Is Kanye West the greatest Hip Hop artist of all time?

*This is the first article in the Gemini Love Series*

 "Can we get much higher/so high/oh oh oh/ oh oh oh/ can we get much higher/so high." 

With a genre filled with so many poets, with an art form categorized so subjectively by age, race, even location, how do we pick just one?

It's not easy.  Luckily, I'm not concerned with anyone's opinion other than my own. 

Historically the greatest rappers have been Geminis.  Tupac Shakur, Notorious Big, Ice Cube, Andre 3000, and of course Kanye West.  I don't believe you can start a list of the greatest rappers without having at least one or two of these Gems on it.  My goal is to first prove that Geminis are the greatest rappers in general and then show you that Kanye is the most talented in particular.

Before I even get started, I want everyone to understand I consider, "The greatest", "The most talented", "The best lyricist" etc, etc to all be semantics.  I'm grouping all of this together to determine my overall number one.  Equally important, Hip Hop is of course a lot more than rapping.  Taking every DJ, B-boy, hype-man, grafitti artist, break dancer, old and new school artist, producer, writer and creative entity into consideration, I still consider Kanye the best.

"I mean the shit is/fuckin ridiculous."

Which hip hop artists would I even consider for the mythical title Greatest of ALL Time?  

It's a very short list. 

Jay Z, Nas, Eminem, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G and Kanye.  THAT'S IT!  That... is... fuckin' IT!

I just asked my wife Jennifer for her 'list' to which she replied,

"Snoop is first to come to mind...Eminem...uh...Busta Rhymes, 'cause I like how fast he raps...I would say Jay Z...I really don't know much of his stuff though...I like his 99 problems song....and Scarface."

To which I replied, "Thank you very much Sweetheart." Although I was thinking,  "TERRIBLE LIST!!!!!!!"

She makes a good point though.  Your list is your list.  My list just happens to be the right one. 

Anyway, Jay Z is a Sagi.  Nas is a Virgo.  Eminem is a Libra.  How do they compare with the other three Gems? 

I love Jigga! Absolutely amazing talent.  Ascends to the highest level of Hip Hop and beyond.

One argument that I've heard however, by other historians like myself, is that Jay would not have risen to the level he ascertained had Biggie Smalls lived longer.  The two Brooklynites would have effectively divided the fan base, creative talent and writing style.  Cancelling each other out basically.

Do I really agree with that?

It's a good enough argument to regulate Jay below Number 1.

Then there was Nas.  Whew.  How can you not respect Nas?

"I am the truest/name a rapper that/ I ain't influence?"

Incredible statement.  There may not be any.  Still, Pac was just as inspirational, entertaining, and influential as Nas, and many would say, a lot more charismatic.

Eminem never met a sentence he couldn't "Emitize."

"These other cats aint metaphorically where I’m at man/I gave Bruce Wayne a Valium and said/Settle ya f-ckin ass down/ I’m ready for combat-man/Get it calm batman?"

And although we "get it", Em's style is already showing signs of "calming down." It seems like he needed that turbulance in his personal life in order to express the super brilliance within.  Finding peace may be the worst thing that ever happens to his career.

That leaves Kanye.

He's not as lyrically creative as Jay or Eminem.  Although he references cultural and historical events, you can't say his music is the political fire of Nas or Tupac.  He doesn't even have the resounding and commanding voice that Biggie had. 

What Gemini Kanye West does have, and more of it than anyone else...is POWER.

"I’m livin’ in the 21st century/Doin’ something mean to it/Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it/Screams from the haters, got a nice ring to it/I guess every superhero need his theme music."

Kanye has 5 studio albums and each one is absolutely amazing in its own right.  If he were a baseball player he'd be batting 1000%.  No other rapper can say that!  The level of Kanye's involvement in each of his projects is unprecedented.

"You know what the Midwest is?/Young & Restless/Where restless (Niggas) might snatch your necklace/And next these (Niggas) might jack your Lexus/Somebody tell these (Niggas) who Kanye West is"

What? He's a writer, rapper, singer and producer.  He doesn't simply set the direction of his albums,  he creates the atmosphere they evolve in.  Can even Jay Z say that?

Kanye West is an innovator.  A trendsetter.

"Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger /But she ain't messin' with no broke niggas"

Eminem really can't say that.  Think about it.  He can't. 

Kanye's honest.  The following lyrics are as representative of Gemini male characteristics as any found in Tupac's classic, "I get around"

"On a bathroom wall I wrote/I'd rather argue with you than to be with someone else/I took a piss and dismiss it like fuck it and I went and found somebody else/Fuck arguing or harvesting the feelings, I'd rather be by my fucking self/Till about 2am and I call back and I hang up and start to blame myself/Somebody help"

To be fair, there's not a single name listed in my blog who isn't creative, even gifted.  So we are talking about small degrees that separate Kanye from many others who are considered "the best."

" I ask if you talkin' bout classics, do my name get brought up?"

Definitely.

Kanye's latest work, My beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is his greatest work.

This cd represents not only what Hip Hop is capable of but EVERYTHING that rap has achieved as well!

Henceforth, this cd is the one Kanye will be measured against.  This is his Reasonable Doubt, his Ready to Die, his Illmatic,  his Marshal Mather's LP and his All Eyez on Me!

You want one more reason why Gemini Kanye West is the greatest Hip Hop artist of all time? He has (amongst the five other legends) by far the best chance to raise that measuring stick by which he himself is judged.

Kanye has written so many interesting lines it;s hard to choose just one.  Like all the greats, he can convey a complex message with very few words.


"Chased the good life my whole life long/Look back on my life and my life gone/Where did I go wrong?"

So far Kanye,  you haven't.