Sickest/Weakest flows in the game (the rap thread)

Cafe Society
1

Before I get started I know there are a lot of critics of rap on the SDMB (enough for a Pit thread at least), so to those that do not get/like rap music, do not post to just say rap is crap or something along that line.
Anyway, in random order…

The Best

Method Man - Arguably the most prolific member of the highly influential Wu-Tang Clan, his gritty, scratchy delivery along with his seamless flow and trademark sense of humor makes him one of my favorite MCs.

Black Though (of the Roots) - The Roots is easily among my favorite hip hop outfits and the talented band would have gone to waste without an MC like Black Thought. His conscious, clever rhymes mesh very well with the Roots’ distinct jazzy sound.

Snoop Dogg - His laid-back, cocky flow gives him the presence that no amount of barking into the mic can achieve (I’m looking at you Ja Rule). Snoop Dogg to many is the epitome of cool and his flow reflects that.

Lyrics Born - Effortlessly going from machine gun pace delivery to funky sing-song rap, a talented MC that deserve more recognition.

Eminem - Lots of hype and he lives up to much of it (IMHO). He does have a tendency to veer into juvenile violence and misogyny but still a great MC with clever rhymes, a sense of humor and a rare ability to tell a story in his rap.

Del the funky homosapien - An underground rap stable, the posterboy of nerdy rap, you gotta love an MC that raps about video games, hygiene and general self-improvement. Featured in many successful hip hop projects including Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Hierogyphics his deliberate and articulate flow may get some getting used to, but once you do, you cannot deny his talent.

The Worst (There are waaay too many crappy rappers out there to list them all so I’m only choosing ones that stand out for being overrate or just especially bad.)

Jay Z - OK, not the worst MC out there but extremely over-rated. His flow is generic, pedestrian and really really bland. I will readily admit that he is a great business man and self-promoter that seems to attract talent at every turn, but as a rapper, he falls short.

Tony Yayo - 50 Cent’s buddy from prison, some of his rhymes are laughably bad and seems to rap with a mouth full of marbles or something. A product of rap industry cronyism.

Guru - Stilted, overly deliberate, mediocre flow but what’s really gets to me his holier than thou attitude. The way he raps you’d think he’s the Dali Llama or something. A real shame since some of the beats from his songs are among the best.

Evidence and Rakaa Iriscience (from Dilated Peoples) - A complete waste of a talented DJ, DJ Babu needs to dump these losers and get some real MCs.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few but that’s what I got for now. (I hope there are more hip hop fans than I suspect so this thread doesn’t sink into oblivion…)

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I don’t know much about the genre, especially the MC verbal style, so I’d really appreciate it if when you mention MCs that you really like you’d point out a few of their best tracks or albums. I’d like to learn more about this area, personally.

3

We talking right now or all time?

I assume you’re talking about “right now”, because I didn’t see the usual suspects on the list.

4

I know he’s not considered high up on the “intelligent hip hop” scale, but I’ve always found Ludacris to have solid rhymes mixed with both self-deprication and cockiness. I actually found “What’s Your Fantasy” to be really clever.

I can’t get enough of Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest. He really blew me away on “Get It Together” (the Beastie Boys song) and I got The Love Movement, which is pretty good.

Speaking of the Beastie Boys - those guys have some amazing mixing skills and writing talent that is beyond compare BUT…their rapping style has always been a little too much “yelling” for me. I love all of their stuff but I can’t say I like their rapping.

I get a little turned off by Del’s style but I haven’t heard much of his stuff, just bits off one album.

5

I like Snoop Dogg and Ludacris for very much the same reasons: laid-back personalities, mellow voices, smooth flows, and plenty of humor. They rarely if ever rap about any heavy, important issues or anything life-changing, but they are fun to listen to and good at what they do. In fact, Snoop’s Doggystyle and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic (which introduced Snoop to the masses one year earlier) are my favorite rap albums of all time – both feature amazing production, great use of sampling, raunchy humor, and an early look at West Coast “gangsta rap” before it metamorphosized into the mainstream hip-hop of today.

