5. Eminem. Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better known by his stage name Eminem. "I dont give a fuck, God sent me to piss the world off"........This was Eminem's entrance into the mainstream. Eminem defied race amongst so many other things to become the king of his game over the past decade. Many think if there is a Kurt Cobain or a John Lennon of our generation, this man is it. Eminem the first artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LP’s. Since then, he won an Oscar for song of his "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile. Eminem would continue to set Hip Hop ablaze with his genius wordplay unorthodox flow, high quality rap instrumentals and hip hop beats. As well as being a member of D12, Eminem is also one half of the Detroit hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, with Royce da 5'9".
6 KRS-One. Lawrence Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage name KRS-One, is an American MC and producer. Over his career, he has been known by several pseudonyms including “Kris Parker”, “The Blastmaster”, “The Teacha”, and “The Philosopher”. Even though KRS-One has remained in the underground scene for alomst 20 years, he continues to be one of the biggest influences in the game. After Blessing Hip Hop with his Boogie Down Productions crew, Kris went solo and gained critical acclaim as an MC. Setting the standard for New York Hip Hop in the late 80's, Kris battled many challengers to stepped to his throne. KRS-One is a legend, and will always be remembered amongst Hip Hop heads. Long live the Blast Master! KRS will tell you he is the living, walking, breathing embodiment of hip-hop till the day he dies. That's what makes Kris one of the all-time greats: He was live and loved to prove it. Kris could go from dropping indisputable science that elevated the masses to crushing any "sucka MC" who stepped his way. At the 2008 BET Awards, KRS-One was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for all his work and effort towards the Stop the Violence Movement as well as the overall pioneering of hip hop music and culture.
7. LL Cool J. James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968) better known as LL Cool J. LL Cool J means “Ladies Love Cool James”. He is famous for romantic ballads such as “I Need Love”, “Hey Lover”, “Around the Way Girl” as well as pioneering hip-hop such as “I Can’t Live Without My Radio”, “I’m Bad”, “The Boomin’ System”, and “Mama Said Knock You Out”. LL also appeared in many films. He is one of a few rap music stars of his era to sustain a successful recording career for more than two decades. Becoming the first hip hop artist ever signed to Def Jam, LL Cool J has held down this scene for 20 years now. Releasing 11 gold and platinum albums and no other rap artist has been more consistent. His landmark album "Mama Said Knock You Out" changed LL's persona and unleashed a rage in his rhymes that would continue for the next ten years. Becoming an elder statesman for Hip Hop, LL cut out the profanity from his lyrics, a request his grandmother made before she died. LL has endured many battles. As LL has proved, though he may never be beat in a battle, there is always room for the ladies.
8. Scarface. Brad Jordan better known by his stage name Scarface, (born November 9, 1970) is an American rapper from Houston, Texas and a frontman of the hip hop group Geto Boys. Scarface is widely known as one of the pioneers of subgenre mafioso rap As the member for The Geto Boys, Scarface brought horrifying realism to Hip Hop with each and every group and solo album he released. With subject matter ranging from Drugs to Life to Heaven and Hell, Scarface dropped knowledge that many lyricists were afraid to touch at the time. Combined with a raspy delivery, Scarface will always be the King of the South. Scarface appeared in the Mike Judge film Idiocracy as a pimp named Upgrayedd.
1. Rakim (pronounced rah-KIM) (Born William Michael Griffin Jr. on January 28, 1968 in Queens, New York). People might say Tupac was the rapper that turned the whole game around. His an pioneer of the musical genre of hip hop. Rakim revolutionized style. He took hip-hop to another level. Without the GOAT, there wouldn’t be any Nas, Jay-Z...maybe even Tupac! Alright, now let’s just get to the point here. Paid In Full. The album that changed it all. This album was ten years ahead of its time when it dropped late in the 80’s. Hip hop beats, rap instrumentals awesome, rhyme tehnique amazing. Although Rakim hasn’t gotten nearly as much respect as he deserves from the average rap fans, people who truly know the game realize what Rakim did for it. Rakim wasn’t just years ahead of his time, he was light years ahead of it. He made the advanced lyrical genre of music we all know and love what it is currently, only without that J-Kwon and Chingy crap. He has been one of the most influential people in all kinds of music in recent history, and although most rap fans might state that Pac is untouchable on the list of the greatest, you just make sure to tell them what you’ve learned today. Rakim is hands down the greatest rhymer to ever touch the microphone.
2. 2Pac. Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli. Dubbed "The Most Influential Rapper Ever", "All-Time Fan Favorite", the "G.O.A.T". Whatever he is to his fans, 2Pac will forever be remembered for bringing emotion to Hip Hop. With is 1992 debut "2Pacalypse" he proved he can hang with the best of them. But 1995's "Me Against the World" put 2Pac on a pedestal with the greatest artists in all musical history. His battles with the two rappers in front of him were well documented, and he still has the diss song of all time with "Hit Em Up". Although he was percieved as a public disgrace and a menace to society, he blessed us with more than Hip Hop. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Tupac Amur Shakur was a promising actor and a social activist, wrote heart-wrenching poetry, and from time to time showed us all his emotions in his songs. R.I.P. Tupac Amaru Shakur, G.O.A.T.
