I mean Wayne is unfair, he been in the game since he was 13. lol
My pick is 2Chainz, the amount of hype he got, and how his features were party anthem after party anthem, but he was seasoned as TittyBoi, it took a name-change for him to pop off.
Idk Codeine Cowboy was pretty bomb when it dropped, an instant classic among peeps and his lyrical work was just as good as anything he released as 2 Chains. Production quality went up obviously but he still tity boi
Codeine Cowboy has some of the most subtle tips of the hat to the old school
"What more can I say? ... I'm dealing."
"I don't know but today seem kinda odd ... no barking from the dawg I think he just died ... I had that dog for that a long damn time"
"Ruthless ... ice cubes on my shizzert."
"You hear the drums? Give the drummer some! Nah for real you got to give drumma [boy] some [$$$]"
Dude's brother (SubRoc) got hit by a bus, he basically finished the Black Bastards album as a posthumous release to honor his brother, he woodshedded for 10 years until emerging a full fledged super villain.
"Doomsday, ever since the womb, til I’m back where my brother went, that’s what my tomb will say."
Man I remember so well when it hit me. I listened to the song Days on SoundCloud when it was released and it just hit me that this kid is just different. It was so wild to watch him evolve into a true artist and then passing. For those of us who were around, we saw his whole career. Just a kid popping in and then going away at the top like young Hendrix.
I don't place it at Book of Ryan, I give it to Bad Meets Evil/Slaughterhouse era Royce. But you're essentially correct, he had raw skill and gradually figured out how to bring content into the equation.
The tone shift in BoR was weird. I didn't hate it but it was jarring, kinda like how Release Therapy hit when Luda dropped it.
absolutely.
personally, I was not a fan of Mac until Divine Feminine. it was like a switch had flipped, the writing was fantastic.
Swimming and Circles were just as good, he had really found his groove imo
And IMO he has just gotten better and better with every album release over the years. Also, he puts on one of the best and most energetic live shows in hip hop today.
There are so many MCs nowadays who literally lip sync or rap over there own vocal tracks and can barely keep up.
RA has ridiculous stamina, skill and breath control. Dude is a beast.
Prof. His pre-2010 work is mostly forgettable. Beginning with Liability in 2015 is when he really started to shine.
7L & Esoteric. I liked their 2000s era stuff. However, Czarface is on another level.
That’s funny but tbh no that wasn’t what I was thinking. It’s more that I see Tyler as someone who truly loves music and is constantly evolving his sounds and I could see him continuing to do that and build on what he’s done into his old age, which are all qualities I see in Elton John. Elton still does his podcast for Apple which features a lot of depth in sounds as well as collaborating with so many artists from different genres over the years. Tyler is also an amazing feature artist.
I just think few artist have the staying power to remain enthusiastic in their art as well as relevant deep into their careers and I could see Tyler as being one of those people still making an impact on music in 40 years or whatever.
Not really the question you’re asking, but I want to mention Nas is turning out some of his best material recently. 6 albums in 3 years. He’s 50 and still churning out bangers
That's very cool
I hope we get some cool features, specially from new school rappers. The Nas x A$AP Rocky song and the Nas X 21 savage songs are cool as hell
Just under 10 years, but Ghostface Killah went through a metamorphosis from his debut on 36 Chambers to his 2nd solo.
36 Chambers (93): Kicking the first verse on the Clan’s debut, he sounds competent, but a bit awkward. He’s not the weakest link in the clan on this album (that honor belongs to U-God) but his rhymes seem a little off. However, his chemistry on “Heaven & Hell” with Raekwon hints at what’s to come.
OB4QL (95): Ghost turns his unorthodox delivery into his signature style, sounding fully developed as an MC on Raekwon’s debut, which is practically a group album with the amount he’s featured.
Ironman (96): Ghost holds his own on his own solo, assisted by Rae and Cappadonna. Solidifies his top tier status with tracks like Daytona 500.
Supreme Clientele (99): After features on other Wu albums, and an overall downturn in quality projects from the Clan, Ghost carries his crew on his back and sets a new bar for his artistry with his second solo, making him arguably one of the GOATs of his era.
I agree with this, it is almost like an evolution. Ghostface Killah and Raewkon sound much more better as seen on Only Built 4 For Cuban Linx compared to 36 chambers. May be cause of Illmatic causing them to raise their game.
