5 of the Best MCs (Currently)
Hip-Hop and Rap have had a divide into the categorization of what is what. For some Hip-Hop is about the sound and Rap is about the flow, lyricism, and rhythmic patterns one conjures over rustic and competently produced instrumentations. And further into that world, like many genres, are many other subgenres and artist characterization. One of the longest known, the MC, has been used to categorize artists who focus on lyricism, which in turn is like an emcee ushering to deliver a message. This list is derived from artists that are known or well known with prime consistency, from my subjective view.
*This list could have included current living legends, but then you might not explore beyond the known. And I consider it my job to also help you discover new artists and if you like them, I’m content.*
Rapsody
Rapsody is an embodiment of many the influence the many female rappers have had in the industry. She isn’t like the luscious and aggressively sexual prowess of Lil Kim or the braggadocio lyricism of DaBrat, but she takes the same energy and turns similar subject matters and flips it on its head. On her most recent album, Eve, she subverts braggadocio by using anecdotal facts about influential black women on “Ibtihaj.” Her modestly paced flows and oomph factor on punchlines has allowed a delivery that is consistently believable. It has been a defining marker on her artistry since the early days.
Recommended Albums:
Laila’s Wisdom
She Got Game
Daveed Diggs (.clipping)
… what can be said about Daveed Diggs that Broadway critics and the ending of Blindspotting can’t. His impactful wordplay and delivery is subjected to what I thought was remotely possible at a young impressionable age, constants with no breathers. Though obviously I wasn’t bright back then, Daveed is definitely one bright rapper. He subverts genres on established genres like gangsta rap, which he turns to a sci-fi tale with the lyricism and the instrumental on "Air 'Em Out," off the Splendor &Misery album. There is a lot I can say about his work, but all you have to do is watch that ending on Blindspotting, and you'll understand.
Recommended Albums:
Splendor & Misery
Visions of Bodies Being Burned
Blu
Blu’s flows and style has been subject to a level of overratedness due to being one of the more recognizable names in the underground circuit. But that is purely speaking within the hip-hop head community. He is that kind of rapper who writes his songs like how Woody Allen wrote Midnight In Paris, where everything comes from the title. “So(ul) Amazing,” off Below the Heavens, has Blu rapping about what it is to feel amazing and how making/seeing other people happy brings light to him. He works many angles in that regard, while incorporating his themes eloquently. And this is his dominant strength that has allowed him to create so many various projects. From working with producer, Exile to deliver So Cal Jazz Rap to the experimental York!, an album focused on industrial electronic influence in the sound.
This was heavily so as he wrote a mixtape - centered on a break up and using his favorite films as samples to further express his themes. This mixtape, Her Favourite Colour, is one of his best and it is the best way to get acclimated to his rapping style.
Recommended Albums:
Below the Heavens
A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night
Her Favorite Colour
Emilio Rojas
There are many rappers/MCs that can be implemented into this list, but the underground always outweighs what the radio tries to deliver us. The term is so loose, at times one could even place rappers like Royce Da 5’9’ or Joell Ortiz, but nothing speaks pure of heart like Emilio Rojas. The Venezuelen rapper delivers on many fronts, from his most vulnerable to his confident arrogance that you like to see from a predominately muted minority. And by that I mean, he doesn’t subject himself to be and feel any different. He knows who he is and strives.
“Pussy & Cologne,” his verses on “Trouble,” and most recently “All Good,” on Recession Proof 2: Rob the Rich shows his various ranges from confidence to heart shattering connectivity.
Recommended Albums:
Breaking Point
Zero Fucks Given, Vol. 1
Jon Connor
Jon Connor, or how he likes to declare himself “The People’s Rapper,” has had this tenacity to excel no matter what kind of project he releases. i.e. his consistency is subjectively off the charts compared to many rappers who have a lot of projects under their belts.
Jon Connor is always hungry and striving for greatness, always going about new ways to express his story. From dropping mixtapes rapping over beats of Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kanye West tracks to appearing on a few tracks for Dr. Dre's third album, Compton, back in 2015. His technical skills amass many rappers, even when his most "mainstream," tends to break into cliche mediocrity, the streets never leave him. Wish I could say the same about Joyner Lucas, but nope. So if you think Joyner is overrated, then definitely switch to Connor as he won't disappoint.
Recommended Albums:
Unconscious State
BestInTheWorld: The Late Registration of a College Dropout Who Had a Dark Twisted Fantasy of 808s and Heartbreak
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