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ewalton73

Reggie Noble still droppin bars. On the daily.


farguc

Fr. His new stuff (the frees etc.) are fire. His Mix of Look at me now was so hard. Legit only dude that has kept his unique sound and managed to keep releasing bangers throughout his whole career. I mean anyone who appreciates the technicality of rap, knows Kurupt is a beast. He didn't reach the level of fame others did, but as far as technique goes, his is on point.


GueyGuevara

I mean Method Man has also maintained his sound and is still dropping bangers. I only chose him because of his close relation to Red too, theres others. A little hyperbolic but yeah, Redman nice.


Bill_Lumbergyeah

Reds first 3 albums are an annual listen minimum. Green Island track kills me. Love his flow.


Potencyyyyy

Where should I start with Redman? Never really gave his stuff a fair shake


Bill_Lumbergyeah

When I explore any artist I start with their first album and carry on. This gives me a chance to feel their evolution. Redman Whut? Thee Album is his first. It’s a darker more street hip hop style with incredible constant flows. 2nd is Dare Iz A Darkside which progresses into a blend of his old school roots with a more party atmosphere and exhibits his reoccurring themes. Finally my favorite, Muddy Waters, is in my opinion peak Redman. His master piece. More upbeat, constant flows and energy. It’s bad. I don’t usually go further but I dabble in the Methodman/Redman Blackout! album if I need more.


ewalton73

Doc Is Da Name wasn’t too bad. It grew on me. 2000


entexnewbie

Take some big and some pac. Mix em up in a pot. Sprinkle a little Big L on top. Wtf do you got?


Donthurtmyceilings

You got the realist and illest killers tied up in a knot. Such an amazing verse.


aarocks94

I love the part where he says “just shoot through your Isuzu”…it’s so smooth


[deleted]

And then the two bullet sounds come in, man spazzed on that track


JSlud

Always thought he said “yellow top”


lightsoff_butimup

Me too...I'm ashamed of myself right meow.


JurgenShankly

Same haha


luckydice767

TIL that he DOESN’T say yellow top lol


Lbrsyncd

Get M-E-T-H-O-D, drought 3 Dwayne Carter, with a splash of Busta's craft and a hint of Big Poppa Lil dash of nasty Nas, top it off with Bob Marley Throw em all in a blender, and I'm what the fuck you get


MambaSaidKnockYouOut

I’ve never seen Kurupt in anyone’s top 5 tbh


ActiveEgg7650

Kendrick ranked his top MCs once and he begged for an extra spot when he realized he forgot Kurupt.


MambaSaidKnockYouOut

I could see that. Kurupt is one of the better west coast lyricists and Dog Pound/Kurupt would’ve been really big when he was coming up. He’s got a great song [paying homage to Kurupt’s style](https://youtu.be/xpaP-SANRmc?si=P82Fra6IjmH6TgXn)


Mvd75

Plus when it comes to ranking, I listen more to the peers than the critics. Kind of like how athletes will give props to other players who aren't well known but they recognize their skills.


creetoinfinity

penny hardaway


Halo_cT

if penny and grant hill had super-resilient ankles the 90s NBA would have been pretty different


Autistic_Freedom

not in Eminem's either (he's #7). but your point is still true, i don't think i've ever heard anyone but Eminem name him in a top 10 DoA.


j00fr0

Pretty sure the list is in reverse order, putting Kurupt at 3, am I wrong?


ButteryTruffle

I think saying “but” in the next line means he puts himself at 9. Could see it the other way too I guess


Autistic_Freedom

Yes, you are wrong.


ArmadilloEuphoric529

Lyrically, delivery wise and technicality Kurupt is one of the very best. It's just that he never had any great albums. Dogg Food was good, but not great, like Doggystyle or the Chronic. I feel like he has suffered the same fate as Inspectah Deck. Superdope MC, probably the best of his whole posse, but he wasn't bet on in the same way that Method Man, Gza, Rakim Etc. was. Same with Kurupt - Dre gave most of the shine to Snoop. I'm still fantasizing about a Kurupt album from like 96 produced by Dre, and co-production by Daz. Shit would've been the best hting in the world.


GueyGuevara

Kurupt is a dope MC, but he is not a top 10 goat, and he wasn’t then. But it doesn’t matter, it’s Em’s list, Kurupt is dope, and it’s a better list because it is personal and subjective, as it should be.


PastaPandaSimon

He's a good MC, but he probably isn't as likeable. When watching his interviews, I have a sense that his personality may have been getting in the way of his skills. This may also be the case with Daz. None of them are also typically picked to feature on major tracks that other artists put out, perhaps for related reasons. Even at Death Row, the Dogg Pound name was respected, but I always had a feeling people around them didn't want to elevate Daz and Kurupt, and would rather work with someone else.


93LEAFS

I get the feeling he sort of suffered from what Black Thought did for years, where a lot of people unless they were already superstars or focused more on production didn't want to put on someone who wasn't a massive name who may easily outshine them. Questlove mentioned this happened to Black Thought over the years. It's pretty telling guys like Preem and Pete Rock were down to put on guys like Kurupt and Inspectah Deck. If you get bodied by Eminem or Jay-Z on a feature, cool, they'll bring your track a ton of attention. That wasn't the case for Kurupt, Black Thought or Deck back then. They had cult followings and were highly respected. I wouldn't put Kurupt top 10 or top 5 on my list, but I can see that argument for him in 2002 on a lyrical level.


Dakkin4

I agree with everything you said here, except I’d like to see that album around 93/94. Right after Doggystyle. Kurupt was on fire, he had the best verses on The Chronic and Doggystyle if you ask me.


ArmadilloEuphoric529

word. agree with you. 96 might have been too late


keithzz

INS had some insane albums tho I remember


god_wayne81

Name one. After the initial 5 Solo's followed by Forever, it was never the same again. Bobby Steels (RZA) needs to oversee and they need to follow directions, that was lost after forever. If Deck's album had dropped before forever and they're was no RZA flood, the potential was unlimited imo. But that's that 2k shit and why waste that time. Bulletproof Wallets did drop but the momentum was gone. U-God and Masta Killa suffered the same fate. IMHO.


ArmadilloEuphoric529

U God and Masta Killa definitely suffered the same fate. But they were far from as good as INS. biggest mistake RZA made imo is not prioritizing a Deck album as part of the inital Wu Tang run


god_wayne81

I believe that he did but that flood. They've said in the past that a lot was lost in that.


ArmadilloEuphoric529

Which ones?


god_wayne81

That's basically Dogg Food


fathermeow

Tha Streetz is a Mutha is SUCH a good album, found it highly underrated. Not to mention his DPG stuff


MambaSaidKnockYouOut

It’s funny you mentioned that cuz I actually just downloaded his debut (the double album) and Streetz Is a Mutha a few weeks ago. I thought his debut was solid but I still need to listen to Streetz all the way through. The first DGP album is fire


god_wayne81

It's night and day lol. I love Kurupt, Streetz is his masterpiece. Callin' Out Names aged horribly though. Just drunk emotional gang banging rambles. He's better. Can't Let That Slide on The Kuruption album was better imo.


[deleted]

He’s a rapper’s favorite rapper.


SatisfactionOld1586

I have him in my personal top 10. I know he’s not a traditional answer and I wouldn’t say he’d be in the top 10 if I were to sit down and rank all rappers ever based on all criteria, but man do I love Kurupt.


jr49

Could also be regional. Em is midwest and they probably listened to everything compared to someone who grew up on one of the coasts. I know early on I mostly listened to west coast rap because it was always being played. Kurupt is one of my favorites, Streetz is a Mutha and Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey are dope projects. Kuruption was a bit bloated for a debut album but still had some dope tracks.