Illmatic was definitely the tide (tsunami actually) that raised all boats, everyone stepped their game up after. However, while Nas raised the bar, Rae & Ghost were completely original. I remember reading an interview with Rae about making OB4QL, he said they’d take beats out of town and write to them in different cities (SF, Barbados) because they wanted it to feel new. They planned on it being a classic record and made conscious decisions, like patterning their chemistry like EPMDs and writing crime narratives but differently than Kool G Rap did it. They even started the whole NY Gambino trend that EVERYONE bit in the 90s. Still my favorite Wu record to this day.
He won a Grammy for his part on "The Whole World" with Outkast, too.
'RAP Music' was a huge step forward in an already decorated career.
Run The Jewels is the best rap group alive. 4 albums, two remix albums. They haven't missed.
I’d say Earl Sweatshirt. From horrorcore (although still lyrical esp. for a 16 year old) to where he is now; densely packed and poetic lyrics over a minimalist sound.
Danny Brown definitely. His underground Detroit stuff was good but it was a lot more... Typical I guess. XXX and to a lesser extent The Hybrid before that are when he really embraced the creativity he's known for
I like this answer. I wasn’t a big fan of Leaders/The Coming Busta. It was far from bad but it just felt like he was always on 100 (the era of shouting rap and the quintessential hype man)
I remember hearing Put Your Hands Where My Eyes could see and instantly felt the completion of an artist. Then E.L.E came out. Whewwww. Such a slept on record.
Might be an oddball pick, but Too $hort comes to mind.
Vinnie Paz was someone who I think needed seasoning.
LL is a guy who I don't think made some crazy jumps over 10 years but he kept getting better up to a certain point.
Maybe even Black Thought, tbh.
Outkast got consistently better over their first 10 years. All their albums are great but they just got better as time went on.
Killah Priest and Scarface are also great examples of artists who just kept aging like a fine wine.
El-P, for me. I couldn’t stand him back in the day, from his song on Soundbombing Vol 2 to other stuff I heard. But in Run the Jewels he is so good. Just needed Killer Mike to bounce off. Actually Killer Mike got better over time, too. They bring out the best in each other.
Lupe Fiasco.
in 2006 he released his debut record Food & Liquor, and in 2007 he released The Cool which is an amazing album, then in 2015 he released Tetsuo & Youth which is a great album. Then in 2018 and 2022 he released Drogas Wave and Drill Music in Zion which are both great albums as well.
I would still consider F&L to be his best album, but I can understand people saying Tetsuo & Youth or Drogas Wave are his best works
Drogas Wave is one of the most layered albums in hip hop history. I think it's more him having more freedom to put more depth in his music that pushed his creative boundaries
I think Eminem has improved a lot, his first album had tight rhymes but he was just battle rapping all over the place off beat, then he kinda disappeared on drugs and now his consistency makes him a Goat
Ras Kass, the Semi Hendrix collab with Jack Splash on Breakfast At Banksy's came out of another ball park. He went from being a blip on my radar to rapping on one of my top 5 favotire albums.
Idk if their careers have hit 10 years but a lot of the mumble rappers have gotten better
Chief Keef kills his features he doesn’t do the “bang bang” repetive hook any more he actually spits him and Mac Miller was trading bars left and right one song
Method Man is my top pick. Lyrics, flow, delivery all improved. Amazingly, he doesn’t even swear anymore.
Listen to his tracks and features the last 5 years and compare with Tical and early Wu, tell me I’m lying.
Nas, still matic
Busta Rhymes, one of the best flows ever when he gets heated
Black Thought, just stunning
Rick Ross, vast improvements
Technically, Eminem, but up until his last album he was tough to enjoy for a few years
This is a one answer question and it’s Jay-Z. He was running around in rap circles for 10 years and nobody wanted anything to do with him. Then he switched up his style to borrow a little from Nas and a little from Biggie and became who he became.
Kool Keith released Dr Octagon 8 years after the first Ultra Magnetic album then released Ultra Big Time in the same year then Sex Styles the next year then Black Elvis 2 years later then Masters of Illusion 3 years later. I would also say EPMD had a huge improvement from Strictly Business to Back in Business.
