Every rap fan loves to debate on who exactly are the best rappers of all time and who exactly deserves to be included on a top 10 list. It is not that easy to decide, however.
There are several things to take into consideration when compiling lists like this such as lyrics, flow, and of course, the influence of the rapper’s art.
Rap has received a lot of bad rap with some critics saying that rap is the mouthpiece of a violent and misogynistic street culture. Some rappers like the late Notorious B.I.G are in agreement.
B.I.G once rapped: “The street is a short stop. Either you’re slinging crack rock, or you got a wicked jump shot.”
While it is true that rap started as a sanctuary for these kinds of lyrics, it is changing now with several artists including Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar, and many others redefining what rap culture means.
While there are many criteria to examine what it means to be considered a rap great, this list is based on skill as well as popularity. This means that some of your faves may not appear on this list.
Don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments section below. We understand that everyone’s top 10 list is different. Share yours with us in the comments section as well.
Below is our list of the top 1o best rappers of all time.
10. Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record executive, entrepreneur, and actor. He is considered one of the most influential rap artists of his generation.
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His career started in 1995 after he was signed by rapper Birdman. When he joined Cash Money Records at the age of 12, he was the youngest member of the label. After appearing alongside Juvenile on the 1998 song “Back That Azz Up”, Lil Wayne gained wide attention.
Lil Wayne cemented his status as one of the best rappers of all time. He has sold over 120 million records worldwide, a feat that makes him one of the world’s best-selling music artists.
He has also won five Grammy Awards, 11 BET Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and eight NAACP Image Awards.
Lil Wayne became the first male artist to outperform Elvis Presley by getting the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 on 27 September 2012, with 109 song entries.
Lil Wayne is currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of his record label, Young Money Entertainment. Through this label, he launched the careers of rap superstars Drake, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, and others.
9. Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, known simply as Kendrick, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
He made his debut into mainstream music in 2012 with Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, and since then, Kendrick has been considered one of the best and most influential artists of his generation.
That is not all though. Among his accolades is that he is also considered one of the greatest rappers and lyricists of all time.
Kendrick’s debut album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, was released in 2012 and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Kendrick has received many accolades for his music, including 13 Grammy Awards, a Brit Award, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, two American Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and an Academy Award nomination.
In MTV’s 2012 annual list, Kendrick was crowned as the Hottest MC in the Game on their annual list. He was also included in Time’s list of 100 most influential people in the world in 2016.
In 2015, he received the California State Senate’s Generational Icon Award.
8. Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. She is known for being a member of Fugees, and for her only solo album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”.
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“The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” won numerous honours and broke a few sales records.
Lauryn Hill has been widely called the greatest rappers of all time. She is also considered to be a pioneer in the Neo-soul genre.
Among her honours, Lauryn Hill is widely credited for breaking barriers for female rappers and popularising hip hop. She has also been cited as an influence by many artists of various genres.
Hill became widely known for infusing African-American and Caribbean effects on her rapping and singing and. The most remarkable feat that really brought her fame is her performance on the Fugees song, “Murdering Me Softly”.
The “Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”, which she released in 1998 remains Hill’s solo studio album. It got wide recognition for its portrayal of life and connections and finding a contemporary voice inside the neo-soul genre.
The collection peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and has sold roughly eight million copies in America.
At the 41st Grammy Awards, the record earned her five honours, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist. During this time, she also won a few more awards and became a constant on magazine covers.
A short time later, Hill dropped out of the open eye, disillusioned with the music business and unable to handle the pressures of fame.
7. Andre 3000
Andre Lauren Benjamin, known simply as Andre 3000, is an American artist musician, rapper, entertainer, record maker, artist and activist.
He is most popular for being a part of the hip hop duo Outkast with fellow rapper, Big Boi. Both Billboard and Showbiz Cheatsheet listed Andre 3000 as one of the 10 best rappers of all time.
In 2013, Complex listed Andre 3000 as part of its rundown of the 10 best rappers of the 2000s. In 2015, Billboard named Andre 3000 in its list of the 10 Greatest Rappers of All Time.
6. Lil Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones, better known by her stage name, Lil’ Kim, is an American rapper, entertainer, and unscripted tv star.
In 1994, she was discovered by rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group, Junior M.A.F.I.A.. Their debut album, “Conspiracy”, birthed two top 20 singles in the United States and was confirmed Gold by the RIAA.
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Lil’ Kim’s debut studio collection, “Hard Core” (1996), was certified 2x platinum. It has since sold in excess of 6 million copies worldwide and produced three fruitful singles: ‘No Time’, ‘Not Tonight (Ladies Night)’, and ‘Pulverize on You’.
She is the only female rapper apart from Missy Elliott and Nicki Minaj to have at least three platinum-certified studio albums.
Lil Kim’s fourth collection, ‘The Naked Truth’, was released to positive reviews and it remains the only album by a female rapper to get a five out of five rating by The Source.
Lil’ Kim has sold in excess of 15 million collections and 30 million singles around the world. Her tunes ‘No Time’, ‘Big Momma Thang’, and ‘Not Tonight (Ladies Night)’ were all included in Complex’s rundown of the 50 Best Rap Songs By Women.
In 2012, Lil’ Kim was a part of VH1’s 100 Greatest Women In Music list at number 45, the second-highest for an independent female hip-hop artist.
5. Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur, better known by his stage name 2Pac, and by his false name Makaveli, was an American rapper, musician, and entertainer. He is considered by numerous individuals to be one of the greatest rappers ever.