Chali 2na from Jurassic 5 is one of my favorite MCs, with his deep baritone voice. Some “hardcore” hip-hop fans I know have dismissed J5 as “rap your dad would like” due to their old-school sound, but maybe that’s why I like them so much. They tend to stay pretty positive as they trade verses in and out between funky beats by DJ Cut Chemist and the other DJ whose name I’m blanking on. Chali 2na is the “big gun,” the guy they bring in to lay down the law and drop the bombs, usually near the end of the song. If people think “all rappers sound the same,” all they need to do is hear him once, and they’ll be able to pick him out by name from then on.

Outkast, the Atlanta-based duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi, are also great. Their music is very creative, and they are both accomplished rappers. Andre 3000 is also a hell of a lyricist and a good musician in his own right. I don’t care for most “Dirty South” rap, but I don’t consider Outkast indicative of that particular style – they’ve been doing their own thing for over a decade now. The song that introduced me to them was “Spottieottiedopalicious” off their Aquemini album, a little slice of Blaxploitation-inspired funkiness that was briefly featured in the movie Smokin’ Aces.

I also like the aforementioned Del, especially from Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz. And if nerd-rap strikes your fancy, check out MC Paul Barman, a white rapper who spits in a fast, frenetic, witty style similar to Eminem, but with geeky subject matter and plenty of self-deprecating humor.

6

Here are some good tracks from my list of MCs

I’ll be there for you (remix) by Method Man featuring Mary J Blige

In The Music/Here I Come/Don’t Feel Right Medley and You Got Me featuring Erykah Badu by the Roots.

Proto Culture, Del’s song about video games.

I changed my mind by Lyrics Born.

Funny how two MCs (Q-tip and Charli 2na) that almost made my list are being mentioned in the first few posts. Q-Tip has one smoooth flow, while Charli 2na’s low, Barry White voice is definitely the highlight of many J5 tracks. He’s also a member of Ozomatli, a hip hop/latin music project from a few years back, so you might want to check that out Voodoo Lou.
I’m also a fan of Ludacris for his clever rhymes and sense of humor. Can’t say he has a mellow voice though.
ZipperJJ, Del’s flow can take some getting used to, but it grows on you. Look for “If You Must” (the Dan the Automator Mix, not the original), which is probably my favorite track by him. But your mileage may vary.

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Saw them live a few years ago, at a Warped Tour. DJ Cut Chemist from J5 was a member as well.

8

Q-tip is one of my Favs, granted I dont care for most rap at all.

as for weakest? dude that is one LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO000000000000000000000000000ooooooooooooooooooooooo…ng list.

try anyone who raps about Bling, spinning rims, platinum, gold fronts, or benjamins

9

For flow I can’t believe Rakim isn’t on the list. Microphone Fiend is a CLASSIC. It’s one of the few raps that endures the test of time. It’s what Rap should be but isn’t.

And Casualties of War about PTSD, come on now! It’s relevent 15 years later!

And I do enjoy J5!

I listen to so little rap now because the genre ignores those that really try to create something to feed the listeners mind using verbal imagery (which should be the goal of the spoken word).

10

I think that **Ghostface Killah ** is the greatest MC currently making records. The guy just straight-up kills it on every track, and he’s the best rapper on the track in even his weakest guest spots and collabs. I remember when Prefuse 73 did the collab with El-P and Ghostface a couple years back and you’re totally getting into this beat with El-P doing his thing over it, and there’s a little break and then the beat comes back in and Ghost just fucking DESTROYS it. (CITE - play the El-P remix)

