50 Greatest Rappers of All Time by Billboard
The GOAT, or Greatest of All Time. That’s a prestigious — and contentious — honor when it comes to determining who or what is the ultimate best, whether it’s films, TV shows, restaurants, or anything else.
As part of our celebration of hip-golden hop’s anniversary this year, Billboard/Vibe will rank the Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time in early 2023. The reveal of the rappers ranked 50–41 began on January 11. Since then, we’ve revealed ten more rappers each week, with the final top ten now revealed below.
As is well known, GOAT and related best-of lists are always met with both critique and applaud from industry insiders and the general public. So we reasoned our way to what we believe is a well-thought-out, authentic list that reflects hip-foundational hop’s pioneers, evolutionary trailblazers, and contemporary mainstays after much deliberation and deep discussion. The GOAT, or Greatest of All Time. That’s a prestigious — and contentious — honor when it comes to determining who or what is the ultimate best, whether it’s films, TV shows, restaurants, or anything else.
So, let’s go through Billboard/list Vibe’s of the Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time…
- Jay Z
- Kendrick Lamar
- Nas
- Tupac Shakur
- Eminem
- Biggie
- Lil Wayne
- Drake
- Snoop Dogg
- Nicki Minaj
- Ye
- Andre 3000
- Rakim
- LL Cool J
- J. Cole
- Scareface
- 50 Cent
- Ice Cube
- Missy Elliot
- Big Daddy Kane
- DMX
- Ghostface Killer
- Kurtis Blow
- KRS — One
- Method Man
- Big Pun
- Q Tip
- Black Thought
- Pusha T
- Lauryn Hill
- Lil’ Kim
- T.I
- Busta Rhymes
- Chuck D
- Future
- Yasin Bey
- Common
- Gucci Mane
- Ludacris
- Dr. Dre
- E 40
- Redman
- Bun B
- Queen Latifah
- Ice T
- Jadakiss
- MC Lyte
- Melle Mel
- Rev Run
- Rick Ross
