Rap is often misconceived and interpreted in a negative way. There are a lot of artists who attempt to perform rap in ways that don’t necessarily glorify the genre. Real rap artists derive lyrics from real events and real emotions, and their lyrics often carry underlying meanings that cause you to think critically about the subject. A great rap artists provides two key things in his or her music. First, he/she provides you with a strong message and then suits you with a pleasant sound allowing you to relax and enjoy the production of the music.
Only a few artists have managed to master this skill. I’m a modern music listener so I took it upon myself to search online for a list containing such artist of today and the search were less than impressive. With that being said, I decided to write my own. I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy task, so I called up two of my close friends to help me come up with the list. Jaron Perry, a lyrical mastermind specializing in punch lines and thoughtful analogies, and Lee Junious, a part-time producer and beat maker, specializing in the process of innovating musical sound.
I met both of these guys back in high school in Chicago, and with their help we came up with the Top 25 Rap artist of today (as of right this second) with little to no bias opinions. To determine these artist we took into consideration album sales, popularity, hits, chart positions, and raw lyrics. The list is as follows.
25. Rick Ross
Age: 39
Origin: Carol City, Florida
Latest Project: "Black Marker" (2015)
24. Travi$ Scott
Age: 23
Origin: Houston, TX
Latest Project: "Rodeo" (2015)
23. G-Eazy
Origin: Oakland, California
Latest Project: "When It's Dark Out" (2015)
22. Vic Mensa
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Latest Project: "Traffic" (TBA)
21. Chance The Rapper
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Latest Project: "Surf" (2015) anassociated project with Donnie trumpet & The Social Experiment
20. Mick Jenkins
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Latest Project: "Waves" (2015)
19. Joey Bada$$
Origin: Brooklyn, New York
Latest Project: "B4.Da.$$" (2015)
18. Schoolboy Q
Origin: South Figueroa Corridor, South Central Los Angeles, California
Latest Project: Oxymoron (2014)
17. Nicki Minaj
Origin: Queens, New York City, New York
Latest Project: "The Pinkprint" (2014)
16. Childish Gambino
Origin: Stone Mountain, Georgia
Latest Project: "STN MTN / Kauai" (2014)
15. Lil Wayne
Origin: Hollygrove, New Orleans
Latest Project: Free Weezy Album (2015)
14. Pusha T
Origin: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Latest Project: "King Push: Darkest Before Dawn" (2015)
13. The Game
Origin: Compton, California
Latest Project: "The Documentary 2" (2015)
12. Wale
Origin: Washington, D.C.
Latest Project: "The Album About Nothing" (2015)
11. Meek Mill
Origin: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Latest Project: "Dreams Worth More Than Money" (2015)
10. Mac Miller
Age: 23
Origin: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Latest Project: "GO:OD AM" (2015)
9. Lupe Fiasco
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Latest Project: "Tetsuo & Youth" (2015)
8. Future
Origin: Atlanta, Georgia
Latest Project: "DS2" (2015)
7. Logic
Age: 25
Origin:Gaithersburg, Maryland
Latest Project: "The Incredible True Story" (2015)
6. A$ap Rocky
Age: 27
Origin: Harlem, New York
Latest Project: "At. Long. Last. ASAP" (2015)
5. Big Sean
Age: 27
Origin: Santa Monica, California
Latest Project: "Dark Sky Paradise" (2015)
4. Kanye West
Origin: Chicago, Illinois
Latest Project: "Yeezus" (2013)
3. Drake
Origin: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Latest Project: "What a Time to Be Alive"(2015) A collaboration album with the artist Future
2. Kendrick Lamar
Origin: Compton, California
Latest Project: "To Pimp a Butterfly" (2015)
1. J Cole
Origin: Fayetteville, North Carolina
Latest Project: "2014 Forest Hills Drive" (2014)
