There are a few things that can get you automatically cursed out or seriously hurt in the black community: changing the radio station without asking, disrespecting somebody’s mama and your Top 5.
For those who don’t know, the Top 5 is your personal list of who you consider to be the greatest rappers of all time. The idea of ranking rap artist bothers many — the argument boils down to “we never rank country singers or cheesy pop bands” — but even those people who claim to be against ranking will still scream out their picks in the middle of a heated argument.
“You can’t leave out Rakim!” or “What about Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh?!”
Because I was born in the ’80s, my Top 5 doesn’t include those dudes, who all peaked before I came of age, nor does it include any of the new singing, dyed dreadlocked, Auto-Tuned guys. The newest rapper — and only millennial — in my Top 5 is Kendrick Lamar, who recently bumped Lauren Hill, only because I feel like he has a more complete body of work at this stage in his career. My list also includes 2Pac, Jay Z, Biggie and Nas, who I consider to be the best rapper of all time.
Creating my list was easy because I’m from the culture. Hip hop has been a part of my life since my first memory. But what if you didn’t grow up with hip hop, but still have an opinion on who the best rappers are? Today, I’m doing a special edition of the Salon 5 with world-famous comedian Gilbert Gottfried. Sit back and watch him compare his Top 5 to mine.
