Criteria for a great MC

[ColdBlooded]

Granted everyone has their favorite MC's based on personal preference and that will forever influence a list of "greatest MC's", but there has to be some criteria that can be used to judge an MC's caliber.

What would you include as criteria for someone being a great MC?

• content?
• flow?
• charisma?
• beat selection?
• staying power?
• breath control?
• stage presence?
• lyricism?
• story telling?

Any of those that shouldn't be included? Anything that got missed that should?

 

[JLMACN]

CONTENT - Has to have some Meaning behind the words and must make sense. I hate it when I hear someone name a song "marks my words" (which you would think they are gonna tell you something), and its about flashy shit.

Flow - doesnt matter. Fast or slow or medium.

Charisma - definetly. I dont know a "great" rapper in my mind that didnt have Charisma.

Beat selection - nah. Doesnt matter.

Staying Power - hell no. Most of the Best MC's today, no one even knows about. Its a shame. So its basically like..they were never here.

breath control - ahhh...I dont know. Its hard to control your breath on the mic when you really mean something.

Stage presense - I think if you are a great MC you dont need stage presense. You could rap your shit accapela over a telephone and someone will dig it.

lyricism - NOPE. although some of the best were great lyricist. You still dont need to be one to be considered a great MC. But thats doesnt mean put a whole bunch of words together that dont rhyme and call it a rap.

Story Telling - I think this is a definate YES. U must be able to Story tell or Tell your story atleast.

missed -

Delivery - Its not "flow"...Delivery to me is. Do they really mean what they are saying? 1 example, Tupac. HATE him or LOVE him...He meant everything he was saying. Or atleast it sounded like it. another like that to me is Z-ro (outta Houston, TX).


5000

 

[ColdBlooded]

stage presence - if you go by MC being a Master of Ceremony or "MC means Move The Crowd" how could stage presence not be important?

breath control - because it's hard means it shouldn't be a criteria? Shouldn’t they be clear so you can understand every word you’re supposed to?

staying power - for someone to be considered the greatest shouldn't they have to be able to hold it with their contemporaries?

 

[JLMACN]

stage presence - if you go by MC being a Master of Ceremony or "MC means Move The Crowd" how could stage presence not be important?

breath control - because it's hard means it shouldn't be a criteria? Shouldn’t they be clear so you can understand every word you’re supposed to?

staying power - for someone to be considered the greatest shouldn't they have to be able to hold it with their contemporaries?

MC - well this depends. U know the real MC's were just party hypers. They didnt rap or anything...they just talked. But I understand what you are saying....Im not saying that they shouldnt have stage presence. I just think to be a great MC you dont need to. Lets face it...Big Pun was a great MC, but his shows were not very good! for Obvious reasons. Same with Notorious B.I.G.

breath control - I guess im just talking from personal experience....
When you record something and are really into it. It takes time for it to sound "good". Becuase your breathing changes heavily cause you are in the mood....which is great....but it sounds terrible sometimes.

Staying Power - I think it just depends on what level you are at. I was bumpin Makaveli cd for the past 2 days. I was baffled as to what rap is today. Tupac was talking abuot some serious shit. The most commercial song on there is "live and die in LA" (to me). I mean his version of "me and my girlfriend" would never of gotten any play back then....

I dont know what that has to do with...but I just felt like saying it.



5000

 

[T.C]

Granted everyone has their favorite MC's based on personal preference and that will forever influence a list of "greatest MC's", but there has to be some criteria that can be used to judge an MC's caliber.

What would you include as criteria for someone being a great MC?

• content?
• flow?
• charisma?
• beat selection?
• staying power?
• breath control?
• stage presence?
• lyricism?
• story telling?

Any of those that shouldn't be included? Anything that got missed that should?

i think beat selection should be excluded because we all know great emcees have bad taste when it comes to beat selection. breath control should also be left out because that would kinda fall into the "flow" catagory. Stage presence and charisma should be one catagory. story telling and content could go under the lyricism catagory.

i think "versatility" should be a catagory...

 

[UsA'sMostWanted]

all of the above, a great MC masters the ART.

god damn it

 

[jr916]

ive heard this argument before..............is this out of a book?

 

[ColdBlooded]

i figured everyone's always got an opinion on who's such a great MC and MC such and such is so much better than MC so and so. there has got to be some reasoning behind why they think so. the thread is about figuring out what makes an MC great so we can determine if someone is disserving of the title.

 

[Defy]

beat selection is definetly a part of it.....you would listen to papoose/pac/pun if they were rapping over casio/d4l beats....a good mc knows what kind of beats compliment them and make them sound better

 

[T.C]

a good mc knows what kind of beats compliment them and make them sound better

all except for my favorite "good" emcees...they got horrible ears for beats. thats probably why they dont sell many records

 

[montroller510]

everyone tryin to leave out beat selection is trippin when you listen to a new song by a new aretist that you never heard before you dont automatically break down just the lyrics and flow from his song you listen to the overall sound beat mixed with flow and if your feelin it then after the 3rd or fourth time listenin to the song you can really get a feel for what the artist to tryin to get across but if the beat is whack then the song cant overall cant be that great

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

Voice...some rappers just have narutal voices for speaking/rapping....

