Best of 06 Rappers

1 Weezy
How could you? Whatever your feeling on the Baby is, leave it at the door. I know about the Gillie thing, hell I believe Gillie. Better than Jay? Maybe, but that’s tall talk with someone who can’t release a good album, yet. If and that’s a big “IF”, Weezy ever releases back to back classic albums, I’ll say he’s close to Jay. The top spot goes to Weezy because he’s the best, period. He’s got a grind like no one else. He could stop and fuck Trina, but he’s on the road and on every damn remix too. He had his Carter album, the duet with Baby, numerous mixtapes and remixes with rappers and R&B cats. I’m not saying everything Weezy does is good; half of his stuff is garbage. I believe in quality over quantity. However, he has a lot of good stuff. Your wondering, “how does he like this dude who uses lines such as “I get cheese like Digiorno””? I don’t take him completely serious. He doesn’t even take him self serious and that’s what's refreshing. He’s has the name to just do an album and tour. Yet he has killed mixtape circuit this year. Most of all it seems like he’s having fun. He is completely entertaining me! Even though he stole his style from Gillie and copies Jay’s flow like none other, give him some credit – the dude can rap! I refer to Weezy, as Weezy with an asterisk, like Barry Bonds’ career with an asterisk. We know they both may have cheated, but its hard not to like them; Bonds can bat the ball with an amazing patience, just as Weezy kills tracks with an annoying regularity. My favorites used to be Camron and Slim Thug but they aint up to shit. Weezy rolls with it and runs with it too! What’s it? Everything.

2 TI
The closest thing to Tupac the rap game has. I remember seeing him April in concert. He could be a thug one moment (he actually was, he kicked some fan in the head for grabbing at his leg) and another moment he can seem calm and collected (when he performed “Live in the Sky”). He's better than Weezy in the sense he can release albums and not over do himself on the mixtapes. He’s got a shot to become the next Jay Z, with his appeal to both mainstream and what I’d like to call the “hood”. “The King” wasn’t that great yet the album had a vibe to it. Let’s hope he continues to stick around and drop yearly.

3 Papoose
How many mixtapes has he done already? No need to count. Papoose, Papoose can spit. I can’t wait for the album. I’m eager to see how he switches up from mixtapes to album form. I did get tired of his style though, with his, “I got more beats than MP”. He has a chance to inject some new life into rap.

4 Jay Z
I’m sorry Hov, what you want me to do!? Yes, Young HOV came back and crushed it. At the same time he showed he has Alzheimers. Why he responded to the beefs with Dipset, I don’t know. I know he easily won the “beefs”. But Dipset, with being so silly won too, by way of getting to Jay so much that he had to make so many references to them throughout “Kingdom Come”. Jay felt as if he had something left to say; he really didn’t. While I’m more than grateful for his songs, some of his best too, I believe he’s better off setting the corporate world on fire.

5 Ghostface
Who’d have thunk this one? Two albums in one year? Ghost’s been here for a while, so why do people have to bring New York back? Like with TI’s “King”, all Ghostface albums are able to create a vibe. You can sit and listen to “Fishscale” or “More Fish” anytime and not have to be preoccupied with hearing just the hooks.

Missing Notables: Clipse and Lupe
I’m not a fan of either Clipse or Lupe Fiasco. Granted I have never really listened to them. Plain and simple, for some unexplainable reason, I can’t get myself to give them my time. The material I’ve listened to is not bad but it’s not enough to make me want to read more into them. I respect both of them though and what they do. I’ll try not to hate on them.

As for Clipse, there’s the 4 year absence and the fact that as much as Pharrell comes with original, amazing beats, he also has ruined artists such as the Clipse and Slim Thug because he does every single fucking beat. After a while Pharrell’s beats suck ass! No homo. Oh and Malice is just dead weight – free Pusha T.

I met Lupe Fiasco back in May at an early fan awareness party. He arrived, skateboarded for us outside and spoke of himself, instead of singing. When he signed my poster I asked him how he was feeling because of his album getting bootlegged and consequently being pushed back. He shrugged his shoulders and mumbled. I bet he wanted to reach across the table and hit me. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him that I had the ability to bootleg is album, but I choose not to – not out of respect or caring but because of my lack of caring to listen to him. Kick, Push, Kick, Push and Punch. Kick, Push, Kick, Push and Toss.