Hank was actually Cold Crush's manager at the time. Yet despite all these accomplishments, Caz's biggest claim to fame Is being the man whose lyrics were jacked by Big Bank Hank for the Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight,' the first rap song to hit the Billboard Top 40. Hailed as the first to rap and DJ simultaneously, he earned the title Grandmaster Caz and became the standout member of the legendary Cold Crush Brothers, rocking countless park jams, recording singles for the Tuff City label, and battling the Fantastic Five in the seminal hip-hop movie, Wild Style. Illustrations by Dale Edwin MurrayВ ( The first person to DJ and rap simultaneously, raps were stolen for 'Rapper's Delight'ДЄfter experiencing one of DJ Kool Herc's early hip-hop parties for the first time, Bronx-born Curtis Fisher got himself two turntables and a mic and adopted the name Casanova Fly. So the question remains: Who got the props? Sue us.) Complex is proud to present t he Best Rapper Alive, Every Year Since 1979,В a comprehensive look back at every year of rap and which MC moved the crowd the most. There have been debates amongВ rap fans living in that moment since the early days of hip-hop, but those discussions have never been properly cataloged-until now! (Yeah, we're excited. You can look back on the hip-hop terrain with 20/20 hindsight, tally up the votes, and declare the GOATs, but the Best Rapper Alive from year to year is a feeling in the moment. And being at yourВ best doesnвЂ™t make you theВ best, so if your prime coincides with someone elseвЂ™s, well, hey, thereвЂ™s always next year.

Of course in hip-hop, being the best is intrinsically about being BIG. Being the BRA doesnвЂ™t mean youвЂ™re the biggest or the most successful it just means you're the Best at one particular moment.

ItвЂ™s still important to consider that the Best Rapper Alive debate is different from the GOAT conversation. (What facts? ItвЂ™s all just opinion anyway.) When a rapper steps in front of a microphone, and everyone in hip-hop has no choice but to look their way and give props, well then, they just might be the Best Rapper Alive. But one thing we know for sure, itвЂ™s more about a general feeling among fans rather than any discernible facts. Much like rap itself, itвЂ™s an evolving process. You can confidently declare the Best Rapper Alive in any given year without having to consider previous decades, the same way you can say LeBronВ is an MVP even though youвЂ™ve never seen Jerry West play.ДЄnyone can become the Best Rapper Alive.В Some came out the gate with next-level rhymes that had everyone running back to the lab for others it was a culmination of their gifts that coalesced for one great year. A debate that gawks at the cultural landscape and plucks out the one who stands alone: the debate about who is the Best Rapper Alive.В Being the BRA is sort of like being the MVP-even though rap doesnвЂ™t follow a rigid cultural calendar quite like major sports seasons-because it only requires looking at the current crop of active artists and picking a winner. A debate that pits a rapper in their prime against any and all competitors. A debate that considers both the short-term and long-term implications of an artistвЂ™s impact. ItвЂ™s rapвЂ™s imaginary Hall of Fame, existing only within the abstract conversations we have about it.Д«ut there is one debate that every rap fan not only loves to have but ought to have. Rookies and new jacks need not apply-this debate is strictly for the catalog artists, people who have shifted the culture in previously unmovable ways, artists whose music has permeated and resonated over an extended period of time. The favorite rapper discussion is cool and all, but the coveted distinction in hip-hop is still being named the GOATВ ( Greatest of All Time).

If youвЂ™re rooting for the rookie of the year or a washed-up veteran experiencing a career resurgence or someone no one has heard of as your favorite, then so be it. Rap fans tend to get into arguments with other rap fans, and it doesn't take much more than someone declaring their Favorite Rapper.В Your favorite rapper is a personal preference, one that requires the most subjectiveВ defenses.

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