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 DJ Scratch put out his fave five, DJ Premier cuts up his top picks.]
Melle Mel. Melle Mel is the first rapper on my list. Melle Mel was the first one to talk about how gutter the ghettos were. Even though he’s political with it, you can still party and dance to what he’s talking about. Even to this day, when his music comes on, you dance to it.
Chuck D. Chuck D, that’s another one. He’s another one in my Top 5. When “Don’t Believe The Hype” comes on in the club or even “Rebel Without A Pause”, they’re talking about the government and everything else but you still listen to it. Definitely gotta keep Chuck D in there.
Kool Moe Dee. Kool Moe Dee is my third pick. I loved those battles from back in the day, [as well as] his wordplay. I loved how he had his own little style. Even when you look at the shades he would have on. He had his own style to what he was doing. He’s one of the first ones who took battling to the next level. He just wouldn’t stop. He’d just keep going and going [during] battles. It was like trying to stop the Terminator. That’s what Kool Moe Dee is.
Chubb Rock. Number four I would have to say Chubb Rock. He’s a National Merit Scholar, one of the illest lyricists ever in hip-hop. I mean, ever. This guy’s got flows, he can dance. I’m going from experience and witnessing this sh*t.
Guru. My final pick would definitely be Guru. Sh*t. If you take the music out, his voice and flow would be there. It’s not even just that, his wordplay and everything about him was so unique. That’s why you gotta wonder how is this motherf*cker overlooked. He’s got so many f*cking flow patterns that are insane.
