The "Biggest" Rappers Ever?

[FreeSpeech]

I'm not talking about legends or skill, I love Rakim but he doesn't make this list. Basically, who has been the most popular and maintained it? Nelly and DMX were both huge, but pretty much fell off the map. Even when Em was gone, he was still had a massive following. DMX? Not so much. Yes, Nas isn't going platinum nowadays, but he definitely makes the list. It's hard to put my finger on what makes a rapper "big". Basically, if another rap album was NEVER made (scary thought) who would be most remembered in 20 years?

How I see it:
1. Tupac
2. Eminem
3. Jay-Z
4. Nas
5. Biggie
6. Lil Wayne
7. 50 Cent
8. Kanye West

I don't think anyone else makes the list. These guys are the most universally known (by that I mean in America, suck it foreigners )

[Robbie G]

Jay-z, Eminen, Tupac, Biggie.

[VenomBlackViper]

Biggie, Big Pun, Fat Joe, Bizarre, King Gordy, Sean Kingston.

[flyingmonkey10]

Biggie, Big Pun, Fat Joe, Bizarre, King Gordy, Sean Kingston.

[VenomBlackViper]

Being serious for a minute Lil Wayne & 50 Cent shouldn't be on that list, 50 Cent already fell the fuck off hard & will be even more forgotten say 5 years from now. Lil Wayne is the Nelly of this era, 5 years later no ones gonna remember him. Agreed on the rest though, also Eazy E & Snoop Dogg should be on there in place of 50 & Weezy.

[FreeSpeech]

Being serious for a minute Lil Wayne & 50 Cent shouldn't be on that list, 50 Cent already fell the fuck off hard & will be even more forgotten say 5 years from now. Lil Wayne is the Nelly of this era, 5 years later no ones gonna remember him. Agreed on the rest though, also Eazy E & Snoop Dogg should be on there in place of 50 & Weezy.

Snoop probably, Eazy hell no. And Wayne's been in the game as long as Em, he's not going anywhere. 50, yes he fell off, but he's so well known, and always will be. Everyone knows 50. He's the definition of "rapper" to so many people.

[q_shady]

Eminem, Tupac, Biggie and Jay Z. thats it for me

[WakeUpShow]

Eminem, Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z
Basically the ones who have transcended rap and became icons.
Kid Cudi, B.o.B and Lupe may be on the list some day.

[VenomBlackViper]

Being serious for a minute Lil Wayne & 50 Cent shouldn't be on that list, 50 Cent already fell the fuck off hard & will be even more forgotten say 5 years from now. Lil Wayne is the Nelly of this era, 5 years later no ones gonna remember him. Agreed on the rest though, also Eazy E & Snoop Dogg should be on there in place of 50 & Weezy.

Snoop probably, Eazy hell no. And Wayne's been in the game as long as Em, he's not going anywhere. 50, yes he fell off, but he's so well known, and always will be. Everyone knows 50. He's the definition of "rapper" to so many people.

50 Cent: In 2005 he was, yes. Today not so much, he's not even that big in the mainstream anymore. As I said give it another 5 years & see how "big" he is then.
Lil Wayne: Bow Wows been in the game as long as Em too, yet who the fuck cares about him. It's not about how long you were in the game it's your impact. Lil Wayne isn't a future legend, he's hot shit today & tomorrows garbage. Master P was huge in 97, wheres he at now? Nelly was huge in 2000, wheres he at now? Ja Rule was huge in 03, wheres he at now? That's exactly where Lil Wayne is headed.

[Master Chief]

Eminem, Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z
Basically the ones who have transcended rap and became icons.
Kid Cudi, B.o.B and Lupe may be on the list some day.

Kid Cudi?

I mean, he makes fantastic music but he'll never become a BIG rapper if we're not even sure if he's a rapper

[FreeSpeech]

Being serious for a minute Lil Wayne & 50 Cent shouldn't be on that list, 50 Cent already fell the fuck off hard & will be even more forgotten say 5 years from now. Lil Wayne is the Nelly of this era, 5 years later no ones gonna remember him. Agreed on the rest though, also Eazy E & Snoop Dogg should be on there in place of 50 & Weezy.

