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.