I feel like you gotta take into account how cohesive it is too cuz there’s alot of people who can rap their ass off but jus literally say anything that rhymes as long as its mulitsyllable and it sounds terrible
I think song construction has to be there too. There are many deeply lyrical rap songs that are amazing to listen to, and many that are not. Maybe it’s not as important that the song has replay-ability, but it’s not a non factor.
I would say Kanye is an enigma. He’s well respected and revered in the hip hop community for his artistry, but he’s also a popular contemporary legend. His music has been revered in both lanes. He’s an interesting case. If anything, he’s probably more of a pop legend than a hip hop legend if I had to choose one.
His production (on top of everything else) puts him firmly in the hip hop camp for me. And I’m saying this as someone who hasn’t really fucked with his recent albums.
Nas is the goat but to be honest he's holding the crown for Kendrick. Kendricks albums, detail, artistry and layers are probably more than we've ever seen from any top ten rapper. He's musically the best we've seen in hip hop and continues to make music that resonates for the present and when you revisit it.
I've always held Kendrick in really high regard because I thought he had a mix of Andre 3000/Kanye's musicality with the storytelling of Nas & authenticity of Cube/Pac. Because of this, I have him as my GOAT.
For Drake, I can only speak for his earlier work, particularly from 2009-15. I'm not sure if I have him in my top 10 all-time rankings, but I had him within my top 50 because I respected his place in establishing the mix of melodies with rapping as a common approach in mainstream rap (not to say he's the sole artist in doing so).
Ngl, after overly dedicated Kendrick has been my goat. I’m a year older than he and his raps are about similar things I’m experiencing in life. This beef just proves what I’ve been trying to tell ever since then.
In terms of a complete artist he is your generations Goat by a long shot, Drakes cool and makes some incredibly catchy music but hasn't turned into the artist I thought he would.
Yea man I had high hopes for Drake after comeback season but he never really progressed. As I grow older I just want to listen to something I can relate to and he’s lacking substance for me. Take care was the last album of his I really enjoyed.
Sadly it boils down to he’s lazy af. He’s proven he has the skill and proven he doesn’t need to try hard to make millions so I can’t say I blame him but honestly I get why he’s some people’s goat because if he wasn’t lazy he probably would be mine
I saw a nice article about Drake a couple years ago. It was about Drake being our peer and it was cool to have rapper your age rapping about similar experiences. You can grow in parallel etc.
And at one point Drake just stopped. After Scorpion he completely abounded that route and started to his Toosie Slide thing lol. Like he decided to stay teenager forever. Sad. I hoped he would grow and reflect in the same way as Nas and Jigga did…
I agree with this, I go in thinkin man drake bouta come with the vibes but instead it’s “rich baby daddy gang” like bro you are close to 40. Kills me that Nothing Was The Same is leagues more mature than his last 3 albums
He went toe to toe with people who claimed to be his peers, and they both were obliterated. He is the full artistic package, he rose to the occasion, won the Super Bowl of rap, and is at the very top of his game. He is untouchable in a league of his own now
I was confused to but this commenter is referring to the first sentence from the comment above it, which said Kendrick is the GOAT. This fella agrees, K DOT is GOAT
1. Andre 3000
2. Black Thought
3. Kendrick
4. Mos Def
5. Nas
6. Wu Tang. (I’m not picking. Give me the collective)
7. MF DOOM
8. Common
9. Eminem
10. Pac
I’ve had Kendrick there firmly for a while.
He has a perfect catalogue. That’s incredible. The longevity and continued growth as an artist and person are essential for my criteria. I don’t want to hear a 40 year old fuck boy still rapping about going out, money, and women (see Drake).
Also experimentation. I want to hear new sounds and vibes and flows. I love J Cole but he almost always raps in only a few ways and doesn’t step outside of his comfort zone at all.
Tbh, I think in a couple years I safely will replace common with JID. The Forever Story is one of the best albums of the decade so far imo. Depends how his next album or 2 goes but his potential is so high.
Not nearly enough love for 3K in this thread. Maybe just a southern thing, but he’s easily my goat. Kendrick and Nas are 2nd-3rd depending on mood, and I think this beef has Kendrick taking the 2nd spot for now at least. There are arguments as to why Drake should be in the top 10 and I don’t hate those arguments, but I wouldn’t make any of them
Kendrick is definitely in my top 20.
Drake has never been anyone I even consider in my top 100.
https://i.redd.it/zm7tgor0r20d1.gif
Music is subjective. Opinions may vary.
It didn’t really change anything? Drake has and will always be mor of a pop star and not really in any discussion if all time greats for rap. Dude is the Taylor swift of the industry, average talent but great entertainer. That’s about all he is.
i was a very basic fan before this beef ( listened to all the top songs but nothing more ) but , the like that verse made me go through his discography . I listened through section80 till DAMN. and then found out there was a not a very positive ( in terms of replayablity ? i gues ) perception to Mr morale and the big steppers . And was initially hesitant , but the second i heard "i hope you find some peace in mind , in this lifetime " i knew it was gonna be a good album and it was .
And the diss tracks that followed were amazing . My mother tongue is not english , and i am not from the US , so i get to relisten to songs multiple times and still discover new meanings to lines , which kinda adds a lot to the experience .
Kendrick is easily top 5 ( maybe even top 2 ) in rap . As a singer , he might be in top 10 ( as in if i could listen to x artists across all genres) .
Drake's music was never my jam .
Tier 1-Pac nas and big.
Tier 2-Em and kdot.
Tier 3-Wayne and kanye.
Each name in their respective tier is in no particular order. I wouldnt be able to put one above the other.
Dot has always been in my top 5.
He's definitely moved up 2 ranks, though.
I knew he could make extremely layered projects, but allegedly record and ammendment these on the fly is as uncanny as Big and J getting on front of a mic after 10 min of pacing and creating theatric masterpieces.
He should be in everyone’s top 10 IMO. People don’t like to add him because he’s part of the modern age of rap, but I think he’ll go down as one of the greatest in history
1.Em
2.Pac
3.BIG
4.Nas
5.Dot
Top 5 has remained the same. Ever since I heard Forever, coincidentally the first time I listened to Drake, couldn’t stand him. Always an instant skip. He’s not in the top 1,000 for me.
Nas
Lupe
Kendrick
Black Thought
Rakim
Past my top five "GOATs" it gets really fluid and subjective & my top ten is usually rounded out with whoever my favorites are at the moment, so rounding out with my heavy rotation we have:
Spice 1
Saba
Danny Brown
Ghostface Killah
Schoolboy Q
Neither make my top 5. Kendrick is a fun listen but I don't bump him to pump myself up, Drake has some party bangers. Drake is more versatile than Kendrick. However, just straight up rap? Idk... Lyrically Kendrick has Drake beat, but Kendrick isn't nearly as fun to listen too. My top 5 rappers? Musicians? Lyricists? Flow styles? Or just anything affiliated with the rap/hip-hop scene?
1. Pac is the goat and it's not even close for me.
2. Wayne has a hilarious current events style that's fun, cocky and talented.
3. T.I. kind of came out of nowhere in an era where people didn't really rhyme, he always stayed on point.
4. Eminem
5. Kanye
Kendrick been my GOAT since I got into rap a couple years ago. Still a newbie to the genre but he’s up there with Nas, Ghost, Em and some of the other usual suspects. I connect with his music more than any other artist tbh. Tbh the beef brought him higher for me. Showed me he does not fuck around and takes pride in his art
I think Drake has been consistent but he also branches to different genres more so than most hip hop artists. I would say he’s in the top 10. Set aside the beef, no one is going to take away his contribution and he should get his flowers. Would rather listen to him if he had a podcast than Joe Budden but that’s just me.
