In honour of Hip Hop’s Golden Anniversary, kenkoast.ke presents a series of articles to celebrate the one culture that has probably influenced the world the most in recent human history.
First up, LISTS: The bread-&-butter (or poison, depending) of any Hip Hop Head worth his/her salt.
Kicking this off, I was thinking this should really be a FAVORITE OF ALL TIME not a GREATEST OF ALL TIME. I mean, when you think about it, isn’t that all these lists really are? The opinion of the writer of the piece, informed by their own inclinations (oh, forget the ‘criteria’ they put up – the list itself is more often than not inconsistent with said criteria)? It’s quite simple: each Hip Hop aficionado has had a very individual path in this culture – & your preferences logically reflect as much. See, the thing we always have to ask when it comes to lists is 1) what was the motivation behind it, 2) how can a personal opinion be wrong, & 3) what shapes YOUR list? Is it the bandwagon (where you must mention, say, KRS-One because everyone says he’s a GOAT – while you personally don’t feel his music)?
And that’s the thing with ‘GOAT’ lists; you’ll almost always be disappointed if you take them to heart. Okay, sometimes the criticism is quite warranted – some lists are so shamelessly sensationalist that there’s simply no other reason they could have been put together other than to ‘trend’. You know the ones. On the flip side, apart from the widely divergent takes on how to measure ‘greatness’, there always appears to be an unspoken pact of unanimity among ‘Heads’ – where a list is deemed at best, ‘incomplete’ & at worst, ‘wack’ if certain names do not appear on it. In a world of conformists & bandwagoners, many are hesitant to give their true uninfluenced takes for fear of being accused of ‘Hip Hop sacrilege’ & not ‘knowing Hip Hop’. I get it; we’re social creatures & we all want to belong. Which is somewhat ironic in a culture that has always placed a high pedigree on originality, trailblazing & setting the trends that others are to follow. After all, we are as different as our fingerprints; our paths in life, individual tastes, musical palettes – all of it.
Now, a Top 50 list to encompass 50 years of this artform that has birthed stars a galaxy is a near-impossible task. To even up the odds a bit, I have split the MC lists by the 2 sexes (to be clear, he/him & she/her – in 2023, you don’t leave room to get misquoted). While ‘an MC is an MC is an MC’, this Voltron-esque creation called Hip Hop (just like human society) has been predominantly testosterone-fueled. It therefore occurred to me that there are very dope ‘femcees’ who don’t get the recognition due to them; not as an indictment of their skill, but merely because of how tight a capsule a list of 10, 20, 50, or even 100 is.
The idea for this series of lists was born from a reflection of how personal the journey through this culture truly is. From the first rap you ever heard, the first time you realized you were hooked, writing hormone-driven, perfume-oversprayed letters in high school plagiarizing ‘All I Need’, the shedding of gangsta tears (once you realize that you’re never getting a reply to that letter) with Jay’s ‘Song Cry’ to hold you up…it’s a breaking of the ‘virginity’ you never forget – even if it was while trying to will your drunken self to match the energy of ‘Ante Up’ (without fully comprehending what exactly this was that you were hearing) in a spasmodically-lit, sweat-infused Moi Avenue club.
I’ve tried to be as deliberate as possible: other than the choices, these lists are a map of my journey in Hip Hop. Certain picks reflect the first Rap Music I ever heard (my intro to the culture), others: voices, styles, flows, careers that stick with me to date. The method has a very bespoke ‘madness’ to it.
I have deliberately left out the MC-Producer hybrid (I hear a separate list calling). So, no Kanye West nor Chizn Brain…
The other unique twist with these lists is its nuanced take – that in celebrating the globalization of Hip Hop this past half-century, these are not US Hip Hop lists. I have included MCs & songs from different parts of the world (with Kenya suitably represented – I must admit, it’s a really great look seeing our #KEHipHop heroes standing toe-to-toe with greats we grew up idolizing). The only qualification to be on is whether I felt your music. This ‘mash up’ also represents where our young 50-year-old is going next – for instance, the growing trend of US artists expressing an interest in working with African acts. It however goes without saying that the homeplace of Hip Hop has the overwhelming majority of entrants.
Come to think of it, Hip Hop probably wouldn’t have gotten to where it is without ‘Friends of the Culture’ from outside the culture (artists from other genres, people who introduced it into rooms it probably otherwise wouldn’t have even peeked in, & so on). These, too, should get their moment in the sun further along the series.