3. Notorious B.I.G Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), popularly known as Biggie Smalls (after a fictional gangster in the 1975 film Let’s Do It Again), “The Black Frank White” (based on a fictional drug baron from the 1990 film King of New York), and by his primary stage name The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. Biggie Smalls was an really amazing talent, first scouted out by Bad Boy’s own Puff Daddy, now known as P. Diddy, in the 90’s. Long live The Flow. Biggie was to the East Coast what 2Pac was to the West Coast. Biggie released the RAP classics "Ready to Die" and "Life After Death" and became a Hip Hop icon. He changed the way an MC flows, and stopped everyone in their tracks when he dropped his verse on "Notorious Thugs" using the Bone Thugs style better than they did themsleves. Also one of the great storytellers in Hip Hop, The Notorious One had every element an MC could dream of.
4. JAY-Z. Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Jay-Z. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $150 million, selling over 30 million copies of his albums in the United States alone and receiving several Grammy Awards for his musical work. “The Best Rapper Alive” That’s what the Jay-z says about himself. It seems like everything Jay-Z touches sells, whether it be his albums or even his own clothing line. He has released one classic in Reasonable Doubt, and another possible one in The Blueprint. Most of his other albums are good aswell, with just a few exceptions that don’t even deserve to get mentioned in this.
5. NAS. Nasir “Nas” bin Olu Dara Jones (born September 14, 1973), who performs under the mononym Nas, formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, he was born and raised in the Queensbridge housing projects in New York City. Although he dropped out of middle school, he managed to attain a high degree of literacy which is prominent in his lyrics. He created probably the most important LP in Hip Hop History - Illmatic. Nas is a true story teller, he doesn't only say things to rhyme, but he says things that have a meaning, thats why some people don't like him because they are ignorant people that only like rappers that talk about stupid stuff!
British rapper Skepta took to Twitter to tell his followers that his single 'Dare To Dream' has been takenoff Youtube because Interscope Records love the track so much they want platinum selling rapper Eminem to have it!
Apparently Skepta got an email from Interscope Records saying that - “Jimmy Iovine Interscope heard my new single "Dare To Dream" and decided he wanted to sign it for Eminem hence Universal takin it off YouTube”.
Eminem has bought a track written and recorded by UK rapper Skepta so he can release it himself.
The Eminem's record label Interscope obtained the rights to Skepta's brand new single "Dare To Dream" and will rerecord it for an upcoming album.
Interscope executive Jimmy Lovine heard the hip hop song with fat rap beats when it surfaced online last month and reportedly immediately prompted YouTube to remove Skepta's track version.
Speaking on Twitter, Skepta explained: "Just got a f*%king CRAZY email. I don't know if I should be angry or privileged. This explains why the f*%k YouTube took 'Dare To Dream' off (sic)."
"I overly love the song but at the same time I do understand Eminem together with the "Dare To Dream" chorus will be absolutely f*%king CRAZY."
Skepta, is an English rap grime MC from Tottenham, London. Originally from and born to Nigerian parents he moved from Lagos to London aged three. He is a producer and DJ commonly associated with the North London Grime scene, including Roll Deep and Boy Better Know. Skepta started his music career after he won a MC battle with over 300 people.
When you buy beats you receive a radio ready rap beat, all you have to do is record your vocals. After the test recording has been made, look at the waveform levels in your sequencer and see how much variation there is. If there's a big level fluctuation, you may need to add some compression when recording, but never add more than you'll ultimately need, as you can't take it off once it's been added. Usually stick to ratios of up to 4:1 and then adjust the threshold to give a gain-reduction reading of no max than 6dB on the peaks. Use a release time and a fast attack of around a quarter of a second, or the automatic mode. If you don't have a compressor in your preamp, then record with no processing and use a software compressor when mixing. Excessive or inappropriate compression at this stage can lead to a congested, lifeless sound that's almost impossible to fix later. You should know that compression brings up the effects of the room ambience in quieter passages, so while you may not hear the room on an unprocessed recording, it may start to intrude once you start to add compression. This is why it's so important to fix the recording space before you start recording.
When you recordinh hip hop tracks may be that some sections of the song, are sung louder than the verses, in which case you might opt to record them separately on two different tracks so that you can match up their levels more easily. Other options include recording everything onto one track, then dividing that track into its verse and chorus sections before moving the chorus sections to a new track. Doing this makes the levels easier to manage without having to use automation, and you also have the ability to use two different compressor settings (or even two completely different compressors) on the two tracks. Often the louder section will need a higher ratio to keep it even, especially if the section includes a lot of natural dynamics.
