75. Sadat X - By no fault of his Dot X was always in Puba’s shadows while in Brand Nubian. But this distinct
nasally voice emcee arguably has the better career with a string of memorable guest spots and solo albums “Wild
Cowboys,” “The State of New York vs. Derek Murphy,” “Experience & Education” and “Black October” under his belt.
74. R.A. The Rugged Man - A criminally slept-on emcee that’s been spitting since the early 90’s when he first signed
to Jive as a teen. R.A.’s redefined his flow throughout the years and on tracks like “Chains” featuring Killah Priest
and Masta Killa off his ’04 debut “Die Rugged Man Die” he showed the growth. Most recently he embarrassed Hell Razah,
Tragedy Khadafi and Timbo King on “Renaissance” and took home “Rhyme of The Month” for his haunting lyrics about his
father’s Nam stories.
73. Ras Kass - Rassy has fallen on hard times, but still commands the respect of the hip hop nation for what his
potential could be. Long seen as one of the best left side lyricist, Ras Kass looks to rebound after a long battle
with Capitol. He still spits ill rhymes on his recent string of mixtapes that show why he shouldn't be dismissed.
72. Blaq Poet - Poet has been around for a long minute, first appearing back in the Queens Bridge/ Bronx wars.
Recently, Poet has dropped his own solo project that demonstrates why he should still be considered on prominent MC
that keeps the essence of New York alive with his gruff voice and hard ass delivery.
71. Talib Kweli
70. Mitchy Slick
69. Juelz Santana
68. Percee P - A boom-bap dinosaur that values stylistic perfection over innovation, diversity or pop appeal?
Absolutely. But in a year when most of the number one singles will be remembered (or forgotten) for their dance
steps and unintelligible lyrics, Percee and Madlib’s nineteen track smoked out throwback opus managed to walk
the line between refreshingly old school and sonically innovative.
67. Kurupt - The Philly born lyricist was on fire during the Death Row days, but since its demise his career
has been unstable and unimpressive to say the least. Like Ras Kass, Kurupt has all the talent to be one of the best.
He’s an eastcoast lyricist with a westcoast mentality and that’s a fierce combination. Labeled as one of the greatest
freestylers ever to appear on the Wake Up Show, Ricardo Brown has yet to fully capitalize on his talent. Until then
he’ll always be that guy who was on “The Chronic.”
66. Rockness Monsta - The greatest voice in the history of rap music? Maybe. But Rock is a much more than just
an excellent vocalist though. When he puts his mind to it he's also one of the dopest lyricists in the game and
the ultimate yang to partner-in-rhyme Sean P's yin. With a Heltah Skeltah album being promised for 2008, there's
still hope for this Brooklyn resident who's only stayed somewhat relevant through the years thanks to a couple
mixtapes, an occasional guest verse, and a bunch of hooks.
65. Trife Da God
64. Boots Riley
63. Joell Ortiz - There weren't a lot of solid front-to-back NYC hip hop releases in 2007, but “The Brick: Bodega
Chronicles” was one of them. Whether Joell will be able to g-check Dre into letting him actually drop an album on
Aftermath in the next five years is a big question though. Nevertheless, 2007 was a great year for Ortiz, enjoy
your moment in the sun while it last Joell.
62. Project Pat - It is hard for any rapper to outshine Super Producer beats, but to do it consistently for over
a decade is an incredible feat. With his signature flow and agressive lyrics, Pat has quietly been one of the best
rappers in the South for a long time. After serving a 4 year bid, Pat, Paul and J droped one of last year's most fun
and creative albums and he started to get the attention he has deserved for a very long time. Even while Paul and J
slip toward watered down, uninspired, comfortable mediocrity, a Project Pat verse is still something to behold.
61. W.C. - There are very few West Coast artists who release dope, cohesive, and well produced albums with
the consistency of Dub C. From the days with Maad Circle, WC has been a stylistic innovator and an idiosyncratic
gang-bangin’ rhyme master. With Guilty By Affiliation WC shows the hip hop audience that A) Ice Cube is still
good for something (he executive produces one of the best produced albums of the year, and shows up for a great
guest appearance on “80’s Babies”) and B) there is at least one West Coast rapper who sounds as hungry in 2007
as he did in ’97, or the early nineties for that matter.
60. Killah Priest - A year ago if I’d seen KP on somebody’s end of the year list I would’ve lost respect for
their opinions on all matters hip hop, but in case you missed it, Priest dropped arguably the most lyrically
impressive album of the year with The Offering. And despite the fact that most of the producer’s names look
like the results from a random Myspace search, The Offering shows that Killah Priest still knows what good
production sounds like.
59. MJG - MJG has always been an underrated emcee. Sure, everyone loves his work with 8-Ball, but No More Glory
doesnt receive nearly the praise it deserves and for a long time his rotund rhyme parter garnered the majority of
the accolades. While he crushed countless verses on Living Legends, it was his stand-out turn on Stay Fly that
forced people to start paying attention again. While the duo's work had been fairly even in the past, MJG seems
more confident than ever and steals the show on Ball and G's Ridin High. Relax and Take Notes.
58. Papoose - Putting out 30 mixtapes in 2 years is not exactly indicative of quality control, but in between the
forced metaphors and wooden flows, Pap has delivered some excellent music. The Law Library and Game themed series
are both excellent and with the right production, Pap has a great album in him. Hopefully this time off is an effort
to avoid a Canibus-like fate.
57. Kanye West
56. Cassidy
55. Elzhi - 1/3rd of Slum Village; this ’01 addition to the group has been making noise for a minute in the D. Best
know for his structured rhymes, El has destroyed SV tracks like “Time Travel” and “Reunion” and kicked things up
a notch on Little Bro’s jawn “Hiding Places.”
54. Posdnous
53. Redman - Despite the moaning of disappointed Reggie Noble addicts suffering from severe withdrawal from his long
absence from this rap game, Red Gone Wild still stands at the end of the year as one of the top 20 or so albums dropped
in 2007. Not a great record, but it shows definitively that Redman is still a premiere emcee if given the proper
production. Unfortunately the album is riddled with boring guest appearances and Erick Sermon’s lazy production of
late. Hopefully ’08 sees the release of Muddy Waters 2 or the rumored second Meth & Red album.
52. Fabolous
51. The Game - Say what you will about The Game, but not many people can deny the fact this man hasn’t put out two
great albums. “The Documentary” and “Doctor’s Advocate” may have been products of great production, but The Game is
responsible for a lot of that success himself. Whether he’s beefin’ with Budden, Yuk, Ras Kass or the entire G-Unit,
The Game doesn’t hesitant to end careers. Come to think of it, he may have ended it for Ras Kass.
