Greatest Rap Artists of All Time - 10,000 Fans Have Voted and the Results Will Shock You

There is one debate in music that never ends.

Not who is the best pop star. Not who is the best rock band. Those arguments cool down eventually.

The rap GOAT debate never cools down. Ever.

Kendrick vs Drake kept the entire internet busy for months in 2024. Eminem vs Jay-Z arguments have been running since 2002.

At Ultimate Rankings, we asked 10,000 fans to settle it. Who are the greatest rap artists of all time? Not based on awards. Based on what real fans actually think.

Here are the results. Some of them will surprise you. All of them will make you want to argue.

Greatest Rap Artists of All Time — Fan Voted Results

1. Kendrick Lamar — The Greatest of His Generation

Kendrick Lamar is the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He won it for his album DAMN. in 2017. The Pulitzer Prize. For a rap album.

• Pulitzer Prize winner — the first rapper in history to receive this award

• 5 studio albums, all critically acclaimed: Section.80, good kid m.A.A.d city, To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN., and Mr. Morale

• Won 17 Grammy Awards — the most of any rapper in history

• Performed the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2025 — one of the most watched performances ever

• His diss track 'Not Like Us' vs Drake became the fastest rap song to reach 1 billion streams

Fans on Ultimate Rankings voted Kendrick first because of one specific thing. He is the only rapper whose every album feels like a complete, deliberate work of art with something important to say.

2. Eminem — The Most Technically Gifted Rapper Ever

Ask any rapper — not any fan, any rapper — who they consider the most skilled lyricist in the history of hip hop.

Most of them say Eminem.

• Best-selling rap artist of all time with over 220 million records sold worldwide

• 15 Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album four separate times

• His album The Marshall Mathers LP sold 1.76 million copies in its first week — a record for a solo artist at the time

• Lose Yourself was the first rap song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song

• Rapper's Delight, Rap God, and Godzilla are three of the fastest rap songs ever recorded — all by the same person

3. Jay-Z — The Greatest Business in a Suit

Jay-Z is not just a rapper. He is a businessman. He told you that himself.

But before the business empire, before the 500 million dollar net worth, before Tidal and D'Ussé and Armand de Brignac, Jay-Z made some of the greatest rap albums ever recorded.

• Reasonable Doubt (1996) — still considered one of the greatest debut rap albums ever

• The Blueprint (2001) — changed how rap albums were made and produced

• 14 number one albums — the most by any solo artist in any genre in US history

• 23 Grammy Awards — the most Grammy wins of any rapper ever

• First rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Fans on Ultimate Rankings place Jay-Z third because of a simple argument. He has never made a bad album. In 30 years of making music, Jay-Z has never released something that was embarrassing or below his level.

4. The Notorious B.I.G. — The Greatest Pure Rapper

Here is a question with a simple answer.

Who is the greatest pure rapper — just the voice, just the words, just the flow — in the history of hip hop?

Most serious rap fans say The Notorious B.I.G..

• Released only two studio albums in his lifetime — both are considered all-time classics

• Ready to Die (1994) and Life After Death (1997) are both in the Rolling Stone 500 greatest albums of all time

• His storytelling ability was unmatched — he could make you see every detail of what he was describing

• Juicy, Big Poppa, and Hypnotize remain three of the most listened-to rap songs ever made

• Shot and killed in 1997 at 24 years old — the debate about how great he could have become never ends

5. Tupac Shakur — The Most Human Rapper

Tupac Shakur made rap feel personal in a way no one had before.

He rapped about his mother. About poverty. About police violence. About hope. About things that were real and specific and that connected with millions of people who had never met him.

• Over 75 million records sold — one of the best-selling music artists ever

• Acted in major Hollywood films while maintaining a rap career — Poetic Justice, Above the Rim, Juice

• All Eyez on Me is one of the best-selling rap albums in history

• Shot and killed in 1996 at 25 years old. Still releases posthumous music that reaches millions.

• The Biggie vs Tupac debate is the longest-running argument in music history

The most common comment from fans on Ultimate Rankings who voted for Tupac: 'He was the most real.' Not the most skilled. Not the most commercially successful. The most real.

6. Nas — The Lyricist's Lyricist

In 1994, Nas released Illmatic.

He was 20 years old. He grew up in the Queensbridge housing projects in New York. And he made an album that most critics still call the greatest rap album ever made.

