for the few (or not, i dont know the demographic) of you metalheads that listen to rap, who is your favorite rapper and why? my top 3, in no order, are Lil Wayne, Immortal Technique and Tech N9ne. though Tech N9ne is hella club music at times, hes about his business. Immortal Technique is sheer auditory brutality and Lil Wayne has "fear god" tattooed on his eyelids and writes eloquent lyrics. Now i leave this question to ya'll, favorites and why?

EDIT, 2/3/10

the top three i originally had in this topic has DRASITCALLY changed with the exception of Immortal Technique. both Lil Wayne and Tech N9ne have commodified themselves to such a degree that their music has become unpallatable.

top 3 presently

Dead Prez
Immortal Technique
and MAYBE Nickatina or Mac Dre, but im more about lyrics with a message nowadays so they might not make it depending on circumstances.

Deltron 3030. Because it are the only rap guys I really know well. But they're awesome, laidback and funny.

The only rapper I really ever listened to was Eminem and just his Marshall Mathers LP...I have respect for a lot of rappers who stay true to the rap music industry but I just can't remember their names at the moment...

Written by Guest on 12.07.2008 at 03:54

The only rapper I really ever listened to was Eminem and just his Marshall Mathers LP...I have respect for a lot of rappers who stay true to the rap music industry but I just can't remember their names at the moment...

eminem is good but he gets old after awhile. immortal technique and DMX are helllllluv in that vein of staying true to violent ass rap, check it out...

Eminem is the only rapper i really enjoy and respect (maybe 2Pac is not bad either, but i find him not as good as Eminem)...i am affraid i cant tell you why...

Written by Ellrohir on 12.07.2008 at 11:33

Eminem is the only rapper i really enjoy and respect (maybe 2Pac is not bad either, but i find him not as good as Eminem)...i am affraid i cant tell you why...

how is that even possible?

The only rapper I ever listened to and enjoyed is the brazilian Gabriel o Pensador.
I have no idea how many of you here have even heard about him, but I liked the way he exposed his country's problems without falling in the "i'm-a-misunderstood-mothafucka-cuz-my-parents-ain't-got-no-money" stereotype.
He also used to mix brazilian popular music with newer tendencies and I thought it worked really well.

In his later albums he started focusing more on women than in political issues, so at that point I 'got out'.

My favorite rappers range very widely. When I first started getting into hip hop, my favorite rappers were the ones who were at my roots at the begining of my more widespread exposure; mostly west coast cats from the early nineties, such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Amaru Shakur. Eminem too, was a very large favorite, from the very begining. But since I was such a west coast fanatic, I also fell in love with a rapper that resurected west coast hip hop, and lyrically he murders any new cats in the game today- His name is Ironically, The Game. But after that I started my east coast kick (Which was inevitable) and that all went to Wu Tang, Nas, And the Fugees. Nas' Debut "Illmatic" is just masterful, he's a vetran of east coast hip hop and he's an amazing lyricist, as especially can be seen in his song "NY state of mind." Wu Tang, well, they are officially my favorite rap crew, ever. I could go on and on about the members, but that comes later in the post.

So now-a-days, my absolute favorite rappers are;

Dr. Dre-
Changed the sound of hip hop when it was all dry drum beats and production. He created the g-funk sound when he was with NWA, and single handedly gave way to a sound that revolutionized hip hop. On top of that, his rhymes are awsome and agressive, and he has helped to spawn some of the greatest minds in hip hop today.

The Game-
Just an awsome MC, he's worked with alot of great rappers, and he himself is so real, you can' really deny how street he is. He lyrically kills anyone who's been around since 2004 or after, since his major label debut. Nobody who's come around since then has been able to top him, and he resurected west coast hip hop after so many years of just being dead (in the mainstream anyway.) I love him, and am a dedicated fan for life, even if he is retiring.

Nas-
Real motherfucker, the first MC to rap with a Killer Bee without being an affiliate, one of the good friends of the game, and released one of the most influential east coast hip hop albums ever to be created. He works with underground as well as mainstream artists, from AZ to Jay-Z. But everyone he Collabs with is real, nobody fake. Fuck that club shit.

Wu Tang Clan-
Each and every MC from the clan is unique, as well as incredibally talented. My two favorite MC's from the clan, particularly, are Ghostface and Deck. They both use Metaphors and Similies to describe both Philisophical as well as Street ideologies. But everyone from the clan raps about subjects from religion (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) to Philosophy (Buddhism, Taoism) and Street life/street experiences (Drug deals, shootings, great story tellers, and all of them authentic, none of them are label created.) On top of that, RZA took hip hop production to the next step after dre. He took classical and symphonic production and applied it to hip hop, yet the beats from their Debut are just absolutely raw. Solo albums also tend to be classics; GZA's Liquid Swords, Ghost's Ironman and Supreme Clientele, Raekwon's "Only Built for Cuban Linx", Method Man's Tical, and ODB's return to the 36 chambers.

