Well, I'm probably showing my age, but in my opinion these folks had the most influence on me and over the years I've seen a lot of their influence in the evolution of rap in general. In full disclosure I am way out of date when it comes to rap and am not familiar with most people who've come out in the last 10 years or so. So here is my list:
Jalil Hutchins (Whodini)
Favorite song: Big Mouth
The album 'Escape' should be required listening for any rapper in my opinion. Big Mouth, 5 Minutes of Funk, Freaks Come out at Night etc. This was my first tape I ever owned given to me for my birthday by my sister.Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (Slick Rick)
Favorite song: La Di Da Di
Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh basically redefined the sound of rap music when he hit the scene. Growing up in Dayton Ohio every kid in in the neighborhood was jamming to Rick the Ruler! It's kind of funny because being British he rapped with an accent which got picked up as a style by many American rappers at the time, and you can still hear elements of it today.Treach (Naughty by Nature)
Favorite Song: Hip Hop Hooray
When OPP came out in 1991, anyone and everyone knew the phrase whether they knew the song or not. Hip Hooray was the jam. If you watch the video, the style, look and sound pretty much sums up that whole era of my life!Louis Freese (B-Real, Cypress Hill)
Favorite Song: How I Could Just Kill a Man or Stoned is the Way of the Walk
In my opinion Cypress Hill pioneered the loopy, scratchy rugged sample based sound of the early 90s. With B-Real's unique voice no one had ever heard anything like it when it came out. I think their first album was their best.Marshall Mathers (Eminem)
Favorite song: Too many to name
Whether you like him or not, Eminem is a phenomenal rapper, lyricist and performer. He has gotten a lot of love and hate over the years but regardless his style and delivery has been constantly copied but never quite duplicated.