Lil Wayne's commercial, creative and cultural ascent reached its peak in 2008, the year he became a true crossover star and, without question, the greatest rapper alive. Young Jeezy, in the meantime, released his strongest record since Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101 with The Recession. Image intact, he set out to flip a longstanding myth that he's a "no features" lone wolf who avoids collaboration. His long-running feud with LL Cool J inspired some memorable lyrical exchanges. On Baby on Baby, he focused in on a few tried-and-true lyrical themes—his own sexual prowess, a ballooning bank account, and a scrappy refusal ever to back down from a fight—and spun out an endless stream of self-assured proclamations. In this case, you listen because it's album number 13, and he's not supposed to have anything left to say. The Geto Boys had been Southern flag bearers for years, but in 1991 Scarface thrust himself to the front of the conversation, releasing both the GB's classic We Can't Be Stopped and his solo debut, Mr. Scarface. Complex is proud to present the Best Rapper Alive, Every Year Since 1979, a comprehensive look back at every year of rap and which MC moved the crowd the most.
He's excited about his life, and wants you to be excited about your life, too. He also made his mark on R&B, turning up on Keri Hilson's "Turnin' Me On, " Lloyd's "Girls Around the World" and Usher's "Love in This Club II. Verse 3: Lil Wayne]. Or MC Ricky Dee, the Ruler if you're not into the whole brevity thing. Purple Haze underperformed relative to its predecessor, but the album was a critical success, and its singles remain classics in the Cam'ron canon—even if, per the album's intro, they were originally recorded in 2002. It's like he knew a guy he'd just graced with a big feature verse for the second time would do a complete 180 and call him out for violating the one thing that matters in hip-hop: his authenticity. His vocal performance was now poised and patient, characteristics best seen on cuts like "Flashing Lights, " where he employed a delicate nuance to his rhymes where a younger Kanye might have gone for a ham-fisted approach. Rammellzee was more of a graf legend than an MC, but in 1983 he and K-Rob created "the holy grail of rap records. " Best of all he could do all this and then add "I'm still calm and humble"—or at least relatively humble, all things considered. In other words, he put all of his attention on simply rapping as well as possible. During the years when the rap zeitgeist was playing limbo with coke rappers, mixtape runs, and ringtone rap, Yeezy raised the bar up and got his bars up. Cam'ron joined the Roc and didn't disappoint when he made two huge hits, first "Oh Boy" and then "Hey Ma. " Great art, we're told, is rarely made by the good guys, the happy or the content. He took the humor and lyrical precision of East Coast rapping, but, no doubt inspired by Snoop and Dre on the West, he let his raps breathe.
3 on Billboard and went platinum. Cardi B has made it, sure-footed, thanks to a concentrated, three minute and 44 second-long distillation of her appeal called "Bodak Yellow. " CREDENTIALS: It's a Big Daddy Thing. Solo Fingerstyle Guitar arrangement of the song Can't Be Broken by Lil Wayne. Part of that was a result of his business moves. Ludacris hit his stride in 2001, following his three-times platinum debut LP with the three-times platinum Word of Mouf. A handful of other albums had earned the distinction of 5 Mics previously, but at a time when the magazine was still growing.
With the level of success that DaBaby saw in 2019, there were bound to be detractors. This is Lil Wayne Don't Cry instrumental mp3 ft XXXTentacion. Sure, hits like "Suge, " "BOP, " and "VIBEZ" relied on similar vocal deliveries and rhyme schemes, but anyone who dug deeper in his catalog could see he had range. But relative to T. I., who was emerging as one of hip-hop's brightest stars, 50 had moved to a background role. Rookies and new jacks need not apply—this debate is strictly for the catalog artists, people who have shifted the culture in previously unmovable ways, artists whose music has permeated and resonated over an extended period of time. One lyric sums up his thoughts on the competition: "You got a little flow, that's cool with none of y'all motherfuckers can fool with me. Around the same time, a copy of 50's Guess Who's Back? But Run-DMC also tempered this approach with advice to get educated, motivated, and avoid prejudice and bias. "HUMBLE., " the first single from the album, and Kendrick's first solo number one song, was a bop-inducing ditty that was immensely rappable thanks to its simple earworm of a chorus. 1 on the Billboard 200 and achieved multi-platinum sales. After the immense success of The Slim Shady LP and Dr. Dre's 2001, Eminem was riding high even as he became overwhelmed by the reach of his new found fame. DMX was still on a tear through the industry, and he captivated mainstream audiences and hip-hop heads alike with his five-times platinum.. Then There Was X. Eminem made his debut, simultaneously scaring and charming America with his immensely skilled shock raps. It's not Jay Z-style moguldom; it's something more modest than that. No longer did he flub verses with over exposition.
