ok first of all i dont know what ur thinking if ur saying nelly is the best rapper alive he osent even rap he just sings along in songs. Eminem is good but most of his fans are all white, what i mean is that he is mostly apealing to mainstream america. jay-z is nice but he is nowhere close to nas. nas is the greatest rapper ALIVE. but tupac and beggie are the best rappers ever

1. Nas (Illmatic)
2. Jay-Z (Reasonable Doubt)
3. Biggie (Ready to Die)
4. Big L
5. Big Pun (Capital Punishment)
6. Jadakiss
7. Redman (Muddy Waters)
8. Ghostface (Ironman)
9. Scarface
10. Eminem

()=classic album

First I would like to acknowledge my NY bias and say that I am not a big fan of conscious rap. I acknowledge their talent and like some of their music, but it is not for me. Old school rappers also were not considered for my list (sorry Rakim). The reason for this is that none of it has stood the test of time. There are a few songs from the eighties I will still listen to, but there is not a single album that I could listen to more than three songs off of. I would cite basketball as my basis for this. Everyone hypes up Wilt, but in truth, if he played today he would be just another 8 point 6 rebound center. I feel that Rakim, Slick Rick, Kane, etc. are just like Wilt, today they would only be average at best against the existing competition.
I judged these rappers on skills first and foremost. Then I looked at body of work and tried to include artists who have a classic album under their belt, though it only pertains to six of the ten in my opinion. I also put an emphasis on sure shot singles that will be still be great ten, twenty years from now. Guest appearances and unreleased material counts, but not as much as material from the artist's own albums. I also held it a against rappers who have never changed their style, this probably being the reason that prodigy couldn't make the list, eventhough mobb deep is in my opinion the only rappers ever to drop two classic albums. Now on to the list itself.
Nas dropped unquestionably the greatest album of all time. Illmatic is so much better than any other album that this spot was Nas' to lose and he has done nothing to assist in that. Though none compare to Illmatic, he has yet to drop a wack or even so so album in six more tries (lost tapes, qb's finest, etc. not included). Over this time he has managed to put out some of the best singles ever, both conceptually and lyrically. These would include Nas is Like, Got ur self a Gun, Thief's Theme, and of course Ether.
You can say Jay has sold out, I will give you that. What you can't say is that his lyrics and mic prescence have suffered on account of it. Even on tracks like Change, Clothes and Hard Knock Life, which are obviously geared toward commercial success, he still manages to weave together a descriptive narrative that recalls Reasonable Doubt. The subject matter is just changed. His ability to move between styles on Song Cry, Dirt of My Shoulder, So Ghetto, and Nigga What, Nigga Who is unprecedented in rap. Though I don't know if I believe it, the fact that he has never "written" a rhyme in his life is amazing if it is true. I would have put him above Nas if it weren't for the Illmatic factor.
Ready to Die is Biggie's crowning achievment. Life after Death is not quite a classic, but is about as close as you can be. Therefore, there is no reason to assume that Big wouldn't be on about his fifth or sixth classic album by now. Oh what if? The problem is that he was killed and we will never know. Nevertheless these two (I don't count Born Again), coupled with his dominating guest spots are good enough to place him at three.
Big L runs into the same problem as Biggie, not enough work. If he also weren't shot (and signed that deal with the Roc) we might have three or four classics from Big L. Never the less his humor and complex rhyme schemes did culminate in the Big Picture, which is easily the best posthumously released album and a near classic itself. I never heard a flow of his that he didn't kill. His style is still unmatched though his complex rhyme patterns are copied by everyone these days.
Pun had the most distinctive flow of any great rapper. There was no mistaking this Latin wordsmith when he got on a track. He was as gangster as anyone this side of Ice Cube circa '88. However, he did it with true flow and a sense of humor, a style only Biggie did as well as Pun. Capital Punishment shows his range as an artist and a person. Even alive, I don't think he cracks the top four, but he is one of the greatest.
I had trouble putting Jada on the list because he lacks a stellar album, but his guest shots and mixtape appearances make up for it in my mind. He is probably the wittiest rapper out and still comes hard as hell. His voice is up there with Common's and Guru's. The fact that he always sounds the same is a bit of a problem, but he is able to switch up his content. He can make a diss record (Checkmate), come straight gutter (Right Where u Stand), get soulful (Why), and make crossover hits (Ryde or Die Bitch). Only the great ones boast this kind of range.
Muddy Waters is the closest we get to seeing Red's true skills come forth on an album, but he has been killing tracks for ten years and shows no signs of slowing down. Can't Wait off of his Darkside album might be the best jam ever and he probably has the longest list of guest appearances that steal the show. He most recently gave Beans a nice assist on One Shot Deal, but his appearances on Meth's 2001, Tribe's Love Movement, and his first verse ever on EPMD's Headbanger are some of the highlights. Plus "Yo' weed got more seeds than ODB" might be the best line ever.
Ghostface has evolved so much that it is hard to even talk about Ironman and Pretty Toney in the same breath. Both are stand out albums that rank up there with the best ever. He is the only member of Wu to successfully move out of that realm and create his own identity as a true musician. The 70's loops he is now using are incredible and though he is not a great lyricist, I always enjoy his flow.
The last two were tough decisions. I chose Scarface because of how effortlessly he adapts his flow to encompass East and West coast, as well as dirty South standards. He also gets props for his role in the Geto Boys. Eminem is too good lyrically to leave off, but his content is horrible. If he just rapped he might have a case for number one. However, the fact that he raps about Backstreet Boys and alimony makes it impossible for me to bump him up any higher.
I also considered were Ludacris, but he suffers from the Redman syndrome of using his best material on other people's albums. If I were to include any backpacker, then it would have been Talib. His problem is a lack of bangers, with the exception of Move Something, he does not boast a single "great" song, they are all just good. 2Pac does not make the list because of batting average, he has about 500 songs and about fifteen good ones. His influence on the culture is undeniable, but his ability is slightly above fair. That does it on my end, I hope you people enjoyed and maybe even learned something.

Lol only 15 good songs to you.He has more good songs than 15,and less than 500 songs

1) Brenda's Got a Baby 2) Trapped 3) Holla if ya Hear Me 4) I Get Around 5) Dear Mama 6) Ambitionz az a Ridah 7) If I Die 2nite 8) That jam with Bone 9) Smile w/ Scarface 10) Do for Love 11) Pain 12) Pour out a Little Liquor 13) I Ain't Mad at Ya 14) Hail Mary 15) Toss it Up

There goes the list of 15 2Pac songs that are good to ME. I did this to show you that I do listen to his music and knew what I was saying when I threw the number fifteen out there. These are exactly the ones I had in mind, with the exception of Toss it Up. I added that to make it an even fifteen, but it is a good song. He might not have 500 songs YET, but he seems to put out twenty new ones a year, I was just acccounting for that. Charismatic icon--absolutely! Good rapper--absolutely! Great rapper--absolutely not!

Greatest rappers alive...

Any memeber of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Cage
Copywrite
Tame One
Atmosphere
R.A the Rugged Man 'yea I'm mad negative, you want Positivity? go buy a Mos Def and talib kweli c.D"

Jedi Mind tricks (group)
Living Legends
Hieroglyphics killed it in thier day.
J-Zone.
The High and Mighty
almost all of Def Jux (Definitive juxtaposition)


more to name...
but chances are you haven't heard of any of them.

Go out and find thier music... introduce yourself to something good.

Eminem is on the list, though he's sold out like Turkeys on Thanksgiving.



--------2DamnTense--------