7. Boogie Down Productions
- Criminal Minded(1987)
- By All Means Necessary(1988)
- Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop(1989)
- Edutainment(1990)
- Sex and Violence(1992)
- The BDP Album(2012)
Some of the greatest artists in Hip Hop have been influenced by KRS-ONE and Boogie Down Productions. NWA sampled KRS’s lyrics on their Gangsta Gangsta song. Scarface remade I’m still #1 for one of his albums and 50 Cent always considers KRS-ONE his favorite emcee. On top of that, they made the greatest diss record, in my opinion with The Bridge is Over. Even their album covers were legendary. I could have easily put them in my top five, but there were only five slots. I was this close in putting them ahead of Eric B. and Rakim but I have Rakim as a shade ahead of KRS-ONE as a emcee.
6. Eric B & Rakim
- Paid in Full(1987)
- Follow the Leader(1988)
- Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em(1990)
- Don’t Sweat the Technique(1992)
When I first started to put this list together I was going to limit my selections to groups that had two or more emcees. Then I was going to come up with the best two-man group; like Mobb Deep, Dogg Pound, etc. Then I decided to go all out and decide who are the best groups regardless of size. I bring that up because groups that have one emcee and DJ are often broken up with the emcee being listed as a singular force. However, if you studied Hip Hop, then you know it started with the DJ, so you have to include groups that had one DJ and one emcee; that is quintessential Hip Hop. When I think of Eric B. and Rakim, I mainly think of the genius lyrics of Rakim. The thing is those lyrics are enough to put them in my top ten. It just no way around how dope of an emcee Rakim is. Their first was a classic and their second album Follow the Leader was great also.