For many, Eminem's performance has deteriorated over years as he "evolved" from scare rap to chorus rap to attempting to sound like current mumble rappers. However, if you listen to his career, particularly his early work and freestyles, it's undeniable that he owns the crown.

Eminem has elevated expertise to new heights. When he isn't concerned with broad popularity, his material is next-level in regards to intricacy, language, and rhyming sentences you would never expect to combine, among other things. His freestyle abilities are virtually boundless, to the point that he seems to be doing otherworldly feats.

He starred as the lead role in the renowned movie 8 Mile, which is centered around rap fights. He has received several awards, including 15 Grammys, eight American Music Awards, plus seventeen Billboard Music Awards. He has ten Billboard 200 chart-topping albums, all of which debuted at the top. To this day, Eminem is the only musician to have accomplished this feat.

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Years active: 1988 - now

Hits: Venom, Rap God, Not Afraid

Awards: 148

Website: https://www.eminem.com/

As with Nas, Jay-Z is indeed a rap artist who is capable of becoming excessively complicated but prefers to keep his approach simple. This allows him to focus on honing and communicating his vision, which is his genuine skill. Whenever listening to Jay-Z, you will hear a man who is wise and also has a lot more to say.

Everyone likes it, which is how he became the richest artist in the United States and the very first rap millionaire. He is a member of the Hall of Fame for Songwriters, the recipient of 22 Grammys, and the seller of more than fifty million albums and 80 million singles. You've known of Jay-Z and listened to his songs; what more can be said?

Jay-Z co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear, an apparel company. He developed and operates the 40/40 Club, a premium sports bar franchise. The artist just acquired the streaming provider Tidal. Perhaps most impressively, he is married to Beyonce.

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Years active: 1986 - now

Hits: Empire State of Mind, Young Forever, Song Cry

Awards: 266

Website: https://lifeandtimes.com/

While some may laugh at Lil Wayne's inclusion on the list, he is deserved. Ignore his childish auto-tuned sing-song rapping on his radio-friendly tunes and you'll discover a talented poet. He's spent decades honing his technique, which now includes multisyllabic rhyming, ingenious rhyme systems, and copious amounts of wordplay.

Together with his other mates from the Young Money label, he popularized, and some would say pioneered, the usage of analogies (rather than similes) in his wordplay, which reads more like a jest with a punchline than almost anything else. His defining characteristic is how he never misses a line. They are jam-packed with these gags that come so quickly that you can't possibly take things all in on a single listen.

Wayne landed a professional job at the tender age of 13, when he was signed to CashMoney Records by Birdman. He then became a member of the Hot Boys, which spawned numerous chart-topping acts, including Juvenile. Lil Wayne has manufactured over 100 million albums, making him the best-selling artist in the world. The rapper is the recipient of five Grammy Awards, eleven BET Awards, and several other honors.

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Years active: 1995 - now

Awards: 143

Hits: Lollipop, Sucker for Pain, Mirror

Website: http://www.thacarterv.com/

Nas has all of the talents listed above but is less conscientious about following the standards of technical rhyming. This looseness enables him to write lyrical substance that is significantly more intricate. He strikes a balance between irritating, didactic, and informal, in which you really learn something by listening.

Nas is an example of a star who has really just the right amount of abilities from a variety of different genres that complement one another but never interfere with the lyrics (unlike Tech N9ne who also appears in this list). He's on every top list, in part because he learned from Kool G Rap then built on that foundation.

Nas has eight straight platinum and multi-platinum records. He was embroiled in several public spats with 2pac, Jay-Z, Young Jeezy and Cam'ron Young Jeezy. He has received 12 Grammy nominations, five Nominations for MTV Video Music Awards, and many BET Hip Hop Awards victories. He has sold more than 30 million albums to date.

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Years active: 1991 - now

Awards: 4

Hits: If I Ruled the World, The World is Yours, The Message

Website: https://www.nasirjones.com/

Yes, he is dressed as Doctor Doom. Yes, his lines are often amusing and silly. And, yeah, you will seldom hear a rapper as sophisticated as MF Doom. Numerous videos on YouTube attempt to analyze his rhyming patterns, but all of them fall short. With luck, you'll be able to analyze it fresh as you listen.

As with Kool G Rap, MF Doom is highly regarded by other, much more successful rap musicians yet has never achieved fame. This has not prevented him from receiving great popularity in the rap scene and even branching out into vocal work for animated films.

MF Doom has collaborated with voice talents from Teen Hunger Force of Adult Swim's Aqua on many group albums, most prominently Danger Doom alongside Danger Mouse. He has been famous for sending doppelgängers on stage to play his songs while concealing themselves behind the mask. With his talent and reputation, MF Doom makes his appearance on our list.

