With his new album Rejuvenation due December 13th, Juvenile recently chopped it up with Billboard’s The Juice about the new LP and the features on the album. During the interview, Juvie also revealed his top five favorite rappers of the moment, praising Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye West, T.I. and Rick Ross, who appears on his single “Power.” 
“I’m just a fan. I like real, real Hip Hop – when cats really rap, really rhyme and really put words together. I think [Ross] one of them. Ross is in my top five best MCs [out] right now,” he said, naming his other four picks. “Right now: Ross, Wayne, Jay-Z, Kanye [West], T.I…. that would round out my top five. There’s not a lot of other cats [that] I put on that pedestal.”
He also said that Drake is set to appear on his upcoming album, which comes on the heels of Drizzy remaking his classic anthem “Back That Azz Up” as “Practice.” “Drake, it’s kind of a more flavorful thing. You know what’s funny about that, I never heard the track. I actually went in blind and trusted Mannie. It’s more like Drake going to do something and I’m gonna follow him on the song. There are other cats I’ve worked with like Lloyd, and Trey Songz, that’s my guy. Before his career took off I did songs with Trey Songz.”
Read the full interview at Billboard.com.
RELATED: Juvenile Speaks On Joint Mixtape With Mystikal, Drake’s Cover Of “Back That Azz Up”
with fresh doing all the beats shit gone be fire
playing it safe same shit they all say dont listen to any of them but jay is a true hip hop legend officer willie ha ha
Co-sign Juvenile is mah nigga.
mah top 5.
1. Gucci Mane
2. Lil Wayne
3. Rick Ross
4. Waka Flocka
5. Lil B
6. Tyler The Creator
7. Nicki Minaj
8. Drakle
9. Soulja Boy
10. 2 Chainz
11. Asap Rocky
12. Big Sean
13. DJ Khaled
14. Travis Porter
15. OJ Da Juiceman
How can hip hop be dead when you got a top 15 like that! 🙂
There must be a typo cuz i dont see eminem on ur list! oh nevermind gucci is ur number 1 and soulja boy made ur list and dj khalid…uh….dj khalid???….im gonna stop typing now
I’m loving this list, especially the inclusion of DJ Khaled who doesn’t even rap 🙂
Em ain’t no rapper, he is a symbol that whites can do anything blacks can do better, in dumb people’s eyes. I respect Em because he understands it, but he don’t respect his dumb racist fans.
1. Don Trip
i bet a 16yr old female got exactly the same list , smh @ these corny rappers.
In no particular order my top 5
1. Wale
2.Drake
3.Nas
4.Common
5.Ross
Top 5 right now??? T.I
The other four were straight…. I would take out TI and add in Drake.
Not of all time – or even my favourite – just based on who has the best raps right now…
I think rappers just name whoever is the hottest in the industry at the moment just so they can hopefully get a track with them, or get signed to their label, even if they don’t really listen to them.
More like rappers only pay attention to rappers who sell records. Nobody sits on the internet all day deconstructing these obscure niggas lyrics.
lol @ people putting rick ross in top 5… even top 10..
Juve recognizes good shit when he hear it. Ross definitely top 5 out right now. The nigga Ross has already dropped 3 classics and God forgives gon be a classic.
Top 5 right now:
Rick Ross, Jay Z, Ye, Pusha T, Jadakiss.
Bawse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. Nas
2. Rakim
3. Jay-Z
4. Andre 3k
5. Black Thought
6. Ghostface Killah
7. Common
8. Notorious BIG
9. Guru
10. Ice Cube
not at the moment, but of all time
lmfao @ dis list. dem olda ass nigguz are wack as hell. Gooch da GOAT. swag
this list is the most real on here yet,,,
i love how ppl always say that wayne or any of these new artitst are the greatest ever,,, RAKIM IS STILL ALIVE AND BREATHING! he is the best alive!
Juvie needs to be ranked top 10 rapper of all-time based on his resume. 6 million sold with one album. 400 Degreez has outsold The Carter 1,2,3 and 4 lol. Wayne still trying to catch up to big brother.
Dude the Carter 3 alone did 3.2mill Worl wide
Carter one went gold,
Carter 2 did 1.2 world wide
and right now the Carter 4 is at 1.4 world wide.
smh get ya math together.
