FEATURED Complex's Top 15 NY Rappers of All Time

[Goldie]

As of right now I think number 1 should be Nas.

ABW hottake of the week.

 

[Chi-Town B]

As of right now I think number 1 should be Nas. Rakim should be top 5 and ice spice and pop smoke shouldn't be on the list

Nah Jay had a better run than Nas, but Nas should be over Biggie

 

[Chi-Town B]

Nicki shouldn't even be no where near top 10

 

[willhustle]

Nah Jay had a better run than Nas, but Nas should be over Biggie

I put it like this in terms of Jay vs Nas in their prime yrs between '96 - 03, Jay had the better catalog during that period. When Jay returned in '06 his joints were sub-par or trash while Nas albums continued to get better throughout the yrs with maybe 1 or 2 bad albums from him. Jay-Z best albums since his return were American Gangster & 4:44.

Off-topic: I think the albums that Nas & Jay put in '99 & '06 weren't that good.

 

[Disanthrope]

Stop putting biggie over Nas

Fucking stop it. Y'all don't even believe that, it's just propaganda you've been fed

 

[Chi-Town B]

Biggie keep getting the he died power up

 

[Goldie]

While Biggie was alive he was better than Nas, but Nas has had almost 30 extra years to build his catalog.

Nas and Big are 4/5 on my list, but I normally got Nas at 4 and Big at 5.

 

[Chi-Town B]

I'll forever say Kim over Nicki

 

[already home_17]

i’ve never seen nicki ranked on any individuals top rappers list

but according to these magazines she’s top 10 DOA lol

 

[Goldie]

In 2023, platforms feel obligated to include a female in everything.


If ESPN did a top 10 basketball players of alltime, Cheryl Miller will be in there.

 

[Natural Born Sinners]

lol At Lil Kim and Nicki Minaj in the top 10. I mean damn, if you want a female presence, how you going to put those two over Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte, and Lauryn Hill?

Lauryn Hill gets the most disrespect in hip hop. Just bc she refused to sell pussy and engage in other attention seeking behaviors

 

[Natural Born Sinners]

Exactly. Anytime someone makes one of these lists, there are a few random ass “why is this person there” spots to “get the people going” lol

 

[Natural Born Sinners]

Top 3 NY rappers:

1. Biggie
2. Nas
3. Jay-Z

I ain't even trippin' because Complex has always been on some culture vulture shit. To put Jay over Big is disrespect imo.

Depends on the criteria. I think Biggie is a better rapper than big. But if we incorporate other factors, Jay could go 1. Longevity, impact, the amount of music.

 

[The Lonious Monk]

Lauryn Hill gets the most disrespect in hip hop. Just bc she refused to sell pussy and engage in other attention seeking behaviors

Nah I don't think that's it. I think most people just believe she went crazy at some point. She also burned fans by showing up later or not at all to concerts. At one point, Lauryn was probably the most respected female rap artist.

 

[Playmaker88]

None of this shit matters but you can't put big over jay..

 

[5 Grand]

While Biggie was alive he was better than Nas, but Nas has had almost 30 extra years to build his catalog.

Nas and Big are 4/5 on my list, but I normally got Nas at 4 and Big at 5.

I remember I was visiting family in New Jersey in the summer of 1995. At the time Hot 97 had the following songs in heavy rotation

One More Chance/Stay With Me (Remix)
Can't You See - Total
Players Anthem
Flavor In Your Ear (Remix)
One More Chance (Hip Hop Mix)

Hot 97 would play one of those songs, then play another song by another artist, then play another song by Big, then play another song by another artist, then play another song by Big and repeat.

My point is that Hot 97 was playing a Big song every other song.

Nas never had Hot 97 on lock like that.


Then, when I moved to NYC in the summer of 97 they were playing

Hypnotize
Mo Money Mo Problems
The Benjamins
Been Around The World
Victory


Nas never had Hot 97 in a chokehold.