NCAA March Madness is in full swing, with two semifinal games set for Saturday (April 6), with the championship game taking place on Monday (April 8).
HipHopDX decided to add our own twist to March Madness, crafting Hip Hop Sweet 16 brackets, and (with your continued votes) we now have a final four — and after some upsets, the battle of the bars is at a fever pitch.
Who will be our final two MCs? That’s all up to you — the people. Cast your votes, below.
This post has been updated. See the previous post from March 31, below.
NCAA March Madness is in full swing, with a weekend of exciting Elite Eight games to determine which teams will make up the 2019 Final Four.
HipHopDX decided to add our own twist to March Madness, crafting Hip Hop Sweet 16 brackets, and — with your votes — we now have our own Elite Eight. There are some great matchups, like brethren vs. brethren in both the West and Midwest.
Which artists will make it to the final four? That’s all up to you — the people.
Cast your votes, below.
West Coast Bracket
Kendrick Lamar
Age: 31
Highlights: Having famously dubbed himself the king of New York on “Control” and been named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in 2016, TDE frontman — and Pulitzer Prize winner — Kendrick Lamar is unquestionably one of this generation’s most influential artists.
Jay Rock
Age: 33
Highlights: An eight-year vet on the TDE roster — and one-time member of the Strange Music roster as part of a joint venture with TDE — Jay Rock recently won his first Grammy Award for the single “King’s Dead,” the lead single off his 2018 LP Redemption.
Midwest Bracket
Royce Da 5’9″
Age: 41
Highlights: One half of the duo Bad Meets Evil with Eminem, and a former member of the upper echelon rap supergroup Slaughterhouse, Royce is a top tier MC who has more than established himself in the field of “bars over everything.”
Eminem
Age: 46
Highlights: The highest-selling rapper ever — periodt.
East Coast Bracket
Joey Bada$$
Age: 24
Highlights: The young Pro Era founder first caught fire with his seminal mixtape 1999, turning a younger generation onto 90s flair.
Meek Mill
Age: 31
Highlights: Ascending from up-and-coming Philly battle rapper to superstar, Meek — a Drake beef survivor — has most recently become the face of U.S. prison reform.
South Bracket
J. Cole
Age: 34
Highlights: Whether you acknowledge the Dreamville capo’s greatness or feel that his albums are certified sleeping pills, J. Cole’s influence and success are absolutely undeniable byproducts of his ability to connect with audiences. Also, he made going platinum with no features a thing.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Age: 19
Highlights: The “Outside Today” rapper and father of four, who admitted to having herpes on the song “Can’t Be Saved,” dropped his debut studio album Until Death Call My Name back in 2018 after a wildly successful mixtape run. Also, his recent YouTube run has been crazy.
This post has been updated. See the original post from March 28, below.
NCAA March Madness is in full swing, and this year’s Sweet 16 is solidified, with four games taking place this Thursday (March 28) and Friday (March 29) to determine the 2019 Elite Eight.
HipHopDX has decided to add our own twist to March Madness, crafting Hip Hop Sweet 16 brackets. Which artists will make it to the final four? Who will come out on top? That’s all up to you — the people.
Check out the brackets, below, and cast your votes.
West Coast Bracket
Kendrick Lamar
Age: 31
Highlights: Having famously dubbed himself the king of New York on “Control” and been named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in 2016, TDE frontman — and Pulitzer Prize winner — Kendrick Lamar is unquestionably one of this generation’s most influential artists.
Vince Staples
Age: 25
Highlights: Outspoken (straight-edged) MC (and sometimes troll) Vince Staples is the kind of creative mind that launches a $2 million GoFundMe campaign for his retirement as a promo stunt, only to cancel it, refund users and match all funds raised as a charity donation. Norf!
Jay Rock
Age: 33
Highlights: An eight-year vet on the TDE roster — and one-time member of the Strange Music roster as part of a joint venture with TDE — Jay Rock recently won his first Grammy Award for the single “King’s Dead,” the lead single off his 2018 LP Redemption.
Boogie
Age: 29
Highlights: A member of the next generation of Shady Records — which includes the Griselda Squad — Boogie staked his claim this past January with the release of his critically acclaimed debut album on the imprint, Everythings for Sale.
