Yeah, in terms of influence I think 2pac is absolutely more influential than BIG. Or Jay. And I don't actually think Nas is as influential an artist as he is creator of one infinitely influential album. So that's why he's not in the top 10. Thinking purely about how much influential material did the artists release, and how big of an impact did it make. You can still catch shout outs to Tribe in modern rap. They're the rap Beatles. RIP Phife. And Pac's the rap Nirvana. And Kanye is (sorry) but the rap .... ok let's just say Prince so you don't have to leave the board. ;)

And de la pretty much invented modern sampling and (ugh... skits), while NWA kicked off gangsta rap. HOV is an industry unto himself. The most successful of all these ninjas, but his influence is definitely waning, and he's fading away instead of burning out.

Edit: whoops... Fact check - in 2004 Tupac Shakur was listed as the biggest selling hip-hop artist of all time in the Guiness Book of World Records.

So, I take that back about Jay. He's had more years of success, and his success has been spread out over more territory, but in strictly hip-hop and music terms, he's no Pac.

Thank you was that so hard? My list would replace JayZ with Nas but i otherwise could sign on to this if i had to

Haha were you honestly going to say Kanye was the MJ of hip hop? Dude... don't cheapen Michael like that! I don't think ANY hip hop group can be the MJ of hip hop because what MJ did since he was a kid was too transformational. We forget how influential MJ is simply because we all live in a world AFTER him. Call me when Kanye invents entirely new genres of music, becomes a cultural icon, and inspires generations to dance.

Best i can give Kanye is the Lou Reed of rap. Mercurial. Unstable. Not always making popular decisions. Still defined a decade of music

nevermind MJ. I think the world has forgotten a lot or just too ignorant to realize.

Aww. We'd make a passable team if we had to. ;)

Hey, I can get behind this. You are basically saying that my favorite post Sonic Youth artist is like the my favorite pre-Sonic Youth artist of rap. ;)

But Kanye's been infinitely more successful than Lou Reed, and successful in a different way. He hasn't exactly invented new genres of music, but he has changed the sound of modern hip-hop with every new album he's released. I suppose he's not the MJ of rap, but if someone had to be, it would be him. But he's not. He's released too much good material and too little bad material to be the Prince or David Bowie of rap, though, so I'm stuck thinking MJ is the best comparison, because basically the only standards for universal greatness are The Beatles, Mochael Jackson, Nirvana, and... well, maybe Kanye's just his own thing. And others are destined to be the Kanye of other things, rather than Kanye being the anyone of anything himself.

But I can roll with that Lou Reed comparison ...

How can anyone who lived through MJ forget MJ? I won't ever forget MJ. The world won't either. I give credit to rappers like Kanye and Kendrick who repeatedly shout out to MJ, because they remind the world that he was the Fucking bomb, and they show the kids who didn't get the opportunity to see him on tv (the Black and white video debut was an event, yo) or see him live (Jesus H. Christ, what an experience), that he inspired them, and is therefore cool.

Ain't nobody ever going to forget Michael Jackson. Don't worry.

p.s. SFAD - Kanye's definitely a cultural icon. Time may show that he has, in fact, invented entirely new genres, but that ninja can't dance, and never will (thank god)

Kanye hasn't tweeted anything about Phife. Instead he tweeted a link to Young Thug's new tape and went on about how "inspiring" he is. The same man who once called Tribe his favorite group of all time.

Beastie Boys would be on my list of influential rappers...

In terms of ALL time? Sev, your list is woefully short on originators.

Most influential Rap acts/rappers of all time

1. RUN DMC
2. Eric B. & Rakim
3. NWA
4. 2Pac
5. Notorious BIG
6. A Tribe Called Quest
7. Kanye West
8. Wu-Tang Clan
9. Public Enemy
10. Outkast

if you don't put RUN DMC at the TOP of influential rap acts then you is perpetratin' a fraud.....

Shhhh. I stopped following him for a reason, man.
Sucks though. :(

kanye has not been posting his own tweets for years... all these fools have assistants to do these things....

I could live with this list. And I agree that RUN is extremely important in the landscape of popularizing rap, BUT unlike the other artists on the list, I don't think Run has had the kind of lasting musical influence that others have had. Like De La Soul, for example, who helped put Dilla on the map as a signature sound redefiner. Or NWA, who are still being heard in the music of Black Hippy and TDE acts.

