He was very popular even ten years ago but he himself decided to first move to Africa and second release the very little he has done since under the name of Yasiin Bey so no wonder he dissapeared into obscurity. These days I think he is just Mos Def but still barely does anything. Couple more records and he would have been remembered more like Outkast I think.
He can't do what they do the moment yall realize that the better. That violent act tacking female pop star shit aint hip-hop. No black artist could get away with that bullshti.
As a hardcore Black Thought stan, Thought takes 2nd place here. The alliteration and meaning in that Mos Def verse mannnn. And Em a goat too, had more of a comedic approach but still killed it
For me its Black, Mos, Em. As a pure cypher i think em completely bodied this. But the shit that black n mos was sayin hit different. i feel like it has black soul in it, and i aint even black.
All three are definitely in my top 10 and have been for at least 15 years. It's gonna take the second coming of Jesus to knock one of them off. It's not like one of these mumblers is gonna make my top 10 (or my top 1000 for that matter).
Man I can't be the only one who think his verse was poor, like come on apart from the alliteration and bunch of compounds his lines were barely coherent before BT came in and straight away took all the shine. What am I missing?
@@lyrics2challenged I disagree with that as well. Not on the same level at all. His wordplay is pretty basic. That’s actually why the generation/time period matters, these legends are from the lyricist era. He’s not much of a lyricist, more of a storyteller
Black Thought has a way of not just rhyming words but creating great lines. Almost like he makes well thought out phrases that rhyme. I don't really know how to explain it in proper detail.
@@3258jose3258 I don't see him sacrificing the rhyme though. When it comes to internal rhyming, rhyme schemes and multisyllabic rhyming he is top notch.
The man's a poet. Not many MC's uses such a broad spectrum of stilistic devices as him - well Eminem does, but he's less of a poet and more of a technician
People forget how big of a deal this Cypher was. Eminem fresh off his come back hooking up with two other legends for a 3 legend Cypher. Everyone ripped it.
I can't think of many or any other collabs where em hasn't had the best verse but mos def definitely rivalled him here. Em rode the beat the best as he always does but like you say mos def was smooth af
Agreed, so smooooth, and beautiful imagery. Eminem went a completely other direction but goddamn he went beast mode. Despite what everyone's saying, Black Thought's verse was BLAND. Simple rhymes with unoriginal metaphores (rise up outta the ash like a phoenix.....Really bruh), nothing that stands out. I was say, Mos and Em tied, black thought disqualified.
@@musicthemusicalperson4316KAAN is very good but no he is not a mix of these 3. Granted he’s one of the only “fast” rappers I find is worth listening to
Being an Em and Roots/BT fan, I still have to admit that Mos Def had the best verse. The wordplay, the message and the delivery, everything was perfect. Even the first line alone had too much to unpack... 'for sinners, saints and scramblers and gamblers and dirty money handlers.....' and how he goes on to connect everything with addresses and high fliers... just crazy
Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def took this one. I know people who really know NYC (Brooklyn especially) will feel that verse even more. He’s not just shouting out different parts of the city he’s painting a picture and mood that you can see clearly and even feel. He’s doing it with such style and literary brilliance. Black Thought has that voice and he’s really saying a lot. It’s not just about hitting with mutli-syllables. His verse kinda shouts out those who have been underrated and overlooked and he uses himself as an example of that Eminem has the multi-syllabic flow and goes for the comedy punches. He’s trying to bring back that Slim Shady flow but like he says he’s calmer. He’s great in this but I didn’t feel like it was as playful as he used to be. He sounds so serious and that rape joke though (not cool)... 👀 Great cypher. They all brought it. I have to give it to Yasiin/Mos Def he edged it in this one by a little. He just had that extra something in this cypher. All these guys are elite MCs. Different styles. All Hip Hop. This is a cypher for the ages. You can come back any year to this and it won’t get old. It is Classic. Timeless.
At first listen I thought Em's verse was the best, at the second listen I said no, Black Thought's verse was the heaviest, on the third listen i switched to Mos Def and decided that he is the best in this cypher. Now I'm listening to this again and again and I can't put one verse over another. They are all great in their own way, three MC's, 3 different flows, 3 different styles and all 3 of them are dope, there is no 1st, 2nd and 3rd, all of them are 1st. I can't say that any of them killed the 2 other on the cypher, all 3 verses were "A+" category, at least for me it is so. I wish there would be more records like this with Nas, Wutang, Em, Rakim, KRS etc I want to see them collab and make something together, it would be damn good for the whole culture. Just imagine these guys together on track. Peace to you all!
