Yup, I'm late with my post.  My last post got me in trouble about what I said about MC Hammer, so now here comes the honorary mentions along with the top ten artist.  So here goes the honorary mentions.

HM-As you could guess, yes, MC Hammer is here.  However, I believe he shares this spot with Vanilla Ice.  After my comment about Hammer last post and the back lash that came with it, I had to think for a moment.  "Can't Touch This," still gets radio play as well as "Ice, Ice, Baby."  Now that's influence considering both these songs are over twenty years old.  Regardless of what people may say about them and their careers, they are still getting paid in the world of Hip Hop. 

HM- The Geto Boys, this is where the "Dirty South" music began.  Before there was what we call "The Dirty South," music from the south can from two sources.  2 live out of Miami, Florida and The Geto Boys out of Houston, Texas.  The group proved they Can't Be Stopped with the release of their fourth album as it made platinum status.  Yup the Geto Boys went platinum, your mind is not playing tricks on you.

HM- Too Short, because Life is Too Short.  Short Dog, was a key instrument in the west coast's rise in the rap game.   Like 2 live crew, his lyrics got him very little radio play but he still became a household name.  We all on the sly was listening to "These are the tales, The Freaky Tales."  Born to Mack hit number one on the Hip Hop charts.

8- Salt and Pepa.  A Salt with a Deadly Pepa.  These ladies are the first female group with a platinum album.  The showstoppers debut album Hot, Cool, and Vicious, included their number one hit  (#19 on Billboard) Push it a B side song to their first release "Tramp."  The B-side became a platinum single for the ladies.  The ladies proved that the rap game isn't just a Man's World.

7 -Biggie Smalls, the Notorious B.I.G.  Yes, he does belong on this list, but he is not the greatest rapper of all time like some of ya'll may believe.  The main reason I say that is because he can't compete with Tupac's accomplishments.   We'll discuss that later, and yes that was a spoiler alert Tupac is higher up the list than Biggie.

But I'm Going, Going, Back, Back, to Biggie, (I'll quit with the rapping.)  Biggie did put New York back on the map after so many west coast rappers became dominate in Hip Hop.  This would be lead to the infamous East Coast/West Coast feud.  As this rivalry built up, Tupac got shot five times and was robbed at a recording studio.  Tupac would blame Sean "Puffy" Combs and Biggie of having knowledge of the robbery before it went down.

The stage was now set.  In this corner wearing all black is Biggie Smalls and in the other corner...  Back to business.  "Ready to Die" went four times platinum.  Sadly, Christopher Wallace would not live to see the release of his second album.  Life After Death was released sixteen days after he was murdered in a drive by shooting. " Life After Death" in its own is one of the rarities in Hip Hop to reach diamond status.  I can see why he is considered the greatest.

5- LL Cool J is hard as Hell!  And that's the truth.  Def Jams first artist and first platinum album.  This is one rapper that carried his label from it's birth to make it the power house that it is today.  Until the emergence of Jay Z, no artist has sold as many albums under Def Jam.   LL has several multi-platinum albums and should very seriously be considered a candidate for G.O.A.T, The Greatest Of All Time.  Although, he hasn't had a diamond album, his credentials are more impressive than Biggie's. (It's just a shame that Biggie got murdered an was unable to finish what was beginning to be a wonderful career.)  But not taking anything from Mr. Smith, he is well deserved in the top five of Hip-Hop's Greatest.

4- Jay Z, Comes with the changing of the guard.  If anyone was capable of taking the torch from LL. it would be this guy.  This Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam artist has had every album make platinum status.  He is also well deserving of the title Greatest Of All Time and has made our top five.  Even with greatness, it still comes with controversy.   Some believe that he is an evil devil worshiping man that's part of the Illuminati.  But I ask, how evil is some one who wants to help relieve the world's water shortage.  He gave a million to help with Hurricane Katrina relief.  He has done work with the United Nations.  Really, is this the face of evil?

Regardless, with that said Jay has one of the maddest flows and happens to be like the most requested for guest appearances.  What do you expect?  If it says featuring Jay Z, it's gonna get air play.

I'm late on my post, sorry to keep ya'll waiting.  We have so many rappers out there but where do they belong on this list.  Some won't make this list because its 40 over 40 years when rightfully if it was a top 50 or top 100 they would most definitely make it.  

