48. Masta Ace - Ace may not be the best lyricist with the dopest flow, but he is by far one of the most consistent
MC's the game has possibly ever seen. Ace paints vivid imagery on his albums and with the release of his "super
group" on the horizon, Ace promises to reiterate why he deserves to be a top 20 MC.
47. Young Buck
46. Trae - Restless was the one of the best albums of 2006 and Trae's most complete work to date, but people are
fucking up if they dont check his back-catalog. He was great as Z-Ro's right hand man in Guerilla Maab and albums
like the stellar Losing Composure were clear signs of the genius to come. Trae has been markedly adept at communicating
the traditionally murky SUC sound to a new generation of listeners, and it looks as though Life Goes On will keep Trae
batting at a high average.
45. Method Man - With some great, although too brief, appearances on the leaked “8 Diagrams” material and the still
underappreciated 4:21 album last year, there's reason to believe Mr. Mef still has a real hunger for making dope hip
hop. And with his TV and Film career seemingly waning perhaps he's finally realizing some more royalty checks might
not be half-bad.
44. E-40
43. Young Jeezy
42. Killer Mike - Killer Mike has a perfect combination of aggression and humor. "I Pledge Allegiance" to "The
Grind" are fantastic and if he can get his politics right he may be able to put out a classic. "The Juggernot", "Dueces
Wild" and "That's Life" are great indicators of his potential.
41. 50 Cent
40. Pharoahe Monch
39. Crooked I
38. Brother Ali - A lot of people may spend time wondering what race he is, but you won’t spend much realizing how
dope he is. Brother Ali is a breath of fresh air in Hip-hop. From his heartfelt lyrics to soulful swagger found on
the ’07 release “The Undisputed Truth,” B.A. continues to impress which passing album.
37. Young Dro - Dro has a formula. It works. His incredibly original flow and cadences keep your attention as Young
Dro educates the youth on a variety of subjects, via well-paced couplets, ranging from exotic seafood and European
organized crime to car/fruit similies and Morgan Freeman-driven inspirational dramas.
36. Common
35. K-Rino - There are very few emcees who debuted in the 80's that are still putting out quality music. There
are even fewer who have the ability put out their best album in 2007. Worst Rapper Alive and Time Traveler were
both dope, but Book Number 7 is an incredibly well-balanced display of lyrical dexterity and song making
ability. K-Rino may be the best in the business at executing interesting and entertaining concept songs, and
Book Number 7 finds a great equilibrium between that type of ambitious material, solution-oriented socio-economic
political music and straight battle raps.
34. Prodigy
33. Ludacris
32. Tragedy Khadafi - While it’s brevity left a lot of fans feeling like it was just a teaser, The Death
of Tragedy, was still one of the best releases to come out of New York’s scene this year. Trag has gone
through many stages of development in his twenty-plus year, but his contribution has been largely unheralded
despite the fact that he remains one of the defining architects of the Queensbridge sound.
31. Chamillionaire - Cham is still quite nice with it, but would benefit from a rhyme parter or a capable
crew to trade 16s with. His flow can be a bit tedious without other emcees taking the edge off. A Color
Changin Click reunion would be ideal.
30. Royce Da 5'9 - Often considered a throw back to be a throw back MC to the late 80's when MC's
just went to the mic and ripped it to shreds. His voice and delivery are equal to no one, commanding
respect on the mic. Royce demonstrates what exactly an MC means.
29. M.F. Doom - More in the headlines for alleged lip-synching or faux-heart attacks than his rhymes this
year, MF remains one of the most compelling personalities on the independent scene. However, if DOOM is
unable to capitalize on his previous brilliance and release some work on par with Madvillainy, MM…Food,
or Vaudeville Villain, he will continue to drop in the ranks. Hoping for something as brilliant as
Operation Doomsday seems out of the question at this point, but who knows, he’s been written-off before,
a few times.
28. Kool G. Rap - Most rappers fall off, but perhaps because he’s never even gone gold, Kool G Rap’s
hunger to spit jaw-dropping ill lyrics and cadences seems to never go away. It’s hard to think of
even an individual track where he vocally disappointed, which means that the greatness of his work
is largely contingent on the beats he has to spit over. Here’s to hoping there’s some serious heat
on Half a Klip.
27. Z-Ro - It's a little known fact that the Z in Z-Ro represents his lapsed Zoloft prescription.
His constant string of records, usually patchwork performances recorded in between prison terms,
play like hustlers suicide notes. While many rappers profess to explore the other side of the game,
only H-Towns most depressed truly internalizes that struggle. And his technicality bears a rapid
fire flow that most could only dream of.
