No. 24: Mos Def

Like several other rappers on this list, Mos Def is probably best known to younger kids as an actor. If only they knew how nice he is on the mic...

Dante Smith came up in the mid-1990s headlining a second wave of "conscious" emcees. He earned plenty of underground credibility by making guest appearances with the likes of De La Soul, and took it to another level after signing with Rawkus and joining forces with Talib Kweli on the 1998 gem Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.

You really should've bought my rookie card...

With a nation full of Internet hip-hop nerds (yes, I was one of them) in his corner, Mos went solo in 1999, dropping Black On Both Sides. The album was beyond well-received — several critics, especially online, performed verbal fellatio on it the moment they heard it. (While I can't say I shared that level of enthusiasm, it was pretty dope.) If you want to hear Mos Def at his absolute peak, look no further than the lead single, "Ms. Fat Booty" — a shining example of storytelling as well as Mos' trademark cadence.

The Black Star album and his first solo effort alone would have been enough to earn a spot in the top 50, but Mos has kept it going over the years, releasing three more solo albums and collaborating on dozens of other notable tracks — including the fiery Immortal Technique track "Bin Laden," a 2004 song that lays the blame for the 9/11 attacks squarely at the feet of the Bush and Reagan administrations. (Not to ride my own dick, but I did the same thing more than two years earlier.)

(Okay, so I was riding my own dick. Back on subject...)

Much like Tupac Shakur, Mos Def was an actor first (true story...check the filmography). Unlike Shakur, Mos will likely find himself best known as an actor in the decades to come.

Make sure your kids know better. Mos is more than just another rapper-slash-actor. He's one of the best rappers of all time, and he just happens to be in movies as well.