Best Rappers Ever

One of the biggest disputes in the rap nation is "who is the best rapper?" I have decided to settle this dispute by giving my own opinion. I realize that my judgment has been long awaited by many rap fans and that it is extremely important to them. Therefore, I have come to my conclusions as quickly as possible, but not without careful examination. In this blog, I will give my opinion of who the best rapper ever is. I will also rank the two next best rappers in order to round off the top three rappers ever. I have based these rankings on a few basic principles. The first being how popular the rapper's music has been. Another important aspect of being a great rapper is having overcome extreme obstacles and achieving greatness afterward. I have also based my choices on simply who I think is the best. Accompanying my ranking of each rapper, I have provided a short story of their lives and careers in my own words.

#1 Lil'Wayne

I chose Lil'Wayne as my #1 because I think he truly is the best rapper ever. Lil Wayne was born on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He came from up from nothing to become the greatest. He grew up in a neighborhood called Hollygrove, located in 17th ward. The area was notorious for crime and the young Wayne was constantly surrounded by it. His father abandoned him shortly after he was born and his mother was left to raise him. As Lil Wayne grew up he gained an interest in hip-hop and rap music. He sang his first rap songs when he was just eight years old. As his rapping talents improved, he began rapping at local block parties. By age 12, he had already earned lots of respect for his rapping abilities. He caught the attention of a Cash Money recording artist named Lil Slim and it was through him that he eventually met the CEOs of Cash Money Records. Lil Wayne was determined to become a great rapper. He wanted a chance to leave the poverty stricken streets of Hollygrove and to earn lots of money as a rapper. He even recorded raps on the answering machine of Cash Money Records to show them just how much desire he had. When Lil Wayne was 12 years old, CEOs Ronald “Suga Slim” and Bryan “Baby” Williams signed him to their recording company, Cash Money Records. These two men, especially Williams who is also known as “Birdman”, guided Lil Wayne to prominence as a rapper. Shortly after his signing, Lil Wayne was involved in an incident that almost took his life. While playing with his step father’s handgun, he accidentally shot himself and was on life support for two weeks. He eventually recovered from the incident and took up rapping once again. In 1995, still at age 12, Lil Wayne recorded his first album. He did not gain much fame nationally until came out with his hit single “The Block is Hott” in 1999. In 2004, he dropped his first album in the Carter series which was the beginning of his renounced fame all over America. Since then he has produced 14 songs that have made the Billboard Top 100. His hit “Lollipop” peaked at number one, while two more of his songs made the top ten. However, I think that at least 50 of his songs were worthy of making the top 100. He has had many songs that were much more popular than those that did make the top 100. It was largely due to the content and lyrics of these songs that they were not approved on the top 100 lists. I think that Lil Wayne is the best rapper ever because he overcame many obstacles to reach success and he has produced very popular music with a style like no other. He has learned to change his game and style according to the taste of rap fans at a given time.

#2 50 Cent

50 Cent took the hardest path to success of anyone on this list. He never met his father and his mother was often away at work. She sold drugs on the streets of New York City and was eventually killed as a result of it. 50 Cent was forced to move in with his grandparents in their very crowded home. Many of his older cousins already lived there so the place was always crowded with kids. He got picked on a lot by his older cousins and resented them for it. He resorted to drug dealing about the age of 12 and eventually was arrested and thrown in prison. Before going to prison, 50 cent had already done a lot of rapping with his friends and he had diligently worked to improve. He learned his lesson in prison and decided not to go back to drug dealing. He began rapping and eventually gained some support from a few record companies. Just as he started to get popular with the local rap fans, he was ambushed by one of his jealous rivals. After being shot nine times and barely escaping death, he persevered and made it back on to the stage as a rapper. He went on to gain lots of fame for his best album Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.

#3 Notorious B.I.G.

Notorious was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father left him and his mother when he was only two years old. He lived in a poverty stricken apartment complex and his mother worked two jobs. At the age of 12, he began selling drugs and he dropped out of high school at age 17. He served several short prison terms due to drug charges. He began rapping as a teenager and released his first album in 1994, at the age of 22. He quickly became a famous rapper and became the recognized rapper on the east coast. He was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997. Fifteen days after his death, his album Life After Death was released and it eventually rose to #1 on the U.S. album charts.