Snoop probably, Eazy hell no. And Wayne's been in the game as long as Em, he's not going anywhere. 50, yes he fell off, but he's so well known, and always will be. Everyone knows 50. He's the definition of "rapper" to so many people.

50 Cent: In 2005 he was, yes. Today not so much, he's not even that big in the mainstream anymore. As I said give it another 5 years & see how "big" he is then.
Lil Wayne: Bow Wows been in the game as long as Em too, yet who the fuck cares about him. It's not about how long you were in the game it's your impact. Lil Wayne isn't a future legend, he's hot shit today & tomorrows garbage. Master P was huge in 97, wheres he at now? Nelly was huge in 2000, wheres he at now? Ja Rule was huge in 03, wheres he at now? That's exactly where Lil Wayne is headed.

Yeah maybe 50 will fade, I doubt it though. Who knows, that's where he's at for now for me. And the difference between Wayne and Bow Wow/Master P is Wayne is still hot today. He went platinum in 1999, he'll probably go platinum in 2011. I think he's been getting progressively worse, but no matter what he does he'll have legions of Weezy fans following. He can literally do no wrong in some (hundred's of thousands) people's eyes.

[VenomBlackViper]

Yeah maybe 50 will fade, I doubt it though. Who knows, that's where he's at for now for me. And the difference between Wayne and Bow Wow/Master P is Wayne is still hot today. He went platinum in 1999, he'll probably go platinum in 2011. I think he's been getting progressively worse, but no matter what he does he'll have legions of Weezy fans following. He can literally do no wrong in some (hundred's of thousands) people's eyes.

Even if he did go platinum in 2000 (somehow ) no one knew who the fuck he was until 05-08. That on it's own doesn't even matter but the quality of his music is just not worthy of making him big. After his radio time is up Weezys career is going to wither away & die. Ultimately no amount of mainstream help can make you a "big" if the quality of your music is shit.

[FreeSpeech]

Even if he did go platinum in 2000 (somehow ) no one knew who the fuck he was until 05-08. That on it's own doesn't even matter but the quality of his music is just not worthy of making him big. After his radio time is up Weezys career is going to wither away & die. Ultimately no amount of mainstream help can make you a "big" if the quality of your music is shit.

Wayne is by far no where close to Jay or Em or guys like that in talent, but you can't deny his popularity and prominence in hiphop. His sheer volume of work will make him hard to forget. He's been the go to guy for features. He's on albums by Eminem, Kanye, The Game, Nas, Drake, T.I., Chamillionaire, Fabolous, Tech N9ne, Ludacris, and that's just off the top of my head. Even if people WANT to forget Wayne, he's everywhere! Not to mention he's the arguable king of mixtapes.

[VenomBlackViper]

Even if he did go platinum in 2000 (somehow ) no one knew who the fuck he was until 05-08. That on it's own doesn't even matter but the quality of his music is just not worthy of making him big. After his radio time is up Weezys career is going to wither away & die. Ultimately no amount of mainstream help can make you a "big" if the quality of your music is shit.

Wayne is by far no where close to Jay or Em or guys like that in talent, but you can't deny his popularity and prominence in hiphop. His sheer volume of work will make him hard to forget. He's been the go to guy for features. He's on albums by Eminem, Kanye, The Game, Nas, Drake, T.I., Chamillionaire, Fabolous, Tech N9ne, Ludacris, and that's just off the top of my head. Even if people WANT to forget Wayne, he's everywhere! Not to mention he's the arguable king of mixtapes.

Mainstream popularity isn't going to mean shit in 10 years time though, also quality > quantity. Even if he is on albums by all those people the only ones that are even going to matter in 10 years time are Em, Kanye & maybe Tech N9ne & Chamillionaire. No matter his current popularity or the amount of music he puts out the quality of it isn't good enough to keep him big for future generations. He's going to end up "that guy on Eminem/Kanyes album with the raspy voice". Mainstream support & fans (especially the ones he has) fade over time, quality of material doesn't & his shit just isn't good enough to hold him down when his hot period is over.

[Sla]

Eminem
Tupac
Jay-Z
Kanye West
50 Cent


And I'm talking about hype created, which still goes on.