The Best Rappers Each Year Since 1979? This Is One Messed Up List

The listicle. Clickbait 101. No matter your position on an issue, no matter how long you have followed a certain genre or medium, someone is gonna come along and start trippin’, giving their opinion on the subject without concern for how half-baked or bogus it is. Sometime, they can strike gold. In other instances, it’s a regular crapshoot, a legit lack of perspective bringing out the worst in the proposed overview. Here’s the 411 on a recent Complex list compiling the Best Rappers of each year since 1979. That’s 37 names to go through. That’s 37 aesthetic choices someone made. Instead of running down each one, it might be beneficial to discuss who didn’t make the list. There’s only one woman – Nicki Minaj. No Salt ‘N’ Pepa. No Queen Latifah. No MC Lyte – or worse yet, NO MISSY ELLIOTT. On the male side of things, a few suspect names are repeated while others – Eazy-E, Mos Def, KRS-One, DMC – get no love whatsoever. Granted, this is just one site’s opinion and as with most things GOAT it’s hard to find a clear consensus. On the other hand, there are many important names in the game that barely get a shout out – and at least one who should have three different year wins on his resume. What do you think? We’ve hit the highlights below. Get ready to argue this particular point with those who really get the rap and hip-hop game. We’re not sure if the Complex crew did. Noted Single Mention - Ice Cube (1990)