Virginia Tech Football

The most exciting college football games take place in the mountains of Blacksburg, Va. This is the home of Lane Stadium and Virginia Tech football. One can expect almost every wild Hokie fan from the mountains of southwest Virginia to come storming into Blacksburg and raise bloody hell for their team. Visiting teams fear the wrath of Lane Stadium. Even the slightest mention of the word brings tears to their eyes. Many sports announcers have called Lane Stadium the biggest home field advantage in college football. That place gets loud.

I have been a huge Virginia Tech fan ever since I can remember. My father and grandfather went to school there so my whole family has a lot of pride in the school, but more importantly its football team. I went to my first Virginia Tech football game when I was 8 years old. I was shocked at how huge the stadium was and how loud the crowd roared. Even the old grandpas were screaming and high fiving each other. The whole scene truly amazed me. As I grew older, I continued to make the two hour drive up to Blacksburg to watch the Hokies play. I quickly developed a passion for Virginia Tech football. The atmosphere at Lane Stadium cannot be beat. The tailgates are amazing; there is always plenty of beer and fried chicken to go around. The fans are extremely friendly as well. You can’t walk more than a few feet without someone inviting you to join their tailgate. The whole Virginia Tech football experience is something I always look forward to.

This is how it all began. The Virginia Tech football program officially started in September of 1891. It took a lot of effort to get the program going and the process was very slow. The football program was finally put in place due to hard work of two college professors and two cadets. Professor Anderson, as he was known, played right tackle on the team. The rules for college football were obviously much different at the time because only students are allowed to play in games these days. The other professor, E.A. Smith, served as the team’s coach. The two cadets, H.B. Pratt and J.W. Stull, also served as players on the team. Getting a team together was a struggle for these four entrepreneurs. They had go into the dorms and beg players to come out to the field for practice and games. Those who did not make the starting roster almost always quit the team which made things very difficult. Despite all the troubles the four men experienced in their quest to start a football team, they managed to get a team together and play their first game just a year later. On October 21, 1892, Virginia Tech played its first football game against St. Albans from Radford. The game resulted in 14-10 victory for Virginia Tech. Professor Anderson scored the first ever touchdown for the team. Professor Smyth coached the first game in Tech history and would eventually become known as the father of modern football at Virginia Tech.

The Virginia Tech football program went on to be a great success, but it never could establish itself as a top program in the country. In fact, for most of the twentieth century the team was not very well respected at all. From the emergence of Virginia Tech football in 1892 to the 1987 football season, the team only managed to reach six bowl games. That is an extremely low number considering that the first bowl game was played in 1902 and they were played continuously from 1916. The success of the Virginia Tech football team was very low in all those years. The fans for Virginia Tech had long awaited a hero to emerge and lead their team to victory. Their hero finally came in 1987, when Frank Beamer signed on as the head coach for the team. None of them imagined that he would lead them to become a dominant college football program. Beamer was a former player at Virginia Tech and was thrilled to become the coach of his former team. Beamer played cornerback for Virginia Tech from 1966 to 1968. He played during probably the most successful years of Virginia Tech football. Over a span of 95 years, Virginia Tech only earned only six bids to bowl games. Beamer played in two of these games during only a three year period. He wanted to reestablish the respect for Virginia Tech football in which he had experienced as a player on the team.

Turning around the program was no easy task for Coach Beamer. He endured some long seasons of failure and defeat on his way to the top. In 1992, his team only won two games. The years after that season seemed to be a different story. In 1993, after five years of hard work, Beamer had finally put together a team that consisted of only players in which he had recruited. Working with some talented personnel is an important key to the success of a football coach. By the 1993 season, beamer no longer had to use the player recruited by previous coaches. He could now call the program entirely his own work.

The 1993 season was Coach Beamer’s break out year. Rising from out of the ashes of the 1992 season, the 1993 team was a different story. The Hokies posted an 8-3 record and went on to defeat Indiana in the Liberty Bowl. It was this season that marked the emergence of greatness for the Virginia Tech football program. From this season on Virginia Tech would attend a bowl game every year. From the 1993 season until present, the Hokies have amassed a record of 17 straight bowl game appearances. Their record of 17 straight appearances ranks third among all college teams. Virginia Tech earned its most prestigious honor when it earned a spot in the 1999 national championship game. The Hokies went on to lose to Florida State, in that game. Despite the loss, the reaching of a national title game was a huge boost to the program and it has only led more success in the years after.

Rhetorical Analysis of "Animal Cruelty and Free Speech"

Freedom of speech has become a highly debated topic in the United States. The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of speech. The amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. The 1st Amendment, particularly its protection of freedom of speech, is high valued by Americans. Freedom of Speech protects the rights of Americans to publicize their anything in which they want to make known to the public.

Freedom of Speech has been has been an important part of American Society and has been positive for the most part. However, there are times when it has had a very negative effect, allowing publications of very offensive material. One of these situations is discussed in an editorial called Animal Cruelty and Free Speech. This editorial was published in the New York Times. It focuses on a Supreme Court case involving dog fighting videos. According to the author, who is unnamed, a man named Robert Stevens ran a business called “Dogs of Velvet and Steel” which sold videos of pit bulls engaging in dogfights and attacking other animals. He did not take part in the attacks personally, but was charged under a federal law that makes it illegal to sell depictions of acts of animal cruelty that are illegal in the state where the depiction is sold. Stevenson appealed his conviction. After reviewing his case, The United States Court of Appeals reversed his conviction. The court declared that the federal law in which Mr. Stevenson was charged under was unconstitutional. The law violated his freedom of speech rights outlined in the First Amendment. The author explains that this is not the only deeply offensive speech that is protected by the First Amendment. The author says “Nazis are allowed to march and racists are allowed to spew racism. I imagine that people from the Nazi party are allowed to march, but I know for a fact that federal laws prevent racial discrimination. Of course law does not prevent people say racists things, but there are many cases in which the law does not allow for racial discrimination. People who hire employees certainly are not permitted to “spew racism” at them. Federal law does not allow employer to choose an employee based on their race. Therefore, it would not be legal for a interviewer to say “I am not going to hire you because of I do not like people of your race”. I made this point in order to prove that the author had made an incorrect statement. The author’s choice of words has damaged their credibility with the reader. Since the author’s name is not given in the editorial, I can see why he or she was lax about making sure his or her statements were credible. Since the reader does not know the author’s name, the author does not lose any respect from those who might know him.

In my opinion, anyone who is sick enough to sell or purchase these videos should be punished. The author shares my negative opinion in saying “some of this material is truly stomach-churning.” While I can imagine that dog-fighting might be a little gory, I still wonder how the author can know for sure that the material is “stomach-churning”. The author expresses no account of actually watching the videos. This leads me to question his or her authority to discuss dog-fighting. The author goes on to say “There are people who enjoy watching animals be tortured or killed”. While this statement may be true, the author gives no explanation of it which makes her statement less convincing and meaningful. The author should add a specific example of people that enjoy dog-fighting.

The editorial explains that there is also a market for “crush videos”. These videos feature women trampling small animals with their bare feet or in high heels. Supposedly, some viewers find these types of videos sexually arousing. I’m not sure how a video like this could be sexually arousing, but I guess there are some people with some really messed up thought. I’m not sure what provoked the author to add this statement to the editorial, but he or she claims that it was part of a federal government brief. While this may be a legit fact, the statement draws the reader’s away from the argument at hand and puts a completely different thought into their head. The author should have refrained from including this because it lowered the quality of his or her work. The author then provides the reader with another somewhat random statement, saying that “videos are also sold showing hog-dogfights in which dogs attack and sometimes kill pigs”. While this is highly interesting and informative, it is also a distraction from what the editorial is focused on. The author says that if legislatures were allowed to disapprove certain parts of unpopular speech, a lot of expression could become illegal. This is a very good point and gives the reader a clear image of why the author feels like freedom of speech should be protected. I have come to the same conclusion; freedom of speech is too complicated for the government to outlaw certain forms of it.

The lack of information the author provides about him or herself prevents the reader from gaining critical knowledge that would help them to trust certain statements in the editorial. The author also refers to very few sources. The only ones that the author credits his or her information to are the federal government and of course, the Constitution. These are generally reliable sources, but much of the information has come from other places, more than likely the author’s own thoughts. While the author does not provide good credibility for his or her editorial, a good point is made about how wide-ranging freedom of speech can be. I believe that freedom of speech is very important and that is a good thing for the most part.

