Things that seemed impossible in 2003 started happening with regular frequency: Rick Ross survived being exposed as a corrections officer and beefing with 50 Cent, the once “producer who wants to rap” Kanye Westbecame the “nucleus” of pop culture, Jay Z found a way to become the first rapper in his 40s who was still on top of the game. Meanwhile, newcomers like Drake, J. Cole, and a host of other promising talents emerged, boasting a new aesthetic, one that idolized Kanye West and discarded much of the gangster rap baggage that had defined hip-hop in the ‘90s and early 2000s.
As we previously did with beats and verses, we explored the best rappers of the last half-decade to see how the changes in rap’s cultural landscape were reflected in who we thought were the best MCs. Check out The 10 Greatest Rappers of the Past 5 Years as compiled by Complex Magazine.
10. J. Cole
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011), Born Sinner (2013)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: N/A
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: J. Cole "Work Out" (2011), J. Cole "Lights Please" (2011), J. Cole f/ Miguel "Power Trip" (2013), J. Cole f/ TLC "Crooked Smile" (2013), J. Cole "Trouble" (2013)
Mixtapes: The Warm Up (2009), Friday Night Lights (2010)
Five years ago, Jermaine Cole was a college student, dabbling in rapping and producing, but completely unknown to the public. But even as he's continued to climb up the ranks of the hip-hop world, hitting one career milestone after another, he's retained the air of the perennial underdog. When he released acclaimed mixtapes and began building a national fanbase, he was still but one of many hopefuls on the periphery of the industry. When Jay-Z signed J. Cole to his Roc Nation imprint, anointing him the first rookie MC in the new dynasty from rap's most revered mogul, success still wasn't guaranteed, and Memphis Bleek jokes hovered in the air.
When his first major label album, 2011's Cole World: The Sideline Story, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, always a rare feat for a new artist, he remained somewhere in the middle tier of hip-hop's new school, ahead of most contemporaries but not quite nipping at the heels of Drake and Nicki, gold but nowhere near platinum. Even the trio of singles that kept Cole World on the radio for over a year didn't quite translate to the arrival of a major artist.
See Complete List / Photos after the cut..
And then, Born Sinner just kept selling. Cole put up better second week numbers than Kanye, and in week three he rose to No. 1 while pulling ahead in total sales, a lead he's maintained ever since. It's not completely bizarre, givenYeezus's unconventional promotional campaign and lack of radio hits. But still, it's a result that few would've predicted a few months ago. Even in a year packed with heavy hitters, Born Sinner is the second-best-selling rap album released so far in 2013, behind Cole's boss Jay-Z himself.
But what matters most is the sense that J. Cole is still on the rise. Born Sinner is about to surpass Cole World in sales—a feat rarer than you might think. Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, Mac Miller, and even Nicki Minaj have all suffered sophomore slumps to varying degrees recently, while Wale and Tyga released albums this year that sold less than previous efforts.
If Cole does have staying power that outpaces his peers, then it's just a waiting game to see who he wins over next. He could still stand to toughen up his sound. So far, all of his hits have featured R&B hooks, with the exception of the Kanye-sampling pop smash "Work Out" (which Cole has already lamented for disappointing Nas with.) But there are a lot of rappers out there who Nas had no hopes for to begin with, much less those who could prompt him to make a flattering response song. —Al Shipley.
9. Kendrick Lamar
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Section.80 (2011), good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: N/A
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Kendrick Lamar “A.D.H.D.” (2011), Kendrick Lamar “Swimming Pools” (2012), Kendrick Lamar f/ Jay Rock “Money Trees” (2013), Kendrick Lamar f/ Drake “Poetic Justice” (2013), Kendrick Lamar “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe” (2013)
Mixtapes: C4 (2009), Overly Dedicated (2010)
About a month ago, Kendrick Lamar upended the hip-hop world with his verse on Big Sean’s “Control,” on which he rattled off a list of ostensible peers, singling them out as competition. It was something of a career-defining moment, since the takeaway for most onlookers was that there wasn’t much competition at all, that those other rappers were going to have their work cut out for them in terms of catching up to Kendrick.
