Which Hip Hop artists do you consider to be legendary and why?

Question

Why do we regard some artists as legends, but overlook others?

I see people mention Rakim, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, Nas and KRS-one time after time, but rarely mention Kool Moe Dee, Just-Ice, and Guru.

Answer 1

WEEZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I was bouncing through the club

She loved the way I did it but

I see her boyfriend hatin' like a city cop

Now I ain't never been a chicken but my fitty ******

Say I ain't never been a chicken but my semi ******

Now where your bar at?

I'm tryna rent it out

And we so bout it bout it

Now what are you about?

DJ show me love

He say my name when the music stop

Young Money Lil Wayne

Then the music drop

I make it snow

I make it flurry

I make it out back tomorrow don't worry

Yeah

Young Wayne on them hoes

A.K.A. Mr. Make It Rain On Them Hoes

Answer 2

Audio Two, Brand Nubian, Gang Starr, Schooly D, Mantronix, King T, Rodney O and Joe Cooley, Grandmasta Spade, Kid Frost, 3rd Bass, Xclan, Paris ...and many more

Answer 3

ya i agree, just because these guys been around forever doesnt mean theyre legends....i dont consider KRS a legend, but i consider him a Vet... "Hydrogen-Iodine-Phosphorus, Hydrogen-Oxygen-Phosphorus"......lol

these guys are the more known vets....

what about mac dre, DJ quik???.....why dont people consider them legends???because they aint from NY....they were in the game since the 80's and Quik has at least stood relevant this whole time, well at least to us out here on the LeftSide...

Answer 4

Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim and all them that you named  including Guru, Kool Moe Dee. I couldnt agree more...

But what about Kool Kieth? Beastie Boys? Masta Ace? Ghetto Boys? Ice-T? Dare I say...Everlast? Oh I do, underrated as ****..but i digress...

the list could easily go on and on.....

When one asks a question like this, it makes me sad when i take a look at the current people in the game that will unfortunetly make legendary status based on TRL fanfare....

I forgot to mention a couple that I PERSONALLY consider legend...Maybe you'll agree, maybe you wont...Del The Funky Homosapien, B-Real, The Roots...and Wu-Tang as a collective. Granted theyre all still putting out albums now, but were talking about people thatve been putting albums out the better part of 15 years and in my eyes, its all been consistantly good. But like i said, this is all personal taste really. hip hop "purist" will probably beg to differ on all kinds of occasions with any MC that ive mentioned

Answer 5

De La Soul. They have never put out a whack album, and have always done their own thing.

As for Guru, I'm from the camp that thinks Primo carries him. I love his voice but his lyrics have never struck me as overly impressive or clever.

Answer 6

2pac, eminem, nas, rakim, jay z, biggie. because these rappers will always be rememberd, they will never be forgoten and they all got great skills, there impacte on rap was unbalivable.

Answer 7

The artists that get rarely mentioned, are those that are not legendary. Put it like this. I don't know if you are big on sports, but every legendary player had teammates that helped them win. In rap, every legend had other good emcees during their era. The thing is, they were just alright. Moe Dee was alright, but not on the level of LL, Run DMC and others. Being alright never gets you legendary status. When Jay is mentioned in 10 years, people are going to say why isn't Bleek or Beans mentioned. The same thing they are just alright.

Answer 8

LEGENDS:

Rakim, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Run DMC,... Slick Rick, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, NWA, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, EPMD, Kool G Rap,  Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaata, Whodini, Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, ...... (definitely Nas & Jay-Z, I just feel they are so 'in' the game waiting to go the H.O.F.)

I think their contributions are OBVIOUS....    somebody like Kool Moe Dee gets overlooked because he didn't have much longevity AND his catalogue wasn't as big either.    Short of that, you have to have made a significant impact.

So, I believe somebody like Roxanne Shante will get BIGGER legendary status than Moe Dee because she was a female rapper, a female BATTLE rapper and opened the door for so many females in the 80's.... so,  even though her music catalogue and longevity is pretty small her impact was pretty big!

Impact, Longevity (either recording or touring) and Timeless musical legacy.... are probably the MAIN components of a LEGEND.

To this day, I'm sure you can pull a song from ANY of the artists mentioned and even a kid born in the 90's would know the song or have heard of the song... JUST like I know "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye even though I wasn't even born.

(To the dude who doesn't see KRS-One as a 'legend'.. you're CRAZY....  almost everybody that followed KRS sites him as an influence and his impact is HUGE!)

Answer 9

Because there are a lot people who are bandwagon-ish.

I personally consider Q-tip a legend. He personifies Guru's lament that "it's all in the voice" and is a true wordsmith.

I also consider Kool G. Rap and DJ Polo legends. Kool G. Rap solidified his rep with "ill street blues" he is the hustler's hustler.

Lord Finesse is a legend as well to me. Funky Techinician is his best.

The U.MC.'s are legends too. Fruits of Nature, I believe inspired the whole lighthearted/non-gangsta rap movement that Main Source, Leaders of the New School and Organized Konfusion came with.

Answer 10

I won't mention who I think is legendary..but the criteria for being legendary nowadays seems like you've had to be in the game for a long time. That ain't flyin' wit' me.

Answer 11

Guru gets mentioned quite often

Kool-Moe-Dee and Just-Ice.. well you have to take in consideration the age demographics in this section...( KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, and Run DMC are more common names so, even the younger people are a bit more familiar.. )

Answer 12

I think Run DMC, Jay-Z, Nas, and recently Kanye West are hip hop legends. I think it's because they have hit songs and they are actually really good rappers. Their music is good too especially there songs are real life situations. There are not many rappers out there like them, I mostly think today's hip hop/rap is crappy music with no substance.  

Answer 13

Rakim

Pac

Nas

Eminem

Krs one

LL Cool J

BDK

Kool G Rap

Dr.Dre

Ice Cube

Biggie

NWA

(these are/were the legendary rappers cos they are the foundation of hip hop, they are/were the MAJOR rolls in hip hop.)

and for the first guy, YES being around longer means your legendary, how is someone who's not been around for long, going to have legendary status. d**n that was a stupid comment.

Answer 14

-Sugarhill Gang: im pretty sure they played the very first rap song to air on the radio. It was called Rapper's Delight

-Run DMC

-Whodini

-etc.. pretty much any oldschool rapper that made it big, I would consider a legend

Answer 15

With Kool Moe Dee and Just-Ice, for example, they were legends but they had the misfortune of being legends of an era at the end of it.  Kool Moe Dee had experienced fame earlier with the Treacherous Three but they were always overshadowed by guys like Kurtis Blow and Run DMC.  By the time he was ready to achieve solo success, hip hop was evolving into something beyond what he knew.  He was still trying to live in a world where respect was given to what you did on stage when it was now more important to prove your worth on record.

Guru is probably one of the most consistent emcees ever but I don't know if he really ever stood out in the minds of most fans.  To some extent, he is seen as having ridden on Primo's coattails.

I consider all of these guys legends but that is more due to respect than actually being a fan.  And that's probably why I don't mention them when discussing legends.