G.O.A.T.: 50

By Curtis M. Fowler, Kevin T. Robinson and Stacey L. Ward

Rap is a genre of music that will almost always provoke some type of emotion. Our book is based off one of those emotions-- the ongoing debate about who are the greatest rappers of all time (G.O.A.T.). But instead of just throwing our personal opinions out there, we came up with a mathematical system that kept us as honest and objective as possible. Each artist was rated numerically based off ten criteria, and these numbers also included data from public album averages from two different sites. These total numbers put them in order-- not us. We started this project on August 12, 2012, and did not finish until September 30, 2013. So a lot of work, time, integrity, and attention were put into it. This book has been fun and at times chaotic, but it has given us a new appreciation for the genre. Please do not take this book too serious, but respect the work and effort put into it. We would like to give much respect and luv to all the artists keeping Hip Hop alive and respected.
Please follow and hit “like” for this GOAT project on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/GOAT50TheBook

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493115631

Curtis M. Fowler

What happens when 3 longtime fans of Hip Hop culture get together and compose a book pertaining to rap music? We are not exactly sure but that is how it happened. Whether it was buying albums, listening to the radio, reading rap magazines/websites, watching rap videos, writing rhymes, or attending concerts the three of us have been involved in Hip Hop in some way or another. With additional contributions to rating the rappers from Mr. Wayne Maye of http://mayepov.blogspot.com/we feel there is finally a book from the fans’ point of view. Combined you are looking at over 25 years or more of experiencing and loving Hip Hop culture and music.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by Kevin T. Robinson,

Curtis M. Fowler, & Stacey L. Ward

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4931-1562-4

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4931-1563-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 12/11/2013

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Contents

Author Comments/Bio

Criteria/How it all works

The G.O.A.T 50

Authors Personal Picks

Foreword

Kevin Robinson—I would like to dedicate this book to hip hop culture and music. Thank you for always being there. Special shout outs and dedication to my two daughters Ebony & Kalyssa and my wife Stobhan. I love you all with all I got. To my mother Helen Hudson and my grandmother Willie Ann Boddie, thank you for everything and I love you. To everyone else who believed in me and supported me for this project. You know who you are. Thank you! Hotep (Peace) to all of you!

Stacey Ward—First, I’d like to give thanks and praises to the creator of all living beings. I would also, like to give thanks to Norma Ward my mother for raising me and beating my ass, because if not for those ass whooping’s I wouldn’t be as strong and determined, or prepared for what the world has to offer. Thanks to James Green my grandfather for being the father in my life. If it wasn’t for me begging for a dollar I wouldn’t know the value of a quarter. He loaned me his lawn mower and a quarter worth of gas and said go make it do what it do. Extra special thanks to my children Jarius, Donnyka, Chelsea, Chris, Nick, and SJ (my new born) for motivating me to be the man I am today and I’ll always love y’all. I’d like to thank my family and extended family for being there when I needed them. Shouts out to those who didn’t believe that this book would ever be written, because your hating was my inspiration and my motivation. Another extra special thanks to Tobias Patrick and Sidney Murrary, when I first mentioned writing the book, you guys encouraged and believed in me to do it. Vanessa Carter for affirming my beliefs in this book, and pushing me to finish what I started. Last, but not least thanks to my partners in writing this book, Curtis Fowler and Kevin Robinson for being patient and understanding, it was a great experience. Thank you all.

My portion of this book is dedicated to my entire family for being the strong foundation upon which I am built.—CMF

Kevin says… .

What makes me a rap expert? Well, nothing necessarily. And that honestly is one of the main reasons I wanted to help put this book together. For 10-15 years, I have been reading lists by these experts on the best this and the best that and rarely do I feel the diversity in rap is fully represented. Most of the time, I am left pissed off because of how safe the list is or how corny it is. There are always these obvious biased, typical, and/or politically correct picks. Most of these outlets have to play the game and not get on the bad side of certain media powers, industry insiders, and artists. Well, in the grand scheme of the rap industry, I nobody and I do not gain anything by listing anyone. I am a fan of hip hop music and have been a serious fan since around 1988. Fans are the ones who buy these albums, read these lists, and debate with the other heads and fans alike. We are the ones in the trenches giving these legends and greats these status symbols because we listen to them with no strings attached. When fans debate in these streets, suburbs, blogs, forums, workplaces, etc. there is no industry politics. Most heads (true rap fans) do not use sales and being hot as a reference when debating about who’s who in this culture we cherish.

Most lists by these media outlets seem to have either one or all of these three as criteria: mostly east coast rappers, who’s hot/popular, or who are safe, typical picks. Being a fan of rappers from all regions has allowed me to see through the politics and biases. Now, I am in no way saying I am without my own biases and preferences. Trust me. I like who and what I like and I will debate with you until one of us turn to dust about it. But the same note, I am most of the time able to step back and be objective about things. This top 50 list you are about to read was made with the fans in mind—fans from all regions.

