The Source: Top 50 Lyricists in Hip-Hop

[Ryan]

Complete Top 50:
50.50 Cent
49.Lupe Fiasco
48.Royce Da 5'9
47.Styles P
46.Rick Ross
45.Lil Kim
44.Canibus
43.DMX
42.Ludacris
41.Fabolous
40.T.I.
39.Prodigy
38.Posdnous(De La Soul)
37.Busta Rhymes
36.Lil Wayne
35.Bun B
34.Black Thought
33.Method Man
32.GZA
31.Kanye West
30.Guru
29.Snoop Dogg
28.Talib Kweli
27.Pharoahe Monch
26.Big L
25.Queen Latifah
24.Jadakiss
23.Mos Def
22.Common
21.Redman
20.Q-Tip
19.Big Pun
18.Kool G. Rap
17.The D.O.C.
16.Scarface
15.Slick Rick
14.Ice Cube
13.Andre 3000
12.Chuck D
11.LL Cool J
10.Melle Mel
9.Lauryn Hill
8.Big Daddy Kane
7.Krs-One
6.Eminem
5.2Pac
4.Jay-Z
3.Biggie
2.Nas
1.Rakim

I think that's a pretty solid top 10. Rozay shouldn't even be on this list though cause his lyrics are terrible and Mos Def and Common, or at least Common, should definitely be higher.

 

[Slim]

Lil Wayne at anywhere on that list is a joke. At 36? really? Just no. Otherwise that is a rather good list.

 

[Chriss]

Lil Wayne being number 36 is just a joke, right? Undeserved.

 

[Heisenberg]

you may hate but a lot of Lil Wayne's old shit was solid.

List is pretty good but there's prob quite a few things I would change.

 

[Slim]

I know Lil Wayne old stuff was solid. I like Lil Wayne Old stuff. I still listen to some of his old stuff. But his more recent stuff is what should bump him off the list. Like the guys on there have had all solid albums and stuff. Lil Wayne only has his old stuff to get him on there. Not his recent.

 

[Ryan]

Aside from the top 10, this list has problems. Ross, Wayne, Lil Kim and 50 Cent shouldn't even be anywhere near this list. Having Wayne and Ross on here almost completely destroys the credibility of this list. I'm not even sure T.I. or Luda should be on this list. Don't get me wrong, T.I. and Luda have some dirty rhymes, but there are other more talented lyricists. If they are on it, Immortal Technique should've at least been put on as 50 to give recognition that some of his songs are insanely complex lyrically. Mos Def and Common need to be right there behind Andre 3000. LL Cool J hasn't been relevant in a long time, so I'm not sure why he's so high up. Black Thought should be way higher as well. Lupe should be higher too. Given that this is The Source though and that they basically have no credit in the hip hop community, I'll give them credit for crafting a decent top 10.

There's a lot I would change about this list but at least the top 10 is solid for once and at least for once someone realizes that while Jay-Z is one of the greats, Nas is greater.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

Lyricists? Half the people in the second half of the list aren't even that.

 

[Deezy]

Lack of Raekwon makes me think this list is failed.

 

[PHX]

Aside from the top 10, this list has problems. Ross, Wayne, Lil Kim and 50 Cent shouldn't even be anywhere near this list. Having Wayne and Ross on here almost completely destroys the credibility of this list. I'm not even sure T.I. or Luda should be on this list. Don't get me wrong, T.I. and Luda have some dirty rhymes, but there are other more talented lyricists. If they are on it, Immortal Technique should've at least been put on as 50 to give recognition that some of his songs are insanely complex lyrically. Mos Def and Common need to be right there behind Andre 3000. LL Cool J hasn't been relevant in a long time, so I'm not sure why he's so high up. Black Thought should be way higher as well. Lupe should be higher too. Given that this is The Source though and that they basically have no credit in the hip hop community, I'll give them credit for crafting a decent top 10.

There's a lot I would change about this list but at least the top 10 is solid for once and at least for once someone realizes that while Jay-Z is one of the greats, Nas is greater.

You gotta give Luda more credit guy is one of the more lyrical southern hip hop artist in hip hop history so you gotta give him his respect and put him on the list.

Big Pac fan of course think he's the greatest rap artist ever but Pac wasn't lyrical. Didn't need to be cause he was great at everything else but still dunno how he got that high on the list. Lupe is criminally too low, Biggie would have been my number one, Ross being on this list is stupid as hell guy is not a lyrical rapper at all let along being ranked above some of the guys on here. Lloyd Banks should be on this list easily. J.Cole though he hasn't been out long just based on his mixtapes and one album the insane lyrics he has displayed on there should get him on this list. Snoop being so high confuses me, Lil Brother should be on this, Redman is too high, etc. Could nitpick this list a lot really.

 

[Pete]

My first thought was precisely "why is Fiddy on this list"? Him and Lil Wayne stick out like a sore thumb.

Not gonna comment too much, as I'm not a hip-hop connoisseur, but good to see Hov getting his props

 

[PHX]

50 while not known for being lyrical actually has shown he can be lyrical though mostly was displayed on his Power Of The Dollar album. I still wouldn't make him top 50 (think they only did it to be funny to have the whole number 50 correlation) but just thought I'd point that out anyways.

 

[Ryan]

You gotta give Luda more credit guy is one of the more lyrical southern hip hop artist in hip hop history so you gotta give him his respect and put him on the list.

Big Pac fan of course think he's the greatest rap artist ever but Pac wasn't lyrical. Didn't need to be cause he was great at everything else but still dunno how he got that high on the list. Lupe is criminally too low, Biggie would have been my number one, Ross being on this list is stupid as hell guy is not a lyrical rapper at all let along being ranked above some of the guys on here. Lloyd Banks should be on this list easily. J.Cole though he hasn't been out long just based on his mixtapes and one album the insane lyrics he has displayed on there should get him on this list. Snoop being so high confuses me, Lil Brother should be on this, Redman is too high, etc. Could nitpick this list a lot really.

I didn't want to be the one to say J. Cole should be on this list but FNL was better quality than 75% of the rap albums that have come out in the past 5 years. He did all the production except Looking for Trouble, he had almost no features and the lyrics were straight fire. He should absolutely be on here if that joke Rick Ross is on here. Rick Ross can sort of flow, but his lyrics are trash. I agree with Biggie being #3 just because he's dead so he hasn't released anything himself in over 15 years. Posthumous albums don't count cause except for Until the End of Time, I haven't heard a good one yet. Agreed Pac could do lyrics, but often times didn't cause he really did have everything else mastered. Lupe should be in the low 30s at least. Food and Liquor is probably the most lyrical album released since it came out and is probably also the best debut album since.

 

[Deezy]

One album shouldn't give anyone entry to any list.

This list is missing alot of people who deserve to be on this and it leaves out real MCs for some inferior people who have nothing going for them except being current.

No wonder this magazine is dead.

 

[Crippler]

ROZAY :cmtroll:

 

[Ryan]

One album shouldn't give anyone entry to any list.

This list is missing alot of people who deserve to be on this and it leaves out real MCs for some inferior people who have nothing going for them except being current.

No wonder this magazine is dead.

Agreed 100%. I don't think there's anyone on there who has only put out one body of work, but I agree that it sacrifices some credibility to have artists that are current.