All Time Best Voices of Hip Hip

It takes more than just lyrics and bling to be a good Hip Hop artist. The best Hip Hop artists, the ones born to bless a mic have a...voice. It's not just about what they say, but something about how they say it freezes you in your tracks and forces you to listen. Here's my list of the ten best voices of Hip Hop.

10. Freaky Tah
Tah was a member of the group Lost Boyz, along with Mr. Cheeks, Pretty Lou and DJ Spigg Nice, and was more of a hype man than an MC (although he did rhyme on some of the LB's tracks). A hype man generally adds back up vocals to the main rhyme and Tah's characteristic high-pitched screech kept him from being lost in the background. On March 28, 1999, Freaky Tah was shot to death while exiting the Sheraton Hotel in Queens, NY. His death still resonates to this day, and he is mourned often times in the same breath with Biggie Smalls and Tupac.



9. Q-Tip
As a member of A Tribe Called Quest, Tip once considered one of Hip Hop’s hippies, along with De La Soul, Jungle Brother’s, Black Sheep and Leaders of the New School. But this brother should not be dismissed so easily. His lyrics are often very complex, leaden with poetic symbolism and deal with a range of social issues such as the exploitation of Hip Hop artists, date rape and violence in the Hip Hop culture. Given, Q-Tip’s high-pitch, fuzzy flow, and off-beat rhyme scheme it’s often hard to decipher what he’s saying upon first listen. But his somnambulistic style is irresistible and compelling, and the brother is so damn deep, his rhymes never get old. There’s always something new to discover in a Q-Tip lyric.



8. Busta Rhymes
Busta is a contemporary of Q-Tip from his Leaders of the New School days, but he is almost completely opposite in every way. Tip’s mellow flow invites you to listen. Busta’s bombastic voice and outlandish presentation grabs you forcefully by the shoulders and forces you to listen. This brother ain’t about subtlety.



Busta is all about making as big a noise as you can in as short of time as you can for maximum explosive yield. He’s a megaton bomb, but don’t sleep, baby. I’ve seen this brother do a smooth, fly-ass, pimp-lover freestyle in an uncharacteristic low-key mode that may have been even more arresting than his usual presentation.

7. Redman and Method Man
Red (aka: Reggie Noble, The Funk Dr. Spock) and Meth (aka: Johnny Blaze, The Heatseeking Missile) are each accomplished rhymers and individually, they have pushed the art of Hip Hop to a new levels. But when these brothers join forces, like on tracks “How High” and “Da Rockwilder”… ooohhh, shit! Hip Hop culture collectively evolves and reaches unprecedented heights. Redman’s straight ghetto, wild out, higher pitch shout and Method Man, deep, gravelly, rumble complement each other extremely well .



Hollywood tried to tap the creative Red and Meth vein, with TV sitcom and movie deals, but these brothers continue to make their true impact felt on wax.

6. Rah Diggah
The former First Lady of Busta Rhyme’s Flipmode Squad, Rah Digga earned that title by putting in some work with the Fugees and Lyricist Lounge. As a result, the lady has some of the tightest flows imaginable. But the voice, like Busta’s and Redman’s demands your attention. This lady is no content sitting on the sidelines. This lady demands center stage, and fools better watch out!

5. Eminem
I have a hard time with Eminem. He was taken off this list and put back on many times. Right now, Em seems like a parody of himself. But I can’t deny his skills. There are few better than Eminem on a freestyle, and a careful listen to his albums show that he not only pushes the limits of lyrical content, but he also is pushing ways to deliver a rhyme. He’ll rap on an off-beat, on a country music 3-beat, and he’ll rap in between beats and still deliver compelling shit. Also his high-pitch style (reminiscent of the Beastie Boyz and Zach De La Rocha) is impossible to ignore.



It’s hard to give him credit, especially when he keeps marrying and divorcing Kim, but Eminem has well earned his place on any of Hip Hop’s Top Ten List.

4. Lauren Hill
In Hip Hop’s male dominated world, it’s very hard for females to command a spot in the ranks. That’s why the best female Hip Hop artists, like Lauren Hill, tend to be insanely talented. Name me another artist who can sing to you of devastating heartbreak via “Killing Me Softly”, and yet deliver a devastating, blistering dis rap like “Lost Ones”. Her voice, throaty, deep, mature and mad-sexy is unique and undeniable.



