Article By Michael Partis

If Hip-Hop wasn’t about marketing, advertising, budgets, labels, videos, spins, singles, radio, TV, magazines, Internet, sales, and record exec’s…this would be the Top 5.

You ever watch Rap City lately and say “How the hell they get a deal?”  Or get a MySpace friend request from a “rapper,” and this person should NEVER be allowed to call themselves a rapper?

These are the things that make you appreciate great MC’s.  It’s a talent; some people got it, some people don’t.  The problem is that the really good rappers don’t always blow up.  They don’t always become famous.

So this list goes out to the dopest, the illest, the hottest, the sickest, the nicest.  This is for the best MC’s who never became famous (to the world at least).

It’s tricky since it’s not like rappers “retire” (even if they announce that they do); so you never really know when some-one’s career has ended and their time to achieve mainstream success is over.

There are a lot of underrated rappers who may lack mainstream success or album sales but do tons of shows, have critical acclaim, and have mad fans worldwide.  So people and groups like The Roots, Talib, Mos, Common are out.

So qualifications for this list is crazy skills, under-recognized, and who’s time to break through has probably pasted…but still deserve props.  Here we go…

Bonus (Because a Top 5 is NEVER enough)- Little Brother

For all ya’ll who think Southern Hip-Hop is what you see now, you need to be schooled.  But more importantly, you need to be put on to Little Brother.  Socially conscious, hella lyrical, super-fly production, Little Brother had all the ingredients for a Hip-Hop supergroup.

Label woes and internal-conflict (former member and well-known producer 9th Wonder bounced last year) has pushed the group out of the public eye.  But don’t sleep, these cats are probably one of the most underrated groups of ever.

Do Ya Research

Little Brother My Space

5. Big L

L was a one of the greatest to ever bless the mic.  Not only did he set the standard for punchlines, he combined it with tremendous lyricism.  The original “Harlem’s Finest,” L always left you with a Hip-Hop Quotable.  Before his untimely death in 1999, there was talk bout Jay wanting to sign him to the ROC. Regardless L always represented, is truly a Hip-Hop great.

“Yo, fuck all the glamours and glitz, I plan to get rich
I’m from New York and never was a fan of the Knicks
And I’m all about expandin my chips
You mad cause I was in the van with your bitch
with both hands on her tits
Corleone hold the throne, that you know in your heart
I got style, plus the way that I be flowin is sharp
A while back I used to hustle, sellin blow in the park
Countin G stacks and rockin ice that glow in the dark
Forever – hottie huntin, trigger temper I’m quick to body somethin
You lookin at me like I’m probably frontin
I fuck around and throw, three in your chest and flee to my rest
I’m, older and smarter this is me at my best
I stopped hangin around y’all, cause niggaz like you
be prayin on my downfall, hopin I flop
Hopin I stop, you probably even hope I get locked
or be on the street corner with a pipe, smokin the rock
I got more riches than you, fuck more bitches than you
Only thing I haven’t got is more, stitches than you
Fuckin punk, you ain’t a Leader what? Nobody Followed you
You was never shit, your mother shoulda swallowed you”

Big L- “98 Freestyle”

4. Cormega

Nas has a track record of getting talented understudies, then droppin them off the face of the planet: Nature, Nashawn, Lake, Quan, etc.  But by FAR, Cormega was the nicest outta all them.

He dropped jewels on guest appearances on It Was Written and The Firm.  But it was the material that finally got released through the street (the albums Legal Hustle and The Testament gained decent underground success), that help Mega’s talent come through to a larger audience.

“I’m from the rarest breed of people who rep the street and spit poetically
never sleep, rest assured Mega is dope in his pure form
the dealer/MC keepin it real is my protocol
fall back I got you open off the style I was workin on it
the beat is lifeless, ’till I put my verses on it
I reminisce confinement as I read a kite
from my people with secret indictment freedom and triumph
contemplating putting sprees on the tires
dominating this beat with my rhyming as if you need a reminder
I spit that drug dealer shit you might have seen on The Wire
what other lyricist is known for giving people cosignment
I’m eager to find my equal wit rhyming, I rock Iceberg jeans with the Nikes
an extremist with rhymin deep as Poseidon
breedin’ in violence now I live in a peaceful environment
a secret asylum from the streets where people be wilding
some blind with fury from seeing me shining
like a phoenix arising from the depths showin the reaper defiance”

Cormega-”A Beautiful Mind”

3. Jean Grae

Take a good look at Ms. Grae.  Matter a fact, TAKE ANOTHER look.

You need to remember what she looks like because she is quite possibly the GREATEST female MC of all time (forget about the illest MC’s you probably never heard of).

Born in South Africa, bred in Brooklyn, Jean Grae been a monster on the underground circuit for a minute.

Jean is kinda the exception to this list for the fact that there is still time for her to breakthrough.  But after over a decade of being the best female MC on the planet, it’s time give Ms. Grae some recognition.

Do the research!!!

