Rap/Hip-Hop often catches flack for stereotypical misogynistic lyrics and profanity, intertwined with obnoxius materialism. As a thought experiment if your not already a Hip Hop head, hooked on clever bars, what if you disregard the preconceived notions and take a different perspective…

For me the attraction has always the craftsmanship (aka pen game) and the competitive nature underlying a braggadocio style. Rappers are essentially modern evolved poets, spewing the realism of their environments. Waxing poetic with enough rhetorical devices to make an English Teacher quit their job and hop in cipher.

The spitters, the wordsmiths, the OGs, the poets and the verbal assassins: I give you 50 of the Greatest Lyricists in Rap.

1. Nas

Nasty Nas aka Escobar

Widley regarded, considered a G.O.A.T. by many.

2. Aesop Rock

A study conducted (By Data Scientist Matt Daniels) crowned Aesop Rock with the largest vocabulary in Hip-Hop, even surpassing the works of Shakespeare.

3. Royce Da 5’9″

They say misery loves company, no, I don’t

Ain’t got no time for you to try on no Manolo Blahniks

All I got time to do is go back in time and pose with the Unabomber

Just so I can go back in time a second time to photobomb it

I live by a code of demonic, Illuminati, Obama, Hovanomics

Hold up, hurdles in life, I hop in a Turbo and roll around ’em

4. KXNG Crooked

[Verse]

All the fallen rap gods, that’s the influence I’m under

My shit hit the streets hard as a suicide jumper

So you and I be different, I’m do or die

If you not Mahatma Gandhi you don’t know what to do with my hunger

5. André 3000

I don’t budge, don’t want much, just a roof and a porch

And a Porsche, and a horse and unfortunately

But of course an assortment of torches that scorches the skin, when they enter

Intruders, whose tutors did a lousy job

How’s he God if he lets Lucifer let loose on us?

That noose on us won’t loosen up, but loose enough to juice us up

Make us think we do so much and do it big

Like they don’t let us win, I can’t pretend

But I do admit, it feel good when the hood pseudo-celebrate

Hence, why every time we dine we eat until our belly ache

6. Eminem

Although Mr. Mathers dropped out in 9th grade, he has a Phd in multisyllabic compound rhyme scheme composition.

[Verse 1: Eminem]

I wanted the fame but not the cover of Newsweek

Oh well, guess beggars can’t be choosey

Wanted to receive attention for my music

Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me

For wantin’ my cake, and eat it too, and wantin’ it both ways

Fame made me a balloon ‘cause my ego inflated

When I blew, see, but it was confusing

‘Cause all I wanted to do’s be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf

Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam

Ooh! Hit the lottery, ooh-wee!

But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet

It was like winnin’ a used mink

Ironic ‘cause I think I’m gettin’ so huge I need a shrink

I’m beginnin’ to lose sleep: one sheep, two sheep

Going coo-coo and kooky as Kool Keith

But I’m actually weirder than you think, ‘cause I’m—

7. MF Doom

[Verse 1: MF DOOM]

I used to cop a lot but never copped no drop

Hold mics like pony tails tied in bobbalobs

Stop and stick around, come through and dig the sound

Of the fly brown 6-0 sicko psycho who throws his dick around

Bound to go three-plat, came to destroy rap

It’s a intricate plot of a b-boy strap

Femstat cats get kidnapped

Then release a statement to the press, let the rest know who did that

Metal Fist terrorists claim responsibility

Broken household name usually said in hostility

Um… what is MF? You silly

I’d like to take “Means to the End” for two milli’

“Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!” That’s a audio daily double

Rappers need to fall off just to save me the trouble, yo

Watch your own back came in and go out alone, black

Stay in the zone—turn H2O to Cognac

8. Notorious B.I.G. (RIP)

9. Jay-Z

If you question Jay-Z’s lyricist status, read Decoded.

“As an MC I still loved rhyming for the sake of rhyming,

purely for the aesthetics of the rhyme itself – the

challenge of moving around couplets and triplets,

stacking double entendres, speed rapping. If it hadn’t

been for hustling, I would’ve been working on being the

best MC, technically, to ever touch a mic” – Jay – Z

10. Big Daddy Kane

11. Mickey Factz

12. Black Thought

Black Thought is in a class of his own.

13. Tech N9ne

Tech N9ne’s 20th studio album, Planet is a solid body of work. Talk about longevity and getting better with time.

14. Del The Funky Homosapien

15. Big L (RIP)

16. RZA

17. Lupe Fiasco

18. Kendrick Lamar

19. Pharoahe Monch

“Pharoahe is incredible, and has always been ahead of his time since he came out.” – Eminem

20. Elzhi

21. Ice Cube

22. Jay Electronica

23. Proof (RIP)

24. Rakim

25. Saul Williams

26. Cassidy

27. Immortal Technique

28. Talib Kweli

29. Joyner Lucas

30. Rass Kass

31. Big Pun (RIP)

32. Kool Keith

33. Busta Rhymes

34. Token

35. Joell Ortiz

36. Kool G Rap

37. Ghostface Killah

38. Hopsin

39. KRS-One

40. Redman

41. Scarface

42. Joey Bada$$

43. Canibus

44. AZ

45. Earl Sweatshirt

47. Common

48. Guru (R.I.P.)

49. Papoose

50. Raekwon