The Unkut Top Five Dead Or Alive, As Of This Week

Posted on by Robbie Ettelson

johnnie5

These things change from day to day, but here are my current picks. Discuss among yourselves…

5. Kool Moe Dee

Moe Dee was the first rapper to use the term “cliche” while simultaneously boasting about it on “Gotta Rock”, plus every old party tape you hear he runs shit. Plus that Busy Bee ethering.

4. Spoonie Gee

The OG Uptown slick talker set the stage for the Dipset‘s 00’s reign. Random rap fact: the majority of Kiss-FM listener’s mistook Spoonie’s “The Godfather” single for a new Rakim track when it first dropped.

3. T La Rock

No Terry, no Todd James Smith. Also, “It’s Yours”.

2. Lord Finesse

Laid down the blueprint for modern punchline rap, thus giving Big L, Mad Skillz and thousands more a foundation to build from, and the best live MC I’ve ever seen.

1. Kool G Rap

Technical, street and amusing all at the same time, G consistently entertains while formulating new ways to describe shooting people in the face in the most creative way possible while sporting a lisp that would have ended a lesser rapper dude before he’d even begun.

44 thoughts on “The Unkut Top Five Dead Or Alive, As Of This Week”

  1. Spoonie Gee and Moe Dee need to be in more peoples lists. Spoonie is way way more influential than hes given credit for if you look outside the east coast. like Id say Too Short owes him a lot.

  3. *Smirk*…. I’m still miffed about the lame who had nerve to review classic albums without the proper historical context….

    BUT, I shall fall into the trap you’ve laid, Robbie.

    MY TOP 5 Dead or Alive as of 9:25am EST

    Jay-Z
    KRS
    Rakim
    Nas
    Biggie

    At 9:28 AM It’s

    Rakim
    KRS
    Jay-Z
    Nas
    LL

    Let the games begin!

  5. 1 Biggie
    2 KRS
    3 E-40
    4 Slick Rick
    5 Scarface
    cos near every verse was perfect and they never fell off, making exception for Biggie falling off physical plane and KRS falling off brink of insanity(which doesnt count since he just stopped being a rapper and became a amusing mentaller ala Danny Bonaduce or George Galloway) Backdating E-40 to 2011 since he has indeed started to fall off.

    runner ups
    Suga Free
    Rakim
    Mystikal
    Kool Moe Dee
    Prodigy
    theseve all got strikes against them –
    probably being a bit of a wrong’un irl,
    hiding in Arizona longer than G Rap
    100% being a wrong’un irl,
    wrong move after wrong move during the star trek shades/George Carlin in Bill & Ted jacket era,
    tutu/g-unit tats/sleepapnea p,

    but not a square amongst them

  6. Iron Sheik says

    5 Kane
    4 Redman
    3 Black Thought
    2 Kool G Rap
    1 Nas

  7. As Per Iron Sheik

    10 Andre 3000
    9 Ghost
    8 Grand Puba
    7 Biggie
    6 Slick Rick

  8. Iron Sheik says

    5 Kane
    4 Redman
    3 Black Thought
    2 Kool G Rap
    1 Nas

  10. Easy as Pie…But Ima need more than a sentence AND I gotta get back to work, so this is the short version…

    Jay-Z: From 1996-2013 (not including his years on the underground scene)Dude has consistent impact on the Culture, Sure he hasn’t been on the pure Hip Hop scene in over a decade. But out in The BK hoods we still love and respect dude.

    Rakim: His slow and incite-full flow literally changed the game. Hip Hop can literally be seen as pre and post RA.

    KRS: When he came on the scene he and BDP strong armed the game. He is the GREATEST PURE MC OF AlL- TIME. To this day if he gets on track he’ll steal the show like it’s 1987. Ego and bad track selection was his downfall

    Nas: 1993-2013 strong years in the game creating at high level, and unlike Jay he still does it mostly from a street perspective.

    Biggie: After KRS and Possibly over Ra as the next best pure MC. Dude had the most versatility. The reason I don’t rank him higher is because obviously his life was cut short. Maybe he would kept on ascending OR Maybe he would fallen more into the Puffy commercial viability side

  11. My list in chronological order…all these dudes deserve to be mentioned on more top lists imo.

    Grandmaster Kaz
    KRS One
    Kool Keith (pre 2000s)
    Pharoahe Monch
    MF DOOM

  12. This is the 11:04 am EST Top 5 Dead or Alive “Founders Edition”
    Caz
    Melle Mel
    Moe Dee
    Spoonie G
    Kurtis Blow

    Honorable Mention: Busy Bee and Jimmy Spicer

  13. As of UK tea time over here 17:54..

    1.Rakim
    2.Kool G. Rap
    3.T La Rock
    4.Latee
    5.Lord Finesse

  14. KOOL MOE Dee on the list!!!!!!!!!

    Unbookmarking this ite asap!!!!!!……

  15. 1) TERMANOLOGY

    2) MAINO

    3) A$$WIPE ROCKY

    4) ACTION BRONSTEIN

    5) JIM JONES

  16. ” I want to play wif ewuuu… ” -(c)Gage/Pet Semetary

    1.RAKIM ALLAH
    2.KRS ONE
    3.NAS
    4.Kool G RAP
    5.CANIBUS

  17. Old School: Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee, T La Rock, Spoonie Gee

    Mid 80’s : DMC, Just-Ice, Schoolly D, LL Cool J, Ectasy from Whodini

    Golden Age: Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, KRS One, Lord Finesse.

