Melle Mel has once again stirred the pot, this time claiming Nicki Minaj should not come before Rakim or LL COOL J on any top rappers list.
In the latest segment from his conversation with The Art of Dialogue, the Hip Hop pioneer has given his thoughts on Nicki Minaj coming in at No. 10 on Billboard and VIBE’s 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list ahead of Rakim (No.13) and LL Cool J (No. 14). According to Mel, there’s no way Nicki should come before the Hip Hop legends.
“You know that’s some bullshit, come on now,” Melle Mel said when asked about Nicki coming in the Top 10. “[Big Daddy Kane] and them and Rakim and them they done put up 40, come on now, and I actually like Nicki Minaj but that’s some bullshit. You gotta understand what Hip Hop really is, whoever made what record.”
He added: “Rakim should never be [No. 14] because his style changed the game. The average rapper, from a certain point to a certain point, you had to rap like Rakim. The only time cats from my era that we had to alter our style to be more up-to-date with what he was doing and what was going on when he started rhyming within the rhymes and all that.”
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