MF Doom is a really close second. Formerly Zev Love X in KMD back in the eighties, he’s been making records on and off since. 99’s Operation Doomsday is inarguably a classic. Rhymes like Dimes (youtube link) is one of my top-10 rap tracks of all time. I love the way that Doom manages to fit rhymes within rhymes in almost every couplet that he spits, all while making it sound completely effortless even when freestyling. He’s probably the most clever lyricist working in rap right now, but the reason that he slips to #2 is probably the pure saturation factor; the guy releases everything that he does whether it should be released or not, so the end result is a ton of chaff (the countless collab projects like Jaylib, Madvillain, and Dangerdoom) out there in addition to the incredible stuff (his actual solo records and mindblowing live performances). Also, doing a track with Ghostface recently (“The Mask,” from the Dangerdoom collaboration with Danger Mouse) showed that one again, in spite of Doom’s totally hot verse, Ghostface can’t help but completely destroy the track when he comes in for the second half.

When it comes to someone making it almost on pure personality, I have to go with Keak da Sneak. I love the guy in spite of his simplistic flow and weirdo voice - there’s just something about his personality that comes through on the tracks that cracks me up and makes me bump his tracks, whether he’s doing his own records or helping DJ Shadow finally make a deliciously stoopid club banger.

My vote for upcoming talent to watch: Trife da God. Nobody had really heard of Trife before Ghostface’s The Pretty Toney Album in 2004, but when he took the second verse on the first track and just about blew Ghost himself out of the water, everyone suddenly knew who he was. The track is “Biscuits” if you want to check it out. Trife went on to flex on collabs with Ghostface on the Theodore Unit quasi-album and the 718: Stapelton to Somalia mixtape, again with Ghostface, and he showed up on one of the strongest tracks on Ghostface’s followup record, Fishscale, but I think everyone’s waiting for him to drop his official debut record.

Those are my picks for people currently/actively making records. For all-timers, Q-Tip is one of my favorites, but I have a long list that goes back to the Funky 4+1 with stops off at Too $hort, Nas, C.L. Smooth, Del, GZA and Raekwon on their first solo records, Schooly D, Spoonie G, and a million others.

As for Jay-Z, I’ve never understood the hype or the reputation; the guy’s basically pop music as far as I’m concerned, with light, nonthreatening, unchallenging rhymes. The one moment of his that really grabbed me was “Show you how,” and that was practically a B-side.

11

Speaking of which, I highly recommend MC Frontalot. Hmmm … I see he has a new CD out!

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How are they live? Ozomatli, that is.

So I think it’s safe to say the Wu-Tang Clan (especially 36 Chambers) is on a level of their own. Ghostface never grabbed me like Method Man but I’ll check out some of his solo stuff since I enjoyed “The Mask” immensely. So you have a thing for masked rappers, eh?
I just listened to “Biscuits” and Trife da God definitely steals the spotlight on that track. Let’s hope he hooks up with a some hot DJs/producers, because it really sucks to watch a bad DJ bring down a rapper or vice versa.

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Best

I have always found Talib Kweli to be one of the sickest out there. His flow is nuts and his rhymes actually make sense. Which is a lot more than I can say for my top choice on the weak list. Talib Kweli, even made me a fan of Mos Def after listening to their collabo efforts.

Method Man has been listed by several posters and I have no problem joining the list of admirers.

I grew up listening to and enjoying Busta Rhymes as well. He has a unique flow that is coupled with an easy going good time attitude. You may not hear anything political from him but his emphasis on enjoying the craft makes you enjoy his music as well.

Ghostface Killah is extremely talented. I particularly like his lyric content and when combined with his style, his work really sits on its own level.

Upthread someone mentioned rappers who improve a song as a guest mc. This makes me think of the Walk it Out remix. I was always surprised how the lyric quality plummets after Andre 3000 's intro.

Worst
I feel like we could compile an ultimate list between all of us but I will try to keep this one short.

I can’t stand Cam’ron. His rhymes are below elementary to the point where most of what he says makes no sense.

Ja’Rule…nothing needs to be said about a man who tried to make a hit with post-Whitney Bobby Brown.