Artist like Nas and Big Daddy Kane.  The competition was just to stiff that we couldn't have fit them in.  And then there are those that made the list like Queen Latifah,  that got put at 29 when justifiably I wanted her a lot higher but it was just as hard to knock the others.

But let's jump into the list with 20-11.

19  The Fat Boys- Although they only had one platinum album, their influence in they rap game was phenomenal.  Their influence spawned such groups as the Skinny Boys and the Fat Girls(I haven't heard of Fat Girls, found them when doing research.)  In fact, along with Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, and Whodini, these where my influences for me to rap, but I turned to writing.

The Fat Boys had an outstanding impact on the big screen as well, going from Krush Groove, to being cast in their own movie Disorderlies.  The Disco Three along with Doug E. Fresh, pioneered Beat Boxing.  Something that is still done today, maybe not on records, but still in the streets.  Where Hip Hop started.  (R.I.P. Buff Love, Darren Robinson.)

18  The Outkast of the rap game have dropped a platinum album every time, with Speakerboxxx/The Love Below being the most successful at 11 times platinum also known as diamond status.  The multi-platinum group has used their influence to pursue movie stardom such as Be Cool and ATL.  They are the champions of the Dirty South.

14 Lyte as a Rock- MC Lyte.  Mc Lyte may have not had a platinum album, but she was the first female solo artist to release a full album.  This female battle rapper, once said to be the sis of Milk D(audio two) held her own with the dudes as well as the women.  She paved the way for female rappers like Queen Latifah, Moni Love, (Flava Unit) and YoYo.  These rappers are a bit different from the Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, and Trina type rappers.  Mainly because they didn't have to rap about spending some dudes money and how everyone wants to screw them in every rap. 

13 Ludacris- The Dirty South Strikes Again.  From T.I. to the Outkast, (although there was a little bit of beef with T.I. and Luda was born in Illinois,) we can't forget Luda.  Like the saying goes, "It ain't where your from, it's where your at," Atlanta embraced this one time intern DJ that worked with Timbaland.  Luda is one of the most influential rappers coming out of the ATL as well as the other two previous ATLiens that made the list.   

So many rappers still out there.  Who will make the top ten?  I won't give any spoilers for part four, but I will comment on a few more rappers who didn't make it and why.

First and foremost will be DMX.  The Dark Man Unknown, won't make the list because as far as his career goes, it was a disappointment.  DMX came out the gate hard making hit after hit for the rap game.  However, drugs tore him down along with his career.

Master P has done a lot in Hip Hop.  From bringing us acts like Silk the Shocker and Mystikal.  He brought us I Got the Hook Up as well as shared the talents of his children Romeo and Cymphonique.  But so many artist have done as much or more.

And MC Hammer.  He may have made it in the business with flashy outfits and his energetic output on the dance floor, but that was not the disappointment that kept him off the list.  Every artist that made the list, stayed with their bread and butter that got them on the list.  After bankruptcy, he tried a come back with a run at gangsta rap (just like Vanilla Ice) which a lot of the fans took it as "selling out."

Tune in for the final ten to be published on Feb, 21. (I will do this one on time.)  Happy Valentine's Day!

So far we had no complaints with part one.  So on with part two.  We have 10 more rappers we want to recognize as the greatest in Hip-Hop.  So, on with 30-21.

29 Queen Latifah-  Considered one of hip-hop's pioneer feminists by Wikipedia, and we agree.  U.N.I.T.Y. "Who you callin' a Bi***!"  Makes you think twice about saying it.  This song earned her a grammy, but that is not why she made the list.  Her influence in the game was so great it carried her to movies, TV series, and now she even has a talk show.  Because of her, there was a Moni Love and the Flava Unit's most known besides her, Naughty By Nature.

28 Doug E Fresh and Slick Rick.  Although they are indeed two separate acts but it's their work together that got them on this list.  Yup, it's "The Show."   This song shattered the record for number one single and top the charts in pop music throughout Europe.  On the B side of the single, the other hit La Di Da Di.  

