User: JWild

In my opinion the best rapper is Eminem. Nas, Biggy, Tupac, Jay-Z of course I listen and like all those guys, but Eminem's flow is the most versatile and complex. His use of non-rhyming traditional poetic devices is superior. ON PAPER his lines are the best in terms of employment of alliteration and consonance, e.g. "picture your momma poppin prescription pills in the kitchen" This line appeals because the alliteration with the P's is counterbalances with the consonance within momma with the M's, meanwhile poppin, in, and kitchen rhyme. Another example: "whose the king of these rude, ludacris, lucrative lyrics?" great alliteration, while he still weaves-in precise rhymes, "who could inherit the title? put the youth in hysterics?" In addition to being the best on paper, his DELIVERY is the best. The syllables he emphasizes, a key component of flow, indicate consistently the most important words (as they should). Those familiar with "the way I am" will recall "so they BLAME it on MARYLIN, and the HEROIN, where were the PARENTS at," or from cleaning out my closet "have you ever been HATED or DISCRIMINAted against? I have, I've been PROTESTED and DEMONSTRATED against" again the most important words are stressed in a manner that SOUNDS appealing. It is one thing to stress important words but to do so while timing the meter and in keeping with the flow, is spectacular. Then of course there are Eminem's complex rhyme patterns. If you need evidence of this you are a fool. THey pervade every good song he writes. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is Eminem's message. Those who listen to enough Eminem listen to more than the gay-bashing etc. They pick up the positive themes he emphasizes e.g. Overcoming personal obstacles (Lose Yourself, 8 Mile Road), abusive relationships (Cleaning out my Closet) and finding positivity in raising his daughter (many songs). BY the way, anyone who doesn't include Eminem in their list of the top five or six greatest rapper is simply a hater whose opinions should be disregarded as unreasonably biased.

In my opinion the best song should be between "Lose Yourself" and "One Mic." I would rate a song based not only on things like its appealing sounds (well written well delivered rhymes, good instrumentals etc) but also what its message is...that is what it means to YOU the listener, sure "Nothin but a G thang" was very important for RAP but what is its message? To ME One Mic's message is about hard facts and the strife of living in the ghetto and the positive forum (symbolized by the microphone) through which Nas was able to escape this strife. Lose Yourself similarly is about escaping the plight of poverty but reaches a higher level by appealing to a more general theme, overcoming personal barriers. Since I did not grow up in poverty/ghetto I EMPATHIZE with the former theme while I in fact can go further and SYMPATHIZE with the theme of overcome personally adversity, therefore, since I am rating the song by what it means to ME not say to RAP in general, I must choose Lose Yourself.

For anyone reading this I would like to state that you can dismiss Cosmo Cramer's entire post because he clearly doesn't LISTEN to both rappers. He chooses Nas' best three songs showing he listens to Nas but his choices for EMinem are 1/3...Clearly the definitive Eminem songs are Lose Yourself, Cleaning out my Closet, and Renegades. Cosmo could have even replaced any of those songs with either Patiently Waiting or 8 Mile Road and still been OK. Remember you chose Nas' BEST songs not necessarily his most POPULAR, you should give Eminem the same service in the interest of making a cogent argument. This being said I must declare I prefer Eminem...but in my opinion whoever the better of the two rappers may be, is also the Best rapper alive and indeed all-time, (again this is in MY opinion as I believe that Biggy, Tupac, Jay, and Rakim all take a back seat to these two)

Not to even include Eminem on the list completely discredits the poll.