S. Samuel
[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 Too $hort unloaded his fave five last week, rapper/producer Kovas dishes out his top picks.]
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Andre 3000. Every time he gets on a verse, it’s just crazy. The way his mind works, the way he says things, I think he’s always trying to push the envelope. -
Black Thought. He’s a rapper’s rapper. It’s like you listen to all those Roots albums and he’s always coming with it. You want to put him on a record because he’s that guy that inspires others to want to come with it. He’s never slacking.
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Kovas. I think if people look at the body of work, I’m always trying to figure out what hasn’t been said or done and how to do it in an incredible way. I’ve got a world perspective on an American situation. There’s certain things I’ve done which others have done afterward. I’ve kind of been ahead of my time.
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Kanye West. I think Kanye has totally turned hip-hop music up. That line, “They thought pink Polos would hurt the Roc.” When you think about it, he’s helped introduce the Kid Cudi’s and Drake’s and he sort of brought out the emo raps in a sense. Kanye West brought out the idea you can rap about more than getting shot. In the early 2000’s, it was all about hardcore stuff. Then you hear a song like “All Falls Down,” he brought a lot of vulnerability to hip-hop. He also brought fashion and style to the forefront of music.
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Wu-Tang Clan. The Wu should be there because as a collective, whenever I hear the Wu I hear New York. I can be anywhere in the world and I’m like, “Yeah. That’s New York.” I was watching “Californication” and I see RZA on there and I’m like, “Wow, he’s still going strong.” They brought that concept as coming in as a movement and as a unit and still having these individual ideas.
Andre 3000. Every time he gets on a verse, it’s just crazy. The way his mind works, the way he says things, I think he’s always trying to push the envelope.
Black Thought. He’s a rapper’s rapper. It’s like you listen to all those Roots albums and he’s always coming with it. You want to put him on a record because he’s that guy that inspires others to want to come with it. He’s never slacking.
Kovas. I think if people look at the body of work, I’m always trying to figure out what hasn’t been said or done and how to do it in an incredible way. I’ve got a world perspective on an American situation. There’s certain things I’ve done which others have done afterward. I’ve kind of been ahead of my time.
Kanye West. I think Kanye has totally turned hip-hop music up. That line, “They thought pink Polos would hurt the Roc.” When you think about it, he’s helped introduce the Kid Cudi’s and Drake’s and he sort of brought out the emo raps in a sense. Kanye West brought out the idea you can rap about more than getting shot. In the early 2000’s, it was all about hardcore stuff. Then you hear a song like “All Falls Down,” he brought a lot of vulnerability to hip-hop. He also brought fashion and style to the forefront of music.
Wu-Tang Clan. The Wu should be there because as a collective, whenever I hear the Wu I hear New York. I can be anywhere in the world and I’m like, “Yeah. That’s New York.” I was watching “Californication” and I see RZA on there and I’m like, “Wow, he’s still going strong.” They brought that concept as coming in as a movement and as a unit and still having these individual ideas.