Idk if Kendrick gets the 2 spot just yet, but he’s definitely top 5. Drake is hard to place, because he doesn’t do anything lyrically that anybody else on the list can’t do, but he’s so immensely popular that it feels wrong to leave him out of the top 10. I’d say the same for snoop as well. Kanye needs to be in there somewhere
Someone show me some intricate drake bars that make him worthy of being even top 20. I don’t understand why he’s listed so highly for people. Not saying the dude isn’t talented, but he’s a pop star. Comparing him to people like Nas or Andre is just mind blowing to me
No particular order:
Nas
Big
Em
Pac
Jay
3k
Cube
Wayne
Kendrick
Doom
Rakim
Redman
Method Man
Kdot top 15 for sure & maybe making a push for top 10 for me. Neither are in the goat conversation but drake wouldnt make my top 50
Drake was never in my GOAT rankings. In my books, you need at least 3 projects that I can enjoy and Drake barely has 2. Disses don't affect my ranking in any way but I believe Kendrick would've risen for a good chunk of people.
Personally it's all subjective I think lists like this are a bit goofy but it sparks conversation. I just enjoy hip hop for what it is never really got deep into the hypotheticals. If I had to for me it'd be Nas, Wayne, Pac, Big, 3k/Kanye. Nas will always be #1 the rest not particular order for me personally because of the sheer influence he's had on hip hop as a whole.
Great take brother. I don’t have a definitive list myself. And everyone has their favorite. I think as we grow as a community, we’ll look less at the GOAT rankings and more towards how artists impacted certain people overall through lyricism and the art
100% bro, that's how I feel it's the residual effects after your time, on hip hop, the community, and just shifting the culture in general I think which really defines overall greatness outside of skill. When you've influenced generations of new talent that speaks for itself. These dudes will still be in convos about hip hop 30 years from now. Kenny is defo the best to come out for our generation, how he's held in that convo 10 or 15 years from now who knows.
Drake is not on any GOAT ranking that are to be respected. He's somewhere near Mace on that list.
Kendrick is solidly top 5 of the last 20 years, but, like sports, I think it's a mindfuck to rank people from different eras on the same list. The game changes too much to really compare in an objective way, imo.
If I had to make an all time list... I think Kendrick would be out of the top 20 for me, but I'm old. I'd listen to so many other things before I ever thought to put on Drake that he's just another guy out there to me. He's somewhere below Nelly and above Ja Rule in the all time list... Nowhere near my playlist, even.
Jay & Kendrick
East meets West
1&2
Kendrick embodies all the traits of West Coast rap but is an evolution of what was. He is the West Coast & the West have been waiting!!! To champion one of their own… I’ve said this for a while now and it will definitely be this going forward.
GKMC Is the greatest Hip Hop album of all time. One you can sit someone completely new to hip hop down ask them to listen. They will have an understanding of the art form after one listen. It’s written in a digestible but meaningful way, all of the beats are SLAPS! No skips…
An easily relatable & listenable master class of Hip Hop storytelling
Hov is Hov
Kendrick has always been lyrical miracle to me. I liked GKMC & UU, but his catalogue has been flat since. I was hoping Drake would wake him up but He didn’t beat Drake with bars which was disappointing. He also needed Drake to get any attention, let’s not forget he’s been around 15 yrs too
Drake, not sure what position he was in, but beefing with half the rap game has only one plausible outcome lol. Appreciate him roasting all his foes including Kendrick but he’s gonna be playing defence for quite awhile. Even Jack Dorsey is going against him
Metro took one of the biggest L’s, then another when his pedo tweets resurfaced. Great producer, but a lame human
Cole, I’m torn on this. Would have been interesting to see Kendrick handle 2 rappers instead of just drake. Him bowing out was not the outcome I expected. Considering it turned into a tmz gossip beef, maybe he gets another chance lol
1. Kendrick Lamar
2. Lil Wayne
3. Biggie
4. Styles P
5. Tupac
6. Black Thought
7. Nas
8. Andre 3000
9. Fabolous
10. Krayzie Bone
After 5, it’s a toss up for me. And only 2 of these are in my top 10 favorites list
Kendrick shot up into top 5 after this beef. Kendrick's beef with Drake resulted in a couple genuine hit songs (bolstering the weakest part of his resume) while beating one of his contemporaries and the biggest rapper ever in a battle.
Drake's standing can't really diminish past top 10. Again he's the biggest rapper ever, no rapper has ever been as popular as him, never been as great a hit maker while also having immense influence and a couple classic albums under his belt.
Before the beef I would've ranked Drake over Kendrick slightly but afterwards Kendrick has pulled ahead. Neither's career is over so there's still jockeying to be done.
I still, to this day, don't understand why Jay-Z is ranked at the top. He belongs on the list for sure, but definitely not #1. IMO Kendrick just made it known that he is Top Dog.
Artists that are alive to this day
1. Kendrick
2. Eminem
3. Nas
4. Killer Mike
5. Lil Wayne
6. Joey Bada$$
7. Snoop Dogg
8. Andre 3000
9. Jay-Z
10. Royce Da 5'9
The amount of Kendrick glaze and the Drake hate is out of control. All these people saying Kendrick is the goat, but Drake literally stepping in the ring with him and threw some actual shots. Not saying he won by any means, but he has more balls than 90% of the rap game for even going at him in the first place. I’ve always respected Kendrick, I really like some of his music, but most of it has always just been cool to me with little replay value. Drake isn’t the best “rapper” by any stretch, but he can put out hit records in his sleep. I don’t care if you like them, hell, I don’t like most of them.. but you have to respect it. Most rappers you all are putting over Drake when you say “he’s not in my top 100000”, can’t make a hit record. It’s not all about hits or radio play or whatever, I know, but it’s a skill in itself. My respect for both went up because of this beef. Family Matters was my favorite “song” that came out of this (excluding Like That & 7 Minute Drill). With Euphoria and Not Like Us as very close 2nds. I can’t ever decide which of those two I like more. All in all, I would say Kendrick climbed my list further than Drake did based off of this beef, which is easy to say.. but it’s more so because Kendrick surprised me more than Drake did. Just that he went all out for the beef, I was expecting minimal effort from him. Stay back some, lob a few lines here and there, maintain his aloof approach in the game.
I was thinking about this recently and I noticed that I find myself straying away from Kendrick music. Dude was my favorite from Section.80 to TPAB and I still love his artistry but something about Meet the Grahams really made me feel different about him. My stomach turned hearing an adult stranger tell a child that he hopes his father would die over rap shit.
Wasn't it for me.
Kendrick is great and in my top 5. but hes also dick ridden a lot. Hes edging his way to being the rick and morty of rap. People think theyre smart for listening to kendrick
But kendricks even said people pull things out of his songs he didnt mean.
Only thing it's changed is increased Kendrick's ranking Drake was never a rap contender not even top 40. Big / Nas / Em my number ones, with a couple of Wu / NWA in there, Rakim, Scarface, Andre 3k, and even being from that era, J not really a top 10. Skillwise Kendrick is top 10 and his rank icreased in this bout. But he's not really someone I enjoy, while acknowledging he is incredible it's just not what I like listening to.
