Nas (1990-Present)
In my opinion Nas is one of the best rappers of all time. He has consistently put out great music. He grew up in Queens, New York as did many rappers in this time. He changed the game when he released "Illmatic". It is considered a classic that in my opinion everyone needs to listen to. He provides vivid imagery of the ghetto and lyricism that is very rare to come buy. He went on to create 12 more studio albums, the last being "Life is Good"
A Tribe Called Quest (1985-1998)
ATCQ started in Queens and consist of Producer/MC Q-Tip, MC Phife Dawg and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. They had a style that is hard not to love. Some of their hits include "Can I Kick It", "Electric Relaxation" and "Check the Rhime". They are a legendary group that made some of the greatest albums in Hip-Hop like, "The Low End Theory", " People's Instinctive Travels And The Path Of Rhythm" and "Midnight Marauders" They had a chill style that pretty much anyone can just sit down and relax to.
Wu Tang Clan (1992-Present)
From Staten Island and Brooklyn, the group is made of 9 members, RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killa, U-God, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, and Ol' Dirty Bastard. Ol' Dirty Bastard died in 2004 of an overdose of cocaine and a prescription drug called Tramadol. They are considered by many to be the best Hip-Hop group of all time and one of my favorite artists of all time. In my opinion their first album, "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" is one of the best albums ever. They went on to make 4 albums as a group and one coming out in 2014. While in the group the members went on to create many solo albums and they were featured on each other songs. They have about 50 albums including each other solo albums along with the group albums. The best solo albums in my opinion is GZA's "Liquid Swords" and Raekwon's "Only Built For Cuban Linx"
Outkast (1992-2006) (2014-Present)
Outkast is one of the few great southern artists. The duo which includes Andre 3000 and Big Boi formed in high school in 1992 and 2 years later they released their firs album "Southernplayalisticadillacmusik". Outkast's style was not able to be duplicated. This style was unchanged for the next 3 albums where their style changed from a southern style to more of funk/pop style when "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" was released. In my opinion their best albums are "Aquemini", "ATLiens, and "Stankonia". Some of their more famous songs include, Ms. Jackson, "So Fresh, So Clean" and "Hey Ya!". Outkast remains one of my favorite artist of all time.
Biggie Smalls (1992-1997)
Born in Brooklyn, New York he started out rapping when he was young as most did. He kept rapping to get off the street of Brooklyn. In 1994 he released "Ready To Die". After its release he became one of the head figures of the east coast. Biggie was heavily involved in the east coast/west coast feud. He had a great talent for storytelling and had a loose flow. Many of his lyrics are dark and mostly about him and thing that happened in his life. Biggie died on March 9th 1997 from a drive by shooting in Los Angeles. 16 days later after death his second album "Life After Death" released. It reached diamond rating that only a few rappers have been able to do in their career. 2 more albums released after his death. Only having made 2 albums when he was alive he is considered one of the best rappers of all time. "Ready To Die" is definitely in my top 5 albums of all time out of any music genre. He will always remain a legend in the music industry and will never be forgotten.
Tupac (1988-1996)
Tupac is considered on of the best rappers of all time and is currently #1 on the all time best selling list for all rappers. Born in East Harlem, New York he later moved to California which he represented in his music. His music was themed around violence, hardship in the inner city, racism, and social problems. Both of his parent and several of his other family members were involved in the Black Panther Party, whose ideas were reflected in his music. Tupac was also involved in the East Coast - West Coast rivalry. His main enemy was was Biggie Smalls which can be heard in "Hit Em Up" and in "When We Ride On Our Enemies" some of his other rivals can be seen HERE. Tupac also is one of the few to have one of his albums reach diamond level in sales in "All Eyes On Me" On September 7 1996 Tupac was shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He then died 6 days later. Tupac is considered one of the best rappers of all time and is considered the best rapper by many people. After his death he released 6 more albums. This means that he released more albums after he died than when he was alive.
Snoop Dogg (1992-Present)
Snoop is another rapper from the west coast that had a more relaxed style who theme was drugs and sex. Snoop was part of Death Row Records. Death Row Record was founded by Dr. Dre and a couple others. Dr. Dre produced a lot of records in this time and helped Snoop get started on his music career. Snoop is not particularly considered one of the best rappers but did have a classic album, "Doggystyle" that reched #1 on the top billboards. Snoop is possibly one of the most recognized names in the hip hop industry for his character and his style. He went on to make 11 more albums after Doggystyle and is still making music today.