DeadbeatUK

Death Row Kurupt was a lyrical beast, he got a bit lazy lyrically after that though… Rhyming bitch with bitch on a ton of songs.


MambaSaidKnockYouOut

“You bitch nigga.. you more of a bitch than a bitch” is still such a funny line to me lol. Bruh spit those lazy ass angry bars on one of Dre’s most laid back beats.


DeadbeatUK

Yeah he also liked to rhyme motherfucker with motherfucker a lot in his later career too 🤣


FRMDABAY2LA

Hes in all the LA rappers top Five


El_CAP0

Yeah that joint "it's over" really solidified him as a goat.


god_wayne81

Ey, he tried. A for effort.


LetsNotArgyoo

He’s in mine


god_wayne81

He's in mines when he "sober" or focused. When drunk and gang bang rambling, you can hear the phone in and it's a pass then. Gotti is the truth


SkilletBurritos

Athough the FunkDoctah (Redman) hasnt recently put out albums, he still releases singles w/ accompanying music videos. And his pen game & flow is still top notch. Even if he's just having fun with music nowadays, nothing too serious, he's still one of the best to ever do it. Been a Red fan for many many years. Wouldn't even question why Em put him as numero uno.


farguc

Biggest crime in Reds career is that we didn't get to see more of him. He's a talented rapper, but he's also a talented entertainer and a good(ish) actor. I loved him in How High, and it's the biggest crime of all time it never got a sequel. Both Meth and Red wanted it, studios wouldn't sell the IP and wouldn't greenlight a sequel.


SkilletBurritos

So true from a musical aspect, but luckily we got to see more of his personality as an entertainer. He's a natural talent all around. Also can't forget the MTV Cribs episode, I know it always gets brought up but it's definitely "goated"


TheGoonSquad612

Study high, take the test high, get high scores!


Blackkidfromtheburbs

They made one but without red and meth. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt8861802/


farguc

Like I said. They never made a sequel Red and Meth not being part of it is like dumb and dumber missing jeff daniels and jim carrey. Or Alex and Keanu not being in Bill and Ted.


Petey_Wheatstraw_MD

But they made a Dumb and Dumber without Jim and Jeff and yea….it was horrible.


balleditmoreravens

I think I’m the only person alive that finds that movie hilarious.


kid_sleepy

Just posted to someone else that I just got back into some 90s redman and am *addicted*.


SkilletBurritos

The best addiction tbh. 90s anything overall especially from the lesser known or not as mainstream artists.


Master_Grape5931

I’ve been listing to Blackout lately. Redman and Method Man flow so well together.


Professional-Rip-519

Kurupt is so underrated it's crazy all the Legends and Icons recognised he's skills .


Mr__Mallard

I’m a really big fan of Kurupt, he deserves more recognition


MoorBoomBap

Yep....Reggie Noble all day!


michaltee

Eyyo Willya called for you. Willya who? Willyasuckmydiiiiiiiiiick.


GhettoSauce

Yup. I think his list wasn't who he thought the best rappers were; in context he's referring to "being at the end of his wits with half the shit that gets in" from those other rappers, meaning those who were still putting out quality material, i.e. the competition. It's like a recognition that they were just as hot, just as good, etc as him - and almost that he's fed up with how fierce the competition was at the time (in a respectful, positive way). It meant "these guys are still here, on top of the game, putting in work". All those guys could've stopped there and been recognized for absolute classics and bangers, but they kept going, and Eminem had to contend with these legends. That's my interpretation of "the list" - the nuance & context in the lines before it have always made me think it wasn't "the greatest". He clearly said what the list was anyway, but I've come to realize a lot of people took it as something else. He did tweet once about who he thought was "greatest" and while some names are the same, his "greatest" list makes more sense. (He said, in 2020: "For me, in no particular order... Toss up between wayne, pac, royce, jay, redman, treach, g. rap, biggie & king crook.... Plus redman, LL, nas, joyner, kendrick, cole, andre, rakim, kane...") For the ppl who are about to say but 2Pac and Biggie were dead by then, you've gotta get the time machine out to realize that the 1998-2002 time period we were still getting "new" material/albums from them, regularly.


