Who's the best rapper alive? Who's the king of hip-hop? Who can spit more hot fire than Dylan? These are all hotly contested issues in the world of hip-hop and today, I'm going to share my views on this matter.
There is a bit of a twist to this piece, I'm only focusing on modern rappers (a.k.a people who've started releasing music in the past decade or so.) This means that I'll be purposely leaving out some of my favorite hip-hop old-school icons that are still active (Nas, MF Doom, Wu-Tang and its the various members solo projects,) veterans who've only recently found a lot of success (Killer Mike, El-P, Atmosphere) and of course, Yeezus Christ himself (Kanye West.) Now that the ground rules have been set, here are my picks for the 10 best modern rappers.
Note: Lil B is disqualified because he has the unfair advantage of being a god, thus rendering the list of human-rappers I chose useless if he was included.
10.Action Bronson
Action Bronson has the old-school east-coast aura to his music. If he was born a decade earlier, he'd probably be collaborating with Wu-Tang on the regular. Bronson's unusual approach to hip-hop with a ton of food references in his lyrics (this can attributed to his days as a professional chef before getting into the music industry) and his tendency to collaborate with top-rate producers like The Alchemist and Harry Fraud make him one of the most exciting up-and-comers in the game right now.
Standout Release: Rare Chandeliers (w/The Alchemist)
Best Track: "The Symbol" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2AHvZWojSc
9.Macklemore
His lyrics might not be flashy and he has had three megahit singles in the past year, but don't get it twisted, Macklemore is a legit hip-hop star that needs to be taken seriously. You'll be hard-pressed to find many artists that pour as much genuine emotion into their music as Macklemore does. Not to mention, his in-house producer Ryan Lewis has a knack for creating beautiful, subtle beats that perfectly suit his powerful and poignant rapping style and take his material to the next level.
Standout Release: The Vs. EP
Best Track: "Otherside" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWhx-CtPmBU
8.Tyler, the Creator
Don't get wrong, Tyler, the Creator is pretty inconsistent and doesn't always live up to his grand potential. That being said, when he's on his game, he's one of the most intriguing and witty rappers around at the moment. He has slowed down a bit after the release of his standout record Bastard in 2009, but his most recent release Wolf was a pretty consistently solid release after his wildly hit-or-miss breakout release Goblin. Here's to hoping that Tyler makes another record that makes another record that fully shows off his talent in the near future.
Standout Release: Bastard
Best Track: "Bastard" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFTLouiUFjI
7. Vince Staples
Vince Staples came out of obscurity this year with a few behemoth verses on Earl Sweatshirt's new record Doris and a solo tape that was produced by Mac Miller. High-profile collaborations (and his ability to match whoever he's rapping on a track with) like this show just how impressive this 20-year old is. Staples has consistently sharp lyrics and the supreme confidence to match. For someone so young and with so little material out, the future is looking very bright for Vince Staples.
Standout Release: Stolen Youth LP (w/Larry Fisherman a.k.a Mac Miller)
Best Track: "Stuck In My Ways" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgag34NOk-c
6.Grieves
Signed to Atmosphere's Rhymesayers Entertainment label, Grieves makes a brand of poignant jazz-rap that is very reminiscent to the music the head of his label makes. His style makes distinct use of piano and horns, which is pretty uncommon in the hip-hop world and his lyrics hold a lot of emotional clout with themes of addiction, bad relationships and eventual redemption. Out of all the rappers on this list, he is the most criminally underrated in my eyes.
Standout Release: Irreversible
Best Track: "Fly Away" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tTPKZ17gNw
5.Big K.R.I.T.
Not since Outkast has a southern rapper made such an impression on me. Mississippi native Big K.R.I.T. embodies everything southern hip-hip is supposed to offer: a combination of soulful and trunk-pounding bass beats, a willingness to experiment and a flow that can either be easygoing and intense depending on the mood of the song. K.R.I.T. is also an example of a hip-hop workhorse as he does almost all of his production himself and has put out an insane number of releases in a short period of time (He's put out 4 mixtapes and and a full-length record since 2010.) In an era where most rappers from the area are putting out the same recycled, half-baked (no pun intended) trap rap, Big K.R.I.T. keeps the proud tradition of classic southern hip-hop alive.
Standout Release: 4 eva N A Day
Best Track: "Boobie Miles" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac55q0VMoY0
4.Earl Sweatshirt
At only 19, Earl Sweatshirt has taken the hip-hop world by storm with his intensity, lyrical chops and distinct flow. His two releases so far, Earl and Doris, could not be any more different, but they both show how talented of an artist this kid is. Doris had a very mixed reception overall, but I think it shows tremendous progression for Sweatshirt as an artist and paves the waves for an incredibly bright, long future in the hip-hop game.
Standout Release: Doris
Best Track: "ePAR" (from Earl) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx-PEi42d7A
3.Death Grips
They might be one of hip-hop's resident assholes, but the music that Death Grips makes is too special that I can overlook how shitty they are as people (Sorry if I sound bitter, but they've canceled the last 3 shows they were supposed to do in Massachusetts and the act they pulled in Chicago in August that led to a crowd having a mini-riot was just unacceptable.) I can say with no hesitation there is no act in hip-hop that is more abrasive, polarizing or just flat-out bizarre than Death Grips and that's a big reason why they are so special. Their production is amongst the best i've ever heard thanks to use of live-instrumentation from drummer Zach Hill and synth/sample work of Andy "Flatliner" Morin. The insanity of the production paired with the rabid-dog, yelling insanity of the scariest rapper on the planet Stefan "MC Ride" Burnett is industrial hip-hop bliss. Death Grips are the most mentally unstable, experimental, mad geniuses in the hip-hop community and even though they are complete douches, their music is undeniably special.
Standout Release: The Money Store
Best Track: "The Fever (Aye Aye)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn3vMyopjXI
2.Danny Brown
Danny Brown is an artist that took a bit to grow on me, but once the music clicked, I became a big fan almost immediately. He is without a doubt one of the most original artists in the history of hip-hop with his almost endless amount of different flows, ability to create material that ranges from comical to profound and moving and work with a variety of different beats. Brown is written off due to his frequent use of sexual and drug references in lyrics, but if you delve beneath the surface, you will discover that Brown is one of the most clever and intelligent lyricists in the game. His style may be too weird for some to grasp, but for me Brown is a special talent that has put some of the best material I've heard in years.
Standout Release: Old
Best Track: "XXX" (from XXX) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYG0t2oIfC4
1.Kendrick Lamar
Shocking right? Pretty much every one and their brother lists Kendrick Lamar as the best rapper around right now and for good reason, the dude can spit. Between his intelligent lyrics, barrage of flows, complex narratives and ability to rap with incendiary fury or soothing calmness depending on what the song calls for, Lamar is an all-around hip-hop star. His major-label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d city, is arguably the best hip-hop release in at least a decade and exposed his talent to the masses. After the triumph of good kid, m.A.A.d city, Lamar has spent 2013 defending his reputation as rap's MVP with monstrous guest verses on "Collard Greens" by ScHoolboy Q, "Solo Dolo: Part II" by Kid Cudi and of course, "Control" by Big Sean, where he called out half of hip-hop to step their game up. Kendrick Lamar is the torchbearer for modern hip-hop who incites memories of the glory days of the 1990's.
Standout Release: good kid, m.A.A.d city
Best Track: "m.A.A.d city" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10yrPDf92hY
Just missed the cut:
Mac Miller
Chance the Rapper
Hodgy Beats
Snow Tha Product
Freddie Gibbs
mr muthafuckin' eXquire
No comments:
Post a Comment