Everyone always talks about the greatest rappers, whether they’re dead or alive, but in the midst of all the hype, some great MC’s get lost.
The perception of the “great” MC varies. It may be as simple as regional representation or even something along the lines of a punch line MC.
Now, I would like to outright state that there’s plenty of underground MC’s that are deserving of making this list (i.e. Gift of Gab from Blackalicious, Del the Funky Homosapien and MC Juice, even though he did rip Eminem in the Rap Olympics), but this list isn’t going to cover that genre for argument and time sake.
Also, this list doesn’t cover “old-school” artists (i.e. Kurtis Blow, Big Daddy Kane and Guru), as this is a separate entity on its own. As for what makes up an “underrated” MC, you have to include the notoriety of MC’s, whether it be from albums sales or just overall popularity, or a lack there of.
In the case of Joe Budden, it was said that his self-titled, debut album “flopped.” His label, Def Jam, blames the flop in 2003 on people not knowing the proper name of the artist.
I don’t know how many of you knew about Budden when he was first surfacing in the early part of the 21st century, but he was mainly named as Joe Buddens on mixtapes and even radio stations. So when buyers went to look for the album, they were looking for “Joe Buddens” and not Joe Budden.
Whether or not this is the cause for the album sales not doing the numbers that was expected of Joey, his album was But that’s not what makes Budden the beast of an MC that he is. Budden is on this list not for the production of songs that he’s displayed to the industry with not only “Joe Budden” as an album, but for the plethora of amazing songs that he’s put out on mixtapes.
Budden is the type of MC that you have to go find him because he’s not going to come find you, but when you do find some stuff of his, you truly feel like you’ve hit the hop-hop jackpot.
Sometimes that jackpot consists of a complexed story that he’s so ingenious in generating, or it will be something as simple as a freestyle at some random radio station where Budden will just spew some of the illest quotables, making you feel cheated as a listener that other artists just aren’t that nice.
Budden’s versatility and ability to master any type of track or concept that he’s spitting on makes him outrageously under rated.
One of the main things that people miss about Budden is some of his story-telling tracks. There’s an easy 15 story-telling tracks that Budden has compiled and released since his debut album that are nothing short of amazing.
The reason for this is because Budden has been through a lot and he’s able to convey this through his lyrics without the typical killing of everyone from the “hood” like most rappers when they tell their “stories.”
It’s a shame that Def Jam has pushed back his next album, “The Growth,” since the beginning of time, but until then, Budden will continue to drop heat such as “Mood Muzik” one and two. Volume three is looking to release soon.
In the mean time, go listen to “Last Real Nigga Left” and his current freestyle over the “Boy Looka Here” beat.
“Dumbout” is still one of the most amazing songs I’ve ever heard in my life. If you don’t know, it’s seven and a half minutes of uninterrupted sickness.
AZ is one of the most lyrically gifted MC’s mixed with an intellectual knowledge to bless the mic every time he touches it, but as much talent as AZ has, it pains me to put him on the list of under rated MC’s.
AZ came on the scene with his boy Nas when Nas dropped what was supposed to be the “second coming” with his album “Illmatic” in 1994. AZ’s verse on Nas’ song “Life’s A B****” with so well put together that it was only a matter of time before the MC received a deal of his own, and soon after, that was the case.
In 1995, “Doe or Die” released and shook up the rap gamelike AZ’s counterparts and native New York rappers Nas and Mobb Deep before joining with the group The Firm in 1997, which was Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature on the lyrics and Dr. Dre and the Trackmasters on the beats.
But like The Firm, AZ’s following albums were only disappointments numbers wise. Despite his stumbles, the Brooklyn rapper was able to sign with the infamous Motown Records, despite their little-to-no success in the rap game.
AZ’s lack of success in the sales department is thought to be due to his lack of big-name production and rather skimpy rosters of guest appearances on his albums.AZ was able to resurrect his career somewhat when he dropped the album “9 Lives,” which was followed by what was known as his comeback album called “Aziatic.”
Aziatic is an amazing album. It had some songs that surfaced on the radio and had videos drop while exemplifying one of the most lyrically-gifted tracks yet to bless the rap game.
If anyone wants to learn how to put together a combination of lyrics mixed together with a combination of a vigorous rhyme scheme, “Re-Birth” is the track for you.
AZ’s multisyllabic rhyme scheme is a stand-alone style on its own and when you mix that with his delivery, flow, content and witty, slick-talking ways, you have the components of the complete MC.
Many probably don’t know, but AZ has actually dropped two albums recently, “A.W.O.L” and “The Format.” These two albums represent true hip-hop on a lyrical standpoint and show that AZ is still one of the best lyrically, even though his status in the hip-hop game never grew like the guy he came into the game with, Nas.
