Even Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, Africa Baambatta, Kurtis Blow, and Sugur Hill Gang might be mentioned.
AND, Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G., 2 Pac, Outkast, E-40, Snoop, and Nas.
*reminiscing* yeah, those were the times....
There are MANY artists who I didn't name for sake of this post being too damn long, but all of these artists have made signature contributions to the genre.
Most of these rappers have claimed to be "the Best"(or has been considered that) and that's merely an offspring of what Hip Hop is - being braggadocious, describing your wealth in materialistic measures, or just spittin' about REAL LIFE.
(Dorian, Tip, and Damon on the set of T.I.'s "Hurt" Video Shoot
Although, T.I. has been around since 2001 (relatively a long time in the fickle music business), I'd say that he be added to the category of "GREATS".
I know that he may have pre-maturely declared himself "King Of The South" on his first disc, "I'm Serious", but he has lived up to the name by consistently delivering good music that's lyrically great and introspective.
But think about it, cats didn't really consider Jay-Z to be one of the best until he put himself in that category.
"I'm from where niggas pull your card / and argue all day about, who's the best emcee, Biggie, Jay-Z, and Nas?"
-Jay-Z "Where I'm From" (1997)
Tip came out the gate doing that.
I can't even hate on Lil' Wayne for taking the same stance in saying he's the "Greatest Rapper Alive". Hip Hop is all about feeling yourself. A rapper who comes across as not being confident in destroying another rapper in a battle might as well stick to their day job.
Anyway, I think this track from Tip is very cool.
T.I. - A Better Day
Here's a couple of more gems:
"Do Your Thing" T.I. presents P$C
"Hurt" T.I. featuring Alfamega and Busta Rhymes
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2 comments:
You know....I'd actually agree with you. T.I. hasn't always been exactly my cup of tea (it took a minute for me to actual take a moment and listen) but I would never call him anything but talented. And honestly there aren't that many who have charisma like he does, last I've seen has been Pac. I don't think he even had to delcare himself anything he would of been that regardless, however Lil Wayne is another story. The boy does have some nice one-liners....but so do pimps...he is not talented....he is a train wreck...period....and who doesn't like to watch a train wreck?
I agree that T.I. has dropped consistant bangers from the gate! I first caught wind of him in 2002 with the underground cd In DA Streets part 1, and I have been a fan ever since.
As for the Lil' Wayne thing...hmmmm he was good at one point, but as he got older and more full of himself, he has only become good for hot beats and TMZ mugshot emails. I seriously believe the drugs have alterted his ability to produce quality music. He is good for 1 or 2 songs and then I get lost in the sauce with the rest of the cd.
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