True. But he is asking about the most influential ones - the ones that have defined the genre as well as influenced a wider range of musicians. The names I have given (KRS-1, Rakim, Chuck D, De La Soul, DJ Premier, The Roots) have certainly done so. I am willing to withdraw the Beatnuts and Black Moon from my list if I can add Wu-Tang-Clan’s producer Rza in stead…
Hee! This is why I try so hard to stay out of these threads! Luckily, I can count on you to list my favorites. (KRS ONE is on the top of all my lists).
ETA: Whenever I see Beatnuts, I can’t get that infectious beat out of my head. (Duh du duh duh DUH duh duh duh duh…)
Terrific beat. Ooh! That gives me a great idea for a new thread! Imma start it right now!
Post #7.
I think we should give Lil Wayne some more time before we decide whether he will or will not be a long-term influence in the field. Ice Cube is more known as an actor at this point than a rapper.
Let’s not give Lil Wayne some time, and say we did.
The thing to remember is, 50 was where Wayne is some time ago. He was this huge phenomenon that was going to make us all forget about the pain of losing Big (I am talking from a street view…when he first came out and ended Ja Rule’s carreer with Wangsta and other dis tracks) and the view from the street (not MTV) was that he was good, gritty and here for the long haul.
Well, it didn’t take long before he was singing and crooning and dancing on MTV and sounding just like the stuff by Ja that he was dissing.
I still can’t understand what the appeal of Lil’ Wayne is at alll. I think maybe my years have caught up to me, and I can’t understand the new young whipper snapper rap. But when I hear even rappers that I respect, like Kenye West, saying that he is good, I know I must be out of the rap loop.
Lots of good names have been said already.
Pharoahe Monch - Greatest of all time.
Right now I think the person with the greatest ratio of talent and success might be Lupe Fiasco. His rhymes and beats are always on point. He also brings a positive and conscious message with his music. As I said in the elitist thread, I think it is an utter sham, and borderline conspiracy, that Lil Wayne gets the awards and press over Lupe, or any one for that matter. Lil Wayne is the poison being used to try and kill hip-hop.
The Blue Scholars are just now starting to blow up on the national stage, but they have the makings to be legends.
I think *Immortal Technique *will be listed among the greats when all is said and done. For a rapper with such overt, hardcore, and controversial politics, and one who choses to stay in the underground, I am always amazed at how many, and who are fans; people you would never expect. A true testimate to his talent behind the mic I suppose. As for community outreach, exactly how many rappers do you see raising money for Afghani children?
Keep in mind, the influence over the industry is what the OP was looking for. Love it or hate it, 50 Cent has been ten times as influential as Black Moon, The Roots, Lupe, Pharaoh, and a few others COMBINED have been. I won’t defend Fifty on the grounds that he deserved this, but he did it, and I’m pretty sure he called no take backsies.
And Nzinga’s right; when he first came out, he drastically changed the direction music was headed, and then turned around and started making the same old thing. But before Fifty, Busta and Eminem and young guys like Graph and Jae Millz were writing off the wall songs and battle raps. Then Fifty comes out, and Busta starts rapping about robbing people, Em is talking about how tough he is (a 180 from his past stuff), and the young heads are back to rapping about raping and robbing (alliteration ftw).
When he came out, he was nice. He had a different style, and his ultra-violent lyrics fit perfectly with his grimey production and sense of humor. Then he made the Candy Shop/Magic Stick/Disco Inferno nonsense, and all hope was lost.
See, I would love to put Jadakiss or Styles P up on my list, but as great as they are, they are largely unrecognized by the industry itself. They labor on in relative obscurity while guys like Fif get all the attention. It’s too bad, but it’s how it works.
And next time you come around here Nzinga, you better have my cookies.
And as far as Wayne goes, he has twenty times the volume of material out there as ANY one on ANY of these lists so we don’t need to wait to judge him. I’m not gonna put him next to Big Daddy Kane quite yet, but the young boy has paid his dues, and his back catalouge is solid. Every mixtape or album is consistently good, if not great. Opinions differ, and all that, but when the young boys name IS put up there with Kane and Slick Rick, he earned it.
I am also going to say that if we were to make this list again in 2-4 years, The Cool Kids will be on it. They are about to change the game completely. Kids will be rocking Starter coats and high top fades again…