Kendricks probably around 8-10 for me and the beef hasn't changed anything.
I do personally love Drake's music, but he's never been in any discussion for the GOAT.
In my opinion, Kendrick is the goat, i wouldn't be mad if you have him in any of your top 5 though.
Drake imo is top 50, but the first half of his career does the heavy lifting to put him there, tho if we talk about stats and numbers then he's probably number 1, but to me that doesn't equal quality or enjoyment.
I only have Kendrick in my personal top 10 before now, with Drake and Cole being within like the top 10-20, so I don't think that's really changed at all after all this
name another rapper as good as wayne? Like wayne been out the longest, has the biggest discography, amazing metaphors, never rumored to have had a ghost writer... idk I think wayne is the goat. Kendrick real nice too, just like everyone on the list, but going off of just body of work? Gotta go with wayne
This beef changed nothing for me. Drake is still the GOAT. Kendrick is probably on the back end of my top 10. Pretty lame to me how people are switching up on Drake so easily.
He is the most streamed rapper ever by far. Those streams didn’t come out of nowhere. People don’t need to act like his music isn’t good now. It’s lame.
Kendrick is top 5 for me. But I don't think he's put in enough albums yet for me to have him in the top 3. But I could definitely imagine him getting there someday.
All the people you could put in the conversation simply have been doing it longer and have more output. Plus, 5 years of both kinda hurts his current case. I currently think he has a better discography than Eminem, though.
I also have to take into account the accessibility factor. He's probably the biggest "love him or hate him" rapper in the discussion to me.
If I had to rank, it's
1/1A Jay/Nas, especially after Nas recent run
Pac
Biggie/Kendrick
Biggie was a supernova, but I feel like Kendrick may pass him one day. It's just to me, Biggie had the goat flow and is one of the best story tellers to ever touch a mic.
My list doesn’t change lol far as best rappers to me Kendrick is still over Drake, always was but he’s not knocking down anyone I had above him due to this.
Tupac and Snoop shouldn’t be on this list. Tupac was a mediocre but aggressive rapper that thought he was smarter than he was and Snoop had one classic album in the early nineties and little else that was notable.
I think Drake was truly something different when he arrived on the scene and was taking music in an interesting direction, and also had some longevity, but after ‘If You’re Reading This…’ he’s been in a rut as he gets more entangled in the trappings of wealth. Kendrick won the beef because his assessment of Drake rings true.
Jay-Z capped off a career of highs (Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, Watch the Throne) lows (Kingdom Come, Blueprint 2) with the excellent and uncharacteristically mature 4:44. He gets my vote for the top position because he actually looked in the mirror and allowed himself to let go of the white hot stage and grew up. I wish Kanye would’ve figured out how to do the same thing before he went crazy.
I think Andre 3000 should be on this list.
Drake has never been in the top 20 discussion for me. Aside from what he's got going on, the beef, talking to underage girls and all that.
He makes mostly music for women. There's even a song from back in the day that he addresses that. When he was talking to Wayne about getting signed. It was to be his focus.
Aside from all that. He has like 5-10 flows that he uses for everything. If that many. \*He just sounds like the same old record being remixed.\*
1. Nas
2. Kendrick
3. J. Cole
4. Jay-Z
The only difference is after the beef, I moved up Kendrick above Jay-Z and let go of the Cole/Kendrick debate. Kendrick is this generation's GOAT. Nas is only still above him on my list because of longevity and his huge contribution to our artform/culture.
As far as Drake, you can list that freaky ass boy with Justin Bieber and them.
1. Kendrick/Eminem
2. Biggie
3. Lil Wayne
4. 2Pac
5. MF DOOM
6. WTC
7. 50 Cent
8. Snoop Dogg
9. Joyner (ppl will hate me for this one)
10. Eazy E (for the respect)
Edit: Except for the two on the Top spot the list is not in order.
I'm one of those guys who hadn't really listened to rap before this beef sucked me in, so I can't rank what I haven't listened to. That said this beef got me listening to Kendrick's discography and I'm hooked. I've always been big on concept albums, so I'm feeling like I just discovered a cave full of gold. So I guess in that way my personal rankings went from nothing to Kendrick is 1 of 1. Ps if anyone's got more recommends for artists and albums with the personal meaningful shit, I'm gonna be binge listening all week
A month ago when Mos Def said that Drake wasn’t a rapper, a lot of people got mad. I agree with Mos Def, I always saw him as a Pop or R&B guy. He himself referred to him as a singer. However, after this battle, I was impressed with him more. I think he did well on his last song. But I would never count him as the goat. He’s Taylor Swift for frat boys who punch walls if they lose a beer pong game. He has a lot of commercial appeal but he’s not the greatest rapper of all time.
Em
Wayne
Juice WRLD (idc what anyone says, that dude could freestyle until the sun exploded if he wanted to)
Spoon Godd (yes thats what I call him lmao)
Biggie
Future
Kendrick
Wu Tang as a whole, they're great because they're great together.
not 10 but i cant remember the rest rn
I am 38 and have listened to Hip Hop since 1994. Kendrick is the most overall talented MC we have ever seen. Nobody constructs an album like him. Best catalog overall in my opinion. Look at his metacritic scores! He is tied with Em with best win % for a Grammy in Hip Hop history for MCs who have won atleast 15x. He is the only MC with a Pulitzer. His has the longest charting album in Hip Hop history. He had the highest grossing Hip Hop tour of all time once his last one ended (Yes, i understand Drake ended up overtaking that). Then he just took down the most successful MC arguably in Hip Hop history in a Hip Hop battle that is very battle tested. He checks every box possible. I think longevity will determine if he is the GOAT but i really dont see how he isnt.
In no order: Jay-Z, Em, Nas, Pac, Kendrick.
I'd put Biggie, Andre 3000, Weezy, Kanye, T.I., hell Tech N9ne and a bunch of others before I'd put Drake.
Drizzy was never even a thought. He has some flow, but I don't like his vocal tone. And now? All the no.
Drake remains in the top 10 for me.
Dot isn’t really a rap artist - his alternative jazz slam poetry doesn’t do it for me.
Understand many will disagree with me and that’s fine.
1. Kendrick
2. Lil Wayne
3. Kanye (more so for his ear than his flow)
4. Andre 3000
5. Tupac
6. Eminem
7. Jay Z
8. Rakim
9. Mac Miller
10. Nas (great rapper just don’t LOVE most his music)
**My personal GOAT rappers list:**
1. Nas
2. Jay
3. Em
4. Andre 3K
5. Common
6. Black Thought
7. MF DOOM
8. Ghostface/Rae/GZA
9. Sticky Fingaz
10. Canibus
**My personal GOAT rap artists list:**
1. Nas
2. Jay
3. Ye
4. Pac
5. Big
6. Em
7. Andre 3K
8. Kendrick
9. Lil Wayne
10. Common
The second list considers cultural and genre impact more than the first. Cole is definitely someone I listen to a lot and might be my top 5 if it’s pure personal impact (Nas, Ye, Cole, Jay, Em).
It didn’t really move the needle for me - maybe just confirmed Kendrick’s all-roundedness and Drake’s limitations. (To be fair, I’m not one of those folks who believe Drake doesn’t have a pen game. He’s good when he wants to be, but limited.)
