by DavyD for davyd’s hip-hop corner
A long held favorite past time within Hip Hop circles is to debate the skill set of our favorite icons. It’s part and parcel of the culture as many of us have spent countless hours analyzing and over analyzing someone’s rhyme flows, dance moves, album concepts, artwork etc.
Within these debates there are some universally held beliefs that rarely get challenged unless someone is deliberately trying to cause controversy and strike a nerve by going over the top. One such universal truth was broached this weekend, but this time the folks who presented it were serious which resulted in an all out heated debate unfolding. The topic centered around the issue of Hip Hop’s all-time best emcee.
For years it didn’t matter what brand of Hip Hop you embraced. When it came to discussing the best emcee, KRS-One and Rakim always held the top spots. Names like Nas, Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie to name a few, were usually in people’s top 5 or 10, but rarely did anyone come close be comparable to the God and The Teacha. They had things on lock-hands down.
What I found over the years is that; the older the participant in these discussions, the more underground oriented people were and those who identified with New York style Hip Hop from the Golden era, tended to be more resolute about the universal acceptance of Rakim and KRS being Hip Hop’s all-time best emcees.
There’s no denying that both have changed the game. When it comes to KRS, his skills as a scar tested battle emcee and incredible performer has been unrivaled. A KRS show could go on for hours with him delivering hit after hit after hit that would leave the crowd exhausted because he just brings so much energy to the stage.
Rakim while not having the same hyped up stage presence, gets props because he has epitomized the essence of cool. His writing and his delivery is akin to the greatest of jazz players. Like I said those two emcees always held the top spots.
But as they say, nothing lasts forever, and so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when I found myself involved in a 
heated debate this weekend with a hardened New Yorker and long-time Hip Hop head who were both insistent that the top spot now belongs to Jigga Man aka Jay-Z.
FOR THE REST OF THE STORY CLICK HERE