AZ’s isn’t commonly compared to Nas for some random reason.
Another New York rapper that overtook heights and broke down barriers with his never-seen-before skill set on the mic was Big Pun.
Pun was the first Latin rapper to go platinum, but came a long way before he reached the point that he did with his debut album, “Capital Punishment.”
Like AZ, the world first got their first dose of the rapper on the feature of one of their boys. Pun first appeared on a couple of Fat Joe tracks before showing up on a Funkmaster Flex mixtape, making an underground name for himself.
When Pun emerged onto the scene with “Not a Player,” he had the streets going wild in 1997. In 1998, the MC released his debut album with the hit single that truly launched his career, “Still Not a Player” featuring Joe. However, for those that haven’t heard Pun’s “Capital Punishment,” your ears are in for something they’re not ready for.
Pun’s in-your-face style with his long-winded, tongue-twisting flow was unmatched and unheralded in his time. Punch lines and content verbally thrash tracks with Pun’s high-energy flow and witty lines are the reason that this MC that was so ahead of his time is and that’s why he’s on the list.
It’s amazing that Pun had the breath control that he had. What makes it more shocking was his size because your breath control is supported by one’s stomach muscles and diaphragm, as to where Pun had health issues with his weight, which causes breathing problems.
Pun’s weight fluctuated from 450-700 pounds over his last years. He came to North Carolina to get on a special weight program where he dropped 80 pounds on what seemed like a road to recovery, but when he went back up to his home of the Bronx, he continued his overeating before letting his health issues finally get the best of him at age 28, seven years ago.
Another MC that passed less than a year before Big Pun was Big L. Also, like Pun, Big L’s true potential never got a chance to peak.
Big L was absolutely ahead of his time in the rap game before he passed, and he was not afraid of telling the world that.His boisterous style was one of such cocky confidence, but he was sure to back it up every time he got on the mic. It’s almost clear as to why his record label was named Flamboyant.
Big L shined in several groups with bigger names. Along with being with DITC, Digging In The Crates, he was in Children of the Corn with Killa Cam and Murda Mase before they achieved the full-blown status that they’re at today. Even before Cam started making up words to rhyme with.
Big L also dropped amazing tracks like “Ebonics” and “No Endz, No Skinz,” but that’s not even the biggest tracks L is known for.
Big L’s “98 Freestyle” was possibly the sickest freestyle that many hip-hip heads will tell you that was simply too sick for words at the time that he did it, maybe even at today’s date too. The freestyle is simply held on a pedestal when it comes to freestyles.
His freestyles are a reason that some acclaim Big L as the dopest MC to grace the mic, but Big L’s early death definitely hindered him from reaching his potential.
If anyone wants to know how far ahead of his time Big L was, go listen to his freestyle in 1995 that he did with Jay-Z and just listen to how bad he outshined Jay (I’m sure some Jay-Z fan just got mad or even produced a sour face as they read that but the verses speak for themselves).
Last but not least, Royce Da 5’9 is an interesting MC out of Detroit. Just like the other MC’s Royce is cocky in style, but has every right to be. With a rhythmic flow that often syncopates to the beat, Royce is not an MC to be taken lightly, as he quickly showed D12 a couple of years ago.
Royce single handedly dismantled the crew with a verbal lashing that cut so deep that it caused physical violence in the state of Michigan with his track “Malcolm X.”
“Malcolm X” was such a viciously crafted superb spit of excellence that many couldn’t even believe that he was going at some cats that he was cool with, especially since Royce rolled so tightly with Eminem in his early years in the game.
Royce recently said on his mixtape “The Bar Exam” that no one has ever outshined Eminem on a track like he has, but Royce got off the mainstream tip that his Detroit counterparts endeavored in and went independent.
A lot of people think that independent artist are “broke” or not even that “nice” because they don’t move as many units as the MC’s with total notoriety, but in fact, independent artist can earn 15 times as much as a mainstream rapper per unit sold. This sparked Royce’s release of “Independent’s Day” in the summer of 2005 after his last mainstream of “Death Is Certain” in February of 2004 on a mainstream label.
Independent’s Day is a sick album and shows Royce’s versatility, but since the release of that album, Royce has really surfaced on the hip-hop scene with plenty of tracks on mixtapes, whether it be Royce driven or not.
Royce’s punches and wordplay are some of the sickest in the game today and punch-for-punch he can spar with anyone in the game without actually having played content or a weak delivery that most these repetitive rappers in the game so rigorously produce on a regular basis.