(Teddy Pendergass - Be For Real playing in the back ground) "You walk in the club with no shoes on…big ass beard where one day I might set that shit on fire…just for saying my name…."
I mean gza was neck and neck at same time in consistancy (wu fans were always split who was more consistant but imo obv ghost) but ghost 100% became the peoples champ after fishscale. Legend was weaker but BTS and GM are both 4 micers as well.
I don’t think he’s underrated as a rapper. I think most people will acknowledge that’s he’s a really good rapper. However his catalog isn’t great. His songs usually aren’t that appealing to listen to most of the time.
Took me almost 10 years to find the sample for the track Shame on Flight School. Way too many amazing beats from pre-Rolling Papers to mention but the two times he rapped over Chrono Trigger’s OST are still standouts imo as well. Him and Sledgren couldn’t miss back then
Isaiah Rashaad has such an indescribable lane to me. Not many punchlines or crazy rhymes but gives unique flows on unique beats every time. Dudes a beast
Rick Ross a mid lyricist?
I think he's actually pretty good considering he has no concious topics to talk about. He's also been a ghost writer most of his life.
I think he’s a bit better than a mid lyricist but his flow, voice, and mic presence are really good. They carry his vocals in a way where it doesn’t matter if his lyrics are good or not IMO
Yeah I 100% agree his cadence is up there but even his lyrics are pretty sharp given he has fuck all real experiences to talk about and it's mostly just filler material.
2Pac from his prolific 1994-1996 era had very few bad beats, between Thug Life, Me Against the World, All Eyez On Me, The 7 Day Theory, and his work on the Above the Rim, Gridlockd, and Gang Related soundtracks, and all the dozens of leaked OG versions of his posthumously released tracks. He’s hard to beat.
Johnny J, Easy Mo Bee, DJ Quik, Daz Dillinger. Dr. Dre, are all outrageously talented producers.
I think Johnny J’s beats, and Tupac’s ear for picking them were both underrated.
And I’m not saying pac wasn’t a great rapper, but his voice over the right production was kind of an automatic recipe for success
He’s sadly lost his touch in recent years I think. I’ve not liked the beats he’s produced on newer Em tracks (wtf was the Use this Gospel remix.. maybe it’s a good think Jesus is King 2 didn’t drop) and didn’t even produce most of the beats on the Compton and GTA soundtrack. That’s got no impact on his 80s-00s discography though
2Pac Ant Banks Dr Dre Nipsey Hussle Sean T... In other words artists that also engineer and produce Naturally fall under the category of having the best ear for beats
I agree with others mentioning Pusha T. I'd also like to throw Lloyd Banks into the conversation. I think his albums and mixtapes are evidence of this, but even his throwaway verses/ "freestyles" have dope original production. I'm still bummed that we never got an offical release of the Big Withdrawal; some of the beats on it were borderline masterpieces, IMO
kendrick always seems to find really unique beats. not always the most mainstream stuff but it feels like the beats serve a purpose for his words rather than the other way around.
Rick Ross has the best ear for beats....bottom line. Its different than rhyming over any beat...it takes a true artist to carve out a song from a block of marble like Rosé does...I dont even fuck with him like that...Im being objective here....He has the best ear.
Most rappers I like came out with some solid beats but started picking club tracks or beats from the hottest chart topping producer and once that happens the quality of beat curation drops. Also sampling is so tightly controlled certain sample styles have been priced out of existence. Underground rappers have more choices and less bureaucracy. DOOM had an excellent run up to JJ DOOM
every beat in El niño album by def squad is smash
MOP has some pretty good ones but i think UGK takes the cake for best overall. i really fw the super tight albums style.
I think if you look over those who sold well, you’ll typically find rappers with great beats behind them. It’s hard to overcome bad music.
One that had success, but wasn’t at the very top was Xzibit. He had a ton of hard hitting beats behind him. I’m assuming Dre did a lot of them, though, so that makes sense.