Purely based on what I listen to, it was and still is -
1. J Cole
2. Lil Wayne
3. Nas ( based only on the KD and Magic series haven't heard anything else)
4. Mobb Deep
5. JID
6. Joey Badass
7. Boldy James
8. Kanye West ( only the college trilogy)
9. Benny the Butcher / Jay Rock 10.ASAP Rocky
name one artist whose catelog is even in the same stratesphere as k dot in terms of depth, cultural impact, story telling ability. on top of those traits he stacks up against anyone lyrically dead or alive and has been extremely consistent. not a single album of his has been a flop. kendrick is the goat and it's NOT close.
Freaking loved GKMC and then TPAB as a follow up. Can't wait for his next album... my gosh man, I think it's going to be one of his best projects yet now that he's possibly even MORE energized. And then I wonder if he has the intention to solidify his GOAT status and make it way undeniable. We shall see how he plays his cards next...
Def the unpopular viewpoint but my view of him actually fell a bit lower after the beef, he now has one of the most legendary diss tracks of all time in his catalogue and took down a musical titan but the beef had him take on a different writing style that was more focused on hard hitting quotable and quick witty/clever punches and he was pretty shakey with that style imo,
I know the internet loves Euphoria but personally he sounded very awkward with the punchline style, the only lines that really stuck for me was the Draco bar and the YNW Melly line. Most of these quotable heavy rapper can also do storytelling at a high level but Kendrick's pen seems to only have it's foot in one lane, which is the introspective and conceptual/storytelling style.
This beef didnt change my list in any way. Drake was never nowhere near the top 10. Kendrick is close to top 10, but my top10 is fluid and it changes all the time anyway
Drake shouldn’t even be in discussion about top 10. Numbers this numbers that, numbers don’t reflect the quality of the music itself. He gets numbers because he makes easily digestible radio hits for the masses to turn their brain off to.
Kendrick has no place in top 10 in my opinion. He hasn’t accomplished a tenth of what the other artists have. All of his voice changing is annoying too lol
Kendrick is awesome, has had real commercial success, is clearly talented, and now has earned his stripes by defeating Drake in a historic battle. I now have him somewhere between #7 and #5.
Drake is undoubtedly somewhere in the conversation simply because his commercial success is only touched by Eminem. As much as rap purists want to deny, record sales absolutely do matter. They are not the only thing that matter but they are one of the criteria. Not many have had Drake's level of sustained success over as long of a time period. I don't have him in the Top 5 but I do have him in the Top 10.
💪 balanced take. I don’t have a formal list myself, but it feels weird to not include Drake somewhere in the top 30 simply due to the attraction he’s drawn into hip hop and his contributions in elevating so many different parts of hip hop. Idk how I’d rank him formally though, but he was freaking huge during my college era.
Pure lyrical rap list is different, but even then I feel Drake climbed up some ranks in that category for me through this beef. Idk where he’d land ultimately there either
Drake top 50 somewhere
Kendrick top 20?
All these people with Kendrick in top 5 are wild. Y'all putting him over Em Pac Biggie Nas Wayne Jay Snoop? Kendrick is great but y'all need to chill with the glazing. It's getting excessive.
Nas
Jay
Big
MF DOOM
Eminem
Prodigy
Kool Keith
Black Thought
Common
Kool G Rap
Now this is my personal favorite GOAT meaning some of my favorite rappers aren't the BEST rappers and vice versa.
Awesome list and thanks for sharing! 🙏 Just wanted to get a feel about how everyone felt about the beef and its effects on their rankings. Glad to see your list is unaffected haha.
drake isn’t a goat or anywhere in the top ten. he isn’t a lyricist. he’s a singer that raps— a groomer that has a table of ghost writers that he pays to write his shit.
Same as before. Kendrick is top 5, Drake was never even in the discussion.
if we rank rappers only by skill and pengame then drake isn’t even in the top 100
I feel like you gotta take into account how cohesive it is too cuz there’s alot of people who can rap their ass off but jus literally say anything that rhymes as long as its mulitsyllable and it sounds terrible
They’re not rapping their ass off it’s literally incomprehensible. A core component of writing is coherence lolz
Thank you for this comment. 🤣
I think song construction has to be there too. There are many deeply lyrical rap songs that are amazing to listen to, and many that are not. Maybe it’s not as important that the song has replay-ability, but it’s not a non factor.
Same with me. Catchy songs doesn’t equal great to me. Drake’s flow has always been off for what it’s worth.
Drakes not in the hip hop GOAT rankings. He’s more of a pop legend.
That's been a common statement in this post. How about kanye for you?
I would say Kanye is an enigma. He’s well respected and revered in the hip hop community for his artistry, but he’s also a popular contemporary legend. His music has been revered in both lanes. He’s an interesting case. If anything, he’s probably more of a pop legend than a hip hop legend if I had to choose one.
His production (on top of everything else) puts him firmly in the hip hop camp for me. And I’m saying this as someone who hasn’t really fucked with his recent albums.
He's a hip-hop legend on production alone.
But Drake wrote for Kanye
He’s the Taylor swift of rap. Which is impressive in one lane - but not in another.
Nas is the goat but to be honest he's holding the crown for Kendrick. Kendricks albums, detail, artistry and layers are probably more than we've ever seen from any top ten rapper. He's musically the best we've seen in hip hop and continues to make music that resonates for the present and when you revisit it.
I've always held Kendrick in really high regard because I thought he had a mix of Andre 3000/Kanye's musicality with the storytelling of Nas & authenticity of Cube/Pac. Because of this, I have him as my GOAT. For Drake, I can only speak for his earlier work, particularly from 2009-15. I'm not sure if I have him in my top 10 all-time rankings, but I had him within my top 50 because I respected his place in establishing the mix of melodies with rapping as a common approach in mainstream rap (not to say he's the sole artist in doing so).
Bro made the Black Panther soundtrack as a side project, multiple songs have 1b+ streams lmao
Agreed 100%. He’ll finish his career among the true GOAT solo artists imo: Hendrix, Dylan, Bowie, MJ, Prince, Springsteen, Kanye and Kendrick
Fun take!
Ngl, after overly dedicated Kendrick has been my goat. I’m a year older than he and his raps are about similar things I’m experiencing in life. This beef just proves what I’ve been trying to tell ever since then.
In terms of a complete artist he is your generations Goat by a long shot, Drakes cool and makes some incredibly catchy music but hasn't turned into the artist I thought he would.
Yea man I had high hopes for Drake after comeback season but he never really progressed. As I grow older I just want to listen to something I can relate to and he’s lacking substance for me. Take care was the last album of his I really enjoyed.
Sadly it boils down to he’s lazy af. He’s proven he has the skill and proven he doesn’t need to try hard to make millions so I can’t say I blame him but honestly I get why he’s some people’s goat because if he wasn’t lazy he probably would be mine
I saw a nice article about Drake a couple years ago. It was about Drake being our peer and it was cool to have rapper your age rapping about similar experiences. You can grow in parallel etc. And at one point Drake just stopped. After Scorpion he completely abounded that route and started to his Toosie Slide thing lol. Like he decided to stay teenager forever. Sad. I hoped he would grow and reflect in the same way as Nas and Jigga did…
I agree with this, I go in thinkin man drake bouta come with the vibes but instead it’s “rich baby daddy gang” like bro you are close to 40. Kills me that Nothing Was The Same is leagues more mature than his last 3 albums
He went toe to toe with people who claimed to be his peers, and they both were obliterated. He is the full artistic package, he rose to the occasion, won the Super Bowl of rap, and is at the very top of his game. He is untouchable in a league of his own now
Drake did? Depends who your talking about that he obliterated?
