S. Samuel
[Each week, SOHH asks two entertainment personalities to name their Top 5 hip-hop artists 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 Tahiry Jose named her fave five, DJ Kayotik reveals his top rappers.]
Mobb Deep. When you look at the body of work they’ve put in as a group as well as their solo projects and production, it’s been phenomenal for years. You’re talking about cats that have been in the game for over twenty years. From “Shook Ones” to all the records that just stand out. They make timeless music. I can play their hits during my shows today.
Goodie Mob. Look at what they brought to hip-hop, as a whole, from Atlanta and how they brought that Atlanta sound. Look at the creativity and uniqueness to the weirdness, it was just new and fresh and it lasted. Look at where Goodie Mob started and now look at Cee-Lo judging on prime time shows. It just shows how important their body of work has been in the industry. Cee-Lo involved from just being a rapper to being a singer to I don’t even know what he is today.
OutKast. They have the awards and accolades and body of work. It’s well beyond anyone’s belief, especially being from Atlanta. They sold out shows in many, many markets. Their work and their body of work took Atlanta to the next level.
UGK. The only thing I was familiar with in terms of UGK when I first moved down South was “Big Pimpin’.” Being in the South, in Dallas, I had to learn the Southern music real quick to survive as a deejay. When you go back to a lot of their records, they have a lot of anthems from this region and not just Texas. I’m talking about this region as a whole. From people at the car washes to how people drive their rides, they were influential in lifestyle. They were lifestyle artists. Whatever they were doing, people in this region were doing.
EPMD. In a New Yorker’s eyes, EPMD are in the top five and top ten greatest groups discussions. But I don’t think they ever got their just due. I don’t think they got to Dallas or Houston. Should they have? Absolutely.
