I haven't played Madden Football since about the 1998 version, but I have a vague recollection of the way that players were ranked. If a guy had a 99 in speed, then he'd be crazy fast. Like dumb Terrell Owens in the game we played all the time in college. But this guy created ranking categories for rappers, including smart things like beat selection and lyrics, as well as dumb things like fashion and charisma. I could care less about a rapper's fashion - in fact, I think the raps that just name drop brands are generally pretty boring and lame.
In a nutshell, this guy ranks current rap stars as follows:
- Kanye West: 96
- Drake: 95
- Jay Z: 91
- Nicki Minaj: 91
- Chance the Rapper: 89
- Kendrick Lamar: 88
- Lil Wayne: 87 (I have to say I like the silent Gs like lasagna lyric, maybe I'm corny)
- Eminem: 85
- Nas: 84
- Young Thug: 81
- Macklemore: 75
- Migos: 73
- Iggy Azelea: 71 (saying her debut album sounds like a Disney star's debut is classic)
- Chief Keef: 58
Most surprising thing about that list is where he puts Drake. I am a huge sucker for a rap song that heavily features brass (see the otherwise pretty terrible Trick Daddy song Shut Up) and so I was a big fan of Drake's Trophies last year:
But I can't say that he feels like a top two guy right now. I wouldn't agree that Jay Z should still be thought of as a top three guy either - if you are going to heavily weight older albums and his fashion sense, then sure - but if you are going off of guys who have great raps rolling off their tongues right now, I don't think he still ranks that high. But Kanye rightfully sits at the top of the mountain.
I don't even know who the hell Migos or Young Thug are - I'm starting to age out of the cool young rap world.
He jokes about excluding Wale, but there are other folks that belong in this discussion (waaaaay more than Iggy damn Azelea), like A$AP Rocky, T.I., Big Boi, Schoolboy Q, maybe even Action Bronson, Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa, or Future. And what about the old guard of Dre, Cube, or Snoop?
Anyway, good article to get me thinking and go run out and try something new. (BTW, even after listening to the available Young Thug songs, I still can't tell you what he sounds like).
1 comment:
Agreed on Drake not being a top 2 (though I like him) and stupid Nicki Minaj is too high (unless making super annoying faces was a criteria...then she should be #1).
I'm good with Jay-Z being that high - Watch the Throne was only a few years ago and he was great on that. (I'm pretending his most recent album doesn't exist...otherwise yes, he should drop a few notches).
I'm also not remotely cool enough to know who Migos, Young Thug, Action Bronson or Juicy J are. Does Migos know his name is one letter off from a delicious Texas breakfast dish?
Also, while Lil' Wayne is fascinating for reasons I can't quite put into words...he's an awful rapper. He is the one guy I don't get...at all.
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