What's up everybody? I know it's been a while since I posted. Schedule has been hectic and probably will continue to be, but it's all good. I needed to post something, though because I was missin' y'all and I can only hope y'all were waiting for the next blog, so here it is...So there is always a discussion about who is the best rapper, who has the best flow, best songs, etc, but I want to start a new conversation: who has the best voice in hip hop? It may be kind of hard to come up with a definite answer, but we can at least throw a few names out there and narrow the field down.

A few of the names that I can think of off the top of my head are Scarface, DMX, Slick Rick, Tupac, and Ice Cube. I'm sure there are plenty of others, but those are just the one's that come to mind right at the moment. All of these artists, outside of Slick Rick, have a voice that is very commanding and tend to just beat the track over the head. You can really feel their voice and these artists tend to have a more raw flow and grittier lyrics, making their presence on the track more notable. Slick Rick's slight accent and smooth flow just makes for a nice combination and helps to make his songs that much more appealing. And we all know how much he likes to sing some of the more old school songs and integrate them into his songs, and he just melodic enough to make it work. I'd have to say he probably has one of the better/more distinct voices as well.

However, one person who I think should definitely be in this category and some could probably argue does have the best voice is Method Man. I was listening to "Ice Cream" (from Raekwon's OB4CL album) and the hook is just crazy on there. Method Man held down a lot of choruses for the Clan and the reason is apparent. There's just something about his voice that is real catchy and makes good for many tracks. It's not just the hooks, but the verses as well that you can tell he just has a presence over the track. Between the voice and that slight sucking of the lips (or teeth, or whatever it is that causes him to make that sound lol), it's one of the voices that many have probably tried to mimic.

Even though we don't always take it into account, a lot of times an artists voice can impact the reception that they get from fans. The voice represents the presence that an artists has and grabs the attention of the listener. These are just a few of the MCs I could think of that just have that voice that can really capture the attention of somebody listening to the track. Any others you can think of? Leave your comments here or email at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.


Peace.