Any guesses?
When I started putting together this list, I thought that the end game would come down to the two guys most heavily discussed as the favorites when my boys and I started playing out our bracket back in September — Nas and Eminem. We never did get to bring that tourney to its conclusion, though, and when I was building a top 10 and started comparing guys more closely side by side, I found myself warming up to a surprise pick for No. 1.
What made him stick out? Well, in no particular order...
a) Longevity. While most of the old-school titans have either faded from sight (Rakim, Chuck D) or fallen into the abyss of total wackness (LL, KRS), this guy has been going strong for nearly a quarter of a century. Only Nas can claim such a long run of quality, but...
b) Consistency. Nas and Eminem each had a gap of almost five years where everything they put out seemed tainted by either a quest for mainstream success or a sudden lack of desire. Meanwhile, our No. 1 guy has never dropped off so precipitously — even his weakest album is some fans' favorite.
c) Content. While Em's rhyme schemes are more complex and Nas' lyricism is more renowned by the masses, our No. 1 can easily hang with both in terms of overall strength of verses. He's conscious, but not preachy. He's entertaining, but not gimmicky. Just solid hip-hop music...all day, every day.
d) Originality. Nas is the natural progression forward from Rakim, just as Dr. J and Michael Jordan grew from the roots planted by David Thompson. But the guy at the top of our list imitated no one. There's no father to his style. (No...that is not a hint, Wu-Tang fans.)
He's had multiple classic albums and never fallen off, yet he's seldom mentioned with the all-time greats. Until now.
The greatest emcee of all time is...
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