I went into this book in the same frame of mind as if my co-writers and I were discussing this on the phone. I am not trying to win a prize for my writing nor am I trying to act like I am a professional journalist or aspiring to be one. My goal is to put this book together as if I were debating or discussing this with my two friends. We discussed the depth of the music most of the time. We took songs and ended up having deep conversations just because a certain song was brought up. I know many of times I have conversed with both of them on all types of lists.

I have a room in my house that has five picture frames with the album covers of my top 100 albums of all time. I am actively involved in a few hip hop forums. I also own over 2000+ rap albums. I said that not to prove my qualifications but to let you know I am not a fair weather fan of this culture. I grew up in Chicago and currently reside in the south. Being first exposed to rap music in the mid-west, I was exposed to all regions and styles. I have fond memories of playing NWA and Stestasonic records over my friend’s house. The first rap tape I ever purchased was EPMD"s Unfinished Business album and the first CD I ever purchased was Naughty By Nature’s 19NaughtyIII album.

My co-author, Curt, mentioned something during one of our phone convos that really stuck with me. He said most people divide into fans of rappers who write from the heart or write from the mind. I fall in between the two; Curt favors rappers who write from the mind and Stacey favors rappers who write from the heart. This is one of the many factors that will keep this book balanced and as fair as possible. My co-authors and I do not agree on a lot and trust me we have argued and debated about a lot of these rappers. The biggest thing is the mathematical system we chose to use keeps us honest and alleviates a lot of our personal biases. Hip Hop fans are more diverse than a lot of these media outlets seem to believe. There are people out here who like Dayton Family more than A Tribe Called Quest or Outkast. Or there are people out here who feel Inspectah Deck is a better rapper than Ice Cube. We are fans of the skills, the albums, and the art. The only thing I hate the most about the east coast biases is that all greats have to start and end with that region or with that particular style of rhyming. Also, any rappers from any other regions are just exceptions to the status quo. But not in this book. We put all the rappers we picked on the same playing field and let the numbers speak for themselves. And with it being four of us that keeps it from being from one point of view. We all do not hear music and/or talent the same way. And I think when discussing the best that should be a factor that is included. Also when you fairly broaden the playing field some of your safe picks are now not so safe. Me personally I do not view rhyme skills as this one dimensional subject. Nor do I pick this one type of rapper and judge every other rapper off his/her rhyme skills. I understand that certain artists do set benchmarks that all artists will be compared to, but my benchmark is not limited to one region, style, or sound.

Respect to the creators and pioneers of Hip Hop who paved the way for this great culture and for giving us something we love to write about. I am aware of the importance of showing respect to the fore brothers and sisters that was doing this shit without a blueprint. To the younger generation please show love to our pioneers. It’s not about dick riding or kissing ass; it just shows respect. We must embrace our past with respect and admiration. Hip Hop culture has been my closest friend for a looong time. From the first time I heard rap on an LP,bought my 1st tape, 1st cd, or 1st mp3. I am a fan of Hip Hop, I am Hip Hop.

Curt Says… .

*Ahem* Mic check one two. Lets get to the point. Hip-Hop saved my life. It was the perfect outlet for me as a young Black male in America to draw from and be inspired. I recall going to see Krush Groove with my uncles. I remember tripping off of Turbo and Ozone in Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo. I remember Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force. I remember early LL Cool J with the Kangol. I remember MC Shy D, The Dogs, Jam Pony Express and The 2 Live Crew. I remember Too $hort, DJ Magic Mike, The Gucci Crew, Roxanne Shante’, The Real Roxanne, The Fat Boys and Biz Markie. I remember listening to the Top 20 countdown on the radio with Greg Mack The Mack Attack broadcasting from L.A. I used to record those shows and I may have one or two on a random tape stashed away somewhere. My mother has a recording of me attempting to rap when I was maybe 7 years old. It was horrendous by those standards but sounds like some of the same stuff I hear on the radio today.

One of my first favorite rappers was LL Cool J. Then it was Big Daddy Kane. It ended up being Ice Cube and pretty much stayed there. As I got older, I realized that I was partial to storytellers and in my opinion Cube turned out to be one of the most elite at it. I chose sides. I rode with Cube during the NWA beef, with Pac during East vs. West, with Nas vs. Jigga. Hell, I even thought that Jeezy was doing it a little better than Gucci. I think that’s just what fans do. We don’t know these people personally. We like them because of how they may have made us feel on that one song when we were having a bad day. They may have been on repeat at the best party you’ve ever attended. Maybe you knew them before they made it big. At any rate fans feel a connection with their favorite artists.

In reading this book you will see that there are certain emcees that you may have thought were better than I rated them. That’s fine. Maybe when your book comes out you can rectify your disagreement. I believe that in many cases we all tend to overrate emcees because they are so great