25- Dr. Dre.  Before N.W.A, Dr. Dre was part of the World Class Wreckin' Cru with the hit "Turn Off The Lights."  When with N.W.A, Dr Dre provided the group with beats and produced most of their hits.  As an entrepreneur in the industry he reached out and brought the world the D.O.C. but a car accident cut his career short.  After leaving N.W.A, he co-founded Deathrow Records which brought the world artist like Snoop Dogg, The Dog Pound, Warren G, and later Tupac would become part of the mix.

Dre would leave Deathrow to become the CEO of Aftermath records and he would continue bringing the world of Hip-Hop new greats like 50 cents, Xibit, and Eminen. 

22- T.I.  What can we say about T.I.?  Rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, actor and author.   His influence on the game has him going from records, to the big screen, and to reality TV without missing a beat.  Even through his legal problems he did not self destruct.  He learned, he grew, and he moved on.

Well we are halfway through the list.  In two weeks we will be back with 20 through 11.  But being halfway through, we will announce some of the misses.  Rappers in our opinion just didn't have that greater influence to have made it.

First off, the New Blood.  New Blood as in new acts.  J. Cole is just as hot as Drake and is definitely the future of Hip-Hop.  Other acts in the New Bloods include Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar, keep shining.

Missy Elliot, not that she isn't hot, but she is a greater impact on the industry producing rather than making her own music.  The Black Eyed Peas will also not make the list.  They are rather good at what they do, but we feel that they perform Hip-Hop and are more of a pop group.  The previous 20 artist listed not only perform Hip-Hop, they are Hip-Hop.

Tune in on February 7th and peep the next ten.  Give us some feed back on whether you think we are Dead on or Dead wrong.

Reflecting back on 2013, it made 40 years on hip hop music.  Not bad, since like Rock-N-Roll Hip-Hop was going to end.  But instead, it is everywhere.  It’s in movies, it’s in commercials, and comedians even use it as part of their act. 

It has been intertwined in R&B music.  It is nearly impossible to find an R&B song without a rap in it.  However, in 2013 we watched how other magazines decided to celebrate it with top 100 lists and top 50 lists.  Today, The Daily Brew is launching our 4 part issue of the top 40 greatest of all time rappers.

There were a lot of other worthy contenders that just didn't make the list.  Some rappers made the list in a group because we felt like you couldn't put one before the other, except in one case.   I felt a few made it big off the coattails of someone else and I put him one step above his former crew (40 and 39, also  26 and 11).

But the ones that did we felt had much more of an impact on the industry through longevity, record sales, trend setting, and setting and breaking records.  I, Terrill "T$" Davis, am the main one behind these picks.  If any wants to blast the Daily Brew about these picks, take it out on me.  If you feel I wronged anyone or just plain left someone deserving out, let me know, leave a comment.  Now sit back and view in part one 40-31.

40  Cash Money Boyz- These Boyz tore up the rap game when they bust in the industry in the late 90’s and some of them are still holding it down.  Birdman, Lil Wayne, Mannie Fresh, BG, and Young Turk.  They set the game on fire when they launched the Cash Money label along with Juvenile.

39  Juvenile- He was burning up at 400 Degrees when the Cash Money Crew rode in on the hit Back That Thang Up.  Although many of the songs on this LP seemed to be a Cash Money calibration, all the chips was placed on Juvi’s shoulders the moment they decided to release him out the gates.  He was a big part of what Cash Money is today.

38  Kool Moe Dee- If you never knew how the Cali vs. New York rap battles began, well it could have begun right here with this battle rapper going after LL.   This Beat Street rapper was sending folks to the doctor when he set his sights on downing the self-proclaimed baddest rapper…so how you like him now?

37  Dj. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince- Not much of a hard rapper, but definitely one who had an impact on hip hop and the cross over markets.  They came out when cutting and scratching was still a big part of the game.  And Dj Jazzy Jeff was the best on the coast when he invented the transformer scratch.  A long with Will’s storytelling and clean rap style, it opened the door to other endeavors. 

36  Nikki Minaj- She happens to be the hottest artist in the business today next to Drake, Lil Wayne, and Jay Z.  From mix tapes to signing with Young Money, to TV personality, to voice overs on the big screen, Onika has made a name for herself.  

35  Eminem- This has nothing to do with affirmative action.  Most white rappers who enter the industry live short careers no matter how big a hit they get.  Ice, Ice, Baby was big hit but not big enough to give Vanilla Ice any longevity.

