Best Rapper of the 21st Century
by BonaFideBOSS | created - 23 Feb 2020 | updated - 24 Nov 2020 | PublicWho do you consider to be the best rapper of the 21st century?
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1. Eminem
Soundtrack | 8 Mile
Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Deborah R. (Nelson) and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr., who were in a band together, Daddy Warbucks. He is of English, as well as some German, Scottish, and Swiss-German, ancestry. Marshall spent his early childhood being shoved ...
2. Kendrick Lamar
Soundtrack | Black Panther
Kendrick Lamar is a hip-hop artist from Compton, California. He's signed with Dr. Dre's label, Aftermath. Kendrick also has his own label, known as 'Top Dawg Entertainment', with includes artists such as Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q and Ab Soul. Kendrick's major label debut album, 'good kid m.A.A.d city' ...
3. Drake
Actor | Degrassi: The Next Generation
Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Dennis Graham, an African-American musician born in Memphis, Tennessee, and Sandi (Sher) Graham, a Canadian Jewish educator. As a young man, Drake appeared in several commercials, for such retailers as Sears and GMC. In 2001, Drake rose ...
4. J. Cole
Soundtrack | Project X
Jermaine Cole (a.k.a. J.Cole) was originally born in Germany. But his origins are from North Carolina/Charlotte and he never hides it. He was signed by Jay-Z as the first artist for his record label Roc Nation. He dropped his first mix tape there, 'The Warm Up' and it had received great reviews ...
5. Jay-Z
Soundtrack | The Harder They Fall
Jay-Z was born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. Carter was a school friend of The Notorious B.I.G.. He first started releasing records in the late 1980s. In 1990, he appeared on records by his close friend, Jas ("The Originators") and Original Flavor ("...
6. Snoop Dogg
Actor | Training Day
Snoop Dogg is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, media personality, entrepreneur, and actor.
His music career began in 1992 when he was discovered by Dr. Dre and featured on Dre's solo debut, "Deep Cover", and then on Dre's solo debut album, The Chronic. He has since sold over 23 ...
7. Travis Scott
Soundtrack | Tenet
Jacques Bermon Webster II (born April 30, 1991), better known by his stage name Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. His stage name is the namesake of a favorite uncle combined with the first name of one of his inspirations, Kid Cudi ...
8. Ye
Soundtrack | The Great Gatsby
Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer. His musical career has been marked by dramatic changes in styles, incorporating an eclectic range of influences including soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock, ...
9. 50 Cent
Soundtrack | Get Rich or Die Tryin'
50 Cent (Curtis James Jackson) is an American rapper, actor, producer, and entrepreneur.
He began a musical career and in 2000 he produced Power of the Dollar for Columbia Records, but days before the planned release he was shot and the album was never released. In 2002, after Jackson released the ...
10. Post Malone
Actor | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Austin Richard Post, known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer.
Post was born in Syracuse, New York, the son of Nicole Frazier Lake, from Walton, NY, and Rich Post. His father had been a disc jockey in his youth and introduced Post to many ...
11. Tip 'T.I.' Harris
Actor | Ant-Man
T.I. was born Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. on September 25, 1980, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Violeta Morgan and Clifford "Buddy" Harris, Sr. He is also known as T.I.P. and "Rubberband Man". T.I. is from the streets of Westside Bankhead Zone 1 in Atlanta. His original stage name, T.I.P., it stems from ...
12. Ludacris
Actor | Crash
Ludacris was born Christopher Brian Bridges in Champaign, Illinois, where he was raised, the son of Roberta Shields and Wayne Brian Bridges. At nine years old, he started rapping. He attended Emerson Middle School and, eventually, Oak Park and River Forest High School for his freshman year. ...
13. Jeezy
Soundtrack | The Bling Ring
Jay Wayne Jenkins, better known by his stage name Jeezy (formerly Young Jeezy), is an American rapper.
In 1998, he launched the label imprint CTE World (then known as Corporate Thugz Entertainment). Aside from his solo career, Jeezy is the de facto leader of the southern hip hop group United Streets...
Professionally known as Young Jeezy
14. Jadakiss
Soundtrack | Blade II
Jadakiss was born on May 22, 1975 in Yonkers, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Blade II (2002), Exit Wounds (2001) and Are We There Yet? (2005).
15. Lil' Wayne
Soundtrack | Suicide Squad
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is commonly regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and often cited as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
16. Rick Ross
Soundtrack | Suicide Squad
With eight #1 and #2 Soundscan original studio albums, and four Grammy Award® nominations under his belt since 2006, Rick Ross was a core artist on the Def Jam roster. His drawing power was established virtually overnight when, in an earlier digital era, his 2006 label debut, "Hustlin'" became the ...
