Before I go on, I should say, this is not a best rapper or most lyrical rapper list. This is a MOST CONSISTENT RAPPER list. Like Nas said on the Nike Ad song, "Oh, you went platinum? Yea, that's nice. Now let me see you do the same thing twice, three times, four times, then a couple of more times." Having consistent commercially successful or critical acclaimed albums in Hip Hop is not easy, and rappers that have been able to have those should be applauded. Yea, so let's go ahead with the list.
10. Gucci Mane
Gucci has dropped the most projects on this list (mixtapes and albums), but he doesn't have the critical acclaim and commercial success the rest on the list have. He has released 16 albums since his first album in 2005; he has 2 gold selling albums, and 4 of his albums were top 5 on Billboard.
9. Drake
He dropped his debut album, Thank Me Later in 2010, and since then, he has released 5 albums. Like Cole, all Drake's albums are platinum selling (selling a million plus), and all his albums debuted at number one on Billboard when they dropped. Apart from dropping albums consistently in the last 9 years he has been on the scene, he has also been featured the most on other rappers songs in the last ten years.
8. Rick Ross
Definitely one of the most consistent rappers...Ross has dropped 10 albums since he got in the game in 2006. He has 1 platinum and 4 gold selling albums to his name. He has consistently released great bodies of work over the last 13 years, and his last album was released earlier this year.
7. Lil Wayne
Wayne dropped his debut album, The Block is Hot in 1999...that's 20 years ago. In twenty years, he has released 11 studio albums. 4 of those albums debuted at number one when they were released, and 5 of them are platinum selling.
6. The Game
I think The Game's achievements are overlooked. Maybe because of the other bullsh*t stuffs he does. This is the man that had the west coast on his back the whole last half of the decade before this one. From 2005-2009, there was no hotter west coast rapper on the scene than The Game. He got signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath in 2003, and shortly afterwards, also signed under G-Unit as 50 Cent and his G Unit rappers were the hottest rapper at the time. He put out his debut album in 2005, and the last 14 years, he has consistently dropped critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful albums. He has 8 albums to his name; 3 of them debuted at number one on Billboard, and 2 of them are platinum selling.
5. Kanye West
He started off producing for Mase's rap group, Harlem World in the late 90s, before he got on Jay Z and Damon Dash's Rocafella records in the early 2000s. He produced the bulk of Jay Z's classic album, The Blueprint. And in 2004, Kanye dropped his debut album, The College Dropout. Kanye is definitely one of the most creative rapper/producers in Hip Hop history, and the fact that he has been so consistent with his albums over the years (even in the midst of all his Kanye rants and bullsh*t), he needs to be applauded. He has released 9 studio albums; all but one debuted at the top of Billboard charts, and 7 out of them are platinum selling.
4. Eminem
One of the GOATs of this rap sh*t. Eminem released his studio debut album, The Slim Shady LP in 1999, and hasn't looked back ever since. He has released 9 albums so far in his career; all but his first album debuted at number one spot on Billboard. And all of his albums are platinum selling. He had a 5 year time span between his 4th and 5th album (between Encore and Relapse) when he has having drug problems. But since Relapse in 2009, he has been consistent with albums.
He dropped his debut album, Thank Me Later in 2010, and since then, he has released 5 albums. Like Cole, all Drake's albums are platinum selling (selling a million plus), and all his albums debuted at number one on Billboard when they dropped. Apart from dropping albums consistently in the last 9 years he has been on the scene, he has also been featured the most on other rappers songs in the last ten years.
8. Rick Ross
Definitely one of the most consistent rappers...Ross has dropped 10 albums since he got in the game in 2006. He has 1 platinum and 4 gold selling albums to his name. He has consistently released great bodies of work over the last 13 years, and his last album was released earlier this year.
7. Lil Wayne
Wayne dropped his debut album, The Block is Hot in 1999...that's 20 years ago. In twenty years, he has released 11 studio albums. 4 of those albums debuted at number one when they were released, and 5 of them are platinum selling.
6. The Game
I think The Game's achievements are overlooked. Maybe because of the other bullsh*t stuffs he does. This is the man that had the west coast on his back the whole last half of the decade before this one. From 2005-2009, there was no hotter west coast rapper on the scene than The Game. He got signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath in 2003, and shortly afterwards, also signed under G-Unit as 50 Cent and his G Unit rappers were the hottest rapper at the time. He put out his debut album in 2005, and the last 14 years, he has consistently dropped critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful albums. He has 8 albums to his name; 3 of them debuted at number one on Billboard, and 2 of them are platinum selling.
5. Kanye West
He started off producing for Mase's rap group, Harlem World in the late 90s, before he got on Jay Z and Damon Dash's Rocafella records in the early 2000s. He produced the bulk of Jay Z's classic album, The Blueprint. And in 2004, Kanye dropped his debut album, The College Dropout. Kanye is definitely one of the most creative rapper/producers in Hip Hop history, and the fact that he has been so consistent with his albums over the years (even in the midst of all his Kanye rants and bullsh*t), he needs to be applauded. He has released 9 studio albums; all but one debuted at the top of Billboard charts, and 7 out of them are platinum selling.
4. Eminem
One of the GOATs of this rap sh*t. Eminem released his studio debut album, The Slim Shady LP in 1999, and hasn't looked back ever since. He has released 9 albums so far in his career; all but his first album debuted at number one spot on Billboard. And all of his albums are platinum selling. He had a 5 year time span between his 4th and 5th album (between Encore and Relapse) when he has having drug problems. But since Relapse in 2009, he has been consistent with albums.
3. Nas
Nasty Nas released his debut album, Illmatic in 1994, and since then has dropped 11 studio albums to his name. In 25 years, he has had 5 number 1 albums, and 8 platinum selling albums. Apart from the 5 year break he had between his 10th and 11th album, he has consistently dropped albums every 2-3 years.
2. Jay Z
He came on the rap scene in the late 80s with Jaz-O, and then started hanging around Big Daddy Kane in early 90s, before releasing his debut album in 1996. He was already 26 by the time he dropped his first album, so he knew exactly what he wanted. From 1996-2003, he released an album every year. He has released 13 solo albums to date. Even though his first two albums didn't do well commercially when they were released, his third album was a success, and all his albums since then have been huge commercial successes. All his 13 albums are platinum, and he has 11 number one albums to his name.
1. Snoop
Most definitely, Snoop is the most consistent rapper still on the Hip Hop scene till this day. He dropped his debut album in 1993, but even before then, he was all over Dr Dre's The Chronic album in 1992. That was more or less Snoop's introduction to the world, as he featured on 70% of the songs off the album. When Snoop finally dropped his album in 1993, he was already a household name, and Doggystyle went on to sell 800k copies first week, and 11 million copies worldwide. That was unheard of from a rapper at the time.
Since releasing his debut album 26 years ago, Snoop has dropped 17 albums; 8 of those albums are platinum and 3 of them debuted at number one on Billboard.
Honorary mentions include Ghostface Killah, TI, Young Jeezy, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar.
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