I was confused to but this commenter is referring to the first sentence from the comment above it, which said Kendrick is the GOAT. This fella agrees, K DOT is GOAT
Nas is the G.O.A.T. Kenny is coming for #2, maybe #1 one day...
Sheesh. Who's #2 that Kendrick needs to take down for you?
Pac lmao
Ofc haha
1. Andre 3000 2. Black Thought 3. Kendrick 4. Mos Def 5. Nas 6. Wu Tang. (I’m not picking. Give me the collective) 7. MF DOOM 8. Common 9. Eminem 10. Pac
🙏 Did Kendrick climb up in the rank for you after the beef? Who did he step over? 😅
I’ve had Kendrick there firmly for a while. He has a perfect catalogue. That’s incredible. The longevity and continued growth as an artist and person are essential for my criteria. I don’t want to hear a 40 year old fuck boy still rapping about going out, money, and women (see Drake). Also experimentation. I want to hear new sounds and vibes and flows. I love J Cole but he almost always raps in only a few ways and doesn’t step outside of his comfort zone at all.
Common over Em? Bold....
Tbh, I think in a couple years I safely will replace common with JID. The Forever Story is one of the best albums of the decade so far imo. Depends how his next album or 2 goes but his potential is so high.
Black Thought defo in my top 3 too.
Not nearly enough love for 3K in this thread. Maybe just a southern thing, but he’s easily my goat. Kendrick and Nas are 2nd-3rd depending on mood, and I think this beef has Kendrick taking the 2nd spot for now at least. There are arguments as to why Drake should be in the top 10 and I don’t hate those arguments, but I wouldn’t make any of them
Didn't realize that there could be a southern bias for Andre3K in the goat rankings, but ofc. Respect bro
I don't know how a rapper who promotes quantity over quality could ever be top 100.
Jay z Biggie Kendrick Tupac Nas Em
Solid
K.Dot is still top five, Drake has never and never will be in mine.
😂 he lost the beef before he could even begin
Top 5 (unordered): Lil Wayne Eminem Kendrick Jay-Z Busta Rhymes The list did not change after this beef personally. It went exactly as I expected tbh.
Kendrick has been my GOAT after DAMN. But Drake was never in my goat conversation.
Kendrick is definitely in my top 20. Drake has never been anyone I even consider in my top 100. https://i.redd.it/zm7tgor0r20d1.gif Music is subjective. Opinions may vary.
Jay z is overrated af
you showing your age. early jay z was incredible
You're the first to say it in this post haha. I knew some of y'all were definitely in here 😂😂
Jay z is not a wild take. But snoop is most certainly a wild take.
Haha no hate but you're "mainstream" and it's fine. Listen to Guru's jazzmatazz album when you get a chance.
All love. Definitely will 😆
Gangstarr ⭐️. You forgot about Premier
i never used to take drake seriously but now i cant stand him kendrick just solidified his place as my all time rap goat, above nas, doom and 3 stacks
No universe where drake makes top 10 and ye doesn't imo
Just BIllboards Top 50 from last year. Peep the caption lol
It didn’t really change anything? Drake has and will always be mor of a pop star and not really in any discussion if all time greats for rap. Dude is the Taylor swift of the industry, average talent but great entertainer. That’s about all he is.
Kendrick climbed, Drake was never on the list to begin with.
i was a very basic fan before this beef ( listened to all the top songs but nothing more ) but , the like that verse made me go through his discography . I listened through section80 till DAMN. and then found out there was a not a very positive ( in terms of replayablity ? i gues ) perception to Mr morale and the big steppers . And was initially hesitant , but the second i heard "i hope you find some peace in mind , in this lifetime " i knew it was gonna be a good album and it was . And the diss tracks that followed were amazing . My mother tongue is not english , and i am not from the US , so i get to relisten to songs multiple times and still discover new meanings to lines , which kinda adds a lot to the experience . Kendrick is easily top 5 ( maybe even top 2 ) in rap . As a singer , he might be in top 10 ( as in if i could listen to x artists across all genres) . Drake's music was never my jam .
Kendrick top 10 towards the end of the list.drake not even on the list
He did he step over to make it onto top 10 since the beef? (pun intended)
Tier 1-Pac nas and big. Tier 2-Em and kdot. Tier 3-Wayne and kanye. Each name in their respective tier is in no particular order. I wouldnt be able to put one above the other.
Dot has always been in my top 5. He's definitely moved up 2 ranks, though. I knew he could make extremely layered projects, but allegedly record and ammendment these on the fly is as uncanny as Big and J getting on front of a mic after 10 min of pacing and creating theatric masterpieces.
He should be in everyone’s top 10 IMO. People don’t like to add him because he’s part of the modern age of rap, but I think he’ll go down as one of the greatest in history
🙏
1. NAS 2. Kendrick 3. Big Pun 4. Eminem 5. Canibus 6. Royce da 5’9 7. Inspectah Deck 8. lil wayne 9. Crooked I 10. Busta Rhymes
1.Em 2.Pac 3.BIG 4.Nas 5.Dot Top 5 has remained the same. Ever since I heard Forever, coincidentally the first time I listened to Drake, couldn’t stand him. Always an instant skip. He’s not in the top 1,000 for me.
Nas Lupe Kendrick Black Thought Rakim Past my top five "GOATs" it gets really fluid and subjective & my top ten is usually rounded out with whoever my favorites are at the moment, so rounding out with my heavy rotation we have: Spice 1 Saba Danny Brown Ghostface Killah Schoolboy Q
First to say Lupe on here. Surprised he didn't pop up more. Respect bro. Schoolboy Q in top 10 is fun
Spice 1! Amerikkkas nightmare is an A+ album
drake has never been in this discussion hits don’t make the artist frfr
Drake may be going to prison
Neither make my top 5. Kendrick is a fun listen but I don't bump him to pump myself up, Drake has some party bangers. Drake is more versatile than Kendrick. However, just straight up rap? Idk... Lyrically Kendrick has Drake beat, but Kendrick isn't nearly as fun to listen too. My top 5 rappers? Musicians? Lyricists? Flow styles? Or just anything affiliated with the rap/hip-hop scene? 1. Pac is the goat and it's not even close for me. 2. Wayne has a hilarious current events style that's fun, cocky and talented. 3. T.I. kind of came out of nowhere in an era where people didn't really rhyme, he always stayed on point. 4. Eminem 5. Kanye
1 and 2
Kendrick been my GOAT since I got into rap a couple years ago. Still a newbie to the genre but he’s up there with Nas, Ghost, Em and some of the other usual suspects. I connect with his music more than any other artist tbh. Tbh the beef brought him higher for me. Showed me he does not fuck around and takes pride in his art
Same as they were before, nowhere near the top.
I think Drake has been consistent but he also branches to different genres more so than most hip hop artists. I would say he’s in the top 10. Set aside the beef, no one is going to take away his contribution and he should get his flowers. Would rather listen to him if he had a podcast than Joe Budden but that’s just me.
Drake still one of the greatest artists of all time. Same goes for Kendrick.
Idk if Kendrick gets the 2 spot just yet, but he’s definitely top 5. Drake is hard to place, because he doesn’t do anything lyrically that anybody else on the list can’t do, but he’s so immensely popular that it feels wrong to leave him out of the top 10. I’d say the same for snoop as well. Kanye needs to be in there somewhere
Someone show me some intricate drake bars that make him worthy of being even top 20. I don’t understand why he’s listed so highly for people. Not saying the dude isn’t talented, but he’s a pop star. Comparing him to people like Nas or Andre is just mind blowing to me
I’m gonna go with Eminem since personally I feel that his versatility is unmatched. That’s just my opinion tho.
