There is no fence-riding in hip-hop. It is the most competitive genre of music, partly because of the way it formed and partly because it remains the newest major movement. So there is no shortage of hatred going around.
But sometimes, someone does something so heinous they transcend artistic disagreement. Just such a thing recently happened, and in this man’s honor, we present the ten most hated people in hip-hop. Some of this list’s entrants are merely annoying and some are antagonistic people, but only one allegedly impersonated his dying bandmate in order to steal his royalty checks. This one goes out to you, Solar.
10. Lil’ Wayne: There’s a heavy-weighs-the-crown element to the mass hatred, i.e. if you sell a million copies of your album in a week, the opinions will be loud and fervent on both sides. But there are plenty of other ways Wayne has earned the ire of so many: Braggadocio is part of the deal, but this guy recorded a song called “Best Rapper Alive” before anyone could have possibly believed it. And then there’s the rock album, further proof that he just does whatever he wants, logic be damned. And who else can get away with kissing their “dad” on the lips?
9. 50 Cent: Did you know 50 Cent is among the top five richest men in hip-hop? It seems shocking given the downhill slope that is both his rapping and record executive career. And no one except maybe his protege Eminem picks more fights with his peers.
8. Eazy-E: By and large, this list represents today’s most hated hip-hoppers, but some people just transcend. Eazy-E is the poster boy for thug rappers. This guy is a big reason your mom is uncomfortable with rap. You can make a credible case that he broke up N.W.A. by allegedly stealing money from the group. Dr. Dre, as you know, didn’t take it too well.
7. Vanilla Ice: We are pretty much of the opinion that Vanilla Ice is harmless, but you cannot Google “most hated rapper” without getting a thousand nominations for this guy. Really, “Ice Ice Baby” represents corporate interests trumping good music, but in hindsight it looks a lot like Robert Van Winkle was as much a victim as anything.
6. Eminem: Eminem built his persona around being hated, lashing out at other rappers, society, you, whoever was within earshot. Especially early in his career, the whole idea was to act as a mirror for everything we hate about the world. He’s calmed down considerably lately, and you can sense the tension waning. But even today, this dude comes out kicking.
5. Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em: The ringtone rapper incarnate. Thanks for causing thousands of kids to do a dance centered around a disgusting sex act.
4. Kanye West: Rap heads hate him because he’s soft, and everyone else hates him because he’s annoying. In this case, the editorial “we” won’t work because I’m the only Kanye sympathizer writing regularly for this here blog, but all this peripheral stuff seems pretty harmless to me. Would you even know Taylor Swift had won a VMA if it weren’t for Kanye? His next album is going to be called Good Ass Job, which is unlikely to change people’s opinion.
3. Ja Rule: Homophobia is something the rap world is only just now starting to get over, and Ja Rule, fair or not, is pegged as especially intolerant. His rapping career, meanwhile, is much more defined by the people he’s pissed off than anything he’s actually done.
2. Suge Knight: Did he have anything to do with the shooting of Tupac? Probably not, but don’t tell the conspiracy theorists: This is a man who gets knocked out in front of a night club, and YouTube practically throws a national holiday. And even if you don’t buy the Tupac thing, Suge’s not exactly Santa Clause. Not just anyone can go on a talk show and have the laughs come from being a terrifying disaster-rod.
1. Solar: In case you haven’t been following the story, Solar is an evil, evil man. While his former partner Guru was dying, Solar was allegedly doing everything from discouraging him from getting treatment to setting up a fake charity in Guru’s name and taking the money. When someone hacked Solar’s email account (and Twitter and myspace), it became clear that whatever bad things we thought he might be doing, he was doing. And then some. The silver lining (and it is a thin lining indeed) is that Guru is finally getting the credit and adulation he so richly deserves.
Honorable Mention : Jay-Z, Nikki Minaj, Gucci Mane, Lil Romeo – If we missed anyone drop a comment and let us know!
Comments
May I link to your post?
thank you for your sharing. I like it.
Excellent Site…Wow!
Greets from Canada
Wyclef is really a great artist. His featuring with Timbaland was the best song I’ve heard. he’s going to be president of Haiti. Can’t wait for his next album
That is very interesting. It provided me a number of ideas and I’ll be writing them on my web site soon. I’m bookmarking your site and I’ll be back. Thanks again!
what about miley cyrus?
did you hear about the guy that kanye chose to follow on twitter? apparently he has tons of twitter followers now!
where is puff daddy?
This is a little off discussion, which I apologize for, but would you and your readers mind voicing your opinion about the recent oil spill, you’re opinion seriously helps and I can’t thank you enough for taking a few seconds to give it. I left the link in the appropriate field, thank you!
If you are careful enough, nothing bad or good will ever happen to you.
I really like the way Jennifer Hudson looks these days. She is very stunning now!
I actually decided to make a quick movie about this, I would be grateful if you could maybe take a minute to check it and perhaps leave a message about what you think, I left the video link in the “website” field, hopefully you can get to it, thanks a lot
Super-Duper web page! I’m loving it!! Will come back once more – getting you feeds also, Thanks.
Wonderful blog! I really love how it’s effortless on my eyes as well as the facts is well written. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which must do the trick! Have a nice day!
Thank you for this very informative article, I wish you much success in all you do. Dominic
Very good information and facts, a lot of thanks to the creator. The idea is perplexing to me today, but in general, the efficacy and significance is mind-boggling. Really much thanks again and all the best .!
I love your site. Joseph