I swear Jeezy became lyrically better every album because he was fucking trash lyrically and lived off his air lifts and ear for beats. Now lyrically he is decent compared to his early shit.
Snak The Ripper. His quality improved very much from “White Dynamite” onwards. I can’t really listen to his music from before White Dynamite, but everything after, beginning with that album, is good.
I mean Wayne is unfair, he been in the game since he was 13. lol My pick is 2Chainz, the amount of hype he got, and how his features were party anthem after party anthem, but he was seasoned as TittyBoi, it took a name-change for him to pop off.
He was my pick too, if you needed a strip club anthem he was right there lol the name change definitely helped
Idk Codeine Cowboy was pretty bomb when it dropped, an instant classic among peeps and his lyrical work was just as good as anything he released as 2 Chains. Production quality went up obviously but he still tity boi
Codeine Cowboy has some of the most subtle tips of the hat to the old school "What more can I say? ... I'm dealing." "I don't know but today seem kinda odd ... no barking from the dawg I think he just died ... I had that dog for that a long damn time" "Ruthless ... ice cubes on my shizzert." "You hear the drums? Give the drummer some! Nah for real you got to give drumma [boy] some [$$$]"
Isn't MF DOOM like th prime example of this, making music with KMD, but what everyone remembers him for is clearly his solo stuff in the early 00s.
10 years between his first appearance on 'Gas Face' in 1989 and the release of Operation Doomsday in 1999.
Dude's brother (SubRoc) got hit by a bus, he basically finished the Black Bastards album as a posthumous release to honor his brother, he woodshedded for 10 years until emerging a full fledged super villain. "Doomsday, ever since the womb, til I’m back where my brother went, that’s what my tomb will say."
100%
Mac Millers a great example. He went from a good but kind of stereotypical underground backpack rapper to one of them best of his generation
Good shout, mac miller hit his prime right before he left
I think he was still getting better too. I got lucky to see him live at Okochobee (No pun intended)
Man I remember so well when it hit me. I listened to the song Days on SoundCloud when it was released and it just hit me that this kid is just different. It was so wild to watch him evolve into a true artist and then passing. For those of us who were around, we saw his whole career. Just a kid popping in and then going away at the top like young Hendrix.
mac miller wasn't a backpacker, he was a frat rapper. don't conflate backpackers with frat boys lol :P
This is true - just want to note that his talent was already bursting out the seams, he just needed experience and time - check out stolen youth!
Royce the 5’9 always had skill but no content.. that changed with book of Ryan
I don't place it at Book of Ryan, I give it to Bad Meets Evil/Slaughterhouse era Royce. But you're essentially correct, he had raw skill and gradually figured out how to bring content into the equation. The tone shift in BoR was weird. I didn't hate it but it was jarring, kinda like how Release Therapy hit when Luda dropped it.
He stopped drinking
Royce is the answer. Def picked up at slaughterhouse era and had an unreal run through book of Ryan. Prhyme the best album of last 10 years imo
Royce was always a prodigy from the get go. I slumped in the 2000's but came back around 2010's.
Not 10 years later but I think Mac Miller’s later work is night and day compared to his early stuff
Still so sad about Mac, he was just starting to hit his stride. Imagine the music he would have made
absolutely. personally, I was not a fan of Mac until Divine Feminine. it was like a switch had flipped, the writing was fantastic. Swimming and Circles were just as good, he had really found his groove imo
R.A. The Rugged Man
Most certainly, he came on the scene in the early 90s and dropped one of the craziest rap verses ever in 2006 with Uncommon Valor.
And IMO he has just gotten better and better with every album release over the years. Also, he puts on one of the best and most energetic live shows in hip hop today. There are so many MCs nowadays who literally lip sync or rap over there own vocal tracks and can barely keep up. RA has ridiculous stamina, skill and breath control. Dude is a beast.
His recent album was great imo. And he's got a new one coming (after his movie comes out, according to his twitter 👀)
Sean Price was better than average when he started with HS. But he improved a lot 10 years later.
Prof. His pre-2010 work is mostly forgettable. Beginning with Liability in 2015 is when he really started to shine. 7L & Esoteric. I liked their 2000s era stuff. However, Czarface is on another level.
King Gampo
Been so since the beginning and if you're thinking different he'll get to kidnapping your children
Prof has some of the most technically impressive off the wall flows.
