S. Samuel
Bad Boy Records rapper Red Cafe recently gave his input on the rap game and revealed which five emcees he believes are currently running hip-hop.
While rap stars like Jay-Z and Fabolous were no-brainers, Cafe said he was stuck between OutKast’s Andre 3000 and Kanye West.
“Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Drake, Fabolous, and a toss up between Andre 3000 and Kanye,” Cafe said in an interview. “I’ve been a fan of hip-hop from the early days. Hip-hop was just putting words together and having fun. Then rappers like Nas who rapped about the neighborhood and things that we were going through. And Biggie Smalls. I got a story too. My stories are interesting. I did it for fun and then people started getting interested. Now if your music is being appreciated, people want you to continue because it helps them get through their days.” (Global Grind)
Last week, fellow New York rapper A$AP Rocky named some of his favorite hip-hop artists and joking gave his Top 5 currently hot emcees list.
“Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, Dylan, and Dylan [“Chappelle’s Show” reference]. Nah seriously though, I’m into a lot of them. Those A$AP guys are crazy though. They got next. I would like to work with Kid Cudi, Kanye, Pharrell, maybe Snoop Dogg. I wish I could have worked with Michael Jackson.” (Rap-Up)
In November, Southern rapper Juvenile named rappers like Rick Ross and Jay-Z in his Top 5.
“I’m just a fan. I like real, real hip-hop – -when cats really rap, really rhyme and really put words together. I think he’s one of them. Ross is in my top five best MCs [out] right now.,” Juvie said in an interview. “Right now: Ross, Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye [West], T.I…. that would round out my top five. There’s not a lot of other cats [that] I put on that pedestal.” (Billboard)
Recently, Bad Boy Records CEO Diddy mapped out plans to drop Red Cafe’s new album in 2012.
“It’s a new game out here. You’ve got to really hit that road and really put that work in,” Diddy told radio host Funkmaster Flex. “We invented the hard work, the grind and I think all of these artists I’ve signed, they’ve come to my attention from being on the road and touching the fans and building they fan base. They all play at the sold-out crowds right now. … Right now we’re in set-up mode. Red Cafe is slated, he’s up first. And we’re immediately going after the [French Montana] ‘Shot Caller’ music video today on BET — ‘Wild Boy’ is out there. That’s Machine Gun Kelly‘s record with Waka Flocka. We premiered that joint [on ‘106 & Park’] and the success and how long it takes for those records to break, get out there and make sure the names, the project and the energy gets out there, that kind of dictates when the album’s drop but we’re going to continuously be dropping music and keeping our foots on their necks. No mercy.” (Hot 97)
Check out some recent Red Cafe footage down below:
