Who Is The Greatest Rapper Alive?

Hip-hop is a culture. Rap music is fitted into Hip-hop and is the front-runner in bringing this culture mainstream and into the public eye. Like in all cultures there are politics and in politics there are arguments and controversies. The biggest controversy in Hip-hop has and always will be who is the greatest rapper alive.

Hip-hop has gone through several phases in its short life beginning in the 1980's with many great rappers that have reigned in certain phases or eras. The eras can be recognized by the emergence of rappers like Rakim, KRS-One, NWA, and Notorious BIG and Tupac. We have been in and are currently in a phase in which rap music has become extremely mainstream and more than less cheap. It is beginning to move away from protests, stories about everyday life, and meaning to bragging about what one has or how much money one spends. And not to say that there is really anything wrong with it but too much bragging is not good for any one rapper. People have the tendency to say the "greatest rapper alive" when in reality we mean to say the best rapper currently making music.

There is the "Great White Hope." Eminem is a great rapper. He has quality

rhyming skills, a very quick tongue, and a great story telling ability, but the content of his songs can be a little silly and have no real meaning. He also has the tendency to rap too fast. Eminem continually, from the beginning of his career, allows his personal life and problems to sell CD's.

Jay-Z is just a great rapper and there is no denying that. He has been around for a long time, which proves he has longevity. He inspires young rappers and listeners alike and can paint pictures with words. Jay-Z also contains the ability to move/sell albums both mainstream and underground which is proved by the fact that he has also received a couple of platinum awards. He has worked with many of the industries greats and has jump-started many careers. He also contains a excellent battle ability. Jay-Z generally makes great songs and good albums. The content of his songs tend to be deep but on the other hand he has the tendency to brag about how great he is and how much money he has and some of his rhymes are a little weak. Also Jay-Z's main focus is no longer on creating music he is retired from creating his own albums although he continues to make music. Jay-Z is an entrepreneur and is the CEO of Roc-a-Fella records and is into fashion with the Roc-a-Wear clothing line.

On that note the greatest rapper currently making music is Nas also know as Nasir Jones. Nas emerged in the early 1990's as an underground rapper and then went mainstream with his first album Illmatic in 1994. It was Written (1996), I Am (1999), Nastradamus (1999), Stillmatic (2001), The Lost Tapes (2002), and God's Son (2002) are most of the albums Nas has created throughout his career. He has been on the scene for over a decade which establishes his longevity.

Early on he captivated audiences with he grittiness, anger, and amazing swagger despite his calm laid back demeanor. His songs, like "If I Ruled the World," are thought provoking and truly poetic. He has an elite and powerful verbal and rhyming skill and always conveys exactly what he is feeling and thinking in a way that we can all understand.

Nas is more versatile than any other rapper, he makes street anthems like "Thief's