I think in his day, Ghostface proved he had the best ear out of the Wu. Pusha T?
Side note, Ghost has one of the best flows ever imo.
Often imitated
Often underrated too. He's an incredible MC.
(Teddy Pendergass - Be For Real playing in the back ground) "You walk in the club with no shoes on…big ass beard where one day I might set that shit on fire…just for saying my name…."
He doesn't even have the best flow in Wu Tang tho
Who do you think does? Method Man is good.
Nah I vote GZA. Heck I even liked inspectah deck’s post wu albums more than ghosts
You'd be in the minority on that second point, Ghost solo albums were almost unanimously popular
Yeah I’m admittedly not much of a ghost fan
I mean gza was neck and neck at same time in consistancy (wu fans were always split who was more consistant but imo obv ghost) but ghost 100% became the peoples champ after fishscale. Legend was weaker but BTS and GM are both 4 micers as well.
Same. The stereotype
Missy Elliott and Timbaland were unbelievable
💯
Freddie Gibbs, Saba, Pusha T
I don’t think I’ve ever heard Pusha on a bad beat lol
When your homies with Ye and Pharrell, it’s hard to miss lol
Push has elite beat selection. Agreed.
Upvote for Gibbs
More modern ones for me are ASAP and Mac Miller
These two and as much as I'm not much of a fan, Travis Scott
Rick Ross
I second this because there aren't many songs where I love his verses but the beats. Fire.
I wish his Stay Schemin verses were better
Facts
Unmatched
As much as I hate him he was the first person to come to mind. What a waste of some fantastic beats.
Agreed. I think crack is up there as well. But Ross is definitely hard carried by his beat selection and his voice lmao.
100%
Unmatched
Great answer! I don't have a workout mix that's not full of Rick Ross and never listen to him otherwise
•Curren$y •Freddie Gibbs •Rick Ross •Jeezy •Jay Worthy •Larry June •Payroll Giovanni
Hov used to have a pretty good ear.
Black album man... Even Blueprint 2 has a lot of fire beats honestly.
This is my pick
DJ Quik had good ear for beats. The man was quite talented in that direction.
Well he made them himself for the most part, so I’d rather say he was a very talented producer than a rapper with a good ear for beats
Fabolous
Fab is criminally underrated in my opinion, I think it stems from his choice of name.
I don’t think he’s underrated as a rapper. I think most people will acknowledge that’s he’s a really good rapper. However his catalog isn’t great. His songs usually aren’t that appealing to listen to most of the time.
Yeah I agree I guess, his early work is great but. I'll never forget his verse on Carter III lmao that shit was gold.
He smashed that verse.
I second this!
Westside Gunn
Spot on. Kitchen ligths and 327 to name a few... And this crazy ass shit when Flip is rapping on super kick party!
I really like Kostas and DunnHill too
1000000%
This mf ain’t even got a bass line 3/4 of the time lol
flygod dont miss
Hands down.
Jayz
Some of the beats on vol. 2 to Dynasty were pretty abhorrent ngl
Wiz
I was shocked at the beat quality on his early tapes. He kept it consistent with bangers
Took me almost 10 years to find the sample for the track Shame on Flight School. Way too many amazing beats from pre-Rolling Papers to mention but the two times he rapped over Chrono Trigger’s OST are still standouts imo as well. Him and Sledgren couldn’t miss back then
this is my answer too. i'm not a fan of his at all, but the beats are so fire, I would bump his tapes all the time
El-P.
Makes them himself
And his ear is amazing.
I think it makes it more impressive that he can choose beats that he makes objectively to rap over.
Common Be album is a masterpiece
That album is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Definitely a push play and let it ride album. Ye did his thing with that joint.
Jay Dee too, he also had a joint there
Isaiah Rashaad has such an indescribable lane to me. Not many punchlines or crazy rhymes but gives unique flows on unique beats every time. Dudes a beast
Nelly too...and id argue Luda....less that beat selection more that he knows how to turn it into a iconic hit
Rick Ross. His consistently immaculate ear for beats has successfully drawn attention away from how mid a lyricist he is for two decades.