Swollen Members - "Monsters in the Closet, Vol. 2"
Swollen Members - Mean Streets ft. Souls of Mischief
Ace Hood - "Blood, Sweat & Tears"
Gucci Mane - "1017 Bricksquad Presents...Ferrari Boyz"
King Sun - "Strickly Ghetto"
Royce da 5'9" - "Success Is Certain"
Ski - "24 Hour Karate School, Pt. 2"
Stetsasonic - "On Fire"
The Foreign Exchange - "Connected"
40 Cal. - "Broken Safety"
AWOL One - "The The Child Star"
Boss Hogg Outlawz - "Serve and Collect 3 (Immahogg)"
Chino Grande - "The Story of My Life"
Dorrough - "Dorrough Music Gangsta Grillz: Silent Assassins Hosted By Dj Drama"
General Population - "Crime Scene"
Guce - "Guce Leeroy"
Hollow Tip - "Ship'n and Handlin"
Layzie Bone - "It's Not a Game"
Lil' Rue - "The Tonite Show with Lil Rue"
Slaine - "A World with No Skies 2.0 "
Slaine - 99 Bottles (Official Video)
The Cool Kids - "When Fish Ride Bicycles"
Timbo King - "From Babylon to T1mbuk2"
Z-Ro - "Straight Profit"
Game - "The R.E.D. Album"
Messy Marv - "Goon Vitamins, Vol. 2"
Outerspace - "My Brother's Keeper"
Alias - "Fever Dream"
Glasses Malone - "Beach Cruiser"
Lil Wayne - "Tha Carter IV"
Upcoming Releases July 2011
July 4, Jay-Z & Kanye West - "Watch the Throne"
July 5, Vakill - "Armor Of God"
July 5, Lloyd - "King of Hearts"
July 11, N.B.S. - "The Smokefest"
July 12, Hodgy Beats & Left Brain - "Blackenedwhite"
July 12, The Cool Kids - "When Fish Ride Bicycles"
July 12, Crooked I - "Planet C.O.B."
July 12, Pimp C - "Still Pimpin"
July 12, Cali Swag District - "The Kickback"
July 12, Jon Connor - "Salvation"
July 19, DJ Khaled - "We the Best Forever"
July 26, Wu-Tang Clan - "Legendary Weapons"
July 26, Dr. Dre - "Detox"
July 26, Jazz Spastiks & Junclassic - "Mode 7"
July 26, Illus - "For Adam"
July 26, Jay Rock - "Follow Me Home"
July 26, Black Rob - "Game Tested, Streets Approved"
June's Top New Hip hop Albums
1. Bad Meets Evil - 'Hell: The Sequel' 2. Pete Rock & Smif-n-wessun - Monumental 3. Curren$y - 'Weekend At Burnie's' 4. Trae the Truth – 'Street King' 5. Tech N9ne - 'All 6s & 7s' 6. Big Sean - 'Finally Famous' 7. Random Axe - 'Random Axe' 8. Hail Mary Mallon - 'Are You Gonna Eat That?' 9. Co$$ - 'Before I Awoke' 10. Vakill – 'Armor Of God'
The Eminem's record label Interscope obtained the rights to Skepta's brand new single "Dare To Dream" and will rerecord it for an upcoming album.
When you buy beats you receive a radio ready rap beat, all you have to do is record your vocals. After the test recording has been made, look at the waveform levels in your sequencer and see how much variation there is. If there's a big level fluctuation, you may need to add some compression when recording, but never add more than you'll ultimately need, as you can't take it off once it's been added. Usually stick to ratios of up to 4:1 and then adjust the threshold to give a gain-reduction reading of no max than 6dB on the peaks. Use a release time and a fast attack of around a quarter of a second, or the automatic mode. If you don't have a compressor in your preamp, then record with no processing and use a software compressor when mixing. Excessive or inappropriate compression at this stage can lead to a congested, lifeless sound that's almost impossible to fix later. You should know that compression brings up the effects of the room ambience in quieter passages, so while you may not hear the room on an unprocessed recording, it may start to intrude once you start to add compression. This is why it's so important to fix the recording space before you start recording.
When you recordinh hip hop tracks may be that some sections of the song, are sung louder than the verses, in which case you might opt to record them separately on two different tracks so that you can match up their levels more easily. Other options include recording everything onto one track, then dividing that track into its verse and chorus sections before moving the chorus sections to a new track. Doing this makes the levels easier to manage without having to use automation, and you also have the ability to use two different compressor settings (or even two completely different compressors) on the two tracks. Often the louder section will need a higher ratio to keep it even, especially if the section includes a lot of natural dynamics.
July 4, Jay-Z & Kanye West - "Watch the Throne"