Best Rappers Alive

Choosing the best rappers of all time is impossible. It's like any halls of fame for sports or music. Somebody is always going to be left off the list. People will always argue over the various choices. However, the following list includes 10 great rappers, without question. Are they the best of all time? Well, go ahead and argue among yourselves. 

1. Chuck D. Public Enemy was praised as the Black CNN back in the day. That's because, with Chuck D's authoritative rapping, this act gave urban America the news not found in the mainstream media. When they gave us "Fight The Power", it became an almost immediate anthem.
2. Jay-Z. Jay-Z headlined a recent Coachella Valley Music Festival. This is usually the domain of White hipsters. Yet Jay-Z transcends the usual Black music constrictions. He's bigger than the genre that gave his career birth.
3. Eminem. With "Love The Way You Lie", his recent single featuring Rihanna, Eminem broke through to the pop audience in a way he never had before. In pop music, where Lady Gaga and Katy Perry get way too much attention, we really need Eminem's strong voice.
4. Snoop Dogg. Sure, we can all joke about Snoop Dogg's love of weed. Yet this weed-loving, Lakers-loving, youth football-coaching rapper is also a talented rapper, with a unique Long Beach, West Coast slant on the genre.
5. Lil Wayne. Prison couldn't keep Lil Wayne out of the limelight. After all, how many pop stars have been on the cover of Rolling Stone while still in the joint? Well, Lil Wayne has, for one. Like Snoop Dogg, he is also a bit of a comical character. But it's impossible not to recognize that weezy voice whenever it comes on the radio.
6. Ice Cube. Before Ice Cube became better known for his Barbershop movies and TBS comedy series, "Are We There Yet?," the man was a pivotal member of N.W.A., that straight out of Compton, gangsta rap act.
7. LL Cool J. LL Cool J is another rapper better known to new fans for his screen work. He stars in "NCIS: Los Angeles." Yet pioneering songs, like "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Mama Said Knock You Out", are some of the greatest early examples of rap music.
8. KRS One. KRS One was a member of the groundbreaking Boogie Down Productions. He's a rarity in rap music by being a peace maker. He's been a part of the Stop the Violence Movement.
9. 2Pac. Rolling Stone Magazine named him in the top 100 artists of all time, which is saying something when you consider all the variations of rock & roll throughout the years. He was one of the greatest East Coast rappers. Sadly, he was shot to death in Las Vegas in 1996, after attending a Mike Tyson fight.
10. The Notorious B.I.G. MTV put him at number 3 on their greatest MC's of all time list. He sold 17 million units in the United States. He, too, died too soon, having been shot to death in 1997.