A few thoughts:
* Mos Def has the tools to be a superstar, purely on merit. He’s charismatic, he has lyrics, he’s not afraid of fun and he can flow his ass off. But he seems to have pretty much thrown that away in favor of being “experimental,” which is to say half-assed. I notice that my favorite Mos Def songs are usually the party tracks – Sex Love & Money or the one with Luda.
* Black Thought is a great MC. I don’t know what else he has to do at this point to prove that he’s a great MC. He just is. Beautiful voice, effortlessly meticulous flow.
* I am not an Eminem fan, particularly, but it needs to be said: Eminem is one of the greatest rappers of all time. He stands in the absolute upper echelon – Rakim territory. It’s now ten years later, and no one has come close to matching his skill. Sure, he doesn’t have a great voice and his shtick is a little annoying, but his skills are unmatched. Unmatched. There are other rappers with amazing technique – Busta Rhymes, Pharoahe Monch and Ludacris come to mind – but even they are a whole class below Eminem. And he’s also the greatest battle rapper of all time and probably the greatest freestyler of all time (certainly the greatest freestyler of all time who’s any good at anything else).
My favorite MCs are more like Biggie or Jay-Z, artists who’ve learned the lessons of Rakim and chosen to focus their technique on making those lessons seem effortless. But that doesn’t mean that I can ignore talent and skill like Eminem’s. The man has a special gift, and lord knows he put in his 10,000 hours.