8. Lil Wayne
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Tha Carter III (2008), I Am Not a Human Being (2010), Rebirth(2010), Tha Carter IV (2011), I Am Not a Human Being II (2013)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: We Are Young Money (2009), Rich Gang (2013)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Lil Wayne “A Milli” (2008), Lil Wayne “How to Love” (2011), LilWayne f/ Bruno Mars “Mirror” (2011), Lil Wayne f/ 2 Chainz “Rich As Fuck” (2013), Lil Wayne f/ Drake & Future “Love Me” (2013)
Mixtapes: Dedication 3 (2008), No Ceilings (2009), Sorry For the Wait (2011), Dedication 4 (2012),Dedication 5 (2013)
Tha Carter III, the album that cemented Lil Wayne as a superstar and will forever represent the peak of his dominance of the hip-hop world, is now a little over five years old. And the time since then has been a bumpy ride that’s included a 10-month jail term, seizures that put him in the hospital twice, frequent threats to retire, and a critically maligned rock album. In short, he’s done practically everything that can, and often has, stalled a hip-hop legend’s career.
7. Gucci Mane
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Murder Was the Case (2009), The State vs. Radric Davis (2009), The Appeal: Georgia’s Most Wanted (2010), The Return of Mr. Zone 6 (2011), Trap House III (2013)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: BAYTL (2011), Ferrari Boyz (2011), Big Money Talk (2013)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Gucci Mane “Lemonade” (2009), Gucci Mane f/ Trey Songz “Beat It Up” (2010), Gucci Mane f/ Birdman “Mouth Full of Golds” (2011), Gucci Mane f/ Waka Flocka Flame “Young N*****” (2011), Gucci Mane f/ Wiz Khalifa “Nothin’ On Ya” (2013)
Mixtapes: Trap God 2 (2013), Trap God (2012), I’m Up (2012), Trap Back (2012), Burrrprint (2) HD (2010)
In 2008 and 2009, the bottom fell out of the hip-hop business. It was particularly bad for artists with a grassroots street audience, all of whom now had to compete with “free,” as the smaller mixtape trade hit the internet. Suddenly, the market was flush with music, and without the cosign of a major name (see: Drake and Wayne) it was tough to stand out among the chum. Hand in hand with the sales freefall was the fall of the hip-hop superproducer. The industry-dominating beatmakers who defined the sound of the genre-and pop music as a whole-early in the decade were priced beyond all but the most successful rappers. For a rising rapper, the gulf between ignominy and notoriety never seemed larger.
6. Jay Z
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: The Blueprint 3 (2009), Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: Watch the Throne (2011)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Jay-Z f/ Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” (2009), Jay-Z f/ RIhanna “Run This Town” (2009), Jay-Z f/ Justin Timberlake “Holy Grail” (2013), Jay-Z f/ Rick Ross “F*ckwithmeyouknowigotit” (2013), Jay-Z “Picasso Baby” (2013)
Mixtapes: N/A
We might have named Jay Z the best rapper of the ’00s, a title virtually impossibly to deny him. But before we get to his slippage on this list, let’s go over what he did correctly over the last five years: In 2008, Jay was still post-retirement, and hadn’t yet put out an album quite as banging as The Black Album since he’d left the scene and returned. But 2008 was a renaissance for Hov: “Swagga Like Us”, “Jockin Jay-Z”, and “Brooklyn Go Hard” all came out. Jay became the first rapper to headline Glastonbury, and dissed Oasis in the process. The stage was set for the third installment in the Blueprint trilogy to make up for that second one.
5. Rick Ross
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Trilla (2008), Deeper Than Rap (2009), Teflon Don (2010), God Forgives, I Don’t (2012)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: Self Made Vol. 1 (2011), Self Made Vol. 2 (2012), Self Made Vol. 3 (2013), The H: The Lost Album Vol. 1 (2013)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Rick Ross f/ Wale & Drake “Diced Pineapples” (2012), Rick Ross f/ Drake & French Montana “Stay Schemin’” (2012), Rick Ross f/ Meek Mill “So Sophisticated” (2012), Rick Ross f/ Usher “Touch’N You” (2012), Rick Ross f/ Drake & Chrisette Michele “Aston Martin Music” (2012)
Mixtapes: The Black Bar Mitzvah (2012), Rich Forever (2012), Ashes to Ashes (2010)
No matter how you feel about Rick Ross’s music, there’s no denying the the greatness of his unlikely success story.
