[Suavesince1911]

I realize I'm over six years late on this topic (LOL), but I'll give my quick response.

Of all time, my top three (in no particular order): Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, and KRS One. These MCs presented lyrical and philosophical styles that were never before heard in hip hop. If I'm going to place any MC at/near the top of my list, he has to be an innovator of some sorts.

Big Daddy Kane is my personal favorite MC ever because he was so versatile, and his style really can't be traced back to anyone before him. He was ferocious on the battling tip (he's the best punchline MC I've ever heard, and I would bet serious money on an "in his prime Kane" against any MC in any era ); he could get educational and didactic; he was adept at manipulating his flows and rhyme schemes; he was charismatic; he had a good sense of humor; and he was MACK. Sometimes, I refer to Big Daddy Kane as the "Teddy Pendergrass of hip hop." However, I think this sort of hurt him later in his career because he began to deviate from the raw style that he was mostly known for and made music geared towards women. Nothing necessarily wrong with that as long as you can find a happy medium, but that was one of the major knocks against Kane.

He influenced a lot of MCs, and if there was no Kane, there would probably be no Jay Z, Big L, Notorious B.I.G., etc.

To be quite honest, I don't really listen to much hip hop today, at least not on the commercial level, because most of these artists flat out suck, or they're mediocre. Not many MCs today are pushing the lyrical envelope to unchartered territories, (IMO), like their predecessors; they just follow a formula constructed by the major label that signed them. They make catchy, club-friendly beats (which is cool), but they leave much to be desired in the department of rhyming skills. Then again, my standards are high anyway, so I'm not easily impressed by the average rapper who picks up a microphone. Many rappers today seem to want to be known more for their "swag" and criminal records as opposed to pure lyrical abilities.


Bottom 3 rappers:
Silk The Shocker
Vanilla Ice
Souljah Boy