The year was 2008 and Vibe released this chart to narrow down who the "Best Rapper Alive" was at the time. Now, I hate lists and this is no exception, but why not have a little fun with it, right? There were some tough choices as I filled out my chart. Lupe Fiasco vs. Q-Tip was difficult but ultimately I decided that Lupe is a better technical-rapper than Q-Tip and I feel like Q-Tip would agree. 50 Cent vs. Fat Joe, another one I think people will go against me on, but Fat Joe has been consistently releasing quality music since the early 90s and I enjoy his early catalog over 50's. Big Boi vs. Killer Mike, ouch - I could go either way here and ultimately neither are beating out Nas or Black Thought, so it's a lose/lose to debate it too heavily. Ghostface vs Raekwon comes down to preference, I'm not mad at either. T.I. vs Ludacris, I've just never been T.I.'s biggest fan so it is what it is. Ultimately, the hardest choices are knocking off Scarface and Black Thought - to any eMCee. I had no problems letting Hov take the L to Nas (again), fight me in the comments about it lol. Oh and this is not to be confused with the 2009 chart Vibe released that ultimately lead to beef between Joe Budden and the Wu-Tang Clan, culminating in Joe getting punched in the eye on his JoeBuddenTV. That was, however, a classic moment and not be forgotten! Switch out the artists who were "hot" at the time, for artists who are "hot" now and you have mostly the same list of legends vs. newcomers. Who do you think is missing that would make it into the later rounds, or ultimately win the Best Rapper Alive? Copied below is a blank chart, feel free to fill it out yourself, too.
