Mine: Jay Z. He makes a pretty convincing argument himself on several occasions:
Pound for pound, I'm the best to ever come around here
Excluding nobody, look what I embody:
The soul of a hustler, I really ran the street
A CEO's mind, that marketing plan was me
And no I ain't get shot up a whole bunch of times
Or make up shit in a whole bunch of lines
And I ain't animated like, say, a Busta Rhymes
But the real shit you get when you bust down my lines
Add that to the fact I went plat' a bunch of times
Times that by my influence on pop culture
I'm supposed to be number one on everybody list
We'll see what happens when I no longer exist
Fuck this
- What more can I say, Jay Z
I'm the all time heavyweight champion of flows
I'm leading the league in at least six statistical categories right now:
Best flow, most consistent, realest stories
Most charisma, I set the most trends
And my interviews are hotter
- Breathe Easy, Jay Z
Jay Z is a really good choice, I totally agree with the reasons you mentioned. My personal favorite is Wiz Khalifa though, because he's inspired me not only musically but also as a person. I got into Rap because of him and he's inspiring me on a daily basis to chase my goals and live life the way I want.
Jay-z is the very best to change this game of rap and still is. But i have plenty of other favorites that are good and some of thema re great like Jada and Andre 3000
I like Mick Jenkins. A wordsmith with the message of truth.
Birdman,Birdman all day any day.
what ur not a rap fan
Wale for sure. Double M Poetic Genius