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Years active: 1988 - 2020

Hits: DOOMsday, Coffin Nails, Fancy Clown

Website: https://gasdrawls.com/

Royce Da 5'9'' has been in the scene for quite a long time, having previously been paid to ghostwrite for Dr. Dre and P. Diddy. His most prominent ability, which is less apparent in his more pop-oriented current sound, is his great rhyming schemes. In a couplet, his initial bar will be exceedingly brief, leaving the second bar to be excessively lengthy, until it returns to the final multisyllabic rhyme.

He's also an expert at internal rhymes, which may stand alone or be incorporated into the exterior rhyme. Over time, his poems got more real and mature, with the message seamlessly integrated into the rhyming intricacy instead of suffering from it.

Royce Da 5'9'' managed to come up with Eminem and then even created a duet named Bad Meets Evil (it would eventually come to fruition over two decades later. A sequence of unfortunate financial situations prevented him from ascending to prominence with his Detroit cohorts such as D12, but he ultimately achieved success with the band Slaughterhouse.

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Years active: 1995 - now

Hits: Fast Lane, Boblo Boat, Psychopath Killer

Website: http://royce59.com/

Numerous of the greatest rappers in history consider Kool G Rap to be one of their personal favorites. He pioneered multisyllabic rhyming while retaining the fluid New York flow that influenced numerous others on this list. Although G Rap never achieved widespread fame because of his mafioso-style rhymes, anybody familiar with rap knows he is a great rhymer.

His respiratory control, visual tales and images, and fluidity are only some of the factors that have earned him a spot on every "best" list. If you've never noticed him or listened to him, he'll seem quite familiar owing to the many musicians who have attempted to copy him. For example, Big Pun inherited his mafioso flair from Kool G Rap.

He is, in fact, your favorite rap star's favorite rap star. This pioneer began his career as a part of the Juice Crew. He just released a collaborative album with Necro, another New York-based runner-up. The "G" in his given name is for Giancana, a reference to Sam Giancana.

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Years active: 1986 - now

Hits: Fast Life, Wise Guys, Foul Cats

Website: http://www.koolgrap.com/

Sage Francis is a member of the cerebral "backpacker" schools of rap, which is doomed to remain underground yet packs more value through every song than any sub-genres of hip-hop. Francis is equally adept at everything, but his true strength lies in his storytelling and images.

Francis might easily be ranked higher, but his material is so dense with academic substance that it detracts from his pleasure factor. Oftentimes, listening to him requires genuine effort as you get absorbed in his complexities. We are certain he'll find a happy medium and advance.

He founded Strange Famous Records and serves as its president and CEO. At the age of eight, he started honing his skill while enjoying Public Enemy and Run DMC. The rapper is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in communication and journalism. Sage Francis has won contests such as Scribble Jam and Super-bowl MC Battle.

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Years active: 1996 - now

Hits: The Best of Time, Sea Lion, Love The Lie

Website: https://strangefamousrecords.com/artists/sage-francis/

You realize how many music fans grumbled before about rappers that attempt to be complicated at the expense of their lyrics? Certainly not Chali 2na. He never misses an opportunity to include an external or internal rhyming with multisyllables, and all of his songs are mature and well-written. His gravelly voice is also very pleasing.

Chali 2na is the sound of expertise. There is no area for improvement. The main issue is that he prefers to write more upbeat tunes (which may get repetitive) and seeks to write pop singles. It's one of the same issues I'm having with Big Pun, earning a lot of money with corny pop tunes. Regardless, Chali is the pinnacle of sophistication in the rap game.

He is a member of Jurassic 5 as well as Ozomatli. His stage name is derived from the deep-voiced cartoon StarKist Tuna mascot. While he is well-known in the rap industry, many became acquainted with him via a partnership with Linkin Park.

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Years active: 2000 - 2021

Hits: Quality Control, Work It Out, Hands High

Website: https://chali2na.com/

Tech N9ne possesses the finest flows of all time, without a doubt. His utilization of triplets, six-lets, intricate rhyme systems, polysyllabic rhyming, and unusual time signatures places him towards the top. His vitality is unparalleled. Therefore, why is he not number one?

Because he is unable to transcend his complexity. Tech N9ne adheres to the rules so rigidly that he sometimes invents phrases and words to fall into the multi. That is not a major issue, but if Tech N9ne can overcome it and maybe improve his narrative, he can easily grab the #1 rank.

Tech N9ne is one of Strange Music's co-founders. His material has been used in feature films, television shows, and video games. The rapper has remained independent rather than joining with a big label, and although this has slowed him down somewhat, he is still achieving widespread success without them.

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Years active: 1991 - now

Hits: Straight Out the Gate, Am I A Psycho?, Hood Go Crazy

Website: https://www.strangemusicinc.com/artists/tech-n9ne