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Quite a bit of Shakur’s work has been noted for discussing contemporary social issues that tormented lower class cities, and he is viewed as an image of opposition and activism against imbalance.
When he delivered his debut album, ‘2Pacalypse Now’ in 1991, he had become a focal figure in West Coast hip hop, presenting social issues in the class when gangsta rap was prevailing.
Shakur accomplished further basic and business accomplishment with his subsequent albums, 1993’s ‘Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…’ and 1995’s ‘Me Against the World’. His album, 1996’s ‘All Eyez on Me’ was certified Diamond by the RIAA.
On 7 September 1996, Shakur was shot multiple times by an unknown gunman in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas; he died six days after the fact and the shooter was never caught.
The Notorious B.I.G., Shakur’s friend turned enemy, was from the start thought to be a suspect but was also killed in another drive-by shooting a half year later.
Five additional albums have been released since his demise, all of which have been affirmed platinum in the United States.
Shakur was outstanding amongst other hip hop artists, having sold more than 75 million records around the world. In 2002, he was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame.
In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of qualification. Drifter named Shakur in its rundown of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
4. Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper, lyricist, entrepreneur and investor.
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The gifted rapper has delivered twelve studio albums since 1994, with seven of them affirmed platinum and multi-platinum in the US.
His hip hop career started in 1991 when he joined as a featured artist on Main Source’s Live at the Barbeque.
His debut album, 1994’s “Illmatic” received universally positive acclaim from critics and fans and is widely regarded as one of the best hip hop albums ever.
In 2006, MTV listed Nas as fifth on their rundown of ‘The Greatest MCs of All Time’. In 2012, The Source ranked him second on their rundown of the ‘Best 50 Lyricists of All Time’.
In 2013, Nas was ranked fourth on MTV’s ‘Hottest MCs in the Game’ list. Nas was also highlighted on the ’10 Best Rappers of All Time’ list by Billboard.
3. Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III, simply known as Eminem (regularly adapted as EMIN?M), is an American rapper, musician, and record-maker.
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Eminem’s worldwide achievement and acclaimed works are broadly viewed as having broken racial barriers for the acknowledgement of white rappers in mainstream music.
He is regularly referred to as one of the best rappers of all time. He rose to notoriety through shock rap, which generally stays relegated to the background, but Eminem broke through with his thought-provoking lyrics.
Eminem is among the best selling music artists ever, with overall sales in excess of 220 million records. He was the best selling music artist in the United States of the 2000s and he repeated this feat in the 2010s. Billboard named him the ‘Artist of the Decade (2000–2009)’.
The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, “Lose Yourself”, “Love the Way You Lie” and “Not Afraid” have all been certified Diamond or higher by the RIAA.
Rolling Stone included him in its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.
He has won various honours, including 15 Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, an Academy Award and an MTV Europe Music Global Icon Award.
He has had ten number-one collections on the Billboard 200, which all successively appeared at number one on the chart making him the only artist to accomplish this, as well as five number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100.
2. Jay Z
Shawn Corey Carter, popularly known as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, lyricist, record producer and entrepreneur. He is generally viewed as one of the best rappers of all time.
Jay-Z initially started his music career after establishing the record label Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995. After this, he released his debut album, “Reasonable Doubt” in 1996. The collection was delivered to generally positive reviews and set the pace for his career in the music business.
He has proceeded to deliver twelve extra albums.
Jay-Z is one of the world’s top-rated musicians, with more than 50 million albums and 75 million singles sold around the world. He has won a sum of 22 Grammy Awards, the most by a rapper, and holds the record for the most number-one collections by an independent artist on the Billboard 200, with 14.
He has been listed by Billboard and Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2017, he became the first rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2018, got the memorial Salute to Industry Icons grant at the 60th Grammy Awards.
1. Notorious B.I.G
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or just Biggie, was an American rapper and musician. He is viewed by many as probably the best rapper ever.
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On March 9, 1997, while visiting Los Angeles, Wallace was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting. The attacker stays unidentified.
The Notorious B.I.G’s. second collection Life After Death, a twofold album, was delivered fourteen days after the fact. It arrived at number one on the Billboard 200, and in the long run accomplished a Diamond certification in the US.
With two more posthumous delivered, the Notorious B.I.G. has gathered guaranteed sales of more than 28 million copies in the United States, including 21 million albums. Rilling Stone has also described him as the “best rapper that at any point lived,” and Billboard named him the best rapper ever.
The Source magazine named him the best rapper ever in its 150th issue. In 2006, MTV ranked him at Number three on their rundown of The Greatest MCs of All Time, calling him perhaps “the most skilful ever on the mic”. In 2020, the Notorious B.I.G. was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Conclusion
While there is only room for ten artists in the list above, it is unimaginable to boldly declare that these are only the best rappers of all time.
From the new school artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Joyner Lucas, to the older artists like Snoop Dogg, Fabulous, Rakim, and so many others, it is clear that the rap genre has many greats.
Considering the commercial viability of this genre, it is easy to see that a great number of talents are still going to rise to the limelight and show off their talents, just like those that came before them did. We cannot wait to see what new heights these new artists will climb to.
In the meantime, we can enjoy the wonderful music that the current greats have delivered. Of course, with the number of wonderful talents that have risen to the mainstream, everyone will have their own top 10 rap artists.
Share your own top 10 list with us in the comments section below and don’t forget to share this article with family and friends.
If you disagree with this list as well, let us know in the comments section below. Who do you think should not be on the list? Who deserves their spot instead?
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