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 Diggy Simmons revealed his top spitters, Killer Mike slices up his fave five.]
OutKast. They represent group evolution. They’ve shown how to sustain through multiple eras and multiple years, unlike any other group. They are the only group you can [compare] to Run-DMC. No other duo can you put in the circle of Run-DMC and have a debate on. That’s an accomplishment within an accomplishment.
A Tribe Called Quest. They did for Black kids in the suburbs and brought hip-hop in a way [that’s] just now come into fruition. When you see these kids that are rebuking the darker parts of rap and are going toward that whole “I’m living my life and have dope a** beats” attitude, Tribe are the blueprint to that. Tribe made the blueprint for those shows that [bring out] 500 to 1,000 people.
The Clipse. They are the EPMD of our time. They are consistently consistent, making music that’s dope. Their music represents the pure, dope consistency in hip-hop. More groups need to look to EPMD and The Clipse.
UGK. This is a group made up of two Texas boys who got together with DJ Screw and gave Texas a blueprint that’s still feeding them today. Their music is hip-hop. On a deeper level, it’s soul music. It’s music that gets in your bones. It’s the closest thing to blues in rap music.
8Ball & MJG. I would put 2 Live Crew in there as an honorable mention. They’ve had what some people would consider slips where there are arguments over which albums they like and don’t. But they are the longest running and most consistent duo acts, They aren’t even a group anymore, they’re a band. Just like The Rolling Stones, they’re still going on and I want to seem them performing at age 60.
