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 Vlad Yudin gave his top picks, fellow cameraman David Rousseau names his fave five.]
-
MC Lyte. I think she’s one of those artists who doesn’t get that credit. But without MC Lyte, you wouldn’t have a lot of female rappers. She’s probably one of the first females to come out there and people respected her lyrics. It wasn’t about her looks either. She wasn’t selling sex, she was selling lyrics. She’s one of the first artists like that. -
Beastie Boys. I have to name them because of what they did for hip-hop. There’s nothing more to say about them.
-
A Tribe Called Quest. Hands down. What more can you say about them as well? They made classics.
-
Busta Rhymes. I think you have to name Busta because of who he was and his craft. It wasn’t just about his skills. He’s got songs all over the world that people love.
-
James Brown. I know he’s not really hip-hop but if it wasn’t for him and who he was, I think things would be different. Just look back at who he was as an artist and probably five or ten of his songs have been sampled in every single hip-hop artist’s music. His samples are in some of the most classic hip-hop songs ever. Even though he’s not a “hip-hop” artist, I would say James Brown is definitely one of those dudes who if it wasn’t for him, hip-hop would not be where it’s at.
MC Lyte. I think she’s one of those artists who doesn’t get that credit. But without MC Lyte, you wouldn’t have a lot of female rappers. She’s probably one of the first females to come out there and people respected her lyrics. It wasn’t about her looks either. She wasn’t selling sex, she was selling lyrics. She’s one of the first artists like that.
Beastie Boys. I have to name them because of what they did for hip-hop. There’s nothing more to say about them.
A Tribe Called Quest. Hands down. What more can you say about them as well? They made classics.
Busta Rhymes. I think you have to name Busta because of who he was and his craft. It wasn’t just about his skills. He’s got songs all over the world that people love.
James Brown. I know he’s not really hip-hop but if it wasn’t for him and who he was, I think things would be different. Just look back at who he was as an artist and probably five or ten of his songs have been sampled in every single hip-hop artist’s music. His samples are in some of the most classic hip-hop songs ever. Even though he’s not a “hip-hop” artist, I would say James Brown is definitely one of those dudes who if it wasn’t for him, hip-hop would not be where it’s at.
