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VIBE Magazine's “The Best Rapper Ever” contest has the industry and fans buzzing; some positive remarks have been made and definitely some negative. Although the rankings were compiled fairly through votes made by fans, a certain contender had a different opinion. 

In a Youtube video, posted by rapper Joe Budden earlier this month, the rapper nearly pops a blood vessel because of some of the rankings held by a few rappers on the list. 

The video, which can be seen  http://www.youtube.com/chea2001 runs for almost ten minutes and shows Budden reading off various names and weighing in on which rankings he thought were deserved and unjust. It’s safe to say that Budden is jealous that some rappers had a higher ranking than he did. He goes on a rampage saying that the person, who constructed the list, wasn’t man enough to put his/her name on it. He even goes on to tell him/her to “suck d***!”   It is blatantly obvious that he had no idea that the list was made as a result of a poll.

Being that Budden is a rapper, it's unequivocal after seeing the video that he can't give an unbiased opinion on this list. However, the contest and Budden's politics on the competition do raise an array of questions. 

The voting for the official title began on May 18, 2009. The list, which is comprised of 128 MCs, will run for seven weeks. Rapper Eminem was voted The Best Rapper Alive in last year's contest; beating out some real heavy hitters in the game. 

One match-up that has sparked a lot of controversy is the MC Hammer vs. Will Smith head-to-head. They're competing against one another at the 18 and 17 seats, respectively. Budden was baffled by the ranking of both of these individuals. Neither Smith nor MC Hammer has put out a Hip Hop album in years and yet they're still ranked higher than rappers who have been consistently dropping albums. 

So what makes a good Rapper? What makes a Rapper legit in the industry? Image is everything and the more marketable you are, the more albums you sell. Personality is another huge factor in being a successful artist. If you're personable and genuine, fans will always support you and your movement. 

Some would say it's the natural raw talent that an artist possesses. While others would say it's all in the delivery. It's no secret that some of the most renowned rappers use Ghostwriters. So should those rappers be held at a lower standard because they didn't write their own lyrics? If that's the case, then there are a few dozen rappers that should start looking into an alternate career path. Anyone can perform a song, but it takes a real artist to write and perform it themselves. 

Another question that comes to mind, does longevity outweigh talent? It appears that some of the "older" MCs, who devoted their life to Hip Hop, were completely left off the list. Longevity gets you respect from your peers and royalty checks.   Even the most talented artists slip through the cracks and never get discovered because of their lack of connections and promotions. 

Hip Hop artists who've been around for over a decade will always have a fan base because they've paid their dues to the industry. The issue at hand seems to be whether or not the older artists will be able to maintain their status with artists like Soulja Boy and T-Pain on the rise. 

In a word, yes! The music of yesteryear told real stories that people could relate to or empathize with.  Nowadays, all you really need is a sentence mixed with a hot beat and you have a hit. Longevity equals security. 

Of course some, if not most, people would say that the best person(s) to rank these MCs are other Rappers. But let’s face it, every rapper believes they're the best. A hint of vanity comes with the territory of being an artist. So in all actuality it would be unfair to have the artists choose; the list would be infinite. VIBE chose to go with the opinion of the fans; after all, they are the ones who make these artists successful. If it wasn't for their support and tax paying dollars, most of these rappers would still be spitting lyrics on street corners. Fans make you or break you in the music industry. 

A low rank is a low blow to an artist's ego and it should fuel the artist to step their game up. Every artist in that contest should be grateful that fans actually thought so highly of them to vote them in. Bask in the ambience Joe Budden - it's free promotion.

Never bite the hand that feeds you, because sometimes that hand will bite right back. 

Good luck to the contenders and may the best MC win!

What do Linkin Park, Kevin Rudolph and Chris Cornell all have in common? Well aside from being Rock stars in their own right, these artists have taken the world of Hip Hop to a whole new level.

Hip Hop is without a doubt, the most popular genre around the world. So it isn’t surprising that so many Rock singers and groups have decided to mix their own guitar blazing sound antics with the club thumping beats that make Hip Hop what it is.

