Not another 'state of hip-hop today' thread

[Molecules]

Originally Posted by Kirby

American Mainstream Rappers That Don't Suck:

Black Thought
KiD CuDi
Wale
Shwayze
Beastie Boys
Busta Rhymes (cross him off, because you think he's talentless)
Q-Tip
Chamillionaire
DMX
Jay-Z
Mike Shinoda (Fort Minor)
Method Man
Redman
Kanye West
Lupe Fiasco
Andre 3000
Big Boi
Raekwon
Talib Kweli

Edit: I'll wait.



If you've heard Tech's latest album, you will know that he isn't trying to conform, as much as a lot of people think he is. (Even I thought he was, with Sickology 101)

well it's clear that any list with this agenda is going to be highly subjective, but chamillionare and mike f*cking shinoda? each to their own... but that just reinforces the points the article was making IMO

anyway, most of the MCs you've listed (and i'd wholeheartedly agree with you on) began their careers or released their most lauded albums in the mid/late-90s or earlier.
I don't know about Wale or anything, and i know you are more in touch with the current scene Kirby, but if i remember correctly the article addresses the rise of localized scenes (and mixtapes, some going viral) to make up for the deficit in the mainstream? I mean with your knowledge of hip-hop can you honestly say that Kanye West is the best the wider public deserves for lyricism?
Reynolds was having a go at the scum that floats to the top, not the whole damn show, and I seriously doubt that Q-Tip or Raekwon's latest solo albums (as good as they may have been) made a major dent in the charts... Unlike say, 'Enter the 36 Chambers' et al