That proclamation from the Migos did get me to thinking about who are the best groups in Hip Hop history. I didn’t want to consider groups from every genre of music because I didn’t think I was knowledgeable enough to do so. Also there are so many groups from different types of music that it would have took me forever to compile a list. Even narrowing the category down to just Hip Hop took me a while because there have been so many groups who have came and went.
Nonetheless, I took on the task of selecting the top 25 best Hip Hop groups ever. It wasn’t easy because art is not something to be measured, but appreciated. In compiling my list, I took in account the success of a group. That means album sales, billboard charts and popularity. I also analyzed cultural impact, meaning what effect did the group have on changing the way listeners view the culture of Hip Hop. Thirdly, I considered longevity, not just how long the group has been around, but how effective has the group been over a period of time. Lastly, it came down to personal preference and my musical taste.
I tried to be objective as possible and be unbiased about my selections. On the other hand, it is human nature for some people to like apples over oranges and vice versa. That’s what make this list purely for entertainment and not an exact science. It is different from debating sports, where you can crunch numbers and compare players and teams based on those numbers.
I will say this though, it was fun coming up with this list. Thanks to Wikipedia, I literally went through a list of Hip Hop groups that started from number zero and ended with the letter z. I listened to religion rap, spiritual Hip Hop and groups from almost every era and every region. I didn’t include foreign groups in this list. Not because of prejudice, but more so out of of ignorance. Besides that, I have yet to witness a group or solo artist from overseas have a major impact on Hip Hop here in America. I also didn’t include collectives or crews in this list. To be more specific, the Boot Camp Click or the Asap Mob is more of a crew than group.
Along my journey, I discovered there were a lot of good groups I never heard of. By the same token, there are a lot of bad groups I never heard of. I found out cool things like Ice-T had a group with Kool Keith and discovered a young Alchemist rapping in a group with the son of the actor who played Sonny in the Godfather. I also noticed the lack of Hip Hop groups that have came out in the last five years. With the exception of Rae Sruumurd and the Migos; I can’t think of any popular rap groups out now. It’s not like the 80’s and 90’s, where you had a ton of groups on the scene. Maybe that’s why the Migos feel like they are so huge; there isn’t much competition. Anyway, if you read this long introduction to this article; thank you. I hope you enjoy my list of the top 25 Hip Hop groups of all time.