When I originally thought of creating a list of the top 10 rappers ever, I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. This process took a lot of time and effort, as I went back and listened to a lot of albums over the last few weeks. Some of these albums I know like the back of my hand I listened to them so much, and others I rarely if ever played. However, in order to get a truly accurate and non bias list of rappers who belonged on this list, I forced myself to sit through albums that are not just bad, but should not have even been released for public consumption.
After doing that, and making changes to the list about 5 times to finally get it right, I believe I created the most accurate top ten that can be made. Of course, that’s just in my opinion, I’m sure right off the bat there will be people who will disagree with rankings, and feel some of their favorites should’ve made the cut. When this ten week process is over, I will gladly explain to you why certain legends or other well respected rappers didn’t make it on the list.
I will be posting a new entrant onto the list every Friday, the rankings will be based off four main factors
Material – This includes everything from albums, mix tapes, unreleased tracks, features etc…Basically, any thing the artist made, that I heard, counts.
Longevity – How long was this rapper on top, and I don’t necessarily mean selling records, more about the quality of their releases and the ability to maintain their talent
Influence – The importance they had in the game and to other MCs
Skill level – Talent level of the rapper. How skillful was he in putting songs together, wordplay, rhyme schemes, vocab, etc…all the nerd shit us internet rap fans love.
Each one, will be graded by a score of 1-10 (10 being the highest) in each category, and will add up to a total score.
Without further adieu….
10. SCARFACE
Coming straight out of H-Town, Texas, Scarface has been one of the most influential rappers of the last 20 years. A part of one of rap’s all-time greatest groups the Geto Boys, Scarface has created a legacy of music that stands up to any other southern artist ever.
Material – 8/10 – Scarface as a solo artists, as one undeniable classic which is The Diary, and another debatable one with his debut “Mr. Scarface is backâ€. His material with Geto Boys is what really puts him in the elite status as far as catalog of material goes, with Grip it! On That Other Level and Resurrection being their apex as a group. However, Scarface did a have a few missteps in his long career (The Untouchable, yeah, exactly) , and a period between 1996-2001 (The Fix) where it was pretty thin on memorable moments for Mr. Face.
Longevity – 8/10 It’s hard to find many rappers that can match Scarface in this department. Scarface has been rapping in the limelight for over 22 years, and only a 5 year period of mediocrity, before coming back with a great album (The Fix). Currently, he is coming back with another album, which I don’t have high hopes for in terms of quality, but if anyone should be given the benefit of the doubt …
Influence – 7/10 In today’s climate, Scarface’s impact isn’t really that felt because his legacy was created in another era. HOWEVER, ask any of your favorite rappers from the 90s where most of their ideas come from, and concepts for their album cuts, and it goes directly to Scarface and The Geto Boys. He has left a very strong influence on the game, and even though many of the rappers of the last decade may not be directly influenced by his material, the rappers they look up to are. In other words….Scarface is your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper.
Skill Level – 6/10 This is where Scarface takes a hit. While he has tremendous material, and has been very innovative, he lacked a lot in terms of raw talent. A lot of his rhymes were straight forward and simplistic, which is not a bad thing, when you have such a fearsome delivery that makes the lines come to life. However, when it comes to evaluating the skillfulness of putting these rhymes together, that causes issues for the Texas legend. As far as rhyme schemes, vocab and other technical aspects of rapping, he is far behind a lot of his peers on this list, and that knocks him down a few notches. One factor that does help is that he was one of the great cinematic storytellers in rap history. Every line is intricate part of the story, and he leaves you always entertained. That counts for a lot.
Overall, Scarface ends with a 29/40 rating.
Best song: Jesse James
Best album: The Diary
