I can hardly claim myself an expert on anything other than self-loathing, but recently hip-hop has become a necessity for me. I've been scouring websites and forums in search of new stuff to listen to, perhaps because the art form is so impressive in so many ways. It's easily the most literate and poetic of all music, and it takes an incredible amount of skill to be even remotely good at. The musicianship behind the production also requires a lot of talent. I don't know what took so long to spark this interest; perhaps I was retarded. Nonetheless, here's a list of who I consider the greatest contemporary artists.
#5 MF Doom (aka DOOM, Madvillain, King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn, Danger Doom, Sniperlite, Metal Fingers, The SuperVillain)
One of the weirdest rappers in the game, MF Doom is part MC, part supervillain performance artist. Never appearing without his mask, Doom is known as much for his ever-changing stage names as he is for his bizarre rhymes. And what glorious rhymes they are, with short, punchy delivery sprinkled with antiquated and esoteric slang. Doom has some incredible flow backed by production that samples every thing from old cartoons to advertisements from the 1970s. He achieved mainstream success with his album Madvillainy, an album that combines an eclectic mix of samples from all eras of music with intricate lyrics that take several listens to fully understand. It's probably extremely pretentious to say that MF Doom is a pretty avant-garde rapper, but I can't think of any term that better fits the bill. He's experimental in the best sense of the word.
#4 Apathy
Most rappers adhere to certain rules; MCs that came up rapping about the hood and selling drugs tend to stick to the subject matter they know best. Consistency in subject matter is fine, so long as something fundamental changes about the music itself. Apathy subverts this rule entirely by being one of the most versatile rappers there is. One song has him talking about shoving a 12-gauge up your ass while the next one quietly contemplates the implications of humanist philosophy. With a smooth voice that's surprisingly authoritative, it's a shock that Apathy hasn't seen much recognition from the mainstream. Perhaps it's because he threatened to kill someone and keep their ears as souvenirs.
#3 Brother Ali
I normally hate political or socially conscious rappers mainly because self-righteous preachiness is, in my mind, one of the worst things that happened to rap. But Brother Ali manages to pull it off due to sheer force of swagger. Playing off the image of a "street preacher," evoking images of a dilapidated church where his big fat albino ass is sermonizing, Ali's incredibly clever and well-constructed rhymes convey a sobering sense of humility that many rappers conspicuously lack. With production from the incredibly talented Ant, the other half of Atmosphere, Ali deftly spits vicious rhymes about urban decay, government hypocrisy, and bad relationships, to name a few. But he balances his repertoire with a lot of songs about his upbringing, raising his son, and his massive cunt of an ex-wife. The diversity of his lyrics, stellar presentation, and surprising tenderness make him stand out amongst his self-important peers, like Immortal Technique. God, I hate that guy.
#2 Jay-Z
I find it's a little hard to say something original about Hova that hasn't already been said. Mainstream rap's biggest heavyweight isn't just a great and consistent writer, he's an unstoppable force, a gangster juggernaut whose rhymes cut to the bone. Few artists can start out rapping about the Mafia lifestyle, turn mainstream, and still be just as hard-hitting. Jay-Z manages to subvert the image of the "commercialized rapper" by absorbing and becoming the business itself. With a catalog of great anthems that practically defined early 00s rap, the strength of his music is probably most evident in his debut, Reasonable Doubt, a remarkably focused and literate album that, along with Raekwon's Only Built for Cuban Linx..., delved into the complexities of the mobster theme that would set the standard for years. Hard to believe that a hoodrat now runs the world of hip-hop.
#1 Ghostface Killah
An unconventional choice for the greatest living MC in the game, but everything about Ghostface Killah earns its keep. Much like Jay-Z, Ghostface started out rapping about the gangsta lifestyle, but while Jay-Z branched out and evolved lyrically, Ghostface did no such thing. With dense, cryptic crime narratives brimming with pulpy detail, Tony Starks' songs often never make sense the first time around, but are still addictive as hell due to his furious flow, perfect production, and all-around swagger. What Ghostface manages to accomplish over his peers on this list, hell, even his Wu-Tang mates is a surprising sense of creativity that most rappers lack. His album Supreme Clientele is grimy, but the overall record is tightly focused, with compelling takes on themes of robbing people and dealing cocaine. But he'll switch up his game on the next record with R&B inspired beats about girlfriends who're down to take bullets for him in gunfights or tripping on shrooms while in a bathtub. Ghostface's consistently deft wordplay and stream-of-consciousness style of narration creates whole worlds dripping with filth, but its construction is shockingly literate and well-realized. Personally, I think everything he's put out has been solid gold, and the upcoming release Apollo Kids is likely to be the same way.
Honorable Mentions: J. Cole, MURS, GZA, Blueprint, Trife Da God.