As always, any conversation birthed from these words is always welcome & most appreciated.
Finally, this season is also a time capsule: I’ll always remember where I was, & in what manner, I celebrated the Golden Anniversary of this big part of me. Putting this together was the equivalent of putting together a scrap book of Hip Hop superheroes like we did back in the hey – albeit more analog. The selection of photos is meant to deliberately invoke that vibe.
Upcoming Lists:
50 Greatest Female MCs of All Time
50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time
50 Greatest Hip Hop Collabs of All Time
50 Greatest Rap Albums of All Time
50 Greatest Rap Songs of All Time
50 Greatest Rap Verses of All Time
…& more.
In the intense words of Willie D (of the Geto Boys; not on this list, but a compadre to someone who is), “No Mo’ Talk!”
List 1: The 50 Greatest Male MCs of All Time.
My criteria is simple: Rewind-worthiness, Impact (both to the game & to me personally), Impact II (Outside Hip Hop), Legendary Moments in Hip Hop History, Versatility (in style, flow, subject matter etc), Catalogue (read: Volume of Material), Classic Albums, Presentation (including Music Videos & Live Performances) & Originality/Uniqueness (simply put, being unforgettable once you’re out of the room or the song is over). Then of course, you can’t rule out the intangibles: when you can’t quite put your finger on why exactly you connected with an artist – you just did. Obviously, era bias is a thing so, there’s that (not too many new school cats on here). However, as a cliché ‘student of the game’, this bias is not too prevalent – my bias exhibits itself in other forms; a true trademark of Hip Hop Best Of… lists. Irriswarririz…
Twende kazi.
50. Immortal Technique [USA]
49. Kaa La Moto [KEN]
48. Redman [USA]
47. Eyedea (RIP) [USA]
46. Joe Budden [USA]
45. Big Mic (RIP) [KEN]
44. 50 Cent [USA]
43. Swiss [UK]
42. Abbas Kubaff a.k.a Jerry Doobiez [KEN]
41. Booba [FRA]
40. Rick Ross [USA]
Rick Ross (Image: YourEDM.com)39. Mos Def a.k.a Yasiin Bey [USA]
38. Kool G Rap [USA]
37. Fid Q [TZ]
36. Ludacris [USA]
35. Ja Rule [USA]*
Ja Rule (Image: Pinterest.com)34. Snoop Dogg [USA]
33. Kitu Sewer a.k.a K-Swiss [KEN]
32. Pusha T [USA]
31. Ransom [USA]
30. KRS One [USA]
KRS One (Image: Beat Magazine)
29. Big Daddy Kane [USA]
28. KXNG Crooked [USA]
27. Slick Rick a.k.a The Ruler [UK]
26. Professor Jay [TZ]
25. Tupac Shakur a.k.a 2Pac (RIP) [USA]
24. Jadakiss [USA]
23. J.Cole [USA]
22. DMX (RIP) [USA]
DMX (Image: YoStayHungry.com)
21. Common [USA]
20. MF DOOM (RIP) [UK]
19. LL Cool J [USA]
18. Tech N9ne [USA]
17. Ice Cube [USA]
16. Busta Rhymes [USA]
15. Scarface [USA]
14. Method Man [USA]
13. Andre 3000 [USA]
12. Kendrick Lamar [USA]
11. Royce Da 5’9 [USA]
Royce Da 5’9 (Image: NME.com)10. The Notorious B.I.G a.k.a Biggie Smalls [USA]
09. Johnny Vigeti [KEN]
08. Black Thought [USA]
07. Lupe Fiasco [USA]
06. Lil’ Wayne [USA]
05. Big Pun [USA]
04. Rakim [USA]
03. Nas [USA]
02. Eminem [USA]
01. JAY Z [USA]
*Hearing Ja Rule’s “Always On Time” (w/ Ashanti) & “What’s Luv?” (w/ Fat Joe & Ashanti) back in ’02 is what got me wanting to rap so he definitely had to be on my list – Ah! Illogical bias strikes again…
10 Honourable Mentions
Drake [CAN]
Fabolous [USA]
Big L [USA]
Papoose [USA]
Kamaa [KEN]
Fat Joe [USA]
Inspectah Deck [USA]
Bamboo [KEN]
Treach [USA]
Mike Skinner (The Streets) [UK]