Jean Grae My Space

Jean Grae Playlist

“This is for Beatrice Bertha Benjamin who gave birth to
Tsidi Azeeda for Lavender Hill for Kyalisha
ALTHLONE, Mitchells Plain, Swazi girls I’m reppin for thee
Mannesburg, Guguletu where you’d just be blessed to get thru
For beauty shinin thru like the sun at the highest noon
From the top of the cable car at Table Mountain; I am you
Girls with the skyest blue of eyes and the darkest skin
For Cape Colored allied for realizing we’re African
For all my cousins back home, the strength of mommy’s backbone
The length of which she went for raising, sacrificing her own
The pain of not reflecting the range of our complexions
For rubber pellet scars on Auntie Elna’s back I march
Fist raised caramel shinin in all our glory
For Mauritius, St, Helena; my blood is a million stories
Winnie for Joan and for Edie, for Norma, Leslie, Ndidi
For Auntie Betty, for Melanie; all the same family
Fiona, Jo Burg, complex of mixed girls
For surviving thru every lie they put into us now
The world is yours and I swear I will stand focused”
Black girls, raise up your hands; the world should clap for us”

Jean Grae- “Black Girl Pain”

2. Canibus

Iight, so yeah L gave him the Ether (”Ask Canibus he ain’t understandin this/cause 99% of fans don’t exist” LL-The Ripper Strikes Back).

But Canibus was one of the most intricate MC’s ever.  He was droppin 100 bars and more before anybody else was doing it.

I’ll let the lyrics speak for themselves:

“At a thousand degree Celsius I make MC’s melt
Fuck my record label I appear courtesy of myself
Let me explain how I maintain thresholds to pain
I walk across the Sun barefoot lookin for shade
I rearrange your rib cage like a twelve gage at close range
and change the position of your brain
My hard raps penetrate through your hardhats and all that
nigga, get ya wig peeled back
I scalp you like the Indians on horseback
Running Bull will hit you harder than running back
Stunning man with brave and cunning rap
Swiftly running laps around 48 tracks
Like uncut crack you fiends keep coming back
Heads is flippin like acrobats on gym mats
From wax to analog tapes to digital DAT’s
It’s critical black, that Canibus is ill like that
In fact perhaps you should quit rap, instead of always
tryin to diss back, cause niggaz keep tellin you that your shit’s wack
I rip raps, hardcore raps rushin you to the floor mat
Put you in the figure four, break your thorax
Jump off the top turnbuckle and land on your back
til I hear it snap or crackle, the ref says chill black
You get clapped bringin the wrong raps to combat
Like bringin a paint gun to a shoot out with real gats
Y’all niggaz is wack, rappin over microphone feedback
My intelligence begins where yours peaks at
From Fox Boogie in the see-through brassiere, to Nasty Nas here
My nigga Nature’ll explain it further if it’s not clear”

Canibus-”Desperados”

Canibus-Layered Prayers

Canibus- Poet Laureate II

Canibus-Master Thesis

1. AZ

Straight up, AZ might be the most underrated rapper of all-time.  This man never gets the props he deserve.

He got put on by being the only guest appearance on one of the greatest rap albums ever, Nas’ Illmatic; then dropped arguably most memorable verse on the entire album (his verse on “Life A Bitch” is truly a classic).

AZ is the embodiment of vintage, classic 90’s Hip-Hop: dope beats, smooth delivery, socially conscious content, raw street narrative, stories that poignantly capture a particular experience in a particular time period.   But what adds to his greatness, is that over time he getting better.  Do or Die (1995) is just as hard as Undeniable (2008).

Unfortunately, he could never catch on with the mainstream (hence he’s on this list).  But the lyrical skill possess by Sosa is among the best ALL TIME.  Check the catalog, and pay homage to the Visualiza.

“we was already loyal to people’s minds and mulianis
now we more fucked up with a mayor named Guliani
you can try to bomb me
analyze but can’t define me
my mind’s divine heavily entwined with Ghandi’s
far from feeble, I leave your nostrils hard to breathe through
cause my cerebrals are more of a higher plane
than the Hebrews
my mic devotion brings out my deepest emotions
overdosing wannabes posing
sending them through convulsions
to hard to follow, you took a bite but couldn’t swallow
your mind’s boggled
but I’m as deep as Donald Goines novels
my whole persona’s kinda laid back like a recliner
and since my mama, I been fucking with marijuana
wavy-haired, my skin got a money getting glare
strictly menace wear, macking off a Guinness beer
so where it all begins is here
destiny and me finally meet
so how can I be weak?
I’m rather unique”

AZ- “Rather Unique”

Listen:

AZ f/Nas – “Mo Money Mo Murder”

AZ- The Come Up

AZ Playlist

So there it go.  There’s madddd people who could/should be on this list.  So now it’s ya’ll turn.  Go OFF in the comments sections.  Agree, disagree, add, subtract.  Post links, post songs, post albums, post playlist.  I feel like some good Hip-Hop gonna come outta this.  Peace

Michael Partis

www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com

http://my.rawkus.com/profile/ForeThought

michaelpartis@gmail.com

EXTRASSSSS

Who I really, really hope is NOT on this list 10 years from now:

Joe Budden, Devin The Dude, Killer Mike, Saigon, The Clipse, Papoose, Styles P, Joell Ortiz, Royce The 5′9

Who shoulda been on this list:

Camp Lo, Goodie Mob, Dugeon Family, A+, Shyheim AKA The Rugged Child, Sauce Money, Nature,

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 at 10:10 am and is filed under Discussions, Editorial, Top 5. You can skip to the end and leave a response.