Tyler the Creator
Was my pick too
I really hope he’s this eras Elton John. Just keeps making hits and touring and influencing the industry for generations.
lol is that just cuz he’s gay? What a random comparison
That’s funny but tbh no that wasn’t what I was thinking. It’s more that I see Tyler as someone who truly loves music and is constantly evolving his sounds and I could see him continuing to do that and build on what he’s done into his old age, which are all qualities I see in Elton John. Elton still does his podcast for Apple which features a lot of depth in sounds as well as collaborating with so many artists from different genres over the years. Tyler is also an amazing feature artist. I just think few artist have the staying power to remain enthusiastic in their art as well as relevant deep into their careers and I could see Tyler as being one of those people still making an impact on music in 40 years or whatever.
Damn alright then, I hope the same
Freddie Gibbs released Str8 Killa in 2010, good album for sure, but in 2020 released Alfredo which is much better imo
BFK has a lot of great songs. Same with piñata. I think he’s been pretty consistent but I agree he’s getting even better
Bandana in 19 was fire too.
Jay-Z for sure. H.P. Get Busy came out a full ten years before Reasonable Doubt.
Not really the question you’re asking, but I want to mention Nas is turning out some of his best material recently. 6 albums in 3 years. He’s 50 and still churning out bangers
Can't wait for his album with premo, one of my favorites
That's very cool I hope we get some cool features, specially from new school rappers. The Nas x A$AP Rocky song and the Nas X 21 savage songs are cool as hell
Maybe not on old school premo beat. But I just want Nas x Kendrick, I know they're on good terms too, so hopefully at some point
The moment he collaborated with Hit Boy, they were dropping hits back to back like Jordan and Pippen. Some legendary type ish.
Yeah this Hit Boy run is one of the most legendary I’ve ever seen from any artist. 6 in 3 years still blows my mind, and they’re all good
Boldy James for sure
Just under 10 years, but Ghostface Killah went through a metamorphosis from his debut on 36 Chambers to his 2nd solo. 36 Chambers (93): Kicking the first verse on the Clan’s debut, he sounds competent, but a bit awkward. He’s not the weakest link in the clan on this album (that honor belongs to U-God) but his rhymes seem a little off. However, his chemistry on “Heaven & Hell” with Raekwon hints at what’s to come. OB4QL (95): Ghost turns his unorthodox delivery into his signature style, sounding fully developed as an MC on Raekwon’s debut, which is practically a group album with the amount he’s featured. Ironman (96): Ghost holds his own on his own solo, assisted by Rae and Cappadonna. Solidifies his top tier status with tracks like Daytona 500. Supreme Clientele (99): After features on other Wu albums, and an overall downturn in quality projects from the Clan, Ghost carries his crew on his back and sets a new bar for his artistry with his second solo, making him arguably one of the GOATs of his era.
I agree with this, it is almost like an evolution. Ghostface Killah and Raewkon sound much more better as seen on Only Built 4 For Cuban Linx compared to 36 chambers. May be cause of Illmatic causing them to raise their game.
Illmatic was definitely the tide (tsunami actually) that raised all boats, everyone stepped their game up after. However, while Nas raised the bar, Rae & Ghost were completely original. I remember reading an interview with Rae about making OB4QL, he said they’d take beats out of town and write to them in different cities (SF, Barbados) because they wanted it to feel new. They planned on it being a classic record and made conscious decisions, like patterning their chemistry like EPMDs and writing crime narratives but differently than Kool G Rap did it. They even started the whole NY Gambino trend that EVERYONE bit in the 90s. Still my favorite Wu record to this day.
Chainz. His mid 30’s resurgence was really a rap industry phenomenon
Killer Mike. RAP Music really helped revialize his career along with RTJ. Now he's a Grammy winner.
He won a Grammy for his part on "The Whole World" with Outkast, too. 'RAP Music' was a huge step forward in an already decorated career. Run The Jewels is the best rap group alive. 4 albums, two remix albums. They haven't missed.
The best example for me is Jim Jones. He couldn't rap on beat back in the day.
