The LA legend offered probably the longest list of favourite rappers and still could not fit in everyone he wanted. Eminem made it there, though.
The question came up by the end of the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast that Ice Cube co-hosted almost a month ago. This podcast self-descriptively “bridges the gap between social media and reality tv”, so it took some time for this episode to come to hip-hop heads attention. And when it happened, they found a nice surprise tucked into the end of the episode.
Before signing off, hosts asked Ice Cube the obligatory question about his Top 5 rappers of all time. The N.W.A. veteran refused to be confined by this restrictive number:
Damn… Top 5. That’s hard. I’ve got the top 15. I go back to guys who set the bar. One of my first greatest is Melle Mel. Another great MC who I believe thought everybody they needed to bring more style to their rhymes is KRS-1. Another guy that is my favourite of all time, he introduced consciousness on another level into rap and never waivered — I get it to Chuck D. Another one is another trendsetter, one of my OGs who helped the west coast get on the map, Ice-T.
After that… Damn… Snoop is one of my favourite rappers of all time. So is Biggie, so is Jay Z, so is Nas. We got rappers like Ras Kass on the West Coast, that’s crazy. Eminem, one of the best to ever touch the mic. Lil Wayne, goddamn, Lil Wayne is nasty! It’s a few more out there. Oh, Black Thought, monster! God have mercy, I’d hate to leave out anybody. Did I say Jay-Z? Lemme go backwards, I have two more. I’m gonna say, Slick Rick. I’mma just leave the last one blank for everybody who knows I like their shit. It’s more than that, you know. There are so many great MCs. These lists don’t mean anything. It’s too many to name, to be honest.
It must be tiresome for artists who have been in the game for decades to build these endless lists, which will never reflect reality correctly. But fans love to see their favs on the list. Every Eminem fan noticed that Marshall’s name came up in the first top 10.
Watch the video below:
