My 10 Favorite Hip-Hop Artists

I've been in a listing mood lately. For whatever reason, people love lists. They can help bring order to chaos and quantify what is otherwise uncountable. Myself, I love allowing my big mouth to throw my opinions out there, at least when it comes to what I know (or what I think I know).

Before I start, I'll throw out my Honorable Mentions. I wouldn't feel right not giving a shout out to these great artists: KRS-One. Rakim. Outkast. Chuck D. The Roots. Common. Lauryn Hill. Black Star. Redman & Method Man. The Wu-Tang Clan. Kanye West.

Now without further ado, and in no particular order, my 10 favorite Hip-Hop Artists.

10. Lupe Fiasco

09. Big Pun

08. Big L

07. Joe Budden

06. Busta Rhymes

05. Nas

04. Jay-Z

03. Eminem

02. The Notorious B.I.G. /Biggie Smalls

01. Tupac Shakur / 2Pac

I'll cover each one in individual postings. Just wanted to give a little taste of where my mind's at right now.

Hip-Hop Thursday

Following through on Day 2-- Thursday, time for Hip-Hop. This is the genre I consider my forte. I know my history, I know mainstream artists and I know artists that work the Underground scene. Of course, there's always room for improvement, so I welcome suggestions to check out new artists all the time.

So the first Hip-Hop Thursday goes to...

"Bring Me Down Part 3 feat. Joe Budden," - Saigon.

Now Saigon's debut album was released this week after some 6 years of delays and record label holdups. It was at a Detox-like level, except Saigon actually worked on the album and wanted it out a long time ago. This track was the last one to not make the album, so I'm including it here in hopes that it inspires you to go hear the rest of Saigon's work (which I must admit, was worth the wait). Saigon's flow here it ridiculous, the hook is amazing, and it features one of my personal favorites, the great Joe Budden. Saigon and Joe had a beef that didn't make any sense outside of it spawned this "bury-the-hatchet" track, so it worked out for all.