An Introduction: Who Are the Masters of Hip-Hop?

I. Introduction

Devising a list of 10 artists,
9 of which will remain a surprise,
whereas Slick Rick is a sneak peek :)

I am always searching for ways to improve my writing skills. When a situation occurs in which I’m unable to thoroughly and efficiently communicate my ideas through a pen, my MAC keyboard, or speech for that matter, and I’m in dire need of a little inspiration, I turn to art, literature, and, of course, music. Though I listen to a vast range of music daily, some of my favorite musical pieces stem from the world of hip-hop. Yes, whichever way you interpret it, as either hip-hop, rap, or “modern poetry,” I adore the stories and level of creativity rap artists incorporate in their music. I adore the magnificence of this particular industry and I adore the study of its unique, yet turbulent evolution. My level of intrigue with this form of oral literature has developed and grown over the past couple of years, and with the heightened accessibility of music through such networks as Spotify, 8-tracks, and Pandora, my fascination with rap has only multiplied.

In consequence of my enduring interest in rap, I have made the decision to enumerate my favorite hip-hop artists in a single, fairly brief anthology. Anthologies are defined as compilations of masterful works in a specific field, like literature or art for example. In this anthology, however, I’ve chosen to devise a list of artists, old and contemporary, who are worthy of academic, social, and cultural consideration, continually referencing a few of their original musical works. In more precise terms, the primary intent of this compressed anthology is to reconstruct the generic view of rap as nonsensical, maintaining that rap is a valid art form through an evaluated, categorized, graded, and ranked listing of distinguished hip-hop masters, with strong support from their varied musical pieces.

II. My Rapper’s Rubric

In order to successfully execute the central objective of this anthology, I have arranged a “Rapper’s Rubric” by which each included hip-hop artist is ranked, graded, and evaluated.

I have divided the rubric in three sections, with each section worth 15 points, totaling 45 possible points:

Lyrical Creativity in Artwork (15)

(5)- Originality of Poetics

(5)- Wordplay Skills

(5)- Retaliatory Capacity (In laymen's terms, the rap artist's acknowledgement of so-called "haters," which all legendary hip-hop masters include in at least some of their art.)

Influence of Artwork in: (15)

(5)- Our Society

(5)- Our Culture

(5)- Our Economy

Inclusion of Rhythmic, Stylistic, and Oratorical Influences from: (15)

(5)- Precedents of the Hip-Hop Genre (i.e. Blues, Jazz, etc.)

(5)- Other Rap Artists

(5)- Miscellaneous