The hip-hop nerd strikes again. Here, he writes about the rappers who’ve influenced the game the most.
1. LL Cool J. Sex Symbol? check. Great MC in his time? Check. Top 40 ready? Check. The blueprint for the modern day hip-hop solo star started with the kid from Farmer’s Blvd. He was a sex symbol before Tupac and Biggie, and had hip-hop beefs before 50 Cent. The first potent blend of matinee idol and MC started with this guy.
2. Ice Cube. He was the FIRST rapper who WASN’T from New York to show that you could kill the game and not be from the Big Apple. Not just the benchmark for West Coast excellence, he’s the forefather of Snoop, Tupac, Big Boi, Andre 3000, T.I., Lil’ Wayne…anybody who raps and who’s not from the East Coast owes a a debt to ‘Cube.
3. Run (Run D.M.C). His animated, nimble rap style was the most amazing thing in Rap music from 1982 to 1986. His booming voice was an instrument that influenced possibly %90 of Gen-X hip hop heads to rap. We all were guests in Run’s House.
4. Tupac. It wasn’t his Thug image. N.W.A. did that. It wasn’t his sex symbol status. LL and Big Daddy Kane macked already. It was ‘Pac’s willingness to be the first MISUNDERSTOOD Rap hero. He actually lived to be…flawed. That’s what made Tupac special.
5. Notorious B.I.G. Let’s face it. New York in the early ’90’s needed a star. Bad. enter Biggie Smalls. His hustler image, combined with his charm, made him a huge star, but also created an archetype that…really hasn’t changed. The flossy Don still dominates hip hop (or hip POP) imagery and airwaves. (Rick Ross, Jay-Z, etc…..)
This article originally appeared at Examiner.com.
Photo – w:User:Hudgons/Wikimedia Commons
Slick Rick
Heavy D
Snoop Dog
Mos Def
Jay Z
man, heavy d -‘now that we found love what are we gonna dooo, with ii-it’
whatta monster tune
i loved hiphouse (for the youth, a brief beaufitul merging of rap and house circa 1988to1990)
MC Lyte
Salt N Pepa – One of first majorly successful female rap groups.
Wu Tang Clan – Probably one of the few groups that proved you could succeed collectively AND an an individual.
Truthfully I think you can make this a top 10.
Hi Everyone forgets Heavy D. His messages were inspirational and he was a good mix of the hip-hop era. Sadly he passed without proper recognition.
Lists are lists, and I know they’re never truly all-encompassing – I get that – but here’s a few of my early rap icons that, were it my list, would be added: * Eazy E – He set the standard for gangsta rap early on. Rap probably wouldn’t have moved much further past the Sugar Hill Gang without his controversial style. * 2 Live Crew – Took controversy to a whole new level, paving the way for free speech in rap, for better or worse * Queen Latifah – The definitive strong woman rapper. ‘Nuff said. * Sir Mix-a-Lot –… Read more »
Josh, your list is really good…
G.D. M.A.C. here (that’s Gary Dietz “Middle Aged Caucasian” to you…)
Just need to let the world know that I have a Run D.M.C. playlist on Spotify I often use to get dressed to in the morning. And I have a LaserDisc (look it up, whippersnapper!) that has some early L.L. Cool J on it.
(I needed to tell the world that because my significant other doesn’t appreciate my fine taste in 1980’s rap.)
– Gary
Gary. RUN D.M.C Forever! Lol! I still love those guys, too…
Greg,
Can’t argue with this list, but no mention of the Beastie Boys?
Without them hip-hop never goes mainstream.
JFB
Great point, jackfrombkln! I shouldn’t have left them out…