But I just think that in terms of musicality, there's only a few artists that have really been consistently influential, and Run were originators, and trendsetters, but they haven't had the multigenerational impact that others have.

In a list of most influential albums, I'd put Raising Hell on there. Just like I'd put Illmatic on there, but wouldn't put Nas on my artist list. Paul's Boutique would have to go on a most influential albums list, but Beastie Boys probably aren't among the most influential hip-hop groups even if they are one of the most popular. They're far too alternative oriented to be considered along the same lines as Pac and Big and groups that really represented the genre.

No, I highly doubt that. Many businesses and organizations and groups have Twitter reps, but these are official accounts. It wouldn't make sense to have someone else speak for you, and if someone else WAS speaking for Kanye, he's have the good sense not to say the things Kanye says.

No, I think it really is Ye and Twitter. And I think it's Wiz too, and Wayne Coyne, and Kim K.

What, do you just think that celebrities are, like, the only people in the world who don't use Twitter? Everyone is addicted to that shit. If Kanye West. The world loves Twitter, and people love using it. Kanye/Kim/Wayne/Wiz would be paying some punk to have fun for them, and that punk would be responsible for the words that are attributed to that individual. It doesn't make sense, bro.

Kanye has at least 1 personal assistant to help him do the Twitter. THEY ALL DO. Don't believe the hype.

all he has to do is turn to his assistant and say "tweet out this..."Kim is looking extra hot today!" and add a picture."

honestly, this is what they all do. OF COURSE they pretend like it is them...

In terms of influence? RUN DMC showed the entire world that Hip Hop was a force. They defined the 2 MC's and one DJ structure. They took away the singing and R&B bullshit. That is all so very influential!!!!

When it comes down to the question of who has had the most influence over the longest period of time, the answer is Kanye West, though. There really had not ever been another artist in the history of the genre whose prime had lasted 12 years, and spanned 9 critically acclaimed hit albums.

Not even OutKast quite managed that, as their early work was pretty street, and they didn't start flippin' scripts until after they really caught some mainstream success. Tribe had a pretty perfect flow of albums, but none of them were as crazy popular as any of West's. 2pac sold tons of albums but the poor guy died before he could really move on the next level as an artist.

Kanye has defied the laws of hip-hop, whether you like him or not. And I'm only putting Tribe and Pav ahead of him because they influenced him so much. I think he's probably going to have to retire from releasing solo albums soon, or he'll just be tempting fate. He could still make music as a producer, but I'd rather see him go out on a high note than push on until he's dry.

What singing and R&B bullshit was there to take away from hip-hop in 1985?

Yeah, they're hugely influential, but more culturally than musically. Sorry.

Look at the other artists we all agree are influential: Pac, Tribe, OutKast, Kanye, Wu... Do you hear RUN DMC in any of their music? They were of course a culturally influential force, and the first rap superstars, but their influence is different than that of the others. They were instrumental in brining hip-hop into the cultural limelight, and they defined early hip-hop fashion. But so did Grandmaster Flash. Ten years later, hip hop had completely rejected their model, though. They were part of a specific time and place. They belong on a list of the most influential hip-hop artists of all time, certainly, but now that hip-hop has evolved so much, their influence has lessened while the influence of ATCQ, OutKast, 2pac, etc. has only grown greater.

MC Hammer probably belongs on a list of the most influential hip-hop artists too. Like... A top 100 list. And I just believe that Run was too primordial. They're like the Buddy Holly of hip-hop. Influential as hell, but then the Beatles and Dylan came along.

Sev, you really need to bone up on Hip Hop history. RUN DMC were the first to take it away from the disco/dance/R&B basis for their samples and music. Go listen to Whodini, early Kurtis Blow, Furious Five, Sugarhill Gang, Fat Boys/Disco Boys.....

Not like Michael Jackson and YOU KNOW IT. Just stop.. I mean seriously. Just stop it. MJ is a cultural force that makes Kanye look loke some dive bar amateur.

Basically you sound like these Golden State Warriors fans that can't understand why no one in a million years thinks they're better than Jordan's Bulls.

No one gives a shit bout Kanye. They really don't.

His wife is more a cultural icon than he is.

I just defended then shit out of MJ. Stop yr crying. Acting like I don't know MJ was the shit. And I already admitted you were right (Ye can't dance, he too chubby)

If there's no MJ of rap, or you're going to get all whiny about someone saying there is, then we need to stop saying there's a Beatles of rap, or a Nirvana of rap. I could be a bitchass too and be like, how dare you say ye's the Lou Reed of rap? NOBODY IS THE LOU REED OF ANYTHING!