3. Notorious B.I.G.
Funny enough, when I first heard of Biggie Smalls, I never really liked him. I just wasn’t into the "Crystal and blig" thing. But there is no denying Biggie’s impact, both positive and negative, on Hip Hop. Biggie’s mic skills are damn near supernatural!

I said it!

I mean this brother was shaming street cats at the age of 17.



To quote comedian D.C. Curry, Biggie was “profane and profound”. His voice was a super deep rumble, a King lion’s roar, and his Jamaican patios inflected speech spoke to me very deeply. Biggie could lace together powerful, complex metaphors faster than anyone, and you could mine his lyrics for years and find new meanings and interpretations.



He was God’s given voice to street hustlers, pimps, drug-dealers and ghetto outcasts. He had a solemn and profound duty to tell their stories, which he did in miraculous tracks like “Suicidal Thoughts” and “10 Crack Commandments”. It’s tragic how his death denied these people a voice, and thus a shot at legitimacy, understanding and compassion from the rest of us. I so sincerely miss this brother.

2. Chuck D
If the Apocalypse needs a play-by-play announcer, Chuck D is the man. He has a prophet’s voice, like Isaiah… like Brother Malcolm’s. In his youth, Chuck’s voice was hard and undeniable, like a car meeting a brick wall.



As he ages, Chuck’s voice has lost some of the edge and sense of urgency it had back in “It Takes a Nation of Millions…” and “Fear of a Black Planet”. He now has the ultimate “Father” voice. Stern, guiding, warning, not so much with the yelling, but still irresistible. It’s the voice that founded Hip Hop culture; that gave Busta Rhymes his name. It’s the voice of hard-earned experience, and is uncompromising as ever.

1. KRS-One
Speaking of prophets... let me tell you of KRS-One. The self-styled “edutainer”, the boon of Hip Hop culture, and the bane to all who can live up to the precedents set by this man. Kris sets a standard so high that mere mortals have no hope of ever meeting it. (Doesn't mean they shouldn't keep trying...)

Now, the problem with most rhymers is that they have to trade of lyrical complexity versus the ability to be understood. Some artists, like Q-Tip, are so charming that they can get away with serving up some deep rhymes while not being all that clear. But every once in a while, God will bless some with phrasing so clear, so precise that it is practically impossible to deny what is being said. Sinatra was such a man and Sarah Vaughn was equally blessed. KRS-One is Hip Hop’s Sinatra (equal in diction as well as ego). I will speak of him as such ‘til my dying day.




Other artists that deserve to make the list (but didn’t because of room):
Run-DMC

(One of Hip Hop’s Founding Fathers. I fully acknowledge my crime for not including them on the list.)

Ludacris

(He and Eminem fought for that number five spot, and as I’m writing this, I regret that he didn’t get a more significant mention.)


Mos Def

(In the Q-Tip vein, but his style, world-view and sense of humor makes him unique.)\



Jill Scott

(More a singer, but if anybody represents the soul of Hip Hop, it’s her.)


Professor X from X-Clan

(“Pink caddy driving, black boot stomping…”)


Humpty Hump

(If Humpty really existed, I would have put him on the list just for the fun factor. But "Humpty Hump" is really Digital Underground's Shock G in a Groucho Marx mask.)



Tupac

(Personally the guy’s voice never really moved me, but he deserves mention because he moves so many other people.)

Artist that some people think should be on the list, but really don’t deserve to be:
Jay-Z

(Can’t deny his lyrical talent, but his voice, though distinctive, doesn’t really move me.)


Nas

(ditto)


Fresh Prince

(Great brother, and notable artist. Love his albums. Did more to mainstream Hip Hop and give it a recognizable face than anybody. Also gets points for not shaming himself and Black people in general like MC Hammer did. But he just doesn’t have that “chills-up-the-spine, give-me-goose bumps” delivery that the others have.)


50 Cent

(Fuck 50 Cent! I hate this guy! Every time I hear him on the radio I wonder: Who gave Mushmouth from “Fat Albert” a mic?)