I personally like Mos Def and Talib Kweli. EDIT: if these arn't 'rappers' and are actually 'hip hop' artists then my mistake
If you want to split hair: Hip-Hop is Rap, Bboying, Graffiti and DJing. so there there are no so called Hip-Hop artists. Nevertheless the term sometimes refers to groups formed by MC(s) and DJ(s).
Wu-Tang Clan is by far the best hip-hop group ever. I also dig Jedi Mind Tricks, Beastie Boys, Eminem, Immortal Technique you know
Wu-Tang Clan and solo Method Man, Eazy-E, Beastie Boys, Blade Icewood (One of the few great rappers from Detroit), Eastside Chedda Boyz, Mos Def, Masta Ace, KRS-One. Thats about it..
eminem Tech N9ne Bone Thugs Old school gansgta rap (scarface, dr dre, snoop, geto boys etc) cypress hill TI (only some tho) ICP, Twiztid, psychopathic shit for those who know what i mean thats pretty much it
I mostly despise commercial rap and most rap out there, but I love true hip hop music thats about word play and rhymin like WU,Nas,Rakim,Kool G,MF, the list goes on..
The only rapper I've ever really been impressed by is Eminem Maybe because he doesn't take himself too seriously like 99% of the others seem to
If you like those artists you should check out Binary Star. Sick song. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnD_CXnXEB8&feature=related]YouTube - Binary Star - Reality Check[/ame] Personal Fav. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nVzSr3yDcA&feature=related]YouTube - Binary Star - Honest Expression[/ame]
i love Tribe! their lyrical flow is unmatchable. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHlU4FEqi_U&feature=related]YouTube - A Tribe Called Quest- Check The Rhime[/ame] [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdHhdpiGIas]YouTube - A Tribe Called Quest- Can I Kick It?[/ame] i also listen to wale, fiasco, outkast, wu-tang, old kanye west, army of pharohs, the kunx, eazy-e, and many many more. those are just the ones i can think of
ANDRE NICKATINA. i love this man, check out "dice of life." love getting blazed to that song. i'm from cleveland, so we have quite a few really good artists that came out of here that i can actually appreciate...bone thugz (one of my personal faves), fat al, chip tha ripper (not his biggest fan, but i can tollerate him)...just to name a few. rap definitely isn't my scene, but if it were i'd definitely be in the right city ...funny because we're called "the home of rock n' roll," yet there aren't any good new rock artists. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUGm0owk9ec"]YouTube - Andre Nickatina dice of life[/ame]
Hip-Hop is not rap, refer to KRS-Ones' album "The Retrospective" Read the few paragraphs he has on the CD, and cover. I would post it but I really dont feel like it..