400 Degreez is a Southern classic. I realize the rest of the country doesn’t put it in the discussion with 36 Chambers, Cuban Linx, Illmatic, The Chronic, etc. But down South,that album holds a special place in people’s memory. To me, it’s one of the tightest albums of the 90’s.
The Carter series has sold a lot of units. But no one L’il Wayne album ever set it off like 400 Degreez.
yeah dude i feel what you saying juvie was the first nigga from cash-money to blow up which gave the label the spot light for B.g the Hot boys then wayne came with his solo, But wayne has definitely surpassed juvie in skills(his old mixtapes, the carter 1,2, etc) and numbers and commercial success…FACTS
and i know nobody asked, but im just so fed up with bullshit lists.
DJ Khaled raps on All I DO Is Win remix. he betta den Feminem & Nas. swag
Fuck you faggot ass niggas top whatever. That’s his noone cares about your opinions bitches.
No-one cares about a losers opinions/there dimensions are limited to winning never beginning/U the type that never worked but looks for a pension/Always hurts but never understands pain is a mental dissension/You boys are never even mentioned when it comes to living lives /You not even living so how would you no about a top anything alive
Signing off GSONII-The Ghost
Shut up bitches
G.O.A.T.
lol good taste ..NOT those are all the most pop dudes out there
Kanye
lloyd Banks
lupe fiasco
fabolous
obie trice
This fool ain’t know shit. Kanye is in no way top 5 rapper. He’s a muthafuckin genius producer but in no way a top tier rapper. Wayne? Jesus Christ did he listen to the Carter IV? Incoherent garbage. Ross is technically getting better but in no way does he match up against other rappers.
Nas, Ghostface and Em are substantially better than his top 5.
Kanye is not a top rapper? MBDTF is the defining rap album of this era. The man is a mad genius on the mic and on the boards
1. Lil White
2. Everlast
3. Flava Flav
4. Big B
5. Harryballz
what a weak top 5 by Juvenile…
Elzhi and Crooked I. That’s it.
fuck a comment.
i have to disagree! the top five rappers? are 1.50cent 2.drake 3.eminem 4.lilwayne 5.ludacris
50 Cent isn’t relevant anymore, get off his dick.
terrible list for the fact u mentioned 50 drake and wayne
Crooked I
Horseshoe Gang
T-Rock
Tito Lopez
(Old)Ya Boy
top 5 rappers at this moment 1 jay z & eminem 2 lil wayne 3 t.i 4kanye west 5 the game
new school rappers 1 drake 2 ace hood 3 soulja boy 4 kendrick lamar
5 wiz khalifa
1. eminem
2. joe budden
3. j cole (idk how nobody droppin his name)
4. nas
5. wale/big sean/lupe
id rather give the 5 spot to sum young dudes than hov hes more of an icon now, his music aint as good as it once was dont get me wrong hov still that dude but wit all that yung money trash money shitt gotta reconize REAL yung talent
Crooked I
Eminem
Ye
Ross
Wayne
No Particular Ranking (Current Favorites)
1. Jay-Z
2. Eminem
3. Kendrick Lamar
4. Kanye West
5. Yelawolf
LOL Yellow wolf sucks.
No Eminem. Lil Wayne in there after that C4 frisbee. This dude smoke more crack than BG.
BG is a heroin addict, stupid.
1. Kendrick Lamar
2. Dom Kennedy
3. Casey Veggies
4. Kanye
5. Andre 3000
eminem
nas
jadakiss
styles p
ghostface killah
joe budden
jay z
em
2pac
nas
based on lyrics and quailty of music alone i would say these guys,of course pac,jay, and em have that mainstream appeal but joey doesnt get the credit for his lyrics he deserves and nas will always be a name in the convo no matter what, but theres so many other names u could throw in there and debate for different reasons but only time will tell who really is the best of the best overrall
“My wife don’t like my album, its too dark for women
she say it sound like i hold grudges,
she rather listen to joe buddens”
Top 5 nas, jada, jay, raekwon and ransom. Go listen to funeral and no introduction to see why ra ns made the list. That nigga a beast. Anyway wtf is wrong with juvie. This nigga saying he likes real hip hop but the name out of his mouth is ross. Sorry juvie as much rozay tries he still sucks.