17. Nas
Soundtrack | Belly
Nas, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973, is the son of Olu Dara, an unconventional jazz musician. At age nine he was a member of the Devastatin' Seven in the mid-1980s, the fruits of which can be heard on his 1994 debut, "Illmatic," which was released on Columbia/SME later that ...
18. Nelly
Soundtrack | The Longest Yard
Nelly went to Spain with his father, Air Force Man Cornall Haynes Sr., until he was 3 years old, then moved to St. Louis. Nelly's folks struggled financially and split up when he was 7. As the youngest child in the neighborhood he grew up getting into trouble with the big kids. As a result he ended...
19. Nicki Minaj
Actress | The Other Woman
Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982 in St. James, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago and raised in Queens, New York City, New York. She grew up in a troubled family with a father that was a drug addict who later changed after he checked into rehab and started going to church. ...
20. Game
Actor | Street Kings
Jayceon Taylor was born on November 29, 1979 in Compton, California. He was born into a life of gang-banging and hustling. When later interviewed, Taylor, aka The Game says at a young age, he recalls seeing both of his parents preparing to do drive-bys. His father was a Nutty Block Crip and his ...
Professionally known as The Game
21. Quavo
Soundtrack | The First Purge
Quavo was born Quavious Keyate Marshall on April 2, 1991 in Athens, Georgia & raised in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Outside of Migos, Quavo has been featured on four singles that have peaked within the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, including DJ Khaled's I'm the One and No Brainer the former of which...
22. André 3000
Actor | Four Brothers
André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi.
Benjamin has also acted in films and television series such ...
23. A$AP Rocky
Actor | Dope
American rapper from Manhattan, New York City. Rakim is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker. Rocky released his debut mix-tape Live. Love. A$AP, in 2011. The success of his mix-tape led to a record deal with Polo Grounds Music, RCA Records, and Sony Music ...
24. Schoolboy Q
Soundtrack | The Edge of Seventeen
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper from South Central Los Angeles, California. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late 2011, ...
25. Wiz Khalifa
Soundtrack | Fast & Furious 7
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), known professionally as Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and actor. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His Eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban ...
26. Future
Soundtrack | Fast & Furious 7
Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn (born November 20, 1983), better known by the stage name Future, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his mumble-styles vocals and prolific output, Future is considered a pioneer of the use of melody and vocal effects in modern trap music...
27. Cardi B
Actress | Hustlers
Cardi B was born Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar on October 11, 1992 in Manhattan, New York City, New York & raised in The Bronx, New York City, New York. She became an Internet celebrity after several of her posts and videos became popular on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to 2017, she appeared as a ...
28. Tariq Trotter
Soundtrack | Zoolander 2
As Co-Founder of The Roots, a critically acclaimed solo artist, actor, writer, activist, producer, and creator, Tariq Trotter-aka Black Thought-has quietly affirmed himself as one of the most prolific, prescient, and powerful voices in hip-hop.
Over the course of his career, he has won three GRAMMY®...
Professionally known as Black Thought
29. Ghostface Killah
Soundtrack | Iron Man
Born and raised in the heart of Staten Island, New York, Ghostface Killah, born Dennis Coles, is a very well-known member of Wu-Tang Clan, the celebrated hip-hop group. Emerging from a childhood filled with poverty, he puts his all into his projects and everything he rhymes about basically stems ...
30. Gucci Mane
Actor | Spring Breakers
Gucci Mane is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with "Trap House" followed by "Hard to Kill" in 2006, "Trap-A-Thon" and "Back to the Trap House" in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album" The State vs. Radric Davis" was released, and The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted was released in 2010, and ...
31. Young Thug
Soundtrack | Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip hop and trap music. Known for his eccentric vocal style ...
32. Dizzee Rascal
Soundtrack | Kingsman: The Secret Service
Dylan Kwabena Mills MBE (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bass line, British hip hop, and R&B.
Dizzee Rascal released his debut album Boy in DA Corner in ...
33. Tyler the Creator
Soundtrack | Tyler, the Creator: Yonkers
Tyler, The Creator is an American musician in all aspects, including producing, directing music videos as well as writing and performing as an artist. He was born in Boulder, Colorado as Tyler Okonma to a single mother. In 2008 Tyler, The Creator founded the hip-hop collective Odd Future, a ...
34. 21 Savage
Soundtrack | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Born in Newham, England and raised on the Eastside of Atlanta, 21 Savage, comes from a background of poverty, struggle, crime, and violence. This pain and anger come across as a clear message in his music, do not mess with me or my people. Starting with his debut mixtape 'The Slaughter Starting ...
35. G-Eazy
Soundtrack | The Fate of the Furious
Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), known professionally as G-Eazy, is an American rapper and philanthropist from Oakland, California. His first major-label album, These Things Happen, was released on June 23, 2014 and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200. His second studio album, When ...
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