The first thing i would say is, please don't base your judgement on sales alone. If you want to do that then nelly would be the second best, as he has officially sold 22million copies of his albums and was put at 2nd place behind eminem for best selling rapper of the decade. Me and you know there r more than 50 rappers that'l murder nelly on the mic. So lets forget sales as a criteria. Look at skills, delivery, lyrics, word play, relevance, flow, longevity, stuff like that.
Let me refresh your memory of rappers that fit into what i'm talking about old and new, dead and alive, big pun, eminem, rakim, tupac, jay-z, jadakiss, canibus, nas, andre 3000, biggie, ludacris, big daddy kane, ll cool j, snoop dogg,lil wayne, T.I, THE GAME, the list goes on.
For example, my choice artist is nas. I have been listening to rap over 15 years now, and i have never come upon someone who delivers such consistent lyricism, with great message and crazy story telling skills. 17yrs in d game and his lyrics are still on point.

kay29000:

The first thing i would say is, please don't base your judgement on sales alone. If you want to do that then nelly would be the second best, as he has officially sold 22million copies of his albums and was put at 2nd place behind eminem for best selling rapper of the decade. Me and you know there r more than 50 rappers that'l murder nelly on the mic. So lets forget sales as a criteria. Look at skills, delivery, lyrics, word play, relevance, flow, longevity, stuff like that.
Let me refresh your memory of rappers that fit into what i'm talking about old and new, dead and alive, big pun, eminem, rakim, tupac, jay-z, jadakiss, canibus, nas, andre 3000, biggie, ludacris, big daddy kane, ll cool j, snoop dogg,lil wayne, T.I, THE GAME, the list goes on.
For example, my choice artist is nas. I have been listening to rap over 15 years now, and i have never come upon someone who delivers such consistent lyricism, with great message and crazy story telling skills. 17yrs in d game and his lyrics are still on point.

Please help me tell them oooooo . . . cos nigerians just run after a rapper's wardrobe, blings, cars and all that . .

Nas is my best

kay29000:

Me and you know there r more than 50 rappers that'l murder nelly on the mic.

50 rappers that'll murder Nelly?? I can list 50,000 upcoming rappers that'll murk that dork . . .

With strong emphasis on the word "best" as it connotes general rap skills and artistry . . . the best rapper ever to bless the mic has got to be Biggie.

Hey javalove, i guess we r on the same page. And to the second person that replied, i love biggies music, but does he have longevity. I know he had mad skills, and good word play, but he was aroumd for just about 3yrs. and had 2 albums in his catalogue. Nobody knows if he would have fallen off on album number 4.
I guess that's your opinion, and i respect it.

And to the person that just posted . . . longevity is the only thing Biggie lacked . . . and it wasn't his doing . . . or undoing . . . and if in an exam, a fella scores 8 or 9 of 10 marks, you don't disqualify him . . . and hey, he may or may not have fallen off as at now - that's for you lot to speculate.

His 2 albums were masterpieces . . . compare his works with that of some other rappers and they'll be like the biblical Moses' rod swallowing that of the Egyptian magicians . . .

FYI, I tend to rate most MCs' works by just two albums . . . two albums are sufficient enough to weigh a rapper's worth . . . and mind you, you didn't ask for the greatest (in terms of legacy, influence, even lyrical content), else my reply'll have been 2pac . . .

Thankfully, you respect my opinion . . . feeling's mutual bruv.

NASIR JONES OLUDARA, King of rap

The Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Eminem, KRS-One, Rakim and Jay-Z.

Kindly streamline that list . . .

Who amongst those rappers listed is the best??

Biggie is the best rapper!!!!
Makaveli was agonisingly close though.

"7 day Theory" and "Ready To Die". . . . . . . Not even a thermometer can tell which was hotter.

Hmm now this is a uber tough one but i'm a sucka for not just wordplay,story telling or lyrics but consistency and longevity so my choice is:

Tupac
Biggie and Jay-Z are joint 2nd

Christopher "Notorious B.I.G" Wallace.

Dude's voice,delivery and word-play endeared him so much to me i hated 2pac with a passion.Kinda got caught up in the beef i never had time to listen to 2pac without bias till date.

Tupac Amaru Shakur for sure!!!

I like the replies i'm getting, but i want pple to state the reasons for their choices. I don't want to start thinking that some pple are just following the crowd. Because a radio personality tells you some one is d best does not mean it's true.
On the whole, i have gotten a lot of good replies.

for me the greatest rapper to ever hold a microphone is JAY-Z. why? sorry it's just too much for me to explain dude is awesome. go and listen to all his collection from reasonable dout--------->Blueprint 3 you'll see what i mean.

Nas is simply better than Jay-z.

I have listened to Jayz and I simply can't see wat the hype about about him is all about.

Jay-z is obviously richer and obviously with a hot wife, however that does not mean Jay-z is a better rapper, instead he's just a swagger jacker (according to African Remix  )

na u get ur mouth o! ok T.I better pass ur nas how about that?