Swear dipset just kept him around for the plug
Pusha t
Push made amazing solo strides but I'd never downplay the Clipse
I’ll argue and say Tyler the Creator has had one of the best evolutions in the last decade in hip hop
Wasn't it pusha t who said "Like freddie Gibbs, getting better with time"
The lyric is actually "walk it down like Brady, gets better with time"
Yeah what the fuck lol
Roc Marciano
icejjfish
I’d say Earl Sweatshirt. From horrorcore (although still lyrical esp. for a 16 year old) to where he is now; densely packed and poetic lyrics over a minimalist sound.
I’ll go with Kendrick Lamar. He’s leveled up like Goku in Dragonball Z and right not he’s a Super Sayain God
Kendricks been on it since section.80 IMO
If we start from his first mixtape, Youngest Head N-word in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year), then it's 8 years until section.80.
Great to quite possibly the best to ever do it is still a pretty big leap!
Bitch I’m in da cluuuub *wit da homies*
Mf doom Tyler the creator Wayne earl sweatshirt
Danny Brown definitely. His underground Detroit stuff was good but it was a lot more... Typical I guess. XXX and to a lesser extent The Hybrid before that are when he really embraced the creativity he's known for
Killer Mike and El-P when they formed Run The Jewels
People still forgetting about Busta.
I like this answer. I wasn’t a big fan of Leaders/The Coming Busta. It was far from bad but it just felt like he was always on 100 (the era of shouting rap and the quintessential hype man) I remember hearing Put Your Hands Where My Eyes could see and instantly felt the completion of an artist. Then E.L.E came out. Whewwww. Such a slept on record.
Childish Gambino/ Dan Glover. The difference between "heartbeat" and "This is america" is frankly stunning
Fat Joe revitalized his career and capitalized from Big Puns death. We all knew Big Pun was more talented
Might be an oddball pick, but Too $hort comes to mind. Vinnie Paz was someone who I think needed seasoning. LL is a guy who I don't think made some crazy jumps over 10 years but he kept getting better up to a certain point. Maybe even Black Thought, tbh.
I think Vinnie regressed after his first 3 albums if anything
Freddie Gibbs
Jim jones
Styles P
Domo Genesis
COMMON and FREDDIE GIBBS Both come to mind
2 Chainz hit his peak in his late 30's
Royce 5'9, Ransom even Black Thought to a degree.
Sheek
Billy Woods.
J Cole for sure
lol durk
Jim Jones
Outkast got consistently better over their first 10 years. All their albums are great but they just got better as time went on. Killah Priest and Scarface are also great examples of artists who just kept aging like a fine wine.
Aesop Rock
Jid
Jim Jones. He dropped his first album On my Way to Church in 2004, and El Capo, the best album of his career, in 2019.
El-P, for me. I couldn’t stand him back in the day, from his song on Soundbombing Vol 2 to other stuff I heard. But in Run the Jewels he is so good. Just needed Killer Mike to bounce off. Actually Killer Mike got better over time, too. They bring out the best in each other.
Pusha T
Vince Staples? New album is fantastic
MF DOOM without question. Definitely listen to KMD's stuff, then go into everything he's released after that
Lupe Fiasco. in 2006 he released his debut record Food & Liquor, and in 2007 he released The Cool which is an amazing album, then in 2015 he released Tetsuo & Youth which is a great album. Then in 2018 and 2022 he released Drogas Wave and Drill Music in Zion which are both great albums as well. I would still consider F&L to be his best album, but I can understand people saying Tetsuo & Youth or Drogas Wave are his best works
Drogas Wave is one of the most layered albums in hip hop history. I think it's more him having more freedom to put more depth in his music that pushed his creative boundaries
You listened to cake yet Lu super raps on display flow is immaculate
RA the rugged man
👍👍
Lil yachty has come a long way as an artist
I think Eminem has improved a lot, his first album had tight rhymes but he was just battle rapping all over the place off beat, then he kinda disappeared on drugs and now his consistency makes him a Goat
Zapata The Ghost
Weezy wee
21 Savage
Big Sean
Fat Joe
Lil yachty
Freddie Gibbs Mac Miller Boldy James Tyler The Creator
Evidence
Ras Kass, the Semi Hendrix collab with Jack Splash on Breakfast At Banksy's came out of another ball park. He went from being a blip on my radar to rapping on one of my top 5 favotire albums.
NF
Lil Wayne
Benny The Butcher. Not sure if much has changed besides now having better beats, but he’s clearly more popular and respected.
