As hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Billboard and Vibe are counting down the greatest MCs to ever grace the mic.
Fans React As Jay-Z Tops Billboard And Vibe’s List Of The Top 50 Greatest Rappers Of All Time
Over the past month, they have partnered to roll out a list of the Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time before revealing the final top 10 which has sparked a heated debate among hip-hop heads.
Ranked as the greatest is the legendary rapper, first hip-hop billionaire and twenty-four-time Grammy award-winner Shawn Carter AKA Jay-Z whose illustrious career has spanned nearly three decades.
Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar came in second while Nas claimed the third spot.
Other rappers who made it to the top ten list of hip-hop GOATs include Tupac at number four, Eminem at number five, The Notorious BIG at the sixth, Lil Wayne at the number seventh spot, Drake at number eight, Snoop Dogg at number nine, and Nicki Minaj who came in tenth happens to be the highest-ranking female on the list.
Other female rappers who made the list include, Missy Elliot at number nineteen, Lauryn Hill at number thirty, Lil Kim at number thirty-one, Queen Latifah at number forty-four and MC Lyte at number forty-seven.
Kanye West, LL Cool J, J. Cole, 50 Cent, Dr Dre, Ice Cube, DMX, T.I, Busta Rhymes, Future, Ludacris, Common and others also made the top fifty list with Rick Ross coming in at the fiftieth position.
As you know, the editorial staff determined the rankings based on the following criteria: the body of work/achievements (which is charted singles/albums, gold/platinum certifications), cultural impact/influence (which is how the artists’ work fostered the genre evolution), longevity (which is years on the mic), lyrics (which is storytelling skills), and flow (which is vocal prowess).
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