Man, if you doubt the legitimacy of Wu Claims, just wath U-God's DVD "Rise of a Fallen Soldier." He tells how it all really went down, from the time they were kids and on.

Written by Arian Totalis on 16.07.2008 at 06:59

My favorite rappers range very widely. When I first started getting into hip hop, my favorite rappers were the ones who were at my roots at the begining of my more widespread exposure; mostly west coast cats from the early nineties, such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Amaru Shakur. Eminem too, was a very large favorite, from the very begining. But since I was such a west coast fanatic, I also fell in love with a rapper that resurected west coast hip hop, and lyrically he murders any new cats in the game today- His name is Ironically, The Game. But after that I started my east coast kick (Which was inevitable) and that all went to Wu Tang, Nas, And the Fugees. Nas' Debut "Illmatic" is just masterful, he's a vetran of east coast hip hop and he's an amazing lyricist, as especially can be seen in his song "NY state of mind." Wu Tang, well, they are officially my favorite rap crew, ever. I could go on and on about the members, but that comes later in the post.

So now-a-days, my absolute favorite rappers are;

Dr. Dre-
Changed the sound of hip hop when it was all dry drum beats and production. He created the g-funk sound when he was with NWA, and single handedly gave way to a sound that revolutionized hip hop. On top of that, his rhymes are awsome and agressive, and he has helped to spawn some of the greatest minds in hip hop today.

The Game-
Just an awsome MC, he's worked with alot of great rappers, and he himself is so real, you can' really deny how street he is. He lyrically kills anyone who's been around since 2004 or after, since his major label debut. Nobody who's come around since then has been able to top him, and he resurected west coast hip hop after so many years of just being dead (in the mainstream anyway.) I love him, and am a dedicated fan for life, even if he is retiring.

Nas-
Real motherfucker, the first MC to rap with a Killer Bee without being an affiliate, one of the good friends of the game, and released one of the most influential east coast hip hop albums ever to be created. He works with underground as well as mainstream artists, from AZ to Jay-Z. But everyone he Collabs with is real, nobody fake. Fuck that club shit.

Wu Tang Clan-
Each and every MC from the clan is unique, as well as incredibally talented. My two favorite MC's from the clan, particularly, are Ghostface and Deck. They both use Metaphors and Similies to describe both Philisophical as well as Street ideologies. But everyone from the clan raps about subjects from religion (Islam, Judaism, Christianity) to Philosophy (Buddhism, Taoism) and Street life/street experiences (Drug deals, shootings, great story tellers, and all of them authentic, none of them are label created.) On top of that, RZA took hip hop production to the next step after dre. He took classical and symphonic production and applied it to hip hop, yet the beats from their Debut are just absolutely raw. Solo albums also tend to be classics; GZA's Liquid Swords, Ghost's Ironman and Supreme Clientele, Raekwon's "Only Built for Cuban Linx", Method Man's Tical, and ODB's return to the 36 chambers.

Man, if you doubt the legitimacy of Wu Claims, just wath U-God's DVD "Rise of a Fallen Soldier." He tells how it all really went down, from the time they were kids and on.

a very good call with Wu Tang. up til now it was only Eminem being called peoples favorite rapper. well written. and very good choices.

thanks alot man come and visit the rap thread sometime.

Sage Francis is my favorite by far, and really the only one I listen to. He's by far the most dynamic rapper I've ever heard. His songs actually have musical value to them, plus I actually like hearing what he talks about.

BTW, he's white and has been the winner of many rap battles.

I like Eminem the most, because i feel he raps easily, it's like he's talking.
Some rappers seems that they're killing themselves when they're rapping.

Cypress Hill would be my favorite, because they're not totally gangsta, but tehy still have some kinda gangsta style. And their videos always make me laugh

Written by +{Jonas}+ on 01.08.2008 at 03:02

Cypress Hill would be my favorite, because they're not totally gangsta, but tehy still have some kinda gangsta style. And their videos always make me laugh

Yeah, I love B-Real, he's awsome. And DJ Muggs is a really innovative producer/musician. Of course, you do know what most of their songs are about, don't you?

(here's a hint- a plant with seven leaves.)

Written by Arian Totalis on 01.08.2008 at 04:16

Written by +{Jonas}+ on 01.08.2008 at 03:02

Cypress Hill would be my favorite, because they're not totally gangsta, but tehy still have some kinda gangsta style. And their videos always make me laugh

Yeah, I love B-Real, he's awsome. And DJ Muggs is a really innovative producer/musician. Of course, you do know what most of their songs are about, don't you?

