To celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, Billboard/Vibe ranked the Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time.

 

 

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How were these rankings determined? As Billboard explains, “The Billboard and Vibe editorial teams opted first to limit the rap arena to North America. So for example, as estimable as his career is, British rapper Slick Rick isn’t on this list. We also opted not to include the significant contributions of reggaetón and dancehall MCs on this list, just to keep our pool of nominees a little more focused.  From there, the teams took into account the following criteria, not in any particular order: body of work/achievements (charted singles/albums, gold/platinum certifications), cultural impact/influence (how the artist’s work fostered the genre’s evolution), longevity (years at the mic), lyrics (storytelling skills) and flow (vocal prowess).”

 

 

Check out the Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list below.

 

 

50.  Rick Ross

49.  Rev. Run (Run-DMC)

48.  Melle Mel

47.  MC Lyte

46.  Jadakiss

45.  Ice-T

44.  Queen Latifah

43.  Bun B

42.  Redman

41.  E-40

40.  Dr.  Dre

39.  Ludacris

38.  Gucci Mane

37.  Common

36.  Yasin Bey (formerly Mos Def)

35.  Future

34.  Chuck D (Public Enemy)

33.  Busta Rhymes

32.  T.I.

31.  Lil Kim

30.  Lauryn Hill

29.  Pusha T

28.  Black Thought

27.  Q-Tip

26.  Big Pun

25.  Method Man

24.  KRS-One

23.  Kurtis Blow

22.  Ghostface Killah

21.  DMX

20.  Big Daddy Kane

19.  Missy Elliott

18.  Ice Cube

17.  50 Cent

16.  Scarface

15.  J. Cole

14.  LL Cool J

13.  Rakim

12.  Andre 3000

11.  Kanye West (Ye)

10.  Nicki Minaj

9.  Snoop Dogg

8.  Drake

7.  Lil Wayne

6.  The Notorious B.I.G.

5.  Eminem

4.  Tupac

3.  Nas

2.  Kendrick Lamar

1.  Jay-Z

Filed under: Billboard, jay-z-2, vibe