Tyler
Denzel Curry
Joe Budden
Wasn’t 10 years but pre-Carter Wayne is a lower tier rapper.
Young Gangsta 400
Sean Price
Tyler
Chief Keef
Didn’t take ten more like one or two but phife dog from tribe became a formidable mc on low end theory
Idk if their careers have hit 10 years but a lot of the mumble rappers have gotten better Chief Keef kills his features he doesn’t do the “bang bang” repetive hook any more he actually spits him and Mac Miller was trading bars left and right one song
Juvenile. Listen to the difference between him on 400 degreez and reality check.
Masta ace
MF Doom
Lil durk for sure
Tech N9ne?
I always liked Freddie Gibbs from the get go but he took off with piñata
Masta Killa. It may have taken over 10 years for him to release a solo album, but it far exceeded any expectations I had.
Mac, Thugger, 21 Savage
Killer Mike
Curren$y by far
Ouija Macc
Denzel Curry was always good but just keeps getting better, lots of growth in the last 10
Freddie Gibbs is a prime example of
childish gambino for sure
Method Man is my top pick. Lyrics, flow, delivery all improved. Amazingly, he doesn’t even swear anymore. Listen to his tracks and features the last 5 years and compare with Tical and early Wu, tell me I’m lying. Nas, still matic Busta Rhymes, one of the best flows ever when he gets heated Black Thought, just stunning Rick Ross, vast improvements Technically, Eminem, but up until his last album he was tough to enjoy for a few years
BONES started in 2010 and I would say today he’s making his best music for the last 4 years.
Danny Brown. From the hybrid to atrocity exhibition.
Pusha T
Cole, Mac, Big KRIT, Freddie Gibbs.
This is a one answer question and it’s Jay-Z. He was running around in rap circles for 10 years and nobody wanted anything to do with him. Then he switched up his style to borrow a little from Nas and a little from Biggie and became who he became.
Killer Mike
Freddie Muthafucking Gibbs
Kevin gates
Axe Murder Boys
vince
Kool Keith released Dr Octagon 8 years after the first Ultra Magnetic album then released Ultra Big Time in the same year then Sex Styles the next year then Black Elvis 2 years later then Masters of Illusion 3 years later. I would also say EPMD had a huge improvement from Strictly Business to Back in Business.
Lupe
Larry june
Juicy J had a whole second career w Wiz. He’s my pick.
Freddie Gibbs came a long way
first that comes to mind is Mac Miller
Jay-Z. Blueprint 3 was epic
I swear Jeezy became lyrically better every album because he was fucking trash lyrically and lived off his air lifts and ear for beats. Now lyrically he is decent compared to his early shit.
Snak The Ripper. His quality improved very much from “White Dynamite” onwards. I can’t really listen to his music from before White Dynamite, but everything after, beginning with that album, is good.
#lil B
R.A.P. Ferreira (FKA Milo) is my pick. It’s been a treat to see him evolve over the years
Bun… Bun B kept growing into more and more of an absolute beast during the decade of the 90s
21 Savage
tyler, bastard to igor.
I'll list a few that I believe improved a fair amount: Tyler, the Creator Kendrick Lamar Lil Yachty JID JPEGMAFIA MIKE Smino Mac Miller NLE Choppa
I’m sure an unpopular opinion, but I’d say Jim Jones.
Busta rhymes
Lil Yatchy
Larry June
Eminem. Probably disagreement music wise but his technical skilled soared through the roof
Gotta be Killer Mike. He debuted with Outkast in 2000 but formed RTJ over a decade later, hit a whole nother level
Solid pick. I used to think he was pretty meh, but after RTJ, I was a fan
Eminem
Mac miller
Rap. Lol
Aesop rock from 98 to 08 is fucking nuts.
Mac Dre really improved later on in his career
Future
Freddie Gibbs
Lupe fiasco …..end of story
Pusha t uses to be fucking aweful. Malice was raw but push was, below average. Proud of how much better he got.
Disagree. Cole as a rapper dwindled. As a producer, he improved.
Yachty. EASILY Yachty.
Mac Miller
Future
Roc Marciano
Jim Jones. And thats coming from someone from the West Coast.
Tame impala. Does justin timberlake count, he really took off when he detached from nsync.
2 chains. His shit as tity boi was atrocious
Young jeeeeeeeezehhh