The Myth of the 'Top 5'

This particular post has been a long time in the making. I want to discuss the myth of the ‘top 5’ emcees/rappers of all time. The way I see it, and think you will agree is that rap has many sub-categories. Under each sub-categories there are artist who epitomize that particular category. So in actuality it would be more efficient to break rap down into sub-categories. I say all of this, because I have become extremely frustrated when my peers try to compare for example Scarface and Jay-Z. This is impractical since Scarface excels in the area of painting a picture of the ills that plague the ghetto thru story. Jay-Z on the other hand excels at bragging about what he has achieved through clever word play and innuendo. This example should illustrate that the two artists don’t belong in the same list, but at the same time both could be at the top of a particular list. I hear people all the time say that my ‘top 5’ consists of so and so. But when I listen to their argument it makes no sense. You can’t compare a car to an airplane. Now if you’re thinking “Keith, how should I break it down?” I would say that the categories would be as follows: lyricist, storyteller, game-changer, gangster, entertaining. My list serves as a loose guide, and I will go as far as to give examples for each category just to make my point! Under lyricist I would go with Big Daddy Kane/Rakim/Krs-1/Nas, for storyteller I would go Slick Rick/Scarface/Biggie, for game changer I would go Andre 3000/Method Man, for gangster I would go Ice Cube/Bun B, and for entertaining I would go Doug E. Fresh/Biz Markie/Devin tha Dude. This example also should demonstrate something else that I want to prove, and that is if you make an all time list and you don’t have one of the pioneers of that category then you list is invalid. I say that with conviction, because I hear people make these comparisons without acknowledging the people who may have discovered that particular style. The second tier to this post is the concept of the hottest emcee in the game. I have a problem with a particular network presenting the ‘hottest’ emcees in the game, because ‘hot’ doesn’t necessarily equate to quality! I feel that this list is driven by listeners who have no real appreciation for the genre known as ‘rap’. I often see the idea of the ‘hottest’ to be driven by who has the most drama, or who has claim to have sold the most drugs, or who has the biggest crew, or even who has the most jewelry. Hey douche bags you’re making us all look bad, so kick rocks! This is the part of the show where I drop the microphone and walk of the stage! Peace!