[Each week, SOHH asks two entertainment personalities to name their Top 5 rappers of all-time. To make things tricky, we've created a "Hall of Fame" of emcees (see right) who are universally respected and therefore may not be mentioned. After Lil Debbie unleashed her top picks, Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar reveals his fave five.]
Kool Moe Dee. Without people like him, hip-hop never would have progressed the way it did. It never would have moved forward. He was one of those guys that made you in awe of it. The way that the stories were told and the battles, he had one of the most famous battles ever against Busy Bee.
Melle Mel. Just like Kool Moe Dee, hip-hop never would have progressed the way it did without him. He was one of the true pioneers. Hip-hop would have been mediocre and it would have been just a fad.
Grandmaster Caz. He was one of those dudes that made you say, “Wow, this is crazy! I want to do that!” He’s one of the ones that inspired generations and had people like Rakim follow behind them.
Public Enemy. They’re just one of my all-time favorites. You’ll always hear me talk about Public Enemy. Their intelligence, militant style, it was all of that. They were incredible.
Redman. When people talk about the best rappers, he typically gets left out. He’s a really dope rapper. Another one is Ludacris, but when you talk about the best rappers, their names don’t always get mentioned. I don’t know if it’s because their style is a little bit comical, but they’ve been coming with some sh*t for a long time. Ludacris has a lot of f*cking hits under his belt, Redman has a lot of classic hip-hop music under his belt.