    Early Nineties: Ice Cube, AG, Q-Tip, Master Ace, Kool Keith

    Mid/Later 90’s – Now: Big L, Nas, AZ, Biggie, Cormega

  20. This week only:

    Ice Cube [1990 – 1992]. For 2 years, Cube was the best rapper in the world. The Predator was the fall off almum but Guerrillas in Tha Mist came out a month before it so he gets ’92.

    Willie D [1988 – 1992]: Even louder and more to the point than Cube, over hard organ funk beats.

    Maestro Fresh-Wes [1989 – 1991]: Could go toe-to-toe with Kane during the speed-rap era. Godfather of Canadian rap.

    Slick Rick [1988 – 2000]: Speaking of speed raps. The Ruler’s Back LP is full of blink-and-miss-it-gems.

    Slim Thug: Just started checking for him recently. Top 5 rap voice.

  22. Top 5 I bump on my way to work this morning:

    1. B-1
    2. Breeze Brewin’
    3. T La Rock
    4. Kamanchi Sly
    5. Silver Bullet

    Top 5 DOA:

    1. G Rap
    2. Kane
    3. Rakim
    4. T La Rock
    5. KRS

  24. 1. G Rap (stays at the top ALWAYS)
    2. Kane
    3. Rakim Pharaoh Monche (criminally underrated)
    4. Pharaoh Monche (criminally underrated)
    5. Scarface

    KRS and Nas get in there sometimes.

  26. can’t even manage a top five five-footers (no 5ft).

    can’t even manage a top five ny five footers (still no 5ft).

    styles (over jada)
    prodigy (over don’t mention the war)
    8-off
    buckshot (yeah, still no 5ft)
    bigavell (wait, how tall was juelz?)

    and the lost talents: sha lumi, the most beautifullest keith.

    hang on, mega’s a little cunt isn’t he?

    *can’t believe bus was legitimately mentioned by someone, i’m just tryna get on with my life here, suggest you do the same.

  28. Today…

    RAKIM
    DEATH GRIPS/MC RIDE
    SLICK RICK
    DEATH GRIPS/MC RIDE
    SCHOOLY D
    TOO SHORT

  29. Kamanchi Sly!!!!! Yes mate! Been listening to a lot of Hijack lately, thought the rest of the world had forgotten him, definitely the best the UK has produced ( apart from The Ruler of course), Silver Bullet was dope too.

  32. @sonny7: Cosign. Back in the days we used to worship Hijack, Gunshot, Killa Instinct and all of them over here in Germany. How can they be forgotten?

  33. Big Punisher
    Ghostface Killah
    Nasty Nas
    Notorious BIG
    Pharoahe Monch

    It’ll be totally different in a few minutes… G Rap, KRS, Rakim, Scarface, Redman all deserve mention, as well as others. Who are your top five producers Robbie???

  34. Mine…

    Rakim
    Nas
    Redman
    Hov
    Common

    Honorable mention: G Rap, Ghostface and Critical Beatdown/Funk Your Head Up era Kool Keith.

  35. A top 5 is hard to list.

    ALL TIME:
    1.Kool G Rap
    2.Rakim
    3.Big Daddy Kane
    4.Nas
    5.Black Thought
    HONORABLE MENTION: KRS One/Common

    RIGHT NOW…
    1.Elzhi
    2.Hell Razah
    3.Sean Price
    4.Killah Priest
    5.Half-A-Mil (’94-’95)
    HONORABLE MENTION: Percee P/Prodigal Sunn
    That’s SOME sh*t that gets me hype right now.

    I’m surprised to not see Biggie & Tupac on everyone’s list. Unkut for the win.

  38. Rapper —— Reason
    1. Rakim —- I’m rated “R”…this is a warning, ya better void,Poets are paranoid, DJ’s D-stroyed,
    Cuz I came back to attack others in spite-
    Strike like lightnin’, It’s quite frightenin’! etc, etc

    2. Kool G- Shoes are scoffed cos the road gets rough But i’ma rock it til my pockets ain’t stuffed enough All the freaks wouldn’t speak cos my checks was weak They would turn the other cheek so I started to seek

    3. BDK—— The man at hand, to rule and school and teach And reach the blind to find their way from A to Z And be the most, and boast the loud and proud The Kane’ll reign your domain! (YEAH KANE!)

    4. Chuck D.– I know your listening I caught you pissin in your pants You’re scared of dissin us the crowd is missin us, we on a mission ya’ll

    5. Nas —– Giving shotguns to Medusa in Hell it ain’t hard to tell.

    And AZ for the lifes a bitch verse

  39. Dmfslimm says:

    Redman
    Black Thought
    Ice Cube
    Nas
    KRS 1

    bonus: for female emcee-Rah Digga

  41. Saturday afternoon, trying to pick shit up at Homedepot, but these dudes is taking long with my order “Top 6-25 Dead or Alive”

    6. Kane
    7. Slick Rick
    8. G-Rap
    9. LL
    10. Chuck D
    11. Ice Cube
    12. Treach (He did hold the Crown for a year or so)
    13. Grand Puba
    14. Redman
    15. GURU
    16. Scar Face
    17. Snoop
    18. Meth (He also held the Crown for a little, he’s the best pure MC in the WU, but the worst album maker of the bunch)
    19. Eminem. Dude is Mic skills are beyond reproach. He can flip multiple styles and in his case numbers don’t lie (Well a little, because if he was African, he’ probably be Royce)
    20. Tupac
    21. Busta
    22. Cam’ron
    23. Big Pun
    23. DMX
    25. Kiss

  42. Hotbox,

    Pleased to see you praise The Ruler’s Back LP. I actually enjoy it more than Great Adventures. Not saying it’s better (although I might secretly believe that, too), but I enjoy it more.

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