Cream of the crop: My top 5 influential artists.
AT THE TOP OF THE MUTHA-chill, you thought i was gonna say f***ing, oh wait i just did-LIST;
1. Chance The Rapper
My boy Chano is the GOAT. Besides winning 3 Grammy's in the SAME YEAR, he has earned BET's Humanitarian Award for giving back to his community with 1 million dollars plus.
From 10 Day to Coloring Book his amazing strides have earned him his place in many eyes as the number one rapper of today. With Blessings(reprise) as one of his best verses, there are few that rival its intellectual subversiveness. His verse on Kanye's Ultralight Beam is also a shining light on the repetitive nature of most of today's rappers. He stands out in Surf with his band The Social Experiment, and is able to work with almost anybody because of his supportive yet powerful flow. But the most amazing thing of all is that one of his aforementioned Grammy Awards was one with a performance that brought rap to church.
Never before has that been done in such a grand way. Rap has such a gritty element but he took the love of church with the lyricism and flow we all know & love and made magic. You can't top that in my eyes.
2. Big Sean
Sean's most recent album, I Decided features Migos, Eminem, and Jeremih on some of the best songs on the tracklist. But his song Jump Out The Window might be the most under-credited. As loved as it is, it isn't preferred to Sacrifices or Light. It features a strong story telling element of the chase for his girl and the love he has for her. It isn't as lyrical as it is deep, but it is DEEP. It's a song you cant stop listening to sometimes. However his two most lyrical verses in my eyes are his first verse on What A Year with Pharell Williams and his verse on Chance's Wanna Be Cool. With lyricism, delivery and depth, these verses create something amazing that can only be rivaled by few.
3. Taylor Bennett
BROAD SHOULDERS and RESTORATION OF AN AMERICAN IDOL.
LISTEN AND YOU WILL KNOW.
4. Tech N9ne
You can't hold a candle to Tech Nina.
"Froze over, when you thought you could hold Yoda
With flows older than the first sold cold soda
Grow more for my bros those rojo soldiers
Them cincos are at it again, blow doja
I am like Iron Mike, back in the day
My rhyming's iron height, defiant flight
Try and bite, like a razor in a candy apple
A taser and a jammy tackle By a neighbor with the family shackles
Laboring a man he's gaffled."
If you can't here this flow in your head, I'm a little ashamed of you.
You've never heard WWC? Yeah you should probably head over to soundcloud before I hit you with the Nina lol.
5. VI Seconds
Part of the reason my Rap name has roman numerals is due to Shizzy. When I had a hard time thinking of an amazing name, Shizzy popped into my life with his featured verses on Shofu's pokemon rap channel. He amazed me with his lyricism and use of pokemon references in his verses. It made him all the more clever. VI comes out of brooklyn and when I was living in Brooklyn, I just wanted to be like him. A TeamBackPack artist, and one of the funniest dudes of all time. Now that I've grown into what i want to be, I know that he is one of my biggest influences but I don't stem my style from him. He got me started. Even though he's number 5 on the list, he certainly isn't my least favorite in this list. They all influence me in one way or another. But Shizzy was my kickstart.