Melle Mel has once again stirred the pot, this time claiming Nicki Minaj should not come before Rakim or LL COOL J on any top rappers list.
In the latest segment from his conversation with The Art of Dialogue, the Hip Hop pioneer has given his thoughts on Nicki Minaj coming in at No. 10 on Billboard and VIBE’s 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list ahead of Rakim (No.13) and LL Cool J (No. 14). According to Mel, there’s no way Nicki should come before the Hip Hop legends.
“You know that’s some bullshit, come on now,” Melle Mel said when asked about Nicki coming in the Top 10. “[Big Daddy Kane] and them and Rakim and them they done put up 40, come on now, and I actually like Nicki Minaj but that’s some bullshit. You gotta understand what Hip Hop really is, whoever made what record.”
He added: “Rakim should never be [No. 14] because his style changed the game. The average rapper, from a certain point to a certain point, you had to rap like Rakim. The only time cats from my era that we had to alter our style to be more up-to-date with what he was doing and what was going on when he started rhyming within the rhymes and all that.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fhFkiYjjws
Melle Mel further explained that it’s a disservice to Hip Hop to have someone like Rakim not receive their flowers for everything they contributed to Hip Hop. To Mel, it’s just flat-out disrespect.
“How could you disrespect the game like that,” he asked. “You just talking about the pure rappers like Rakim and somebody like Kool G Rap. Those are basically the top rappers of the game, pure rappers, records aside and all, like just a pure rapper, Rakim, he should never be 14. I mean, if you’re talking records and all that, he would be closer to No.1 because of what he did for the game and the culture.
“See that’s the angle where I’m coming from. I’m coming from how the game changed and how the culture change. I’m not coming from who I like rapping because I don’t like the way nobody rap. I’m not listening to it. I don’t got no nobody in my head like that except for the most high, but to say LL and Rakim is 14 and 15 or somebody 17, but then Nicki Minaj is No. 10. Based on what? That’s where it don’t make sense, you know what I mean? That’s blasphemy.”
He continued: “I don’t got nothing wrong with Nicki Minaj. I like Nicki Minaj. She could write she, you know, decent looking chick, but you know, even if she was better than Rakim you don’t put over no goddamn Rakim, what kind of shit is that?”
Melle Mel’s latest comments arrive after he claimed Eminem is only a Top 5 rapper in the game because of the color of his skin.
During his interview with The Art of Dialogue, Mel argued that race played a role in the Detroit rap icon claiming the No. 5 spot on the 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time List — ahead of the likes of Biggie, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Rakim and LL COOL J.
“Obviously he’s a capable rapper,” Mel said. “If you was talking about sales, he’s sold more than everybody. If you were talking about rhyme style, okay he got a rhyme style. But he’s white. He’s white!”
Mel also questioned the impact and influence of Kendrick Lamar, who was crowned the second greatest rapper of all time by Billboard, behind JAY-Z. According to Melle Mel, the Pulitzer Prize-winner is a good lyricist and has made some good songs, but he “[doesn’t] translate into the street part of Hip Hop.”
Its safe to assume the avg person writing for magazines and blogs is around 25 years old. Which would mean Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and Nicki were hot during their high school years. I highly doubt any magazine writers are in their mid 50s and can talk about the impact Rakim, LL, Kane and them had in the game. I agree with Melle 100% but you have to take it with a grain of salt. I’m fine with them at least getting a nod.
Facts
Yea those are the same corny, fraudulent, unknowledgeable, clueless, tone deaf “journalists” that post articles on this garbage site
LMAO @ Rap Almanac. EXACTLY.
Love and respect to Melle Mel, but i can’t take him seriously until he cuts off the remaining 20% of his mustache.
I hope the Barbz attack this washed up has been.
Fuck your mother’s heart on the catafalque.
‘The Barbz’ ? You mean her mob of illiterate bitter pigeons? Foh…they’re gonna have no identity once this tranny crashes and burns.
Ya’ll been saying she will crash and burn for the past 15 years are ya’ll not tired yet 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Any top 50 rappers list shouldn’t include Nicki. Nor Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, Drake, Lil Wayne, 50 or Eminem. Now write an angry comment like ‘STFU LOL’, but if you listen to these pop artists, you don’t even scratch the surface.
So you think Nas is not one of the 50 greatest rappers of all time? When someone drops a classic album they say “he put out his illmatic”. When someone gets torn apart in a battle, they say “he got ethered”. But sure…. Nas ain’t up there. I’d love to see your top ten.
No Nas..? You really are an imbecile lol
I’m with him on this one. That’s an insult. She don’t even write her own rhymes. She’s one of the worst things to happen to hip-hop and black culture in the past decade. Terrible influence on young black girls. I hate that she gets praised just because people are scared of her ‘wrath’. There is not one real thing about that bird.
Who don’t write her own rhymes. Nicki is definitely capable of writing her own rhymes. Cause it sounds like how she talks
Now for once I actually agree with him. Nicki should be lower down.
Stop giving these corporations oxygen. Like Ice Cube said on The Predator, motherfuck Billboard and the editor. That we’re in a place now where this is relevant and talked about like it’s real is sad. I don’t see any hip hop sites rating who is the best rock bands of all time. There opinion should be seen as a joke and ignored.
I read this as just entertainment, Meel or whatever his name is, has no impact at all on rap music, he should be under pension, Nicki has earned her place, we know Nicki not this grey guy.
hahahahah…. oh you young fucks are so naïve and dumb. This guy literally wrote the first conscious hip hop hit (The Message). In 40 years from now, nobody will remember any Nikki song, but people will still be quoting “Don’t push me, cause I’m close to the edge…..”.
Yep. One of the GOAT hip hop songs. It changed the art form when they dropped hat shit.
Time machine old ass n*ggas talking bout the old days.
he’s absolutely right about this. Ra and L are ESSENTIAL top 10, you can make an argument that either or both are top 5 and not be wrong. but Nicki?! even putting her top 30, hell even 50 is being overly generous. anyone that wasn’t a teenage girl when Nicki was “poppin” does not consider her a true artist with actual quality music. sure she had a few huge songs, but then went OD on the pop with songs like Starships and Superbass WAY too fast and thats why she petered out as quickly as she popped off.
That’s straight Bull shit
That’s straight Bull shit