Most great rappers...

[I'mShady]

Were being raised by single mothers.
Tupac, Biggie, Eminem, Jay-Z, J Cole, 50 Cent(well kinda) and many more...

[Trimss]

50 Cent wasn't raised by his mother, but by his grand-parents if i remember.

That's maybe why they have so much things to say, growing with a single parent isn't cool. Most great rappers also had a rude childhood.

[christalgurl]

Tech N9ne's another example. He never met his dad.

[EyeQ200]

@Lello - OP said great rappers

[Slim Fiasco]

Big L also.

[BILI]

So if you want to be great you know what to do folks

[EyeQ200]

:laughing: got me there, I kinda like wayne though

Each to their own

So if you want to be great you know what to do folks

Kill a parent?

[JamaicanPattlez]

So if you want to be great you know what to do folks

Kill your dad?

[Devil'sAdvocate]

So if you want to be great you know what to do folks

Kill your dad?

yup

[pawel]

Let's start thinking about great rappers that know both their parents.
Currently I don't know any, but I'll post if I know some.
EDIT: Nas knew both ^^

[BILI]

Word guys,word

Just remember, you said it, not me

[I'mShady]

Let's start thinking about great rappers that know both their parents.
Currently I don't know any, but I'll post if I know some.
EDIT: Nas knew both ^^

Nas not only knew both, but his FATHER was probably his main inspiration for getting into music. That's like the complete opposite of all these guys.

[stillmatic]

Absent fathers and hip hop go like peanut butter and jelly.

I actually to this day still hold Ja Rule's "Only begotten son" as the most powerful rap song purely about absent fathers. The pain is evident. Can relate to it a lot.

As for great rappers who had a father figure in their life, as crazy as it seems DMX is one, who was actually closer to his father than his mom Arnette who would beat him and starve him when he was younger when his father was out working 12 hour shifts everyday. Will Smith is another, who's quite close to his father I believe if you listen to his classic "Just the two of us" track.

Not sure if they qualify as great rappers, but great songs definitely like Atmosphere's 'Yesterday' where little homie who's name I can't recall pays a heartfelt dedication to his (deceased) father when he was younger, then there's NY Oil who has "Father Father".

[Chet Starr]

I don't like my father, so I guess ill be semi famous

[EyeQ200]

I think it's less of "not having a father/father figure", but more of energy and emotion coming from something in their life.
eg. Nas knew his father, who was a Jazz musician, this probably brought Nas up around music and his father served as an inspiration.
eg. DMX's mother gave him a hard time as a child, he would use this negative energy as a positive to strive to be successful:

First came the bullshit the drama with my mama
She got on the fly shit until i split
And said that I'm gonna be that seed
That doesn't need much to succeed

eg. Almost everyone here has heard Eminems story and it shows that having both his father leaving and his mother doing a bad job at raising him, he used it to be a great rapper.
eg. 50 Cent's father left, and his mother dying when he was 8 gave him what he needed in order to follow her dream of getting away from hustling.

(I understand a lot of these examples have already been mentioned, but the point i was trying to prove is that it isn't just from losing their father, but from an emotional trigger in their life to give them inspiration)