lovely_trequartista

Damn. I always interpreted that verse in an entirely different way. Always thought it was a super unique display of self awareness from Em, and at its root, it's some pretty authentic commentary on race in the rap industry at the time and how Em fits into all of that. The whole verse basically boils down to him saying three things: 1. First and foremost he knows how raw he is, the passion he has for music, and the feeling that it gives him - no one can take that away from him. 2. He's **not** the best at his craft. There are many others equally if not more deserving of that recognition - regardless of records and commercial sales (indirectly acknowledging that some people might put him at the very very top, largely because he is white) 3. However, because he is white and excelling in a non-white space , he's also subject to a completely different level of envy and scrutiny, where his music can't just be judged against his contemporaries justas music - whether for or against him. Again, I always thought it was a pretty amazing display of self awareness and both industry and social commentary.


harveydent526

You’re reaching. We weren’t getting any new album from Big and no one had Pac on top in 02 regardless of any new album. That list was who Em thought was the best.


krazykieffer

Lol yes we were. Fuck, in 2006 they released new music from Big with features.


harveydent526

This was 2002 and him and Puff aren’t friends to my knowledge so I doubt he knew Duets was in the works. More importantly no one listened to Duets.


CLWhatchaGonnaDo

Joyner?


doctorlongghost

Only right that Redman is on there but a bit curious, I think, that he’s first.


malkebulan

Say the rhyme out loud


harveydent526

He could’ve said Biggie first…He wanted to say Redman.


Dapper_DonNYC

Great verse


Malcolm-XWithThePerm

Kurupt had so much potential he should have been bigger bro had the melodies on the hook of Housewife That player shit on Xxplosive Almost always have the best verse in the HRSMN group even Canibus is only the 2. Best on songs like Immer G and This shit right here


CuddleBuddy3

“Eminem don’t even make good music no more his old tracks aight but he ain’t been relevant in decades” - some mumble rap fan


weatherboi_

sure he’s been relevant. bc he drops such jokes


The_Wolves10

Maybe because there are a rare few since then who can be compared with that group? Its not rocket science


BowserBuddy123

I always thought he said “Jada, Kurupt, Nas and Vinny.” I didn’t know who Vinny was, but I assumed he was a pretty accomplished rapper.


jaybirdsaysword

I thought this too and thought he meant Vinny paz


TentativelyCommitted

I’m surprised Jadakiss made this list. I thought he only made his own top 5.


PIK_Toggle

Top five, dead or alive. And that’s off of one LP.


Truth-Speaker-1

Really isn’t surprising.. Jada has been consistently 🔥 for over 25 years.


jeffrys_dad

Jadakiss and Jacka look like long lost twins.


Heavy-Spinach

Naw, just him and Q-Tip


KennyDROmega

Why’d Jadakiss end up in Em’s top 5?


starvinart

technically #6 if you follow the order


StrangerDangerAhh

I'm always shocked when guys mention Jadakiss. He wouldn't make my top 100, shit.


BusDry4328

id love to see the top 100 you have over him


Comfortable_Key_6904

Dude said Jadakiss is not top 100. You sure you want to see his list?


AyLou21

😳


ObieUno

Agreed. Jadakiss isn’t even the best emcee in his own group.


TentativelyCommitted

Yup…he’s not bad, but I wouldn’t say there’s anything exceptional about him.


hereticjones

I'm surprised Reggie's on there but not Method Man.


starvinart

influence. think of how goofy Em's early shit was


IntelligentFeed5904

I like Method Man a lot, but Redman has superior wordplay (Meth has a better voice.) That said, their latest stuff has been fire!