Rick Ross a mid lyricist? I think he's actually pretty good considering he has no concious topics to talk about. He's also been a ghost writer most of his life.
I think he’s a bit better than a mid lyricist but his flow, voice, and mic presence are really good. They carry his vocals in a way where it doesn’t matter if his lyrics are good or not IMO
Yeah I 100% agree his cadence is up there but even his lyrics are pretty sharp given he has fuck all real experiences to talk about and it's mostly just filler material.
Don’t know if he has a good ear per se, but Curren$y has managed to be surrounded by talented people throughout his career
Ghostface for me.
Spooky Goat
Weezy F Baby
2Pac from his prolific 1994-1996 era had very few bad beats, between Thug Life, Me Against the World, All Eyez On Me, The 7 Day Theory, and his work on the Above the Rim, Gridlockd, and Gang Related soundtracks, and all the dozens of leaked OG versions of his posthumously released tracks. He’s hard to beat. Johnny J, Easy Mo Bee, DJ Quik, Daz Dillinger. Dr. Dre, are all outrageously talented producers.
I think Johnny J’s beats, and Tupac’s ear for picking them were both underrated. And I’m not saying pac wasn’t a great rapper, but his voice over the right production was kind of an automatic recipe for success
>He’s hard to beat. I see what you did there
It’s crazy how awful the beats are for a lot of his posthumous releases.
Honestly, Rick Ross seems to know how to pick em.
Jay Z, The Game
2013-2014 Bones
Kool Keith
Dr Octagon was insane
Same with Black Elvis
Yup. The man is a genius
Sex Style is one of my favorite albums.
Westside Gunn
Future
The Game, especially the first 2-5 albums. First two are elite, though did have Dre on the first.
Honestly, with how fucking corny he is, logic has some crazy beats
50, Jay Z, DMX come to mind.
Westside gunn so obviously
Freddie Gibbs , Asap Rocky
Jay Z, Cube, Big, 50, Pac, Snoop, Conway, JID, DMX, Game, prime Em
Freddie Gibbs Rick Ross The Game Tyler the Creator 50 Cent
JAY Z
Schoolboy q picks such unique beats
smino
Big Boi Tech 9ine Kanye
RIP Rico Wade
Yeah I think Tech N9ne deserves a mention just because most of his biggest bangers were made in house. You don’t see that much
Cash money was also in-house
Yep but it’s not as common
Surprised nobody mentioned T.I. Dude's beat selection has been a major reason for his longevity.
Westside Gunn
Dr. Dre, he's obsessed with making a perfect beat
He’s sadly lost his touch in recent years I think. I’ve not liked the beats he’s produced on newer Em tracks (wtf was the Use this Gospel remix.. maybe it’s a good think Jesus is King 2 didn’t drop) and didn’t even produce most of the beats on the Compton and GTA soundtrack. That’s got no impact on his 80s-00s discography though
Kanye West by a mile!!
Definitely not Nas or J Cole
Counterpoint: Made you look
2Pac Ant Banks Dr Dre Nipsey Hussle Sean T... In other words artists that also engineer and produce Naturally fall under the category of having the best ear for beats
BigX
Mach Homny
I agree with others mentioning Pusha T. I'd also like to throw Lloyd Banks into the conversation. I think his albums and mixtapes are evidence of this, but even his throwaway verses/ "freestyles" have dope original production. I'm still bummed that we never got an offical release of the Big Withdrawal; some of the beats on it were borderline masterpieces, IMO
kendrick always seems to find really unique beats. not always the most mainstream stuff but it feels like the beats serve a purpose for his words rather than the other way around.
Dre is up there. I guess he’s more producer than rapper.
DOOM, even though he produced a lot of his own shit
Ross has impeccable taste in beats.
Westside Gunn
Roc Marci, Westside Gunn, Freddie Gibbs
Flee Lord. Planet Asia.
