Shawn Carter, the US rapper better known as Jay-Z, has been named by Billboard as the greatest rapper of all time.
The top US entertainment magazine, in collaboration with Vibe, unveiled the list of ‘50 Greatest Rappers of All Time’ to honour this year’s golden anniversary of hip-hop.
According to Billboard, the acronym G.O.A.T. is a distinguished and also contentious honour when it comes to ranking who or what is considered to be the ultimate best.
To determine the ranking, the “Billboard and Vibe editorial team limited the rap arena to North America and took into account; body of work/achievements, cultural impact/influence, longevity, lyrics and flow.”
“It took a lot of deliberation to compile this list, which it described as a “well-thought-out, authentic list that reflects hip-hop’s foundational pioneers, evolutionary trailblazers and contemporary mainstays.”
See the list below:
50. Rick Ross
49. Rev. Run (Run-DMC)
48. Melle Mel
47. MC Lyte
46. Jadakiss
45. Ice-T
44. Queen Latifah
43. Bun B
42. Redman
41. E-40
40. Dr. Dre
39. Ludacris
38. Gucci Mane
37. Common
36. Yasin Bey (formerly Mos Def)
35. Future
34. Chuck D (Public Enemy)
33. Busta Rhymes
32. T.I.
31. Lil Kim
30. Lauryn Hill
29. Pusha T
28. Black Thought
27. Q-Tip
26. Big Pun
25. Method Man
24. KRS-One
23. Kurtis Blow
22. Ghostface Killah
21. DMX
20. Big Daddy Kane
19. Missy Elliott
18. Ice Cube
17. 50 Cent
16. Scarface
15. J.Cole
14. LL Cool J
13. Rakim
12. André 3000
11. Kanye West (Ye)
10. Nicki Minaj
9. Snoop Dogg
8. Drake
7. Lil Wayne
6. The Notorious B.I.G
5. Eminem
4. Tupac
3. Nas
2. Kendrick Lamar
1. Jay-Z
Jay-Z has 14 Billboard 200 No. 1 albums (the most amongst solo acts), and over 140 million records sold.
“He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records, collected 24 Grammys, ran hip-hop’s legendary Def Jam Records as president, guided Rihanna and Ye to billionaire status, founded a behemoth entertainment/sports agency in Roc Nation and best-selling spirits brands D’usse and Armand de Brignac,” it added.
Beyond music, Jay-Z has continued to gain influence as an entrepreneur.
In 2019, he had become the first hip-hop artiste to attain billionaire status.
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