These young heads have no clue whatsoever about the Greatest. They base it on factors like swag, money, record sales, and who tells them who the greatest is instead of making their own independent choice. Let me school some of you cats:
1. Nas (GOAT, nobody can touch this guys thought process storytelling,and lyricism, and Im not talking about how many times you can string rhymes together with one word like Eminem who is also great, Im talking about conscious thought and constructing it into a message or story…Nas has it)
2. 2pac (Nobody can make an impact or start a movement like Pac, probably the most honest rapper in his rhymes along with DMX, not afraid to say whats on his mind)
3. Rakim (Look him up if you dont know him)
4. Biggie
5. GZA
6. Big Pun
7. Kool G Rap
8. Eminem
9. DMX/ Jay-Z (tie)
10. CUBE
Rakim should be a default #1. The man damn near invented the concept of “16’s”. No 16 bar format and 9 out of these 10 simply don’t exist.lol
@DEKNOWZ Nas is a better verison of Rakim……..when Nas came in to the game ……Rakim fell off.
Very solid list (my top 10 is hard to put in order or even top 30 for that matter as all are super dope for one reason or another):
Mine is (no order, only living as obviously Pun, Big L, Big, Pac are in my personal favorites as well between 1-15 somewhere)
Nas, Em, Kool G Rap, Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Rakim, Elzhi, Masta Ace, Kweli (live show puts him in that top 10 along w/ Black Star, Train of Thought, Quality, etc), and Tonedeff
Others in the top 25 (all super duper dope so splitting hairs w/ 7-25 really) include Mos, Kweli, Redman, Diabolic, One Be Lo, Juice, Louis Logic, Canibus, RA the Rugged Man, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Lowkey, Jay-z (96-03 material), Cube (NWA and first two solo classics), Andre 3000, Jadakiss, AZ, OC, Lord Finesse, and Chino XL
Slaughterhouse/Wu-Tang has too many members, but a ton of real dope emcees between those clicks obviously
@jake thats pretty much my list
If Chuck D isn’t on your list, you’ve got some looking up to do yourself. He was Tupac, Ice Cube, and Scarface’s single biggest influence, and easily better than everyone on your list besides Rakim.
EVERYONE GO TO STUDIOLEAKS.INFO THE GREATEST HIP HOP SITE IN THE WORLD
“based on the kats that really rhyme and put words together” and you dont mention Eminem but you mention Rick Ross? ha Fucking morons, i swear.
I’ve said it a million times… Eminem can rap, but Black men who really do their thing in the street can not, and do not relate to his music.
That said, I get why some cats dig Rick Ross. But I’ve been locked up, and I know that being a corrections officer isn’t “just a job”. A nigga got to have a certain type of personality to get off on
looking in nigga’s assholes, and shaking their house down, looking for contraband. Only a fuck nigga could do that job. Therefore, Rick Ross is now, was then, and will ALWAYS be a fuck nigga. And I don’t vibe with fuck nigga’s.
I’ll still bump Ross before Eminem, though.
There’s a lot more to this shit than just lyrics. That’s something the “OLD HEADS” know that the younger generation just hasn’t figured out.
Yea as long as it makes the trunk rattle and bitches shake they ass, I’m all for it. Fuckin retards man…
Go tell Pac, Big, Hov, Nas, Rakim and anyone else you consider a legend that it ain’t about the lyrics. Anyone can learn to ride a beat or make a catchy hook, but its the people who really say something that got that staying power.
Rick Ross, really? I have never once even heard him rhyme more than two syllables or venture from that played out rhyme scheme he’s been dragging along since Port of Miami.
People like you ruin hip-hop for the rest of us.
kendrick lamar
big k r i t
yelawolf
tech n9ne
new^^^
old
pac
dmx
lynch
c-bo
spice 1
yukmouth
the click
Tech N9ne’s new? I could sworn he’d been makin albums longer than a lotta the cats on your old list… Do your history my man, Tech’s been rippin it over 15 years. Go get Anghellic and see what I’m talking bout
stop it with the top 5 list…doesnt’ mean anything… its like picking who’s the hottest chick in miss america pageant. and you old heads out there dont’ get mad cuz yong niggas don’t fuck with your old ass rappers…sure they were great to your generation…but the new generation likes new shit…
You like dudes that can put words together, huh Juvenile? please throw that list away asap then and study up on stuff that may not make the radio. Jay may be up there for his 96-03 material, but other than that those 4 aren’t in my top 100 emcees:
Juvey peep Elzhi, Tonedeff, Em (97-02 preferably or now for that matter if you’re only listing mainstream rappers), anyone in slaughterhouse, Louis Logic, One Be Lo, Kendrick Lamar, Blu, Diabolic, Copywrite, Apathy, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Pharoahe Monch, Jadakiss, Percee-P, Rhyme Asylum, Shad, Lowkey, Nas, Common, Talib/Mos, Black Thought and get back to me.
