The 50 greatest rappers of all time have been revealed, and the list has some of the biggest rappers in the industry.
The Greatest of All Time, aka the GOAT. That’s a distinguished — and also contentious — honor when it comes to ranking who or what is the ultimate best, whether you’re talking films, TV shows, restaurants or any other subject.
In early 2023, Billboard/Vibe is ranking the Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time as part of our salute to this year’s golden anniversary of hip-hop. (The genre dates back to 1973, when DJ Kool Herc first set up his two turntables to rock a Bronx party.) The rollout began with the Jan. 11 reveal of the rappers ranked 50-41. We’ve revealed 10 more rappers each week since, with the final top 10 now unveiled below.
50. Rick Ross
49. Rev. Run (Run-DMC)
48. Melle Mel
47. MC Lyte
46. Jadakiss
45. Ice-T
44. Queen Latifah
43. Bun B
42. Redman
41. E-40
40. Dr. Dre
39. Ludacris
38. Gucci Mane
37. Common
36. Yasin Bey (formerly Mos Def)
35. Future
34. Chuck D (Public Enemy)
33. Busta Rhymes
32. T.I.
31. Lil Kim
30. Lauryn Hill
29. Pusha T
28. Black Thought
27. Q-Tip
26. Big Pun
25. Method Man
24. KRS-One
23. Kurtis Blow
22. Ghostface Killah
21. DMX
20. Big Daddy Kane
19. Missy Elliott
18. Ice Cube
17. 50 Cent
16. Scarface
15. J. Cole
14. LL Cool J
13. Rakim
12. André 3000
11. Kanye West (Ye)
10. Nicki Minaj
9. Snoop Dogg
8. Drake
7. Lil Wayne
6. The Notorious B.I.G.
5. Eminem
4. Tupac
3. Nas
2. Kendrick Lamar
1. Jay-Z
Check out the full list here.
3. Nas
2. Kendrick Lamar
1. Jay-Z
Check out the full list here.