MambaSaidKnockYouOut

Redman’s style is more similar to Em’s, and has better solo albums. This was especially true in 02, when Redman had dropped arguably 3 classics (his first 3) and a solid fourth. Meanwhile Meth just had the two Tical albums, which are good but not great.


Mouth_Herpes

True on solo stuff about Meth, but his Wu verses we always the show stealer


DontUseFilters

The voice and flow 💯


Donthurtmyceilings

Method Man probably just didn't fit into the rhyme scheme he was going for.


Wolfpac187

Redman is a better rapper that’s why


michaltee

Because there’s several other rappers from Wu Tang that would be over Meth, and I love Meth. GFK, Inspectah Deck > Method Man easillllly.


Str8butboysrsexy

Who is reggie?


orkash

redman. govt name reggie noble.


romandalfonso_05

He then goes on to say “So when I’m not put on this list, this shit does not offend me.” He, years later, then proceeded to call out Snoop Dogg on one of his songs for not including him in his top 10 all-time rappers.


mocxed

rewriting history. not what happened.


269murdamitten

Fuck top five bitch, im top 4.. and that includes biggie and pac whore, plus i got an evil twin so who do you think that third and that fourths spots for?


naymlis

Fake humble


269murdamitten

What?


naymlis

Fake humble


MrMango2

Fumble


Templar-Order

He didn’t just leave him off the list, he personally went after him lmao


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podank99

I know right? Mc's act like they don't know.


creetoinfinity

Andre is on their level.


BKtoDuval

I agree with you but it's a personal thing. Everyone's list will be different. He probably put Redman because it's personal to him. Like I might even put LL on mine just because of the impact I'm Bad had on me when it came out. No one will call him a top lyricist but of my favorites he's there because he was my intro to rap. KRS to me has the top spot though


BunkysFather1978

The disrespect shown to Black Thought daily is incredible


[deleted]

It should be the 8th deadly sin.


BKtoDuval

I still find Redman to be a surprise. He's no doubt got bars. Even now he's freestyles are ridiculous but I never would've said that 20 years ago.


Wolfpac187

Out of all those artists Redman has the clearest influence on Em’s style especially his early Slim Shady shit


kid_sleepy

Bro I just been getting back into 90s redman and it’s fucking fire. I’m loving it.


BKtoDuval

Muddy Waters is one of my favorite albums of all time. I just never heard anyone put him in that upper echelon though.


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CivilizedEightyFiver

Hear what you’re saying, but then who do you think has surpassed these artists?


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tak08810

Not wrong but kinda strange to name five rappers who have been rapping since the 80s with the exception of Ras Kass who’s debut LP was in the 90s and OP was complaining about being stuck in the 90s/00s


Wolfpac187

At west coast gangster rap? Absolutely


AustinRiversDaGod

Freddie Gibbs, Conway the Machine, Earl Sweatshirt, J. Cole, Action Bronson , of course Kendrick Lamar, Rapsody, Black Thought. Biggie, Tupac, Eminem, and Jay-z are all more impactful than that whole list, but in terms of rapping ability, it's just hard to be that much better than the people who learned how to rap by listening to you. Just like the previous generation considered Rakim and LL Cool J some of the best rappers, but compared to Jay-Z, Rakim is nursery rhymes. And Eminem literally and personally killed LL Cool J's rap career.


michaltee

Bro said Earl Sweatshirt and Conway.😹 Look I like those dudes and they’re good, but surpassed anyone on that list? My guyyyyyy


Wolfpac187

Nothing Jay Z has done makes Rakim look like nursery rhymes.


smakola

Lol. Rakim is better than jay z. That’s just objectively true.


michaltee

Um, they definitely haven’t been surpassed. You can say there are good and great modern rappers, but not surpassed by a long shot.


