Continuing on with the Top 50 Hip Hop Groups of all time, this is the final stretch … you’ve seen the bottom 25, and now it’s time to cap it off
Again, there are some surprises as far as ranking, at least in my opinion … either way my personal ranking will be included so you will see what I thought
Do remember; The only caveat or rule: Each group must have at least TWO emcees … no Emcee/DJ duos allowed (Gangstarr, Eric B and Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, etc.) That will be a list for the future
Also, any group that received a 1st place vote will have how many 1st place votes they received in (parentheses) next to the name
Enough of all that, let’s get to the list! (And again, dont blame me)
As an added bonus, listen to me and one of the list’s contributors @AmazingJayce discuss (and debate) the list in full
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:50:39 — 152.0MB)
Top 50 Hip Hop Groups of All Time (50 – 25)
24. Cypress Hill
Highest Rank: 10
My Rank: 51 (Not Ranked)
The California crew who everyone thought were from NY at the time lol B-Real known for the high nasally voice, Sen Dog for his ad libs and DJ Muggs dropped How I could just kill a man and The Phuncky Feel One and never looked back
23. Sugar hill Gang
Highest Rank: 9
My Rank: 13
The Original Sugar featured New Jersey rappers Master Gee, Wonder Mike and Big Bank Hank helped bring Hip Hop to the main stream courtesy of their hit “Rappers Delight”, they also created the less celebrated classics 8th Wonder and Apache
22. 8 Ball and MJG
Highest Rank: 8
My Rank: 51 (Not Ranked)
Premro and Marlon took advantage of the big Rap boom in the south and put Suave House on the map with Comin Out Hard and On the Outside looking in … later signing to Bad Boy and then TI’s Grand Hustle
21. Black Star
Highest Rank: 11
My Rank: 49
Brooklyn emcees Mos Def (or Yasiin Bey) and Talib Kweli combined to become Black Star in 1997 and dropped critically acclaimed album which featured their hit Definition
20. Goodie Mob
Highest Rank: 6
My Rank: 51 (Not Ranked)
Big Gipp, Khujo, T-Mo, and Cee-Lo in 1991 and formed The Good Die M.ostly O.ver B.ullshit and went gold with their singles Cell Therapy, Dirty South, and Soul Food.
19. Whodini
Highest Rank: 8
My Rank: 10
Ecstasy, The Rapper Jalil, and Grandmaster D have more classic singles than most people realize, the crew made songs on a myriad of topics and could always rock the party with 5 min of funk and the freaks come out at night
18. Naughty By Nature
Highest Rank: 6
My Rank: 45
The New Style Posse dropped Independent Thinkers to no fanfare but ones OPP hit Naughty By Nature and the Naughty Bats and Bed sheets quickly became one of Raps most popular mainstream groups.
17. Bone thugs N Harmony
Highest Rank: 8
My Rank: 51 (Not Ranked)
The Cleveland crew with the stamp of approval from Hip Hop legend Easy E. brought one of the most unique sounds to the game and took the world by storm with their thuggish ruggish sound.
16. UGK
Highest Rank: 8
My Rank: 51 (Not Ranked)
The Underground Kings Bun B and Pimp C are loved coast to coast for their raw sound and related lyrics
15. Brand Nubian
Highest Rank: 11
My Rank: 20
Grand Puba’s second group proved to be his most successful, he along with Sadat (nee Derek) X, and Lord Jamar made many hip hop fans “slow down” and love the “Sunshine”
14. Geto Boys
Highest Rank: 9
My Rank: 23
The true pioneers of southern rap, Akshun, Willie D, and Bushwick opened Hip Hop eyes of what was going down south of the mason Dixon lines, Grip that on the other level was gritty and incredible when it dropped.
13. The Fugees
Highest Rank: 8
My Rank: 30
Somehow Lauryn Hill has managed to carry Praswell and Wyclef up to being ranked 13 all time off the strength of L Boogies lyrics, Clefs guitar and two albums (which most people only remember The Score)
12. Mobb Deep
Highest Rank: 6
My Rank: 11
The Infamous Mobb Deep a surprise this high are definitely worthy based off of the survival of the fittest album, probably top 10 Hip Hop albums dropped in the entire 90s
11. Salt N Pepa
Highest Rank: 2
My Rank: 9
The First females of Hip Hop groups (Peace to The Sequence) formerly Super Nature: Sandy and Cheryl along with Dee Dee gave women a much needed voice in hip hop and gave men someone to lust after
The Top 10 Hip Hop Groups of All Time
10. Beastie Boys
Highest Rank: 4
My Rank: 8
Ad Rock, Mike D and MCA (Rest in Peace) were more Hip Hop than a lot of their peers, their music is fun and energetic Licensed to ill is one of the best produced hip hop albums ever.
9. De La Soul
Highest Rank: 4
My Rank: 4
The Plugs: Dove, Pos, and Mase changed the game with not only their lyrics and style but they also introduced the skits to Hip Hop albums
8. EPMD
Highest Rank: 2
My Rank: 2
Erick and Parrish Makin Dollars, brought a level of street, humor, and “business” that’s unparalleled so many classic singles from strictly and Unfinished Business Albums
7. Outkast (4)
Highest Rank: 1
My Rank: 33
A very critically acclaimed group, applauded for their originality and celebrated for their catalog
6. NWA
Highest Rank: 3
My Rank: 7
They weren’t the first of the West Coast rappers but the Compton crew successfully put LA on the map as far as the landscape of Hip Hop, Straight out of Compton is a classic in anyone’s definition.
5. The Roots
Highest Rank: 2
My Rank: 16
The second of the Hip Hop Bands but clearly the more accomplished, the instrumentation combined with the lyrical dexterity of Black Thought (Also Malik B and Dice Raw) solidifies this groups place in the top 10 of all time
4. Public Enemy (2)
Highest Rank: 1
My Rank: 5
Chuck D, Flavor flav, Terminator X, and Professor Griff … along with the Security of the First world Created Yo! Bum Rush the Show and it takes a nation of Millions and helped usher in awareness in Hip Hop
3. Wu-Tang Clan (6)
Highest Rank: 1
My Rank: 6
Staten Island’s finest The Wu-Tang Clan ambushed the game with originality, production, and lyrical content never seen before
2. A Tribe Called Quest (2)
Highest Rank: 1
My Rank: 3
From the Native Tongues crew, Tribe’s first three albums Peoples Ins, The Low end theory, and Midnight Marauders are all considered Hip hop Classics
1. Run-DMC (4)
Highest Rank: 1
My Rank: 1
The Kings from Queens … The greatest Rap Group of all time, the pioneers of the whole game look at their catalog of classics it’s hard to disagree
That’s the list … that’s it
FYI The 51 – 60 was: The Clipse, Jungle Brothers, Capone and Noreaga, 3rd Base, Above The Law, Digable Planets, Lost Boyz, Slaughterhouse, X Clan, Stetsasonic, Westside Connection …
Who got snubbed?
Who’s overrated?
Hit the Comments!
Thank you again to all that helped put the list together … new one coming soon.