(here's a hint- a plant with seven leaves.)

Yes I know. except teh rock songs in teh album "Skull and Bones" (Bones being the rock songs)

Written by +{Jonas}+ on 01.08.2008 at 03:02

Cypress Hill would be my favorite, because they're not totally gangsta, but tehy still have some kinda gangsta style. And their videos always make me laugh

and they smoke HELLA weed.

As a kid I even had a phase when I listened to Eminem (and look at me now ), but my favourite rappers are 2Pac (I don't care what the lyrics are about, if that was the case, I wouldn't quite listen to Besatt or stuff like that), Sean Paul (he bought me for life with We Be Burnin' ), and a Serbian rapper called Marchello (sharp lyrics about all the crap in my country ). Not that I listen to any of these regularly, but I'm sure I'll never shout "Turn that bloody #@%$ off!!!" when someone plays their music.

Non realy I dislike that kind of crap or talking or what it calls, I prefere BLUES N JAZZ yes its ROOTS of all but also Eminem some videos where he play Bin laden was funny
But this EverLast-''White Trash Beautiful'' awsoem song, awsome video, specely video and lyrics

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1899297

Swollen Members. I'm not in rap (hip-hop) so much but this band is passable. First time I heard the band in Psytrance band Infected Mushroom as guest performer for "Artillery"...

i'm not a big rap fan - it's just not my gig - but i am a big fan of Ice Motherfucking T.

why?

around 1990 was hanging out with a friend who was big in rap - his house, his car, so for my entire vacation, that's what i got. after hours of music that just bored me, he popped in Ice T's "The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech" which kicked off with the music to Black Sabbath with a voice over speech by Dead Kennedy's front man Jello Biafra...

that was it right there.

dude has vision that exceeds just the rap genre.

formed the metal band Body Count - which "proved" (for those that doubted) that not only could blacks play metal and rock at it, they could also fall into the same bullshit traps that white metal artists can fall into (too many solos, etc diluting the music).

he cut that awesome Exploited cover medley with SLAYER for the "Judgment Night" soundtrack and fit in seamlessly. listen to that album - everyone else tried to mesh styles. some worked, some sounded awkward, some were terrible. Ice just came in, met with Slayer, and didn't fuck around. they took some hardcore punk and made it harder.

I don't know much about rap, but when I was growing up alot of my school friends used to listen to DMX when we were drinking. For some reason I know all the words to alot of his songs, everytime I hear him I get this nostalgic feeling of the easy, responsibility free days of before I had to go out and work and look after myself and I like that, so I always get into it, I think I have even a copy of one his cd's somewhere.

Written by LeChron James on 01.08.2008 at 09:12

Written by +{Jonas}+ on 01.08.2008 at 03:02

Cypress Hill would be my favorite, because they're not totally gangsta, but tehy still have some kinda gangsta style. And their videos always make me laugh

and they smoke HELLA weed.

Yes, probably thats' what make them seem so happy

For me it's Immortal Technique he's a rapper whos not about just money like 50 cent,lil wayne, ect and he has very strong lyrics about struggles.

Written by ß on 02.08.2008 at 03:54

For me it's Immortal Technique he's a rapper whos not about just money like 50 cent,lil wayne, ect and he has very strong lyrics about struggles.

FINALLY someone with an intelligent choice in rap.

GZA - Liquid Swords
Kool Keith aka Mr.Nogatco - Nogatco Rd.

Those 2 are my favourite rap albums. Kool Keith is not always good from album to album but Nogatco Rd. and his Dr.Octagon album Dr.Octagonecologyst are awesome. Respect goes to most albums from the Wu-Tang Clan as well.

Regarding french rap, I'd also like to mention Shurik'n (member of IAM)'s solo album "Où je vis" which is excellent.

I don't like rap, actually i despise it big time but i would have to say Eminem because some of his songs are funny and they are not all gangster shit. but i dont listen to him at all.

DoseOne because he battled Eminem in the final scribble jam in 97 to lose, however after it was over everyone realized that Eminem had pre written material and DoseOne was actually freestyling out of his badass! Besides that all the music DoseOne has ever made is absolutely brilliant and creative.... Who else has a voice as cool as that I ask you.

still cant believe a good chunk of posters here chose eminem as their favorite.

in order

3.) B.I.G
2.) Lupe Fiasco
1.) Lil wayne. he's just too good! and he's open to a lot of different types of music to which is pretty cool.

Eminem, Twista, & Lil Wayne are my favorites

My close friends listen to rap and hip-hop and very little metal so I'm exposed to it a lot but forever I have a metal heart!