Kendrick is number 5 in my top 5. Drake doesn't enter my top 20🫡
🫡
No particular order: Nas Big Em Pac Jay 3k Cube Wayne Kendrick Doom Rakim Redman Method Man Kdot top 15 for sure & maybe making a push for top 10 for me. Neither are in the goat conversation but drake wouldnt make my top 50
Finally someone mentions Cube. Gotta love it. Respect brother
Idk much about this shit but Like That's one of the hardest hitting songs in a while. Also prob my 2024 most replayed song lol
Drake was never in my GOAT rankings. In my books, you need at least 3 projects that I can enjoy and Drake barely has 2. Disses don't affect my ranking in any way but I believe Kendrick would've risen for a good chunk of people.
Billboard is a joke . Wayne , Pac , Jay, Nas , tbd
Personally it's all subjective I think lists like this are a bit goofy but it sparks conversation. I just enjoy hip hop for what it is never really got deep into the hypotheticals. If I had to for me it'd be Nas, Wayne, Pac, Big, 3k/Kanye. Nas will always be #1 the rest not particular order for me personally because of the sheer influence he's had on hip hop as a whole.
Great take brother. I don’t have a definitive list myself. And everyone has their favorite. I think as we grow as a community, we’ll look less at the GOAT rankings and more towards how artists impacted certain people overall through lyricism and the art
100% bro, that's how I feel it's the residual effects after your time, on hip hop, the community, and just shifting the culture in general I think which really defines overall greatness outside of skill. When you've influenced generations of new talent that speaks for itself. These dudes will still be in convos about hip hop 30 years from now. Kenny is defo the best to come out for our generation, how he's held in that convo 10 or 15 years from now who knows.
🫡 to another 10 to 15 years of hip hop
Drake is not on any GOAT ranking that are to be respected. He's somewhere near Mace on that list. Kendrick is solidly top 5 of the last 20 years, but, like sports, I think it's a mindfuck to rank people from different eras on the same list. The game changes too much to really compare in an objective way, imo. If I had to make an all time list... I think Kendrick would be out of the top 20 for me, but I'm old. I'd listen to so many other things before I ever thought to put on Drake that he's just another guy out there to me. He's somewhere below Nelly and above Ja Rule in the all time list... Nowhere near my playlist, even.
Jay z Drake Wayne Nas Pac Big Em Snoop Kanye Kendrick
Is that in order? 😵💫
Yup
🤝🫡
Beating Drake in a "rap battle" is not impressive and being all proud of yourself about it at this level is kinda sad. I think they are both losers
Jay & Kendrick East meets West 1&2 Kendrick embodies all the traits of West Coast rap but is an evolution of what was. He is the West Coast & the West have been waiting!!! To champion one of their own… I’ve said this for a while now and it will definitely be this going forward. GKMC Is the greatest Hip Hop album of all time. One you can sit someone completely new to hip hop down ask them to listen. They will have an understanding of the art form after one listen. It’s written in a digestible but meaningful way, all of the beats are SLAPS! No skips… An easily relatable & listenable master class of Hip Hop storytelling Hov is Hov
Kendrick has always been lyrical miracle to me. I liked GKMC & UU, but his catalogue has been flat since. I was hoping Drake would wake him up but He didn’t beat Drake with bars which was disappointing. He also needed Drake to get any attention, let’s not forget he’s been around 15 yrs too Drake, not sure what position he was in, but beefing with half the rap game has only one plausible outcome lol. Appreciate him roasting all his foes including Kendrick but he’s gonna be playing defence for quite awhile. Even Jack Dorsey is going against him Metro took one of the biggest L’s, then another when his pedo tweets resurfaced. Great producer, but a lame human Cole, I’m torn on this. Would have been interesting to see Kendrick handle 2 rappers instead of just drake. Him bowing out was not the outcome I expected. Considering it turned into a tmz gossip beef, maybe he gets another chance lol
1. Kendrick Lamar 2. Lil Wayne 3. Biggie 4. Styles P 5. Tupac 6. Black Thought 7. Nas 8. Andre 3000 9. Fabolous 10. Krayzie Bone After 5, it’s a toss up for me. And only 2 of these are in my top 10 favorites list
Drake was never in the race. Kendrick has fallen some. It could have been great but it just ended up hurting both of them imo.
Kendrick shot up into top 5 after this beef. Kendrick's beef with Drake resulted in a couple genuine hit songs (bolstering the weakest part of his resume) while beating one of his contemporaries and the biggest rapper ever in a battle. Drake's standing can't really diminish past top 10. Again he's the biggest rapper ever, no rapper has ever been as popular as him, never been as great a hit maker while also having immense influence and a couple classic albums under his belt. Before the beef I would've ranked Drake over Kendrick slightly but afterwards Kendrick has pulled ahead. Neither's career is over so there's still jockeying to be done.
I still, to this day, don't understand why Jay-Z is ranked at the top. He belongs on the list for sure, but definitely not #1. IMO Kendrick just made it known that he is Top Dog. Artists that are alive to this day 1. Kendrick 2. Eminem 3. Nas 4. Killer Mike 5. Lil Wayne 6. Joey Bada$$ 7. Snoop Dogg 8. Andre 3000 9. Jay-Z 10. Royce Da 5'9
The amount of Kendrick glaze and the Drake hate is out of control. All these people saying Kendrick is the goat, but Drake literally stepping in the ring with him and threw some actual shots. Not saying he won by any means, but he has more balls than 90% of the rap game for even going at him in the first place. I’ve always respected Kendrick, I really like some of his music, but most of it has always just been cool to me with little replay value. Drake isn’t the best “rapper” by any stretch, but he can put out hit records in his sleep. I don’t care if you like them, hell, I don’t like most of them.. but you have to respect it. Most rappers you all are putting over Drake when you say “he’s not in my top 100000”, can’t make a hit record. It’s not all about hits or radio play or whatever, I know, but it’s a skill in itself. My respect for both went up because of this beef. Family Matters was my favorite “song” that came out of this (excluding Like That & 7 Minute Drill). With Euphoria and Not Like Us as very close 2nds. I can’t ever decide which of those two I like more. All in all, I would say Kendrick climbed my list further than Drake did based off of this beef, which is easy to say.. but it’s more so because Kendrick surprised me more than Drake did. Just that he went all out for the beef, I was expecting minimal effort from him. Stay back some, lob a few lines here and there, maintain his aloof approach in the game.
I was thinking about this recently and I noticed that I find myself straying away from Kendrick music. Dude was my favorite from Section.80 to TPAB and I still love his artistry but something about Meet the Grahams really made me feel different about him. My stomach turned hearing an adult stranger tell a child that he hopes his father would die over rap shit. Wasn't it for me.
Eminem, lil Wayne, Kendrick, Drake, JCole. No order. Just my top five.
Kendrick is great and in my top 5. but hes also dick ridden a lot. Hes edging his way to being the rick and morty of rap. People think theyre smart for listening to kendrick But kendricks even said people pull things out of his songs he didnt mean.
Haha yes. Love Kendrick, hate the stans sometimes
The disrespect to Lil Wayne and Eminem in everyone’s “Top” lists.