@@presidentsalad2319 so u agree he bodied this.? Ok. Also em had just amount of great verse in yah yah. Thought maybe had better punches but em flow on that beat was more entertaining plus em rhymed better. Voice good. Humour. Etc. I'll say 50-50 and I won't change my mind so yea
em has insane scheemes and some funny punchlines , mos def had a sick ass verse tho when he started doing abc's and shit, black tought had the least flashy verse but was still good. i'd give this chypher a solid 8!
Love Mos Def, and it's Illadelph's finest all day, every day, but Slim straight murdered those bars. Watch the original video and see Tariq's reaction to Em's "Osama, Dahmer.." lines....
All 3 great. Mos def's alphabetical rhyming and alliteration in his verse is impressive af but bruh just those first 4 lines from black thought might just be the best lines on the cypher. Eminem's rhyme scheme as always was incredible
Mos takes it for the most creative/artistic verse and unorthodox flow. Thought takes it for the sharpest, most technically precise delivery and lyricism. And Em takes it for the wittiest, most entertaining lyrics and dynamic word play. That’s what’s so dope about this cypher-each emcee brought their own unique talents to the table and got busy, I can’t even try to rank it cuz my favorite verse changed depending on the day and my mood. And judging by the comments and the variety of opinions, it’s clear there’s no obvious “winner.”
@@jeyzeus It is confirmed, and it will be produced by madlib and I think they said on a podcast that it’s all finished and they will release it when they’re ready
Most Def def had the craziest word play for sure... As always, Thought was the smoothest, and Eminem was kind of gritty. I commend Eminem, because he doesn't always have lyrical peers that can challenge him, and it seems he was able to push beyond his limits back then.
@@anshumaanthakur7206 used too bomb ya like saddam but now that im a littler calmer I’m a fucking cross between osama, dahmer, Obama and Dalai Lama. Do you not know what a cross between that is. I know exactly what he means by it I just can’t explain it too u if u can’t get it on ur own
A rare upload with no dislikes...yet. let's hope it stays this way, because we've just listened to three Aliens doing what your favourite mumble rapper cannot.
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As I've gotten older, I've gotten more and more interested in what the words mean as opposed to how many of them rhyme etc. Dont get me wrong, this was impressive but when there's so much real stuff to talk about, I could care less about barbiturates and Miley Cyrus.
To be fair, none of them said anything "real". Mos Def repped his city, Thought bemoaned his underrated status (as if he hasn't done that many times) and Eminem did his same old shock factor gimmick.
@@jn2263 dude he replies on every comment hating on Eminem, and saying that they did better than him is fine it’s his opinion, but no need for disrespect “they shitted on him” what does that even mean it’s not a rap battle
Bruh you can't be mad at the level of skill displayed by all three. A godlike session and everywhere ended up torched with the blessing of the mic. Three of the finest pens and the best to do this. Unarguably.
Oh my days what a Cypher like like that right there it is the land of woah ..I have heard this once I Love the contrast between all lyrics all dope.rhymes.and so well captured it's so cool to such phenomenal performances Black Thought.. Mos Def..Eminem magical 🏴💯😍
Pretty sure that crowd reaction is added in. If you see the original version it's just them standing there in front of no one lol. Unless it's the crowd from the BET event watching it or something.
Black Thought is the muthafuckin greatest. I grew up with Slim Shady LP being what introduced me to hip hop when i was 10. Em was my absolute favorite for the next decade but..... i discovered Black Thought in my early 20s.... and this "being" is NOT from this fucking planet. He is light years above everyone
All these legends went in but I would rate 1. Mos Def 2. Shady 3. Black thought In that order. But it was fucking close. How have I never heard of this Mos Def before. If this is how he raps then he is definitely underated
The thing with Eminem is, he is an amazing lyricist, but I have the feeling that most of his fans don't call him the goat because they respect his rhymes but more because they don't know shit about rap and think rap is about talking fast. Which I guess makes him underrated and overrated at the same time?
I agree, some of the fake wannabe stans don't even know that Em songs other than Rap God or LTWYL exists. And people just hear Rap God only for the fast part. I mean the song is filled with so many dense rhymes, double entendres, puns and his flow is incredible there and yet they only wanna hear the fast part.
im a huge stan, i think Eminem fans thinking about Eminem is like how nas fans like of nas, both of fans think their favorite rapper is goat is because both eminem and nas is like the forever hustler of two world, the white and black world. They both stubborn and thats why their fans always taking them as the greatest rapper ever,but em fans are much larger in the world and lack of knowledge of hiphop
Yeah, great technic but his themes are really childish. I mean, here he’s still rapping about his big dick, celebrities and Saddam Hussein. He’s still living in 2001.
I once saw the Roots play on the lower east side of Manhattan, somewhere around 97 and they literally played me out of my legs! I had to go find a seat, plus I was lit up like sun! They were on stage for over 5 hours, just going off! FOR FREE! LOL
