The ‘God MC’ and 24-time Grammy-winner Shawn Corey Carter, aka Jay-Z, has been crowned the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe.
Billboard and Vibe released a list of the best MCs ever in honour of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The rollout of the names began on 11 January, with Billboard revealing the ranks of the rappers from 50 to 41 — the process being continued each following week. Finally, the top ten from the list were unveiled on 8 February, with Jay-Z proving his GOAT status once again.
Know more about Jay-Z as he tops the Billboard/Vibe list
How was Jay-Z selected as No.1 on the list?
While ranking the 50 top rappers, Billboard and Vibe editorial teams first decided to limit the rap arena to North America.
“We also opted not to include the significant contributions of reggaetón and dancehall MCs on this list, just to keep our pool of nominees a little more focused,” said Billboard.
Other factors taken into account while determining the best rapper include:
- body of work and achievements (charted singles/albums and gold/platinum certifications).
- cultural impact and influence of the artist’s work on the hip-hop genre’s evolution.
- longevity, lyrics and flow.
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More about the rapper
The news comes days after the Brooklynite’s five Grammy nods and a majestic performance alongside Rick Ross, 47, Lil Wayne and John Legend on their DJ Khaled-produced collaboration “God Did” at the 65th annual Grammy Awards.
The song became a blessing for rap lovers after its release in 2022 as it had Jay-Z spitting facts with his four-minute-long iconic rap verses.
As per Billboard, his achievements include 14 Billboard 200 No. 1 albums and more than 140 million sold records.
The rapper, who co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records, served as president of hip-hop’s legendary Def Jam Records. He also founded a behemoth entertainment and sports agency Roc Nation in 2008, and has stakes in two best-selling spirit brands D’usse and Armand de Brignac.
(Main and featured image credit: Recording Academy/Twitter)