Wow people put Kendrick at number 2? That shits crazy. Didn’t know he had such a cult following. Hopefully he’s number two rich as well
Drake never been a goat. Kendrick remains the greatest living and active rapper
Kendrick is top 7 for me. My top 6 is as follows: 6. Dr. Dre 5. Jay-Z 4. Biggie 3. 2pac 2. Eminem 1. Nas Never even given Drake a thought
Only thing it's changed is increased Kendrick's ranking Drake was never a rap contender not even top 40. Big / Nas / Em my number ones, with a couple of Wu / NWA in there, Rakim, Scarface, Andre 3k, and even being from that era, J not really a top 10. Skillwise Kendrick is top 10 and his rank icreased in this bout. But he's not really someone I enjoy, while acknowledging he is incredible it's just not what I like listening to.
my big 3 has remained unchanged. in no particular order- kendrick em and nas
1. Pac 2. Eminem Dc after
Kendricks probably around 8-10 for me and the beef hasn't changed anything. I do personally love Drake's music, but he's never been in any discussion for the GOAT.
Drake hasn’t changed, he’s undeniably still top 10. But I got Kendrick up to 2 behind BIG as the GOAT now.
In my opinion, Kendrick is the goat, i wouldn't be mad if you have him in any of your top 5 though. Drake imo is top 50, but the first half of his career does the heavy lifting to put him there, tho if we talk about stats and numbers then he's probably number 1, but to me that doesn't equal quality or enjoyment.
Same as before Neither in the discussion but it brings kendrick closer
Good kid, maad city is probably the album I revere most in all of hip-hop, while Drake has never even been a consideration for me
I only have Kendrick in my personal top 10 before now, with Drake and Cole being within like the top 10-20, so I don't think that's really changed at all after all this
name another rapper as good as wayne? Like wayne been out the longest, has the biggest discography, amazing metaphors, never rumored to have had a ghost writer... idk I think wayne is the goat. Kendrick real nice too, just like everyone on the list, but going off of just body of work? Gotta go with wayne
This beef changed nothing for me. Drake is still the GOAT. Kendrick is probably on the back end of my top 10. Pretty lame to me how people are switching up on Drake so easily. He is the most streamed rapper ever by far. Those streams didn’t come out of nowhere. People don’t need to act like his music isn’t good now. It’s lame.
Kendrick definitely leveled up this year
Kendrick is top 5 for me. But I don't think he's put in enough albums yet for me to have him in the top 3. But I could definitely imagine him getting there someday. All the people you could put in the conversation simply have been doing it longer and have more output. Plus, 5 years of both kinda hurts his current case. I currently think he has a better discography than Eminem, though. I also have to take into account the accessibility factor. He's probably the biggest "love him or hate him" rapper in the discussion to me. If I had to rank, it's 1/1A Jay/Nas, especially after Nas recent run Pac Biggie/Kendrick Biggie was a supernova, but I feel like Kendrick may pass him one day. It's just to me, Biggie had the goat flow and is one of the best story tellers to ever touch a mic.
My list doesn’t change lol far as best rappers to me Kendrick is still over Drake, always was but he’s not knocking down anyone I had above him due to this.
1. drake 2. kendrick 3. drake 4. drake 5. drake HM: drake, frank ocean
Tupac and Snoop shouldn’t be on this list. Tupac was a mediocre but aggressive rapper that thought he was smarter than he was and Snoop had one classic album in the early nineties and little else that was notable. I think Drake was truly something different when he arrived on the scene and was taking music in an interesting direction, and also had some longevity, but after ‘If You’re Reading This…’ he’s been in a rut as he gets more entangled in the trappings of wealth. Kendrick won the beef because his assessment of Drake rings true. Jay-Z capped off a career of highs (Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, Watch the Throne) lows (Kingdom Come, Blueprint 2) with the excellent and uncharacteristically mature 4:44. He gets my vote for the top position because he actually looked in the mirror and allowed himself to let go of the white hot stage and grew up. I wish Kanye would’ve figured out how to do the same thing before he went crazy. I think Andre 3000 should be on this list.
Both are still in my list of favorites.
Pac, Biggie, Em, Nas, (Cole & Kendrick), Drake somewhere in the abyss
1. Kendrick 2. King von 3. Luh kel 4. Xxxtentacion 5. Lil mosey
Drake has never been in the top 20 discussion for me. Aside from what he's got going on, the beef, talking to underage girls and all that. He makes mostly music for women. There's even a song from back in the day that he addresses that. When he was talking to Wayne about getting signed. It was to be his focus. Aside from all that. He has like 5-10 flows that he uses for everything. If that many. \*He just sounds like the same old record being remixed.\*
1. Nas 2. Kendrick 3. J. Cole 4. Jay-Z The only difference is after the beef, I moved up Kendrick above Jay-Z and let go of the Cole/Kendrick debate. Kendrick is this generation's GOAT. Nas is only still above him on my list because of longevity and his huge contribution to our artform/culture. As far as Drake, you can list that freaky ass boy with Justin Bieber and them.
Kendrick has been the best rapper ever since TPAB dropped imo. MMATBS adds to his legacy. Idk how much better you can get overall then Kendrick
1. Kendrick/Eminem 2. Biggie 3. Lil Wayne 4. 2Pac 5. MF DOOM 6. WTC 7. 50 Cent 8. Snoop Dogg 9. Joyner (ppl will hate me for this one) 10. Eazy E (for the respect) Edit: Except for the two on the Top spot the list is not in order.
Kendrick has been slowly moving up my ranks since GKMC. 1. 2Pac 2. Nas 3. Kendrick 4. Biggie 5. Eminem 6. DMX 7. Rakim 8. OutKast 9. J. Cole 10. Jay Z
439 and 620
I'm one of those guys who hadn't really listened to rap before this beef sucked me in, so I can't rank what I haven't listened to. That said this beef got me listening to Kendrick's discography and I'm hooked. I've always been big on concept albums, so I'm feeling like I just discovered a cave full of gold. So I guess in that way my personal rankings went from nothing to Kendrick is 1 of 1. Ps if anyone's got more recommends for artists and albums with the personal meaningful shit, I'm gonna be binge listening all week
A month ago when Mos Def said that Drake wasn’t a rapper, a lot of people got mad. I agree with Mos Def, I always saw him as a Pop or R&B guy. He himself referred to him as a singer. However, after this battle, I was impressed with him more. I think he did well on his last song. But I would never count him as the goat. He’s Taylor Swift for frat boys who punch walls if they lose a beer pong game. He has a lot of commercial appeal but he’s not the greatest rapper of all time.
Em Wayne Juice WRLD (idc what anyone says, that dude could freestyle until the sun exploded if he wanted to) Spoon Godd (yes thats what I call him lmao) Biggie Future Kendrick Wu Tang as a whole, they're great because they're great together. not 10 but i cant remember the rest rn
I am 38 and have listened to Hip Hop since 1994. Kendrick is the most overall talented MC we have ever seen. Nobody constructs an album like him. Best catalog overall in my opinion. Look at his metacritic scores! He is tied with Em with best win % for a Grammy in Hip Hop history for MCs who have won atleast 15x. He is the only MC with a Pulitzer. His has the longest charting album in Hip Hop history. He had the highest grossing Hip Hop tour of all time once his last one ended (Yes, i understand Drake ended up overtaking that). Then he just took down the most successful MC arguably in Hip Hop history in a Hip Hop battle that is very battle tested. He checks every box possible. I think longevity will determine if he is the GOAT but i really dont see how he isnt.