The 8 Mile star has honed his skills in the arena as a battle rapper and sold his first cd from the trunk of his car and it made its way to Dr. Dre.  And the rest is history. 

34  50 Cents- Once thought of as the East Coast Tupac (because he was shot I guess.  Which should make me the literary Tupac since I took four bullets last year.)  50 has made a name for himself landing video games, sponsorships, and movie deals. 

33  Drake- He came a long way from Degrassi, now one of the hottest rappers in the game.  He and his label mate Nicki Minaj are eating up guest appearances left and right.  He like Nicki, can take a good foothold on the game and be here to enjoy long careers. 

32  Ice T- Before NWA, there was Ice-T.  I can’t say this is where Gangsta Rap begun, but Rhyme Pays, drew a lot of attention and with a follow up with a motion picture and soundtrack Colors.  Yea, Ice was hard.

31  Biz Markie- Say what you want about Biz Mark, but he is the reason rappers want to sing today.  Just a friend was not only just a hit for Biz, it started a trend.  Although some may use auto-tune, but without Biz and his song, there probably wouldn’t be a T-Pain, Drake, or a Future.

When Olivia was 14 her brother and his family decided to move to Oklahoma City  to have a greater chance at a better future. Shortly after her mother decided  that it would be best for herself, Olivia’s sister  Nicole, and Olivia to move to Oklahoma as well. This was very devastating to Olivia because she had to leave behind very close family and friends, but to her surprise she eventually liked  the move. 

Moving to Oklahoma city from Chicago was a major difference in many ways for Olivia, but it taught her about how to adapt  to different lifestyles. Not too long after moving to Oklahoma City she moved to Edmond, Ok and attended Edmond North High School. While being in the new  state no one knew of Olivia’s talents so music eventually became something in  the past for her. As junior and senior year came school became very tough for  Olivia and her grades started falling, as well as her confidence. She became very depressed and did the only thing that she knew would fill that void, she started writing music, and posting videos on Youtube. Graduation was near and  Olivia decided that moving back to her first home, Chicago where she attended  Harold Washington College. 

While in Chicago, Olivia began to take her families advice and pursue her music and she fell in love all over again. Olivia temporaily moved back to Oklahoma to attend college and pursue her music career, and the rest is  history.

 “I just want to be one of the lucky few artists who get to make a living doing what they love, for me it’s singing, dancing, and just being an all-around  entertainer. I hope my work speaks for itself and gets the respect it deserves.” - Olivia Thompson



You Can Follow Olivia on twitter at @OliviaPatricia.

Check out her YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzcjUBlzOPc



Dir. By @FlyFellaMarco
Prod. By @TheKidDjL



T$

Unique,
creative, and prominent, these are just a few words that describe this 18 year old musician, Gerardo "Brezey" Venegas. 
His single "Preview"  was played on Hot 103.9 for a month back to back being requested all over the whole 940 Area.  Brezey started writing music around age 11 and knew he had something special.  He had a creative process that was bigger than just words that was being put together with rhyming. 

He  was born in Wichita Falls, Texas on April 1st, 1994. The drive, passion, and mindset this kid has is utterly and completely unimaginable. Brezey is not stopping any time soon and only getting better with every song he releases.  

His mix tape "The Count Down" will be dropping soon & being distributed through sponsors in Texas and expecting to sell over 10,000 copies his first week. Don't sleep on this young kid that is guaranteed to be at the top very soon and running the rap game.


You can follow him on twitter @officialbrezey.  Check out videos on YouTube at http://Youtube.com/OfficialBrezeyTV.  Or like his page on Facebook at http://Facebook.com/DatBoyBryz.



Now  hear his single Preview here by clicking the link below!


http://soundcloud.com/officialbrezey/preview-ft-quis


And
use this link to check his video Take Ya Time.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8161ACOfd0&feature=youtu.be

Dev
Dev,  Devin Star Tailes, was born in Tracy, California. Her song "Blonde Trick, which was originally a dis-song was posted on Myspace and found by a production team by the name of The Cataracs. She soon dropped out of college to pursue a musical career. She signed with Universal Republic in 2010 and recorded "Bass Down Low." Her debut album "The Night The Sun Came Up" is now available everywhere. For more on Dev visit  http://www.devishot.com/splash/