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 Kafani named his fave five, fellow West Coast rapper Co$$ unloads his top choices.]
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Yukmouth. I’ve been blown away by the way he can rap to any tempo. He can really ride any beat. His flow and lyricism is always butter. Dude is just one of the nicest n*ggas to pick up the mic. There’s so much sh*t that n*ggas don’t know about him. -
Black Thought. It’s that Black Thought flow. He’s one of the only n*ggas that keeps the same flow in everything he raps. He’s always killing it. You never get tired of it. I could personally listen to Black Thought all day, every day. That’s just how much he inspires me. He’s one of the lyricists that drives me to pick up the pen.
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Jay Electronica. The talent is so undeniable. His style is just so unf*ckwithable. Nobody can mess with his style. A lot of cats seem to be afraid to go left with their style. Besides him just being an incredible emcee, especially that poetic side, I just love everything about him.
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Blu. He’s my mentor. It’s more of a personal thing but I still think he’s one of the nicest. When I first met him, I was writing 15 and 16-bar verses and I had no future in the rap game. He helped me become the emcee that I am today.
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OutKast. Style-wise, I really like Big Boi more and then content-wise, I like Andre 3000 more. I just have so much influence from OutKast growing up. They’re one of my favorite groups. I’m totally secure with saying that. Besides 2Pac, they’re the reason why I rap. Before I knew who I was as an emcee, I was using their style. They’ve always influenced me.
Yukmouth. I’ve been blown away by the way he can rap to any tempo. He can really ride any beat. His flow and lyricism is always butter. Dude is just one of the nicest n*ggas to pick up the mic. There’s so much sh*t that n*ggas don’t know about him.
Black Thought. It’s that Black Thought flow. He’s one of the only n*ggas that keeps the same flow in everything he raps. He’s always killing it. You never get tired of it. I could personally listen to Black Thought all day, every day. That’s just how much he inspires me. He’s one of the lyricists that drives me to pick up the pen.
Jay Electronica. The talent is so undeniable. His style is just so unf*ckwithable. Nobody can mess with his style. A lot of cats seem to be afraid to go left with their style. Besides him just being an incredible emcee, especially that poetic side, I just love everything about him.
Blu. He’s my mentor. It’s more of a personal thing but I still think he’s one of the nicest. When I first met him, I was writing 15 and 16-bar verses and I had no future in the rap game. He helped me become the emcee that I am today.
OutKast. Style-wise, I really like Big Boi more and then content-wise, I like Andre 3000 more. I just have so much influence from OutKast growing up. They’re one of my favorite groups. I’m totally secure with saying that. Besides 2Pac, they’re the reason why I rap. Before I knew who I was as an emcee, I was using their style. They’ve always influenced me.
