What Makes an Artist Great to You?

[gutawafang]

if you can make a track that i can relate to, then you're great. IMO

Same here. I can well relate to Eminem's songs, that's why I listen to him.

I listen to all genres so to me, if I can FEEL the song, that's a good enough artist for me.

[gladimnotsoluble]

Well I think obviously, lyrics, flow, content, originality etc. are all standards for making a great rap artist. But what really sets different rappers apart in my mind are the sounds of the record, meaning how catchy the song is. The reason I latched on to Eminem was because of his music where the songs just plain sounded good. Of course, after delving deeper into rap, songs like Bad Meets Evil where the actual song doesn't sound good but the lyrics are insanely dope, I can definitely appreciate it--and dig it now.

What makes a song like "Cleaning Out My Closet" so amazing is the fantastic lyrical quality (third verse is so hot), the raw emotion, but most of all it's a catchy good sounding song.

That may sound cliche or plain stupid, but it really sets apart what makes an artist great for me, because an artist like Rakim whose music contains few melodies, few hooks, I find it harder to enjoy.

[JPearson]

mixture of loadza things, think lyricd are important for a rapper though, flows and beats to... so many things but to keep it shorter id say the lyrics really need to be on point, put together in a fluent flow wether its complex or simple, to a good beat n about stuff everyone can relate to... also think the rapper has to be decent as a person to...