Greatest Emcees

This started on Facebook when Kelley, a.k.a. Kells, a.k.a. The Pied Piper of Claims, a.k.a. One Letter Short of a porn star had the audacity and nerve to proclaim that Eminem is the greatest emcee of all time.  I will give Em his due--he's in the discussion for perhaps the top 30, but nowhere near the top 10.

First the rules: Emcee = an individual who can just pick up a microphone and start flowing, leaving you and your comrades in awe at their lyrical genius.  This means no matter the beat, the time of day or the location, this individual will "put it down."  They must be flexible, being able to conquer any beat while still maintain the ability to tell a story and not just rhyme.

For you "new school" cats, anyone with a name (or nick-name for that matter) ending in "eezy" doesn't even belong in the discussion.  The following people are the only people that should even be considered when discussing the greatest emcees of all time (in no particular order)

• Christopher Wallace
• Shawn Carter

These two gentlemen are/were more versatile on the M-I-C than your average.  Just listen to Life After Death and everything Jay has done since The Life and Times of Shawn Carter Vol. 3--these dudes change their style up with EACH SONG.

• Black Thought

Highly under rated, just like The Roots in general.

• Rakim

Took the use of similes and metaphors to a whole new level.  Period.

• Nasir

More of a poet than typical rhymer, but like the next two guys it's more about what he says.  Accomplishments include a song that tells a story--backwards and another in which he likens himself to a gun.

• Mos Def
• Talib Kweli

Real hip-hop heads know who these guys are and will hold them up against any other "artist."  Kweli in particular uses an excellent blend of metaphor, simile and vocabulary that is often imitated but never duplicated.  Mos is a great story teller.

• Certain members of the Wu, namely Ghostface, Gza, Golden Arms, and Raekwon
• KRS-One/BDP
• A Tribe Called Quest (particuarly Phife, the five foot assassin)

In case you didn't know, Phife is Kweli's dad.  Has to be.  They look alike and have the same presence on the mic.

• MC Lyte

The only female that belongs on this list.  Sorry Lauryn, Salt, Pepp, Queen Latifah, Moni (the one in the middle), Lil Kim, Foxxy Brown, Eve, et. al.  It's the Lyte and that's it.  In fact, I'd put $10 on Lyte in a battle with many of the men on this list and feel confident I'd win the bet.

• T.I.

I have to admit I was a hater at first, but as you continue to listen he's got skills.  Problem is he's becoming more commercial, which is what killed others NOT on this list.

• Lupe Fiasco

Hasn't been around that long you say.  He's too new you say.  He's not gangsta enough you say.  He's still probably one of the more lyrically gifted folks doin it right now.

• Common
• Eminem

Note that Tupac and most West coast and southern rappers are not included.  Could it be market bias?  Not at all.  There just aren't that many good lyricists coming out of Cali (maybe Karupt but I'm not sold on him being included on this list).  And you need an interpreter to understand most of them southern cats.  But why not 'Pac?  Well to put it simply, despite being wildly successful and a pretty good lyricist, he NEVER CHANGED HIS STYLE UP!  Do we know how Pac would attack an up tempo beat (like "Anything" on Jay-Z's Kingodom Come)?  Sure he could pick up his pace, but so can Calvin Brodus (notably missing from the list).  If this list were top Gangsta Rappers of all time, no one would even come close.  But Pac doesn't belong on this list.  Besides, the game has changed.  The point has become to make money and sell records (as noted in T.I.'s last installment) not wow us with skills (like Lupe continues to do number of units sold be damned).  THAT's why many of your south and west cats aren't on this list--they may have skills but don't care to show them.  They are more concerned about makin your ass shake.

Other notables that could be on this list but for some fatal flaws:

OutKast--Dre 3000 writes and pretty much fell off after ATLiens.  Southerplayalisticcadilacmusiq is and will forever be their greatest accomplishment.  Besides, they retired and started acting.

EPMD--Erick Sermon kills them otherwise they'd be on this list.

Redman--dude is literally nuts.

Eve--good, but not quite good enough.  But what can you expect from an ex-stripper?

Busta Rhymes--in a class of his own, just not this class.

Big Daddy Kane--another example of failure to change the style up.  He does get his credit though for fathering many other rappers who continue to bite his style to this day.

Dr. Dre and any other member of N.W.A.

And if their name wasn't mentioned, it wasn't worth it.