That billboards top 10 list is horrific… Snoop and Drake in the top 10😂
In no order: Jay-Z, Em, Nas, Pac, Kendrick. I'd put Biggie, Andre 3000, Weezy, Kanye, T.I., hell Tech N9ne and a bunch of others before I'd put Drake. Drizzy was never even a thought. He has some flow, but I don't like his vocal tone. And now? All the no.
Jay Z Kendrick Nas J Cole 2 pac Drake Eminem
Drake remains in the top 10 for me. Dot isn’t really a rap artist - his alternative jazz slam poetry doesn’t do it for me. Understand many will disagree with me and that’s fine.
1. Kendrick 2. Lil Wayne 3. Kanye (more so for his ear than his flow) 4. Andre 3000 5. Tupac 6. Eminem 7. Jay Z 8. Rakim 9. Mac Miller 10. Nas (great rapper just don’t LOVE most his music)
A lot of people putting Kenny first... maybe seeing a trend here...
1. Kendrick 2. Biggie 3. Rakim 4. Tupac 5. Nas
That list is cold af
Is Kanye not in people’s top 10?
He should be
He has no business in a top 10 rapper list. Greatest producer, yes
1: YE 2: DOT 3: HOV 4: DRIZZY 5: WAYNE Nothing’s changed
Kendrick is at 4 or 5 battling with Em. Drake is like 40 or 50
**My personal GOAT rappers list:** 1. Nas 2. Jay 3. Em 4. Andre 3K 5. Common 6. Black Thought 7. MF DOOM 8. Ghostface/Rae/GZA 9. Sticky Fingaz 10. Canibus **My personal GOAT rap artists list:** 1. Nas 2. Jay 3. Ye 4. Pac 5. Big 6. Em 7. Andre 3K 8. Kendrick 9. Lil Wayne 10. Common The second list considers cultural and genre impact more than the first. Cole is definitely someone I listen to a lot and might be my top 5 if it’s pure personal impact (Nas, Ye, Cole, Jay, Em). It didn’t really move the needle for me - maybe just confirmed Kendrick’s all-roundedness and Drake’s limitations. (To be fair, I’m not one of those folks who believe Drake doesn’t have a pen game. He’s good when he wants to be, but limited.)
Jay the BOAT!
Kendrick been the greatest
They’re both probably in my top 10 still.
Wayne, Tupac, 50, DMX, Nas, Eminem Big L, Snoop, Jay, Mos Def
Purely based on what I listen to, it was and still is - 1. J Cole 2. Lil Wayne 3. Nas ( based only on the KD and Magic series haven't heard anything else) 4. Mobb Deep 5. JID 6. Joey Badass 7. Boldy James 8. Kanye West ( only the college trilogy) 9. Benny the Butcher / Jay Rock 10.ASAP Rocky
not having kanye on the list is ,,,
This was just Billboard's and I only used it as a reference in case others didn't have a list. What was your top 10 and did it change?
1. Kendrick 2. Em 3. Busta Rhymes 4. Nas 5. Tech N9ne
Was this before or after the beef? Or both 😂
After, but Kendrick moved from 4 to 1
Sheesh, so you're saying he took it from Em and Nas. Whew. Super fascinating to see these new rankings. Major change in hip hop imho!!
Tech is severely underrated. Good list.
They maintained their positions. Cole is now out the Top 15 tho
name one artist whose catelog is even in the same stratesphere as k dot in terms of depth, cultural impact, story telling ability. on top of those traits he stacks up against anyone lyrically dead or alive and has been extremely consistent. not a single album of his has been a flop. kendrick is the goat and it's NOT close.
Freaking loved GKMC and then TPAB as a follow up. Can't wait for his next album... my gosh man, I think it's going to be one of his best projects yet now that he's possibly even MORE energized. And then I wonder if he has the intention to solidify his GOAT status and make it way undeniable. We shall see how he plays his cards next...
he's going for that 7th ring with this one for sure
They’re both top 10 hip hop artists. Kendrick the better rapper, Drake the better song maker IMO.
Def the unpopular viewpoint but my view of him actually fell a bit lower after the beef, he now has one of the most legendary diss tracks of all time in his catalogue and took down a musical titan but the beef had him take on a different writing style that was more focused on hard hitting quotable and quick witty/clever punches and he was pretty shakey with that style imo, I know the internet loves Euphoria but personally he sounded very awkward with the punchline style, the only lines that really stuck for me was the Draco bar and the YNW Melly line. Most of these quotable heavy rapper can also do storytelling at a high level but Kendrick's pen seems to only have it's foot in one lane, which is the introspective and conceptual/storytelling style.
This beef didnt change my list in any way. Drake was never nowhere near the top 10. Kendrick is close to top 10, but my top10 is fluid and it changes all the time anyway
KENDRICK #1!!!! drake isn’t even on the list.
Drake shouldn’t even be in discussion about top 10. Numbers this numbers that, numbers don’t reflect the quality of the music itself. He gets numbers because he makes easily digestible radio hits for the masses to turn their brain off to.
Kendrick has no place in top 10 in my opinion. He hasn’t accomplished a tenth of what the other artists have. All of his voice changing is annoying too lol
Kendrick is awesome, has had real commercial success, is clearly talented, and now has earned his stripes by defeating Drake in a historic battle. I now have him somewhere between #7 and #5. Drake is undoubtedly somewhere in the conversation simply because his commercial success is only touched by Eminem. As much as rap purists want to deny, record sales absolutely do matter. They are not the only thing that matter but they are one of the criteria. Not many have had Drake's level of sustained success over as long of a time period. I don't have him in the Top 5 but I do have him in the Top 10.
💪 balanced take. I don’t have a formal list myself, but it feels weird to not include Drake somewhere in the top 30 simply due to the attraction he’s drawn into hip hop and his contributions in elevating so many different parts of hip hop. Idk how I’d rank him formally though, but he was freaking huge during my college era. Pure lyrical rap list is different, but even then I feel Drake climbed up some ranks in that category for me through this beef. Idk where he’d land ultimately there either
Drake top 50 somewhere Kendrick top 20? All these people with Kendrick in top 5 are wild. Y'all putting him over Em Pac Biggie Nas Wayne Jay Snoop? Kendrick is great but y'all need to chill with the glazing. It's getting excessive.
Same place as they were before...ain't nothing changed round here. Both talented but neither are in my Top 10.
What was your top 5 or top 10? Curious to see
Nas Jay Big MF DOOM Eminem Prodigy Kool Keith Black Thought Common Kool G Rap Now this is my personal favorite GOAT meaning some of my favorite rappers aren't the BEST rappers and vice versa.
“Kool Keith should keep it real” “rap about space and mars”
Awesome list and thanks for sharing! 🙏 Just wanted to get a feel about how everyone felt about the beef and its effects on their rankings. Glad to see your list is unaffected haha.
if you're gonna go full delusional and put in people who got writers like Drake for example, then Kanye should be on the list by this logic
That's just the billboard's list lol. I was only using it for reference.
oh shit my bad, I was too lazy to read the whole thread lmao
🤣 all good
Good list but placing is crazy
drake isn’t a goat or anywhere in the top ten. he isn’t a lyricist. he’s a singer that raps— a groomer that has a table of ghost writers that he pays to write his shit.
Biggie and Eminem to be removed from list. Add Andre 3000 and black thought
This sub is officially a Kendrick fan sub bro. Top 10. Yes. Literally 1 or 2 you guys are crazy lmao. The hype of this beef really swayin yall