Hip-Hop has always been a battle of who is the best.
Rappers are constantly in debate over who is the top lyricist, who has the best album sales, and who is the greatest of all time. The title has been bestowed upon many, with Jay-Z and T.I.’s names always floating around in the mix. The two once got into it over a discussion of “greats,” and The King of New York had some choice words for the self-proclaimed King of the South.
T.I. is an opinionated man with a large platform. He has used his show ExpediTIously to discuss several matters of importance to him, and in 2019 decided to use it to count down the top 50 rappers of all time. His list placed himself at #11, while the likes of Nas, DMX, Kanye West, Biggie, and Eminem all floated around the top 10. At #1 was Tupac Shakur, and #2 was Jay-Z.
“THIS IS THE FINAL LIST #ExpediTIously created‼,️” he said in a post. He then shut down any opposition from people who may disagree by saying, “Now while IDGAF WHAT NUMBER I AM… (Music doesn’t validate ME or MY EXISTENCE,u can Put me at 51 if u like…MY LIFE AINT GON CHANGE!!!) Y’all can feel free to go back and forth.”
T.I. did get some pushback from fellow rappers. Killer Mike was pushed by his fans to make a comment about his #50 placement but retorted, “What does it mean to be last place in first class?” Meanwhile, Jay-Z asked T.I. During an unrelated phone conversation if he really believed Tupac to be better than him. T.I. stood by his choice, stating that Jay-Z is still the greatest rapper alive, even if he’s not #1 on the list.
Regardless of who makes the list, it appears that Jay-Z and Tupac are always non-negotiables for the top 10. Other lists place modern rappers like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole way higher, and most of them tend to feature at least one female rapper in their top 10, most likely Nicki Minaj. T.I.’s list noticeably leaves it’s 10 ten the void of women.
In other news, a few weeks ago a list of the worst rappers of all-time began to circulate across social media. Silk The Shocker was listed at number one followed by Lil Yachty. Surprisingly, Master P also made top five on the list.
One person who was not fond of the list was Chingy. The rapper went off after discovering his name on the list. According to Chingy there’s no way he’s one of the worst rappers ever after selling over 50 million records.
“ I’ve sold over 50 million records worldwide, I still have success, it’s people that love me,” Chingy stated. “How am I one of the worst rappers? If everybody is not saying it, you [are] not the worst. That list is absurd and it needs to be done away with.”
