S. Samuel
FINAL ROUND: After Joe Budden defeated Saigon in Round 1 and Alex Da Kid stunned Just Blaze in Round 2, the two champs face-off one last time. Winner takes all. Whose list gets the crown? You decide!
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Ice Cube is a pioneer. I grew up [on] Ice Cube as well as N.W.A. They were the trend for gangster rap along with Ice-T. He made incredible records and he was just great. He made great music over such a long period of time. |
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I have to put The Clipse’s Pusha T in the list. When it comes to Pusha T, I just feel like his flow is amazing. If you take the time to listen to his flow, it’s just super amazing. He never fails to amaze me. He’s so consistent. I know even before I hear his raps, his flow is going to be perfect. I just know that everything is going to make sense. He’s just hard and so I like him in my list. |
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I think Andre 3000‘s creative mind is unparalleled. He’s one of the most lyrical guys to ever pick up a microphone. What else can I say? He’s one of hip-hop’s pioneers. |
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I’ve always liked Kanye West. Kanye has to be given Top 5 props because he’s so honest. Sure he’s got a great rapping style but when you really look at him as an entertainer, looking at him as as artist, he’s just so honest. There’s no sugar coating when it comes to him. Whenever you see Kanye, you know you’re gonna hear how he’s feeling. And so I love that. Hardly anybody is like that. That’s what I love the most about Kanye. |
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Black Thought‘s just a monster. He’s also a hip-hop pioneer. Black Thought is an artist who’s been able to just rock with a live band for seventeen years or however long he’s been doing it. It’s amazing to me. |
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I would have to put the whole Dipset in there. I have to put Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Cam’ron as a whole in there. I’m such a big fan of the Dipset. I love the fact that they had a reunion, I love that they’re really back together. They’re in my list also because they’re just like their own sound. It’s very hard to create your own sound and style of music and so you know a Dipset beat when you hear it. And it’s also just the fact that they’re so street. What they rap about is just interesting to me. |
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Common‘s “I Used To Love H.E.R.” When I first heard that record, it was just mind-blowing, ground-breaking to me. It was a record that always stayed with me. Definitely one of my Top 5 favorite hip-hop records of all-time. He’s a lyrical monster. |
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I don’t know why Ice Cube isn’t in the Hall of Fame. He should be there. But specifically, I love the old Ice Cube. Like, the Ice Cube I really like is when he was in N.W.A. and even [right after he left the group]. Just looking at all the beefs and battles he got into and saying something different. I remember listening to him coming up in England and I had never really heard West Coast rap before so when I got to hear it, it was so different for me. I loved it. |
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[Jada]Kiss is just a beast. He’s just a beast and that’s point, blank, period. He gets in my Top 5 list without a doubt. |
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I definitely have to end the list right and go with Andre 3000. Three stacks without a doubt. It’s just because he’s so versatile. He can sing, he can rap, his flow is insane and even [contains a message in his lyrics]. All those things drive me crazy. It’s just the overall package with him. |