My Hometown

It seems hard to get very excited over just one day off from school. It would be nice to get another day or two, but I’m still looking forward to it. I’ll be going home this weekend for basically the first time. I stopped in my home town for a few hours on my way to the Virginia Tech – Alabama game, but I haven’t got a chance to actually go back and visit everyone yet. A lot of my friends have the same Fall Break as I do so I’m pretty pumped about seeing all of them. They all get two days off for their breaks which is somewhat unfair, but I’m trying not to cry over it.

Last summer was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had. Since I had graduated from high school, my parents were a lot more flexible about letting be me do certain things. I went out and chilled with my friends at least every other day. All my best friends live back home so it’s always a good time when I’m there.

My hometown is Bristol, VA and I take a lot of pride in it. The motto of the city is “A Great Place To Live” and I really feel like that’s true. There is a certain feeling around there that you just don’t get anywhere else. It’s the kind of place that you feel like you know everyone even though you actually don’t. Everyone is always willing to lend a helping hand. One unique thing about Bristol is that it’s in two states. One side is in Virginia and the other is in Tennessee. There is a road called State Street which divides the Bristol and Tennessee sides of town. The road goes right through middle of downtown so I am always walking back and forth between Virginia and Tennessee.

Since the city is located in two states, there are two separate high schools. One is called Virginia High and the other Tennessee High. There is a huge rival between these two schools. Anytime they play each other in sports it is a major event. Our newspaper, The Bristol Herald Courier, is always full of hype about the upcoming football game. Football is the focus of the rivalry, but it is by no means the only part. The rivalry was a very interesting experience for me because although I lived in Bristol, Virginia, I attended and played for Tennessee High. I lived about a block away from Virginia High, but I chose to attend Tennessee High because my uncle was the football coach there. When I chose to go to Tennessee high, all my friends and family from Virginia gave me a hard time, but they eventually came to accept it.

Another unique thing about Bristol is that it is “The Birthplace of Country Music”. The US Congress gave Bristol this title due to its contributions to early country music recordings and influence. In 1927 Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol to attempt to capture the local sound of traditional 'folk' music of the region. One of these local sounds was created by the Carter family. The Carter Family got their start on July 31, 1927, when A.P. Carter and his family journeyed from Maces Spring, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the recording industry. They received fifty dollars for each song they recorded. I’m not a big fan of country music, but I still think it’s pretty cool that it started in my hometown.

Bristol is also home to a half-mile NASCAR track called Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR holds a stock car race twice each year. It’s always fun to go to the track on race weekend and check out all of the festivities. You can meet a drunk person on every corner. If you don’t see one a corner then you will probably see one riding their cooler down a hill. There is a whole lot more to the festivities than drunk people. There are all kinds of trailers that are set up with stores inside of them. Some of these are owned by big companies and others by local businesses. There is always a huge line of people in front of the Skoal trailer because they give out free tobacco products. Outside of the festivities, the race is a real pain. The traffic in Bristol is terrible and it’s almost impossible get out and go somewhere. Imagine a town that normally has 41,000 people and then add to that 200,000 more race fans. It gets really crowded.

My favorite place to hang out around Bristol is South Holston Lake. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in Tennessee, 16 miles in length. There are all kinds of fun stuff to do out there. Fishing is among my favorite thing to do there. The lake has been famed for its trout fishing and has been a location to many professional fishing tournaments. It’s always fun to go out there on a summer night and fish off the dock with some friends and listen to the banjo players. I have caught as many as five trout in one night which is a lot, no matter where you are fishing. Another one of my favorite activities out there is wakeboarding. A few of my friends have some really nice wakeboarding boats we spend a lot of time doing that. I also enjoy going camping out there. My friends and I would plan big trips out there where we had up to one hundred people at times. Camping with that many people gets pretty wild and there is a good story to tell afterward.

I have had a great time here in Blacksburg so far, but I’m still pumped for fall break and the chance to hang out with all my long time friends. I enjoy Bristol a lot, but I’m sure I’ll be eager to get back here when Sunday comes around.