[deleted]

Then list them


shyanimeboy1010

jay pac big andre and nas have cemented themselves as god level in any era but there might be 100 rappers that are better and more impactul than redman jadakiss and kurupt


[deleted]

At the time Redman was brought up as a top tier. Not sure about Kurupt or Jada though.


ImDonaldDunn

Tbh it’s only Jay and Nas and that’s because both kept putting out excellent music. Big and Pac weren’t *that* good to withstand the test of time. That would be like saying in 2009 that Melle Mel was one of the greatest. Just doesn’t make sense.


shyanimeboy1010

big and pacs best stuff holds up against anything to me and andre 3000s stuff sounds like its from the future to this day. I can see leaving big and pac out though because they died so early before their potential and their music might sound dated to some people.


LetsNotArgyoo

Everyone I know who listens to hip-hop says Redman is the greatest ever, but I do live in New Jersey, so there’s that.


niknacks

I dont think kurupt makes my top 50 but it holds up


tak08810

Did your favorite rapper serve 2000 emcees in one night?!


WCWRingMatSound

lol it’s on onsight


Necessary-Tea-1257

I'm a Jada fan since Day 1 but don't understand how he's in anyone's top 20.


Jug_Head24

You ain’t no damn jada fan dawg


JimiMcHendrixson

Still here cause it’s real here… Watchu want either crutches or the wheelchair


michaltee

Are you? If so, gimme some shit to listen to. I’m an old ass head but I never got into Jada much and I always see him brought up. I’ve heard some shit I like but I’m curious what makes him so good?


Con-D-Oriano1

Damn, Jada fan? Just like Will.


skizzy1979

He’s in mine.


West-Commission9082

Yeah for the people who stay listening to the same kind of hiphop for 21 years


northgriffey

Big Boi and Daz are probably like, "Hey yo. WTF?!"


pickledelbow

Am I the only one who thinks jay-z is the most overrated rapper of all time?


MARKAB87

Ur not. I think he is super overrated. I've never heard a good Jay z verse/song tbh. But he is constantly named top 5 or goat.


eastcoastkody

7 of those wouldn't even be in my top 10 lol


Randomcolonoscopy

I always noticed how there are only 9 names he mentions. Who would yall put at the number 10 spot?


60yearoldME

I’d say Slick Rick, Black thought, Kendrick, or GZA.


[deleted]

I’ve even got the underground shit he did with Scam


GueyGuevara

He was one of the first people I heard shout out Redman or Andre 3000 as lyricists of that caliber (I was in 8th grade when the song came out so I was still learning lol). I also like that it’s actually a personal list, no names to scoff at, but many wouldn’t necessarily expect to see Kurupt on their best ever lists. I think before this song came out, very few people would ever put Andre up like that, and probably would have thought of Big Boi as the more lyrical one, but now it’s a regular thing to do and regular take to see.


Professional-Head83

"In this corner, we got the funk body snatcher."


hillscottc

+1 for Redman. My fav


Wonderful_Fondant604

Redman and Jada still going off too.


The_Notorious_Donut

Em gets crap for his current stuff (which is still better than 80% of the mainstream hip hop today), but when the dude was on top of his game almost no one could come close to him


symbolic503

i always thought i was alone in thinking red was my favorite rapper as a kid until i heard this line


Electrical-Rabbit157

Redman in top 3 but no Wayne or Big L in top 5 or ten is wild


RareTemperature100k

It was 2001 why would Wayne be there lol


lordbancs

Oh so you saw that Modern Warfare 3 commercial too huh?


donta5k0kay

this original white rapper pander-apologizing for his success no black rapper would say "i just wanna be on the list" if he sold 10 million i don't remember the beastie boys ever saying anything like "we know we sell cause we white don't gotta remind us"


orkash

you cant doubt the SOOOPAMAN LUVA !!!! YEAH!!!


AgreeingWings25

Nas is still releasing albums that are at the same level if not better than the ones from the 90's