Forget swagger

D Doppest thing to ever happen to HIP HOP was, is and will ever remain NAS.

50 says "nas is dope" , as 4 JAY Z biggest dream was to do a track with NAS, now he has archieved that and he is fulfilled.

T.I in his dream cannot lace the shoes of NAS

NAS TILL INFINITY.D REAL NIGGA

Nas is a fine rapper i ain't disputing that but Jigga got mad swag check his flows and delivery na for God sake u guys don't remember jigga on mariah carey's song i bet u follow every line of that verse how about fiesta rmx by kels huh? go listen to dirt off ur shoulder, go listen to money ain't a thang, Jay Z is the best when it comes to flow, delivery, swag etc so don't sweat it ait?

It's a straight fight between Rakim and Nas. But if we have to look at consistency as opposed to innovation NAS takes it

There's nothing we need to discuss again, Seen is deinitely the Believing. M.I as come and he's here to rule

M.I, The Most Prolific, He is'nt soft but outspoken

kay29000:

I like the replies i'm getting, but i want pple to state the reasons for their choices.

Biggie was an [b]artist [/b]with his lyrics.
He took rap to another level by virtually painting scenarios with words and lyrics it makes you feel you are watching it on TV.
"Gimme The Loot" is one classic example. It's like a movie of 2 hustlers running the blocks and snatching money from pregnant women.
Biggie was the best.

~Sauron~:

Biggie was an artist [/b]with his lyrics.
[b]He took rap to another level by virtually painting scenarios with words and lyrics it makes you feel you are watching it on TV.
"Gimme The Loot" is one classic example. It's like a movie of 2 hustlers running the blocks and snatching money from pregnant women.
Biggie was the best.

Nas does this netter . .

we all know is krs-one tupac self know for grave

@frijos
You are spot on bruv

~Sauron~:

"Gimme The Loot" is one classic example. It's like a movie of 2 hustlers running the blocks and snatching money from pregnant women.

Gimme The Loot?? That is even the least of his story-telling abilities . . .

Are you forgetting "Somebody's Got To Die" . . . "Niggaz Bleed" . . . "I Got A Story To Tell" . . . "You're Nobody" . . . "Juicy" . . . "Respect" (with Diana King)??

That was one thang Biggie had that made him tower above his peers - the ability to tell a story with the art of Leonardo da Vinci . . . flow seamlessly like the Mississippi . . . and rhyme endlessly like he's a rhyme factory . . .

Biggie not only rapped . . . he was the definition of a total MC.

i think i like
Busta rhymes and Ludacris

Virgo83:

There's nothing we need to discuss again, Seen is deinitely the Believing. M.I as come and he's here to rule

M.I, The Most Prolific, He is'nt soft but outspoken

@virgo83
seeing is beleivein.I am not suprised it is only M.I u have seen in your life.Dude, we are talking real emcees here.NAS is the NIGGA that that has kept it for real.He murdrerd JAY-Z, all JIGGA culd do waz to ask for a joint with him.

Once again, My NIGGA NAS 4 ever.dat nigga gat brains and intellect.he is d real thing.
Only biggie smalls comes closer.

1. Nas

Nas started out his career with the classic album, Illmatic, which gained him respect from everyone including his soon to be enemy Jay-Z. This album displayed Nas’ exceptional lyricism and intelligence. As his career went on, some say that he slowly fell off, however when he put Jay-Z to shame in their battle for New York, he regained all respect. He regained respect as the street poet who was hailed for his storytelling, creativity (he told a story backwards) and distinct flow. He has influenced almost everybody who he has rapped with and he is the only reason today that people respect Queensbridge, his home. As an all around great rapper with great albums, he deserves to be acknowledged as the greatest of all time.

To the person that mentioned jay, and listed all those great songs, nice one. You forgot to mention 'i love the dough, the biggie song on life after death thay jigga was feauturf on. BIG had to re-write his verse after he heard jigga's. But the truth of the matter is, nas is better. Jay is very good, but nas is phenomenal. Jay know that, that's why he was always giving nas props earlier on in his career. And that's why his ultimate dream was to do a song wit nas. I guess that dream has come true.

Umm, Ok I picked Tupac because he's had the most impact on rap music, in my opinion. He is a poet as well as a gangsta, he knows when to assume each position, that's what most rappers lack - versatility. And I just love his songs - from his lyrics which are always on spot to his voice which is so unique, can't mistake him for another. I love that man.


I thought this topic was about what each person thinks. I don't see the room for argument. Just state your opinion and keep it moving, I see people tryna turn this into another Jay-z vs Nas issue. And yes, After Tupac comes Jigga. deuces~

Whilst we're arguing about who the best MC ever to hold a mic is, i want u guys to take a little time out to enjoy this fine gbedu by Vector.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/609345701e64cf23/

Enjoy and have a good weekend mine starts today hippie!