If one legend is eligible for comparison, they all should be. And if I'm agreeing with you, you shouldn't spazz ;)

Well, that's just not true. If our culture even still has icons, Kanye West is absolutely one of them, for good or ill.

I don't need to bone up on any of that shit. It was precedent setting, but in my opinion the influence was more cultural than musical. I just think that the big rappers that came later had a more lasting and sustained impact on hip hop, but I don't feel super strongly about it. In fact, Run DMC's low placement was one of the things that pissed me off about the TimeOut list.

So, whatever. Swap out Wu-Tang for Run if you want. Fine by me. Nobody's saying they're not legendary.

And Sugarhill Gang was totally influential. "Rapper's Delight" is probably the most influential song in hip hop history. But that's what they're known for, and that's all they're known for by many. In fact I don't think many modern rappers are even aware of their existence, as that's something I'm taking into account.

MJ is a different caliber of legend than any others. Indeed i believe my entire point is there is no MJ of anything but MJ. Get it now? I ain't mad at you, but im gonna call it out everytime like i was MJ's press agent. I know i give you a hard time about Kanye but its because sometimes you have a tendency to go over the top. I thought Lou Reed being Kanye was a fair assessment btw, not intended to diss either Uncle Lou or Ye, indeed the more i reflect on the more apt it seems.

Well, deep down I don't believe there really is a Lou of anything except for Lou. And I don't believe there's a Beatles of anything except for the Beatles, and I don't believe there's a Nirvana of anything except Nirvana. But for the purposes of conversation, I'm willing to make comparisons. I call ATCQ the Beatles of hip hop, but do I actually mean that they're in anyway comparable to The Beatles? No. Not at all. But if I had to bestow that title on someone, it would be Tribe.

Same goes for the MJ thing. It's not like I actually think that. I'm just filling in the gaps in the way that makes the most sense to me, for fun and for conversation.

And yeah I do go over the top. If I try to stop I just do it more, so I've learned to accept that I'm a hyperbolizing motherfucker.

Dude. There are TWO differences between our lists. That makes me "woefully short?" Come on now. And I'd gladly put Eric B and Rakim or Run DMC in there to reach a consensus. I really just put Jay on because I love Jay and he's such a big figure.

I can lose Jay. I can add Eric B and Rakim and Run. It's not like we're dealing with two fundamentally different perspectives here.

And I should add that you placed Kanye pretty high on you all time most influential list right before you said that nobody cared about him. And you're not even a fan. Just saying.

Hey y'all, I'm not trying to say I know anything that you guys don't... In fact, Rob, being a few years older than I am, you probably have a more accurate memory of the mid to late '80s. Actually I'm certain you do.

I just like talking about this shit. My lists are never carved in stone, nor do I think they're superior to anyone else's. They just represent my point of view at a given moment. The more I think on it, the more I feel that Eric B & Rakim and Run DMC are two names that probably should be on such a list. And those were two of my three primary gripes about TimeOut (those assholes didn't even know the year Reasonable Doubt was released... what the fuck is TimeOut anyway?), so I'm just here to shoot the shit.

I'm glad to see the similarities in our lists. I'm glad that we all believe Tribe, Pac, OutKast etc. belong there. And I'm grateful that even you haters are giving Kanye a place.

I don't wanna fight tonight (sorry, Ramones on the brain).

a) kool keith is the lou reed of hip-hop, kanye west is kid rock if he was magically produced by fucking jim o'rourke or something

b) michael jackson pales in comparison to his sister. how the hell can you people forget the travesties that were heal the world, you are not alone, the video for the way you make me feel....this unadulterated crap sort of gets airbrushed out when it's some of the most saccharine empty bullshit pop music to ever be produced. janet meanwhile continues to make incredibly singular music by not making songs for laundry detergent commercials.

my would be:

James Brown

Ouch. Like, triple ouch. I'm off to cry in a corner now.

Ha.

Sev, I know what I've been meaning to ask you. Have you ever heard Consequence's A Tribe Called Quence 1995-2004 album? Of note I think you'd flip your shit over Consequence and Kanye's take on "Electric Relaxation."

Your first point screams "white hipster dweeb," you know? I would take The Velvet Rope over every MJ album though.