Kool G Rap Names His 'Top 5 Dead or Alive' Rappers

Legendary rapper, Kool G Rap recently revealed who he considers 'Top 5 Dead Or Alive' to SOHH a couple of days ago. He is from the 80s era, so I was glad to see him mention one of my favorite rappers from the 90s (Canibus). Check out his list below.

• Canibus. That boy is lyrically a beast. He's a beast. He's proven that over and over, repeatedly. He was a contender with [LL Cool J], somebody that's considered one of the greats.
• Chino XL. Chino has been in the game for a long time. I knew Chino before the world started knowing Chino XL. He was already showing high levels of knowledge back then. This was back when I was first starting out when I met Chino. That's going back to when I first got into the game. Dude has progressed, matured and developed his style over the decades. He's really a contender with the heavyweights out there. He can stand on his own two and nobody's going to run circles around him. No one's going to make him look ridiculous. As far as the underground and pure skill, if you go and listen to the majority of things he's appeared on, you'll see he's for real.
• Joell Ortiz. Joell is just like a monster. He's one of the best new artists. I think more than any other Hispanic rapper after Big Pun, he has the ability not to necessarily fill the void for Pun but to be the next sensation for the history of Hispanic-Black artists. This is our hip-hop's representative.
• Ice Cube. He belongs in there hands down. He does not need an explanation.
• Melle Mel. Melle is in there because he was like the first hip-hop artist, to me, who brought street life issues to the table. He brought political issues to the table and broke it down. He was about being more than just a rapper and keeping his music to the dance floor. He took it beyond those realms. He made hip-hop a vice where you could talk about anything in the music.

Kool G Rap Names His Respected Top 10 Lyricist

In case you don't know him, he is a 80s/90s rapper that inspired your favourite rappers (or your favourite rappers favourite rappers) like Eminem, Big Pun, Jay Z, Nas, Mobb Deep, Bun B, Kurupt...the list is endless. He was interviewed on Hot 97 recently by Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds, and when he was asked who he respected as elite lyricist in the hip hop history, his hosts were surprised when he didn't mention Tupac and Biggie. And when quarried on that, he said he felt both were great rappers, but he didn't feel they were elite lyricists. I think G Rap has been around long enough to know what he is talking about.


Anyway, below is his list...in no particular order.

10. Kool G Rap (of cos he named himself)

9.  Big Daddy Kane

8.  Rakim

7.  KRS 1

6.  Eminem

5.  Ice Cube

4.  Scarface

3.  Jay Z

2.  Nas

1.  Big Pun



Whoa! I am so happy he mentioned Big Pun. I have been saying it for years that Pun doesn't get the respect he deserves...God bless his soul. That dude was super lyrical. He was a beast on the mic. Even Nas recognised the genius in Pun on his 2002 song, 'Book of Rhymes', where he raps- 'Since pun passed, he was the last shine of sun I could feel.' Overall, I love Kool G Rap's list.

Kool G Rap Names Rappers He Would Want in A Super Group

Rap Legend, Kool G Rap has come forward to name a couple of rappers he would consider if he were to put together a super group, and i think his list is quiet interesting. I know a couple of people don't know G Rap; He is from the era of the Rakim's, KRS 1, Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick- the mid to late 80s. And a lot credit him to be the originator of the multisyllabic rap style that you hear being used by AZ, Big Pun, and Eminem. He was also the popularizer of the street/mafioso narrative in rap, which rappers like Raekwon, Jay-Z and Nas took after. On jay-z's Encore song, he says- "Hearing me rap is like hearing G rap in his prime...".

A lot of rappers have openly said they were influenced by this rap veteran, and the list is endless, but i would just drop some you might be familiar with- Mobb Deep, Jay-Z, Rah Digga, Eminem, Notorious B.I.G, RZA, Raekwon, Memphis Bleek, Nas Kurrupt, Twista...

Before i get lost in telling you who he is, lets jump into what he had to say about forming a super rap group-

"Let's see, right now, G. Rap, Nas, Eminem," Kool G told SOHH when asked who would be in his dream rap group. "I can't ignore the fact that that boy Eminem is incredible. He's lyrically incredible. Anybody that's ever sat and fronted on this dude's talent is like, come on, man. Stop playing me. I'm a [hip-hop] nemesis and even I can't ignore the dude's talent level. I would say my man Jay-Z. We're talking lyricists right here. I'm talking real heavy weights. Not taking anything away from the cats out there because there are cats out there that are current that I like. I like T.I. and Rick Ross. But we're talking super rap groups, so I gotta go with the heavy weight lyricists that are undeniable on anybody's radar. I don't care what era we're in. You can't take Nas being a lyricist beat away from him." (SOHH)

Showing love for the newcomers, Kool G. Rap said Slaughterhouse's Joell Ortiz has proven to be worthy of joining his dream team.

"Nas did so much in the earlier part of his career that it holds weight," G. Rap added. "Nas and Jay-Z gotta definitely be in there. I think Eminem has shown and proved enough that he deserves a spot in the category of legendary lyricists including myself. If I had to snatch a new cat, it would have to be Joell Ortiz." (SOHH)

I think those are the last of a dying breed, for real. I might throw Raekwon in there, but that's just me. I think no one can fault his list; there are no other rappers in the game right now that are more lyrical than the people he mentioned...i guess that's why he stressed the fact that he was choosing off their lyrical abilities. If Big Pun was alive, he would definitely be on that list. I think joell ortizt should be honored he made that list.