Is this new fad of crossing genres a success or are these artists on a road destined for failure?  When Linkin Park teamed up with Jay Z in 2004, fans of both artists raised an eyebrow to the mere thought of two polar opposite genres becoming one.  But the masses gave it a listen and they became captivated with what they heard.  The single "Numb/Encore", was the most successful song off of the Numb/Encore album that it even went on to reach #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2005.  "Numb/Encore" was also nominated and won Best Rap/Song Collaboration at the 2006 Grammy Awards. However Rock infused Hip Hop’s reign didn’t stop there.

In 2007, clubs and parties were bumping to Shop Boyz’s “Party Like a Rockstar".

The song makes references to some of the greats in Rock; artists like: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bruce Springsteen, and Kiss. And even though their album Rockstar Mentality wasn’t a huge success, that one track had everyone throwing their pinky, thumb and index finger in the air like a true rock star.

Chris Cornell is another Rocker who decided to re-invent himself and mix Rock with Hip Hop. After a dwindling solo career, Cornell invested the help of Timbaland, who is well-known for his soundscapes and inventive use of stutter-step beats.  Timbaland came aboard and turned Cornell’s career around entirely. After working on the album for only six weeks, Cornell released his third solo album Scream, the title track which features Timbaland.  This track peaked on Billboard at # 10.  Cornell received both positive and negative feedback. Some fans thought Cornell was abandoning his Rockstar roots, while others believed he was just seasoning his own unique style. Timbaland also previously helped produced some tacks on Pop Rock star Ashlee Simpson’s 2008 album Bittersweet World. In 2007, Timbaland remixed Rock group OneRepublic’s hit song “Apologize” which was also on the Billboard charts and went platinum 3 times. .

Lil’ Wayne is currently seen as the hottest rapper in the industry. His record sales are destined to surpass some of the older rappers in the game. For a long time, there were whispers throughout the industry that Lil’ Wayne had a protégé that he was taking under his wing. Fans and critics alike were shocked when they realized that his protégé was in fact rocker Kevin Rudolph. Wayne’s record label, Cash Money Records/Universal Republic, had been solely a Hip Hop label up until that point, but Wayne saw something in Rudolph and brought him aboard. Fans weighed in and they loved him. The first single, “Let It Rock” from his album In the City went platinum in the US just 5 months after its initial release. As Rudolph’s popularity grew, so did his record sales and achievements. “Let It Rock”, which they changed to "Let Philly Rock", was deemed the official anthem for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 World Series. The laser filled, crowd screaming video also features Lil’ Wayne singing the hook and roaring his electric guitar.

Lil’ Wayne also known as Weezy, feature on the “Let It Rock” single, was the perfect segue way for his own single. Shortly after “Let It Rock” dropped, Weezy released his own rock song titled “Prom Queen” which was his first single off of his full rock album, Rebirth, set to be released in June 2009.    Even though the single made the Billboard charts under the Hip Hop category and Weezy used the ever so popular auto tune, “Prom Queen” doesn’t have an ounce of Hip Hop influence in it. This is indisputably a side of Lil’ Wayne that no one expected and only time will tell if “Mr. Golden Touch”, will be able to maintain his hit streak.

In the midst of so many artists sampling and mixing each other’s music, it’s inevitable that you’d get the same meaningless and recycled songs just with different lyrics.  However, when you mix a genre like Rock with Hip Hop, the possibilities are endless.  You can have Hip Hop be the main focus of the song with Rock in the bridge or vice versa. Or you can just mix the two and see what you come up with in the process. Rock was the ‘it’ genre in the 80s and Hip Hop is the genre of today and when you put those together, you have surefire Billboard contenders. Being a one-trick pony in today’s music industry won’t get you far. In a society where people tend to focus more on beats and melodies, rather than the stories behind the music, you have to transform and conform.  Creativity always surpasses redundancy.

The record sales and charts prove that Rock infused Hip Hop and Hip Hop infused Rock has been an ongoing success for many years. Some artists may lose fans for switching gears, but with every 100 fans they lose, their will be 1000 more fans that would be more than willing to support them. After all, every good artist will always be willing to try ground-breaking techniques.

Hip Hop isn’t dead, it’s just been reformed.