If ever a rapper looked like a flash-in-the-pan, it would be the big giant guy with the big giant voicewho rhymed “Atlantic” with “Atlantic” on his first hit—a song, 2006′s “Hustlin’,” that was made great by the timbre of Ross’s voice and the tropical monsoon of a beat created by Floridian production team The Runners. The guy who was steadily making mediocre music while getting into a seemingly suicidal beef with rap’s reigning neighborhood bully, 50 Cent. The guy who posed as a cocaine kingpin before, and after, pictures of him at his old job as a correction officer became veryfamous on the internet.
4. Eminem
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Relapse (2009), Recovery (2010), The Marshall Mathers LP 2(2013)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: Hell: The Sequel (2011)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Eminem f/ Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” (2010), Eminem “Not Afraid” (2010), Eminem f/ Lil Wayne “No Love” (2010), Eminem “Space Bound” (2010), Eminem “Berzerk” (2013)
Mixtapes: N/A
Roughly two years ago, Tyler, the Creator, tweeted “I Listen To RELAPSE And Notice How Much Of A Good Rapper I’m Not.” He followed this with the claim, “Wait, Relapse Is One Of My Favorite Albums. This **** Is Amazing.” This was a minority opinion. After all, many critics (and fans) had considered Relapse, which released on May 19, 2009, a sign of the decline of the once-great rapper known as Eminem.
3. Nicki Minaj
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Pink Friday (2010), Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up(2012), Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: We Are Young Money (2009), Rich Gang (2013)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Nicki Minaj f/ Drake “Moment 4 Life” (2010), Nicki Minaj “Super Bass” (2011), Nicki Minaj “Va Va Voom” (2012), Nicki Minaj “Pound the Alarm” (2012), Nicki Minaj “Starships” (2012)
Mixtapes: Beam Me Up Scotty (2009), Sucka Free (2008)
She’s said it herself and it’s true: Nicki Minaj raps better than most of her male contemporaries. Oddly, this seems to be something that has hurt her, in terms of getting the respect she deserves, as much as its helped. It makes men feel uncomfortable that there’s a woman who raps better than them. Period.
2. Drake
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: Thank Me Later (2010), Take Care (2011), Nothing Was the Same (2013)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: We Are Young Money, Young Money Entertainment (2009)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Drake f/ Kanye West, Eminem, & Lil Wayne “Forever” (2009), Drake f/ Lil Wayne “The Motto” (2011), Drake f/ Rihanna “Take Care” (2012), Drake “Started From the Bottom” (2013), Drake f/ Majid Jordan “Hold On, We’re Going Home” (2013)
Mixtapes: So Far Gone (2009)
Five years ago, you’d be hard pressed to find people who could see this coming. After all, in 2008, Aubrey Drake Graham was still that Canadian ex-Degrassi star with the decent-but-nothing-special mixtape Comeback Season, and had managed to get his video on BET a few times. But that was the same year his music made his way to Lil Wayne, who saw something special in the double-threat rapper who sings (or singer who raps), and took him out on tour with him, beginning the anointing of his stardom. It was the beginning of the ignition sequence, sure, but Wayne taking a former teen Canadian soap star on the road with him as the Next Big Thing was weird. What came next was just straight up unreal.
1. Kanye West
Solo Albums Between 2008-2013: 808′s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Yeezus (2013)
Group Albums Between 2008-2013: Watch the Throne (2011), Cruel Summer (2012)
Biggest Hits Between 2008-2013: Kanye West f/ Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, & Bon Iver “Monster” (2010), Kanye West “Power” (2010), Kanye West f/ Jay-Z “Ni**as in Paris” (2011), Kanye West “All of the Lights” (2011), Kanye West “New God Flow” (2012)
Mixtapes: Can’t Tell Me Nothing (2008)
Look, we’ll keep this brief, since we already know what some of you are going to say.
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Whatever you're thinking now means you gotta post a very long comment.... Hehe!
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