YW's Fifty Greatest Rappers of All Time: 50-41

This list has been put together, not so much in an attempt to end the best rapper argument, but rather to catalyze such arguments, cuz lets be serious, there is nothing more fun than arguing about hip hop. There were eleven judges who rated about 150 rappers on a scale from one (the worst) to ten (the best). From YW: NickName, The Stratatician, Angerfield, Jim Thuggin, Pizza Bagel, J Store, and myself participated, as well as Steve from I Smell Like Money, Hima from Gordon Gartrelle, and our esteemed associates Breezy, and Beauregard P Grimes. The fifty rappers (and rap groups) with the highest averages are on this list.
*I should note that in the cases of Outkast, The Lox, and Wu Tang, both individuals within the groups, as well as the groups themselves are on the list. Without further ado, let's get it on.

50) The GZA
Average Score: 6.55
Government Name: Gary Grice
Alias: The Genius
Known For: His role in Wu Tang and his success as a solo artist. GZA is a thoughtful, off-beat lyricist, with an unconventional hard-hitting flow.
Essential Album: Liquid Swords (1995)

49) Run DMC
Average Score: 6.69
Members: Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell
Sponsor: Adidas
Known For: Widely considered to be the first group to expose hip hop to the mainstream. Run DMC is responsible for over a dozen singles throughout the 1980's.
Essential Album: Raising Hell (1986)

48) MF Doom
Average Score: 6.71
Government Name: Daniel Dumile
Aliases: Doom, Victor Vaughn, Zev Love X, King Geedorah, The Supervillain
Known For: His career started as the front-man of KMD in the early nineties, a trio who is best known for their role on 3rd Bass' single Gas Face. Doom has recorded around fifteen albums over the last 15 years, including collaborative efforts with Danger Mouse and MadLib. Doom is one of the greatest underground rappers in history, with a surprisingly on-beat flow, a wide range of content, and abstract lyrics which range from hardly-intelligible to unnervingly vivid.
Essential Album: Vaudville Villain (2003)

Tied 45) DMX
Average Score: 6.8
Government Name: Earl Simmons
Number of albums which peaked at number one on the Billboard Charts: Five
Number of arrests as a celebrity: Eight
Myth and Legend: In the mid-1990s, a major label A&R went to see an emcee showcase exhibiting the budding Yonkers rap scene. A young DMX had his jaw wired shut, but upon hearing about the A&R's presence, chose to rap anyway. As Dark Man X barreled through a verse, the crowd was shocked as they heard the wires which held his jaw together break apart, one by one, until by the end of his performance, DMX was rapping with full jaw movement and small pieces of metal sticking out of his mouth.
Essential Album: It's Dark and Hell is Hot (1998)

Tied 45) Big Boi
Average Score: 6.8
Government Name: Antwan Patton
Aliases: Daddy Fat Sacks, General Patton, Sir Lucious L. Leftfoot, Billy Ocean, Hot Tub Tony
Known For: Often considered "the other guy" in Outkast, Big Boi is a great, rapid-fire emcee, and international superstar in his own right. He has been featured on 32 non-Outkast projects, runs Purple-Ribbon Records, has starred in three major motion pictures, and is releasing his first true solo album "Sir Lucious Left Foot" this year.
Essential Album: ATLiens (1996)

Tied 45) AZ
Average Score: 6.8
Government Name: Anthony Cruz
Record Labels he's been on: EMI, Virgin, Motown, Koch, Quiet Money/ Fastlife
Known For: Despite limited commercial success, AZ is well respected for his almost-perfect flow, complex rhyme schemes, and long-time alliance with Nas. In fact, AZ is perhaps most famous for his verse on Nas' song Life's a Bitch off the legendary 1994 release Illmatic. A legitimate argument could be made for AZ's Life's a Bitch verse being the best one on an album which is widely considered to be the best hip-hop album in history.
Essential Album: Doe or Die (1995)

Tied 43) Raekwon
Average Score: 6.85
Government Name: Corey Woods
Primary Alias: The Chef
How he got his Nickname: Raekwon is known to be a very good cook, especially with the seafood.
Known For: Raekwon had a formative role in Wu-Tang, but is perhaps best known for his first solo album, Only Built for Cuban Links.... Often paired with Ghostface, The Chef has a unique "hit you over the head" approach delivery, providing a vivid description of "that real hood shit".
Essential Album: Only Built for Cuban Links... (1995)

Tied 43) Busta Rhymes
Average Score: 6.85
Government Name: Trevor Tamerri Smith, Jr.
Certified Gold and Platinum Singles: Nineteen
Known For: With the 1996 release of Woo Ha!, Busta hit the rap game hard with his high energy, afro-centrism on steroids style...and he never really left, as he is still making relevant radio music 13 years later.
Essential Album: When Disaster Strikes (1997)

Tied 40) The Lost Boyz
Average Score: 6.9
Group Members: Mr Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Pretty Lou, DJ Spigg Nice
Where Are They Now: Cheeks is still rapping, now on his own label Diane's Boyz. Freaky Tah was murdered in 1999, at the age of 27. In 2004, DJ Spigg Nice was arrested, tried and convicted in connection with a string of bank robberies in New Jersey. He is now serving a 37 year sentence. No information is available on the whereabouts of pretty Lou.
Known For: The Lost Boyz are more or less a combination of Mr Cheeks as the lead emcee, Freaky Tah as the hypeman, and Spigg Nice as the DJ. The are probably best known for their classic singles Jeeps, Lex, Coups, Bimaz & Benz, and Renee.
Sidenote: The tragic story of The Lost Boyz reached its happiest hour in 1996, with the release of Legal Drug Money, which, in my opinion, is one of the best rap albums in history.
Essential Album: Legal Drug Money (1996)

Tied 40) Cee-Lo
Average Score: 6.9
Government Name: Thomas Decarlo Callaway
Number of Songs with Outkast: Eight
Sounds like a cross between: Mahalia Jackson and a cartoon baby
Known For: Lo has seen the most commercial success as a collaborator, first with Goodie Mob, and more recently as half of the duo Gnarls Barkley. As a solo artist, he might be considered more of a singer than a rapper, but is a well respected emcee with an almost spoken-word delivery and an unconventionally high-pitched voice.
Essential Album: Cee-Lo Green...is the Soul Machine (2004)