In a decade, when we think of the albums that defined 2018 and shifted the genre, we'll think of ASTROWORLD. Meanwhile, 2Pac released what many consider his best album, Me Against the World, featuring production from Easy Moe Bee. "Everything just be happening naturally, " Savage tells Complex when discussing the title. While every member of the Clan impressed on "Protect Ya Neck, " it was Meth's hummable flows on the track's b-side, "Method Man, " that propelled the ensemble onto the radio and off the shelves.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Eminem. On the strength of this success, he would become the first rapper to perform on TV during the Grammy Awards. Kendrick Lamar spent most of 2012 crafting his masterful debut album, good kid, m. city, before dropping it toward the end of the year. Even traditional pop powerhouses like Taylor Swift couldn't keep up with Lil Baby once My Turn arrived. There is also a lot of talk about "selling out" and a tension between mainstream pop culture and hip-hop that now feels anachronistic but was obviously a very real concern at the time. The Best Rapper Alive needs to be firing on all cylinders when it comes to impact, technical skill, cultural relevance, and overall quality of music, and DaBaby emphatically checked each box. And instead of accomplishing that with fake voices and other gimmicks, she did it with varied flows, ranging from sing-song to pummeling, and lines as personal as they were provocative. He became the first rapper to flood the market in a modern way that wasn't really possible (or expected) previously. You know you're having a special year when you not only spit the last verse on the premier posse cut but Kanye is the one who throws up the alley. Except those of us who had been following Push's career since we banged the "Grindin'" beat on lunch tables weren't surprised. There was always one random line or burst of flow that was worth hearing. Instead, he consistently and efficiently delivered high-level bars on every single track he showed up on as a guest feature—all 15 of them. It became the rapper's best-selling album to that point.
Everyone was watching different TV shows at different times, listening to different albums on different streaming services, and arguing about world events from different perspectives. Finally, Drake had removed the thorn in his side, swiftly swatting away a rapper who had been beneath him for nearly a decade, in terms of mainstream success. Frank Ocean, with some deft maneuvering that's remained largely under the table, slid his way out of his label contract and released Blonde independently, for which streaming accounted for most of its listens. Coming on a wave of hype, Get Rich or Die Tryin' was the most anticipated rap debut since Doggystyle. The result is a focused statement from a man trying to get you to listen and, more importantly, understand.
We only say that because otherwise Weezy killed it in '07, releasing about 100 songs. CREDENTIALS: Illmatic. In '05, 50 was also responsible for some of the best tracks in his career, albeit under someone else's name. Kanye West had a fairly low-key year in 2008, but in the wake of Graduation's 2007 release, he remained one of hip-hop's biggest stars. But Pink Friday was not a "mixtape Nicki" album, some one-note exercise in rappity-rap that could silence those who questioned her right to exist alongside her Cash Money brethren.
1 hit, "Heartbreaker. " 1 over the previous year's Reasonable Doubt, but most will acknowledge that tracks like "Where I'm From" and "A Million and One Questions" are home to some of the best rhymes of Jay's career. CREDENTIALS: Run-DMC. That now-famous outro foreshadowed and solidified the magic that union held. 21 Savage's career trajectory last year was just as unconventional as he is. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Chuck D, the D. O. C., Kool G Rap. Meanwhile, 2 Chainz' momentum from 2011's T. R. U. REALigion hit its mainstream peak in 2012 as casual fans got hip to "Spend It. "
David slayed the giant Goliath with fearlessness and a stone. Talking to each other again? It also became the rapper's second gold album, selling around 800, 000 units. Little did they realize 50's antics were starting to feel like an old Biggie line: "Fuck that beef shit, that shit is played out. " Ambition isn't measured in what you have, it's striving for what you want. He came right back with a self-titled debut album the following year, powered by "The Breaks, " which became the first gold single in rap history.
Bill Simmons once called LeBron James the car wash "everything" package, saying, "You see an athlete get handed the 'everything' package maybe only five times in your life. " This was the record that predicted the L. riots two years before they happened. HONORABLE MENTIONS: KRS-One, LL Cool J, Kool Moe Dee. About Digital Downloads. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i. e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students). And yes, it is still Jay before 'Ye because even as Yeezy handled much of the Watch the Throne aesthetics and delivered some great verses, Kanye stepped aside as Jay bodied tracks like "Love You So, " "Welcome to the Jungle, " and "Who Gone Stop Me? " "Icy" was a smash, and Jeezy's first true hit, even if Gucci denied him use of it for his Def Jam debut. The perils of being at the top. Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. No reaches for radio play, the two albums were unflinching, dark, and cinematic. HONORABLE MENTIONS: Treach, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Q-Tip.
Blessed with a booming, elastic, singsong voice, he became the first MC to sign with a major label in 1979—hot on the heels of the "Rapper's Delight" phenomenon—and dropped the hit single "Christmas Rappin'. He carries himself with a placid demeanor, yet belts R&B slow jams on Instagram Live.