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 Pauly Shore dished out his fave five earlier this week, G-Note's Governor unloads his top choices.]
Wiz Khalifa. Even though Snoop Dogg is still around, he’s the New Age Snoop Dogg. He took a proven lane and took his own niche, his own artistry and ran with it. He’s a tall slim guy, has a bunch of tattoos and has a love for his weed. I think that the dude wasn’t afraid to step into a lane. I think he stepped into that whole Snoop Dogg lane.
Young Jeezy. Jeezy is real. I like him because he’s trying to feed his family. I respect that from a grown man and yeah, we have fun and enjoy what we do, but at the end of the day, there’s a responsibility and I respect Jeezy for sticking to that.
T.I. I respect him from being different in marketing himself.
Justin Bieber. People are going to think I’m crazy for this but I’m putting him on my list. I think he really can sing. He just loves what he does and he’s a star. If you look at the industry now, people who have been in the game for ten-plus years, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, I think Justin Bieber will be in the new category of people who have ten-plus years in the industry.
Kanye West. Me personally, I don’t listen to a lot of Kanye West music but I respect him as a businessman and associate in the game. He waited for his turn and then maximized his turn. So I’m definitely not mad at Kanye. Not at all.