Midwest Bracket
Royce Da 5’9″
Age: 41
Highlights: One half of the duo Bad Meets Evil with Eminem, and a former member of the upper echelon rap supergroup Slaughterhouse, Royce is a top tier MC who has more than established himself in the field of “bars over everything.”
Big Sean
Age: 31
Highlights: The platinum-selling “I Don’t Fuck with You” rapper recently revealed that he overcame depression and anxiety, and is making the best music of his life.
Eminem
Age: 46
Highlights: The highest-selling rapper ever — periodt.
Chance The Rapper
Age: 25
Highlights: Having grown from one of SoundCloud’s brightest stars to being in a position to financially save the platform from certain doom, Chicago’s most philanthropic MC Chance The Rapper was the first artist to win a Grammy without selling physical copies of his music.
East Coast Bracket
Cardi B
Age: 26
Highlights: Love or hate her big personality, the stripper-turnt-reality star-turnt-multi-platinum Hip Hop artist — and arguably one of the genre’s brightest female stars — definitely should never have her ability to come out on top underestimated.
Joey Bada$$
Age: 24
Highlights: The young Pro Era founder first caught fire with his seminal mixtape 1999, turning a younger generation onto 90s flair.
Westside Gunn
Age: 36
Highlights: Having been — along with his immediate team — passed the torch by Raekwon, the Buffalo MC and wrestling reference demi-god already has a few classics under his belt (and his Shady debut hasn’t even dropped yet).
Meek Mill
Age: 31
Highlights: Ascending from up-and-coming Philly battle rapper to superstar, Meek — a Drake beef survivor — has most recently become the face of U.S. prison reform.
South Bracket
Childish Gambino
Age: 35
Highlights: The brilliant mind behind the critically acclaimed Atlanta, Donald Glover is currently in the stages of retiring his Childish Gambino moniker — whether that truly means music for good remains to be seen.
J. Cole
Age: 34
Highlights: Whether you acknowledge the Dreamville capo’s greatness or feel that his albums are certified sleeping pills, J. Cole’s influence and success are absolutely undeniable byproducts of his ability to connect with audiences. Also, he made going platinum with no features a thing.
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Age: 19
Highlights: The “Outside Today” rapper and father of four, who admitted to having herpes on the song “Can’t Be Saved,” dropped his debut studio album Until Death Call My Name back in 2018 after a wildly successful mixtape run. Also, his recent YouTube run has been crazy.
Soulja Boy
Age: 28
Highlights:
Draaaaaaaaake?!
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How is 2 chains not included . #NCAALETMEIN
because the album sucked. NCAA was the only good song!
Because he now sucks. Instead you should be asking, “How is Lil Wayne, Drake or Nicki Minaj not included?”
Because they’re all whack as fuck,
Actually why aren’t they included since everyone bar Royce included is also wack as fuck.
Come to Dreamville in Raleighhood
Cardi B 21% JoeyBada$$ 79%. Damn never saw this one coming
This is more like the CBI bracket of hip hop.
Kendrick > Vince
Jay Rock > Boogie
Royce > Big Sean
Em > Chance
Joey > Cardi
Meek > Westside Gunn
Cole > Gambino
YBNBA > Soulja
Kendrick > Jay Rock
Em > Royce
Joey > Meek
Cole > YBNBA
Em > Kendrick
Cole > Joey
Cole > Em
Assuming we talkin’ bout recent albums and features this what mine would look like. 2018 belonged to Cole without a doubt??
Lamar,Eminem,Royce Da 5’9 and boogie ( west coast).
NBA young boy,j.cole,west side Gunn and Joey badass ( east coast)
How you gna mtch up Bino and Cole in the first round!!??
only like 4 of them are literate? is this a list to enroll in preschool? more than half the list couldnt get thru a dr suess book
Oh man so exciting! Let me scratch my smelly poosay!
Em the best alive
Found the white guy
fuck who is with me more competition, much more competition.
Lmao at these brackets Royce da 5’9 is the only fucking credible mc in this thing hahahaha
How tf is boring ass J. Cole destroying Joey Bada$$? Y’all need to get off this man’s dick, Joey’s a better rapper, lyricist AND overall artist, bet all you Cole stans would be on Joey’s dick if y’all listened to him.