The question has been asked numerous of times: “can one be considered “the best ” with a ghost writer”? Personally, off the rip, and as a rapper, I would say, no. As a writer, and as a deep lover of the culture in its entirety, I have to look at it from every perspective. Let’s dive in.

Hip Hop is more than a matter of dress, or dialect. It’s more than spoken word, or “vinyl vs Serato“. It is also different from the other genres of music, and it does, to a certain extent, have different rules. Hip-Hop is expression – it’s a mindset – a “lifestyle”, if you will. It is art, its cultural,and it’s all those things mentioned above. But what makes it different is, the term “biting”. It plays a part in the DJing, like when Grand Master Jay famously bit a Jazzy Jeff routine. It forced him out of DJing, and into starting NFAC (Not Fucking Around Coalition). B-Boys and pop-lockers often have static over bitten styles, moves, and routines, as do graffiti writers. Rapping is no different. There is a fine line between “paying homage” and biting. Rappers needing ghost writers, aren’t viewed much better by the “purists” of the culture.

When it comes to the specific element of emceeing, there are certain ingredients that makes an emcee “great”. The first is the lyrics, of course, but not far behind is the delivery. Presentation is everything. Your bars can be hot, but if they aren’t delivered properly, everything could be lost in translation. Personally, that would be one of my weaknesses. In person, I am animated enough to compensate and reclaim that. Audibly, however, not so much; but I digress. That does, however, bring me to the last ingredient – the “entertainment” factor.

Some of the greatest rappers are the worst performers. Take Nas, for instance: Not the greatest performer, but arguably, one of the best lyricists. EPMD is another great example. While riding hits in the 90s, they performed at Showtime At The Apollo, and their lackluster show aroused boos from the crowd.

“Greats” like, the obvious two always mentioned (Pac and Biggie), along with people like Cube, Method Man, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Black Thought, LL, Busta Rhymes, and Tech N9ne, to name a few, can translate between audible and visual seamlessly, while making it look easy. It makes it plain to see, not every great rapper is a great entertainer, and every great entertaining rapper is not a great rapper.

Compensation is dispensed when money is involved. “Great writers” lend their pen to “great entertainers” to fuel numbers and longevity. Is there anything wrong with that? From a business aspect, it makes perfect sense. It is, however, the way it is done with all the other genres. No one EVER asked if Whitney Houston wrote her own songs. It wasn’t on many lists of questions if “Dolly Pardon spent time penning hit after hit”. Who cares who wrote for Michael Jackson? None of that impacted their careers at all.

It’s those differences that make this controversy what it is. Are you asking for cultural standards, or entertainment standards? Considering that question is only asked of rappers and not singers (by my opinion, anyway), makes it silly question, because it doesn’t translate to ALL genres equally. So since it only applies to Hip Hop, it would have to be a cultural question.

That brings me to my original answer. Since Hip Hop is the only platform that that question is asked, it has to be deemed a “cultural” question, and because of the taboo nature of biting in all its forms, a rapper who needs pen assistance cannot be considered a top tier emcee, and shouldn’t be included in anyone’s top list. If you happen to include one, personally, I would have to seriously question your place in this culture; I said what I said. You can post them in a “top entertainment list” like Hammer use to do by placing himself with Michael Jackson, or Vanilla Ice did with Hammer, or Kid & Play, but as far as “just rapping”? No. It’s the only precedence that that question is asked. It’s not asked or considered with “best singers”, so it isn’t the same. Pen game is essential in that conversation!

People will bring up the many old school artists who had assistance. Like I said, it makes sense from a business standpoint. When labels invest millions into a career, they have to do everything in their power to recoup. But there are also a lot of indie labels. Labels ran by artists for artists. Artists who have more power and control. Their pressure is going to be completely different from the pressure of a label ran by White execs who don’t know Hip Hop, but know trends, numbers, and analytics. So to the artists that still got to be the master of their own pens back then, should get even more praise.

It is not essential for a rapper to always tell their story in their words. I don’t think it should be made a “requirement” for all rappers. Because it’s not, Hip-Hop has become the biggest most popular and profitable genre in the world. It has come a long way from being the “fad” of the 80s, to the most influential of today. Getting us here was a collective work of many hands and minds, and I would have to say I’m thankful for it. However, hip hop’s core identity and core values shouldn’t be forgotten and written out. It is still the culture of originality and creativity. Making it into anything else, is a disservice to the ones who built and laid the foundation. Again…I said what I said.

It is up to us, the “real heds” to safeguard and protect the many elemental foundations of this culture. Every element is our responsibility. If we allow people outside of this culture or the new generational people to dictate or change those things that were part of the rules, we will surely lose hip hop like we lost rock n roll and jazz. Hip Hop should be respected for those foundational guidelines that make it different from any other culture or genre. It adds to the beauty of it. And it is those same jewels that should be handed down and respected by those after us. It is the only way it will remain a culture for us and by us. HipHop4Ever