper with left-field sensibilities to the point where hip-hop as a whole started looking at him differently.

Kendrick's breakthrough comes at a time when rap fans are inundated with new rappers who overpopulate the blog posts; the few who are worth the time rarely if ever fulfill the promise of their initial offerings. But Kendrick lives up to all the hype.

No one thought the analogy was far off. Time for everybody to bow down to King Kendrick Lamar ya bish! Will K-Dot's reign on top be shorter than leprechauns? For Drake, once again the throne is for the taking.

His third album is on the way and songs like "Started From the Bottom" and "5 AM in Toronto" show that he can still turn it on like a light switch whenever he fancies. At the other end of the spectrum is Danny Brown, who has little mainstream recognition but has slowly built himself into a premier underground rapper.

Fans continue to catch on to his album, XXX , and he keeps slaughtering guest spots. Lil Wayne has said that he first started rapping at 8 years old.

He released a few projects before his first major release, like his album Tha Block Is Hot in He came out with a few more projects in the following years, all of which eventually led him to create his own record label, Young Money Entertainment. That album, along with all of their other projects are notable because Wayne did not have a father when he was growing up. Birdman became the father that Wayne never had.

The album began a 5 album series of some of the greatest rap songs of all time. This is where he found his stride. The album is 2x platinum, and it was a massive success for the Young Rapper at only In the following years, Lil Wayne consistently released bangers.

Wayne is also credited with bringing Drake to stardom, as he signed him to his label in He also developed the reputation of being one of the best lyricists in rap. His constant play on words and idioms truly takes a second listen to understand, and they add a little something special to his music that not many other rappers have, especially at the caliber that her does. Now, these are all amazing and already authorize Lil Wayne to legendary status, but what really sets Wayne apart is his versatility and ability to work with other artists of all genres.

Bruno Mars and again demonstrated his ability to adapt to any feel of music. Kendrick Lamar. He has an unheard of ability to work with whoever he wants, something that no other rapper can claim. Despite his flexibility, Lil Wayne has still managed to keep ears glued to his music. The album is riddled with proof that both of these artists are still getting better even to this day.