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Celeb News: Rolling Stone: Eminem is the king of hip-hop
ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2006
Posts: 42,086
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Rolling Stone: Eminem is the king of hip-hop
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Now more than three decades old as a recorded medium, hip-hop is deeply embedded in popular culture – to the point where its stars seem not only larger than life but also, as Rick Ross once put it, "deeper than rap." But even as they sell out arenas and top the pop charts, rappers still court the respect and esteem of their hip-hop peers. The title King of Hip-Hop still means something.
In that spirit, just as we did in June with the Queen of Pop, we've crunched a pile of data to try to determine who is the current King of Hip-Hop.
We're not looking for the all-time greatest, although many of our contenders would vie for that crown. Some of them have only been recording a couple of years; others have been in the game since the 1990s. But that's what makes hip-hop exciting – it's plausible for someone who was watching cartoons when Jay-Z dropped his debut album to emerge as a contender for the title.
As with our Queen of Pop tally, in naming the King of Hip-Hop we focused on the very recent past: from 2009 through the first seven months of 2011. We ranked 20 solo rappers (no groups – sorry, Beasties) who have dropped an album during that time. We looked at album sales, rankings on the R&B/hip-hop and rap charts, YouTube views, social media, concert grosses, industry awards and critics' ratings. In alphabetical order, our contenders are: Big Boi, B.o.B, Diddy, Drake, Eminem, Fabolous, Lupe Fiasco, Gucci Mane, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Pitbull, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, T.I., Waka Flocka Flame, Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa.
All of our contenders are men except for Minaj, who reappears from our Queen of Pop survey. We like to think of "King" as a gender-neutral term, and the fact is that Minaj has earned the right to compete in this arena. It would feel strange to leave her out – as a rapper, she's had a world-beating couple of years, with a chart-topping album, block-rocking singles and a slew of killer guest appearances. Frankly, she deserves to be called a hip-hop king just for her giant-killing appearance on West's hit "Monster," in which she crushed West and fellow guests Rick Ross and Jay-Z with one blow.
Fans of the rappers, and the acts themselves, take these sorts of rankings pretty seriously. (We learned that firsthand in the comments section of Queens of Pop.) We stand by our data, but of course we know that no King of Hip-Hop index can capture swagger or flow – if it could, the all-time title might go to Q-Tip or Rakim. As you'll see, it turned out to be a fairly exciting contest. Our top overall contenders were pretty evenly matched, with five different rappers leading at least one tally each.
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http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...p-hop-20110815
Thoughts? 
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Member Since: 3/30/2011
Posts: 9,692
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Eminem : Britney :: Jay-Z : Beyonce
People will come in and talk sales vs. talent... but people discredit Eminem. Still I think Jay-Z is better.
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Member Since: 6/26/2010
Posts: 28,299
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He is actually the king of emo music beating all of the rock bands, one trick pony that complains 24/7 on songs on how bad his life is besides when insulting other celebrities, he's always angry, sad person as well, have we ever seen him smile? If he wasn't white he wouldn't have all this success.
Rolling Stone does it again 
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Member Since: 6/1/2010
Posts: 65,177
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Member Since: 8/28/2009
Posts: 7,345
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Not when Jay and Kanye are still alive, NEVER!
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Member Since: 4/17/2011
Posts: 9,162
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Bye Rolling Stone.
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Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
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Member Since: 11/2/2009
Posts: 19,838
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They foul for trying to include Gucci and Waka in this.
Ye is forever my King. :heart:
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Banned
Member Since: 11/24/2009
Posts: 61,404
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Quote:
Originally posted by Last Boy on Earth
He is actually the king of emo music beating all of the rock bands, one trick pony that complains 24/7 on songs on how bad his life is besides when insulting other celebrities, he's always angry, sad person as well, have we ever seen him smile? If he wasn't white he wouldn't have all this success.
Rolling Stone does it again |
I think he's talented and all, but last year when he had like 3 or 4 songs on the radio, I couldn't' tell which was which until he chorus kicked in.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2006
Posts: 42,086
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Well they did the same measuring thing they did for the Gaga story. Singles sales, album sales, awards, etc
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Member Since: 4/3/2011
Posts: 7,281
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Indeed ! Eminem > All the rappers
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Member Since: 7/17/2009
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Member Since: 10/3/2010
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Member Since: 3/18/2008
Posts: 40,057
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True. 
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Member Since: 9/20/2009
Posts: 3,275
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tinker
Not when Jay and Kanye are still alive, NEVER!
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This. 
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Member Since: 11/12/2009
Posts: 13,575
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Well they didn't lie his world wide power is huge.
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Banned
Member Since: 12/2/2010
Posts: 1,025
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The two true King of Hip-Hop is dead and I feel like no one can take their place. Now best "Rapper Alive" is Eminem. Jay-Z and Kanye West can't touch Eminem. Eminem is the Best Selling Rapper Alive and the 2nd overall. Eminem impact in music is bigger than the other two. I like Kanye West better, but I got to give Eminem his props.
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Member Since: 9/20/2009
Posts: 3,275
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Quote:
Originally posted by Worldwidewoman
The two true King of Hip-Hop is dead and I feel like no one can take their place. Now best "Rapper Alive" is Eminem. Jay-Z and Kanye West can't touch Eminem. Eminem is the Best Selling Rapper Alive and the 2nd overall. Eminem impact in music is bigger than the other two. I like Kanye West better, but I got to give Eminem his props. |
I appreciate your contribution to this thread, but in the hip-hop industry the "best" rapper isn't based off of sales and popularity.
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Member Since: 7/19/2009
Posts: 16,809
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Fans of the rappers, and the acts themselves, take these sorts of rankings pretty seriously. (We learned that firsthand in the comments section of Queens of Pop.)
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Member Since: 7/19/2009
Posts: 16,809
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Quote:
Originally posted by Last Boy on Earth
He is actually the king of emo music beating all of the rock bands, one trick pony that complains 24/7 on songs on how bad his life is besides when insulting other celebrities, he's always angry, sad person as well, have we ever seen him smile? If he wasn't white he wouldn't have all this success.
Rolling Stone does it again |
I completely agree. Eminem is not great at ALL. Jay-Z and Kanye West are much better.
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