• Illmatic — released 1994, 39 minutes long, zero bad songs

• Survived a decade-long feud with Jay-Z that produced some of the greatest diss tracks in rap history

• 'Ether' — his response to Jay-Z's 'Takeover' — is still considered the greatest diss track of all time by many fans

• Won his first Grammy at 48 years old for King's Disease in 2022 — proving he never lost a step

7. Drake — The Most Commercially Successful Rapper Ever

Drake divides rap fans more than anyone else on this list.

Some people think he is overrated. Some people think he is the greatest of all time. Almost nobody is in the middle.

• Most streamed artist in Spotify history — over 90 billion streams

• More Hot 100 hits than any other artist in history — more than Elvis, more than The Beatles

• Certified Lover Boy broke the record for the biggest streaming debut ever when it was released

• He lost the Kendrick feud in 2024. His response was to release two more platinum albums.

• Started his career as a child actor on the TV show Degrassi — nobody else on this list did that

Fans on Ultimate Rankings are split almost exactly 50-50 on Drake. Half think he belongs in the top five. Half think he should not be on the list at all. The debate is one of the most active on the entire platform.

8. Lil Wayne — The Bridge Between Eras

Lil Wayne was the most important rapper in the world between 2006 and 2011.

• Tha Carter III sold one million copies in its first week in 2008

• Mixtape run from 2006-2009 is considered the greatest mixtape run in hip hop history

• Discovered and signed both Drake and Nicki Minaj — two of the biggest artists of their generation

• Has over 100 Billboard Hot 100 entries — one of the highest totals ever

9. Snoop Dogg — The Culture

Snoop Dogg is not just a rapper. He is a cultural institution.

He has been famous for 33 years. He has outlasted trends, generations, and format changes.

• Doggystyle (1993) — sold 800,000 copies in its first week, a record at the time

• Lit the Olympic torch at the Paris 2024 Olympics — the most unexpected celebrity moment of recent memory

• Over 35 million records sold worldwide

• Collaborated with everyone from Tupac and Biggie to Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams

10. The Debate That Never Stops

Fans on Ultimate Rankings cannot agree on position ten. Current contenders:

• Rakim — invented modern rap lyricism in the 1980s. Every rapper who came after owes him something

• André 3000 — one half of OutKast. Many critics say he is the most creative rapper of all time

• Kanye West — five consecutive number one albums. Changed rap production permanently. Everything else is complicated.

• Ice Cube — NWA member. Changed what rap was allowed to say. One of the most important voices in hip hop history

Your vote on Ultimate Rankings decides who makes it.

Your Vote Decides Who Is Greatest — Cast It Now

These artists gave hip hop its voice, its attitude, and its power.

Is Kendrick really number one? Should Eminem be higher? Does Biggie or Tupac deserve the top spot?

This debate is live right now on Ultimate Rankings. Your vote matters.

Also read: Greatest Pop Songs of All Time — Fan Voted Rankings — From hip hop to pop — see how the greatest pop songs compare to the rappers who helped create them.

FAQ

Who is the greatest rap artist of all time?

Based on fan votes at Ultimate Rankings, Kendrick Lamar is the greatest rap artist of all time, followed by Eminem and Jay-Z. Kendrick tops the list as the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize and the holder of the most Grammy Awards of any rapper in history.

Is Eminem or Jay-Z the better rapper?

This is one of the most active debates on Ultimate Rankings. Eminem fans argue he is the more technically skilled lyricist. Jay-Z fans argue he has the better overall body of work and greater longevity. Fans are split almost evenly between the two.

Who is the greatest rapper of all time — Biggie or Tupac?

The Biggie vs Tupac debate is the longest-running in hip hop history. Biggie is widely considered the better pure lyricist and storyteller. Tupac connected more personally and emotionally with a broader audience. On Ultimate Rankings, Biggie ranks slightly above Tupac based on current fan votes.

Who is the most influential rapper in history?

Rakim is widely credited as the most influential rapper in history by music historians — he invented modern rap lyricism in the 1980s. Among top hip hop artists ranked by commercial success and cultural impact, Eminem and Tupac are the most globally influential.

Where can I vote for the greatest rapper of all time?

Cast your vote at Ultimate Rankings (ultimaterankings.com) — the fan-powered platform where your vote updates live music rankings every day.