Appreciate it
Dude noone cares,
well done you named some lyricists, most that are way past their prime. Truth is most of those guys are where they are for one reason… They cannot make hit records.
Elzhi, SH, Blu & Kendrick are the only dudes currently relevant in that list.
Kanye is more important to Hip Hop than just about all of them, bar maybe Nas & Em.
How do you define relevant? Plenty of those guys have had good to great albums come out in the past few years, which is more than anyone on Juvenile’s list can say.
lol “before his career took off i did songs with Trey Songz” so after Trigga Treys career jumped off he stopped showing Juvenile love?
If it’s a list of emcees NOW (aka alive and still rhyming amazing) my top 10 would be:
1. Elzhi
2. Diabolic
3. Crooked I (rest of SH also)
4. One Be Lo
5. Lowkey (UK, but amazing rhymes)
6. Tonedeff
7. Black Thought
8. Em (fallen off yes, but shows flashes of lyrical brilliance every now and then still a la The Warning, Stay Wide Awake, Westwood & BET freestyles/cyphers, Deja Vu, On Fire, Forever verse, Goin Through Changes)
9. Copywrite
10. Shad
honrable mention goes to Bis, Nas, Masta Ace, Common, Kweli, Jada, Possessed of Rhyme Asylum (UK also and actually should be top 10 LYRICALLY), Apathy, Nas, Pharoahe Monch, Louis Logic, Juice, Percee-P, Slug
YOUR LIST SUCKS ^^^^
Totally agree with your list, fuck that faggot above will not.
Your list is ok, Elzhi is key to anyone’s list. What about REKS?
This list sounds like a bunch of bootleg cologne , get the hell out of here!
“Real hip hop” lol. Juve’s list is terrible and pretty much what any 12 year old would list. I guess they’re just the rappers he hopes he can do songs with so he can make money, so he’s brownosing. But to be fair Juvenile is a southern rapper and most of you are listing rappers not from that region and rappers who haven’t had shit out for a long time.
So how about this
Big Boi
Freddie Gibbs
Big KRIT
Only 3, cos bearing in mind the southern/ gangsta angle, no one’s really impressing me. Having said that your independent 4 elements nerd rap is impressing me even less.
My dog raps better than all the rappers on these lists.
so true haha they are garbage!
The five greatest rappers of all time…think about it.
1. Dylon…..2.Dylon….3Dylon,4Dylon, and 5Dylon….Becuase I spit hot fire
i hate it when they say a dude covered a rap song just cuz he used the hook. totally diff record
Mine:
Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Andre 3000
Not a bad list at all….take off ROss for Eminem
common, nas, kool g rap, rakim, masta ace
Andre 3000 Nas and Common are in my “Top Group” then Jay and Biggie round out the top 5
seriously??? Ross and Wayne??? smh
Amean for real he serious Ross and Wayne this is why hiphop is Mess up.
Niggas dont know them a-team niggas. Nas, ransom, kiss, and the chef
LOL @ people listing their all time list.
That’s opinion.
Who’s hot right now…. is more of factual thing.
Ross
Kanye
Jigga
Wayne
Drake
Now – my personal GOAT top 5
Kool G Rap
Nas
Ghost
Busta
Jigga
no jada this dude don’t matter he ain’t been hot since i was in high school and i’m 30 lol foh
Eminem, Tech N9ne, Andre 3000, Pharoahe Monch & Nas
Fuck wit it…
Typical mainstream list that anybody coulda guessed. holds no value
Agree 100% with Jesus. lame.
Nas Tha Best By far!!!
Willie The Kid
Phonte
Joe Budden
Common
Loads after That Research if You don’t Agree!!!
Dead For Drake Could Have Been If he never joined lil wayne!