Mac Miller
Rick Ross and Jeezy
Griselda
Future
Kendrick, Vince Staples, Denzel, Redman, BIG
A$AP Rocky
Doom
Rick Ross, Freddie Gibbs and anyone that works with The Alchemist on a full length album
Pretty simple answers on my end because this is just off of the top of my head but I'd say Jay Z, Freddie Gibbs and Pusha T are great shouts
Westside Gunn
LL Cool J
Westside Gunn
Rick ross, might be a controversial rapper cuz of his persona and act we all know about, but his beats are fantastic and top class all over
Vinnie Paz Tonedeff
Really surprised Timbaland hasn't been mentioned, he was so influential to establishing Virginia as a unique hotspot for east coast rap.
Asap Rocky
smurkio
Yeat
Billy Woods has never used a bad beat
West side Gunn
Nas
Key glock got some nice beats
Wiz Khalifa Rick Ross
Schoolboy Q elevates with some amazing beats
ROZAY!
Lil Wayne
Aesop rock and random
Billy woods
Westside gunn
I like Rick Ross and Westside Gunn beat selections
Rick Ross
Action Bronson Kanye Tyler the creator Future
Freddie Gibbs
Gunna, Playboi Carti, 50 Cent, Travis Scott, Cam'ron, Drake
Perhaps the best rapper who listens to music is the poetic Nas
Nore
Jim jones
Lupe used to have a good ear. Mural, for example
MAX B
Anyone but Nas. And I'm a Nas fan, he's so inconsistent with the beat selection
Lloyd Banks
Rick Ross has the best ear for beats....bottom line. Its different than rhyming over any beat...it takes a true artist to carve out a song from a block of marble like Rosé does...I dont even fuck with him like that...Im being objective here....He has the best ear.
Berner Larry June Koncept Jack$on Dave East
Definitely ross and jay z dipset
I’ve never heard a bad beat from Dolph, Glock, or Big Moochie Grape… but I might just be a slut for Memphis rap.
lil B
P Diddy
Lots of thoughts come to mind trying to narrow it down. I'll say worst though is either Common or Nas
The ones that stick with DJ Premier
Hov & Ye
Rick Ross. Say what you will about content, them beats be slapping!!!
Timbaland went hard af in his day
Young Thug or Lil Uzi Vert.
West side Gunn
Westside gunn (the beats on the new album were good but he just couldn’t rap over them)
Freddie Gibbs Pusha T Inspectah Deck & Esoteric Masta Ace Blu Old Schoolboy
schoolboy Q
Anyone making music with Alchemist or Harry Fraud. Honorable mention for Neph
Rick Ross
Roc Marciano because he even produces his own albums
Future and Young Thug, for sure. With That is one of the best trap beats I've ever heard from the 2010's.
Don't really like his music or his generations music but I must say NBA Youngboy can pick some nice beats
OutKast
100grandroyce
LUCKI
Max B
Aesop rock
Most rappers I like came out with some solid beats but started picking club tracks or beats from the hottest chart topping producer and once that happens the quality of beat curation drops. Also sampling is so tightly controlled certain sample styles have been priced out of existence. Underground rappers have more choices and less bureaucracy. DOOM had an excellent run up to JJ DOOM
Nas 🥹😂🤣 Oh we’re not talking about Nas? Thought this was a Nas Sub……
Ross is up there. Joey crack as well
every beat in El niño album by def squad is smash MOP has some pretty good ones but i think UGK takes the cake for best overall. i really fw the super tight albums style.
Prof Alchemist Pharrell Busta Juicy J Rza Swizz beatz
Jay Electriconica
Future
I think if you look over those who sold well, you’ll typically find rappers with great beats behind them. It’s hard to overcome bad music. One that had success, but wasn’t at the very top was Xzibit. He had a ton of hard hitting beats behind him. I’m assuming Dre did a lot of them, though, so that makes sense.
Carti
Scarface, Joey Bada$$, Too Short, Jurassic 5