 

[ColdBlooded]

everyone's always got an opinion or some time to talk shit on someone else's favorite rapper, but when it comes down to proving why someone is so great there are only 6 people with some reasoning behind it?

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

everyone's always got an opinion or some time to talk shit on someone else's favorite rapper, but when it comes down to proving why someone is so great there are only 6 people with some reasoning behind it?

Looks to be the case...

Some people like MC's that are "real"....they just tell a good story about their lives that someone can relate too...i dont necassarily consider these "MCs" rappers...they are story tellers....

"C-Bo is the tightest rapper alive...next to 2Pac!"

^^^^I mean....seriously?

 

[Stealth]

This has always been my number one criteria -

They have to get better with each album. How many rappers out there put out their 10th album that is better than their first?

Of people I've seen actually progress in music, think about people who's albums are worse.

DMX coulda been the next big think but he just kept getting worse. Nas never got better than illmatic. Bone got worse as their music came out. Eminem got much much worse over the years. Tupac got better (although you can argue Me Against the World was the pinnacle). Lil Wayne got better (though not the G.O.A.T.). Lynch got worse. But you get my point.

How many rappers come out with a "classic" album...and then keep producing classic shit after that? Not many AT ALL.

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

DMX coulda been the next big think but he just kept getting worse. Nas never got better than illmatic. Bone got worse as their music came out. Eminem got much much worse over the years. Tupac got better (although you can argue Me Against the World was the pinnacle). Lil Wayne got better (though not the G.O.A.T.). Lynch got worse. But you get my point.
.

And see...i would disagree...

Nas...in MY eyes...never fumbled the ball TALENT wise...but his 3rd,4th and 5th albums just werent very good...but he still had the great prescence as a MC.Stillmatic brought him back to his roots...just raw.He is stil there in my eyes.

Bone didnt get WORSE...they just turned to different content. Not as much shoot em up hard core gangsta shit...more enlightened and spiritual...and the only one to change for the worst in that group....was Bizzy....Kryazie & Layzie sound EXACTLY the same as they did 10 years ago..

2Pac-no comment

Lil Wayne DID get better...but because of speculation of ghost writing...i have no comment...

Lynch got BETTER....by IONS...i cant even PLAY Season OF Da Sicc....it just seems corny(content wise)...BUT...as a MC...he has improved greatly....alot of people dont like him cus he aint "sicc" no more...but his rhyme pattern and style has shifted and he is much better on the mic....IMO...

Its all opinions...

 

[Stealth]

See I wasn't sure about Nas. He never got WORSE...but you still gotta admit that Illmatic was his best shit. He kept coming out with good albums lyrically...so maybe he's a bad example. I guess he would be included as a great MC. But you get my point...Illmatic > It was written > I am...

As for Bone...I have all their albums...and they definately got worse. Listen to E. 1999 and Art of War and then listen to BTNH The Revolution or Thug World Order. There's a few good songs, and I agree their style and content changed...but they are not a good group anymore at all. When I saw them in concert they should have been the best group I'd ever seen. instead I wanted my money back.

The Lil Wayne thing...even if you don't count the Carter...he still did the Carter II w/o ghost writing...which was 10000x better than his older shit. There is definately a progression no matter how ya cut it.

As for lynch...i'm basically comparing Season of the Sicc to EBK4 so that isn't fair.


But anyways...yeah so maybe you dont agree with my examples...but what do you think of my criteria?

Name artists that kept getting better and better (and I'm not talking about Dilated Peoples, Tech N9ne, etc. who have been consistently good and never got better or worse) and you'll probably have a harder time than if you named artists who kept gettin worse.

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

The Lil Wayne thing...even if you don't count the Carter...he still did the Carter II w/o ghost writing...which was 10000x better than his older shit. There is definately a progression no matter how ya cut it.

The Carter II is the ghost writing album in question...matter of fact anything hes done AFTER the Carter where he got "tight"...

But anyways...yeah so maybe you dont agree with my examples...but what do you think of my criteria?

I see what youre sayin...but rappers are like athletes...the good ones have these great rookie years...and then some have of em have shitty sophmore years...white only a handful keeps rising...those MC's have an album or 2 where they are in their "prime"...then they get older and some overstay their welcome...the perfect example of that...is Rakim....MY all time favorite artist....he's like Ricky Henderson...

Name artists that kept getting better and better (and I'm not talking about Dilated Peoples, Tech N9ne, etc. who have been consistently good and never got better or worse) and you'll probably have a harder time than if you named artists who kept gettin worse.

I agree...the problem is...you have to factor in BIG RECORD COMPANIES INFLUENCE...they might snatch up someone young and talented..and slightly mold them into somethin they aint...thus tarnishing their career....

 

[Stealth]

Yeah I think we're on the same page here. Except I think the 18th Letter was my favorite Rakim album actually...so he fits my criteria...but I just like it cuz its current.