Rapper Kool Mo Dee thrived during hip-hop's nascent years as a vocalist whose tongue-twisting rhymes and speedy delivery put his counterparts to shame. On his 1987 album, How Ya Like Me Now, Kool came up with a ‘hip-hop report card': a method of rating MCs (Emcees, Masters of Ceremonies, Master Communicators, or rap vocalists) as a way of separating the premier MCs from their often one-dimensional, overrated counterparts ("Sucka MCs"). Building on this original list, Kool has put together an extensive rating system to compile the definitive list of the greatest MCs of all time. Kool rates each MC based on seventeen different categories, ranging from the artist's lyricism, vocabulary, and freestyling ability to his longevity, body of work, and social impact. Each artist is given a numerical score from one to ten in each of the seventeen categories, as well as an explanation for how this rating was determined. The book includes a complete discography and full-color photograph for each MC, and will also have supplemental lists, such as the top ten storytellers and top ten rhymers.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bad, almost got it,
By
This review is from: There's a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs (Paperback)
Kool Moe Dee without a doubt is one of the greatest ever do it and his selection of emcees to compile is genius. His choice of emcees shows his love for hiphop and respect for the art. However, the rank to me was the problem. It's a book about EMCEES so the era has nothing to do with skills. Industry Impact is also not important because we all know that skilled emcees are not really acknowledged by the media as influential artists and do not receive the accolades due. With people like Rakim, KRS, BIG, G Rap, Kane all high on there, I knew I had to get the book. But with Lauryn and Latifah ahead of Lyte, Meth ahead of GZA, Pac ahead of Common, Guru and Black Thought, I knew there was something wrong. I love Lauryn to death, she should be high on anyone's list because she is the FLAWLESS LYRICIST, however not the greatest female emcee. I feel she is more of a lyricist than an emcee, Lyte however is the greatest female EMCEE to ever rock a mic. Lyte is a GOD on the mic like Rakim, whereas Lauryn is in the next to succeed like Nas. I feel Latifah is a very positive woman and has influenced a string of respectable women, but thats it. Lyrically she isnt as good as Bahamadia and Jean Grae. GZA and Inspectah Deck are the greatest lyricists in the Wu-Tang, however as far as an emcee is concerned the two best have to be Mr. Meth and GZA, but with the gap between them in this book, I still have my doubts about its FLAWLESSNESS. I personally feel Tupac has more substance than Black Thought and more vocal strength than Common, but Common & Black Thought are all-round stronger candidates for any Lyrical Title than the late Tupac Shakur. More vocab, poetry, flow, imagination than him. Apart from some notable omissions like Canibus, Q-Tip, Inspectah Deck, Bahamadia, Eminem, RahDigga, etc., the candidates all deserve respect as Greats. I feel that Moe Dee should have called it "My TRUE 50 Greatest Lyrical Legends" or something like that. It seems like he deliberately omitted the strengths of others to suit his other favorites. MC Lyte has spit the tightest lines in the most unforgettable ways and they were all omitted. I feel the point to create such a book is to underscore the essence of hiphop and forget about international and public recognition but as a Legendary emcee as Kool Moe Dee, to give respect to where its due strictly and explicit to lyrical ingenuity elusive of accolades, records, Grammys awards, etc. Nonetheless, you should check it out for yourself. Its definitely worth-reading. For a Hiphop LOVER like myself, I was not very amazed with the ranking, the candidates definitely are worthy of their nominations though.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A really great Hiphop book...almost hits it dead on,
By
This review is from: There's a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs (Paperback)
This is a very solid book about the greatest Hiphop emcees from one who used to do it so well. It has some great pictures and I like his system of grading each MC. I also agree entirely with who he chose for the top 5. Ignoring placement and MC's that should have been left out, I'm left asking how he forgot a certain few: Kool Keith, who has been in the game since 1987-88, Aceyalone, absolutely better than almost anyone since 1991, underground or mainstream, should be in top 10, what about Biz Markie, Masta Ace? There were a couple others I had in mind but forget at the moment, but I can't fathom why Keith and Aceyalone were left out. Did he just pass them by every time they dropped an album?
Overall, a great book I recommend to any Hiphop purist or casual fan who needs to know more about Hiphop's beginnings. Great pictures, great ratings system, and a pretty accurate ranking of the MC's, but Mo Dee forgot about a couple legends. I can't wait for the movie to this book, and his upcoming book about the greatest Hiphop groups!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kool Mo Dee - The God of Rap/Hip Hop,
By "cynzworld" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: There's a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs (Paperback)
When God speaks, the wise will listen!! If you like/love Kool Mo Dee's music, then you'll absolutely love his book, "There's a God on the Mic - The True 50 Greatest MC's"! This is not just another list of MC's - this is the definitive Hip-Hop Bible. Previous attempts to rank MC's have been compiled by people who don't possess the knowledge, expertise and wisdom that Mo has - who better to write this book than a veteran practitioner of the craft?? This book is also a historical look at hip-hop/rap music and he provides the reader with thoughtful and thought provoking analysis of each rapper included on the list. It's written from a personal perspective and he includes an explanation of the categories used for ranking purposes. And for you sports fans, Mo uses a lot of sports analogies in this book, which makes it even more enjoyable to read. If you're a serious student of musicology, hip-hop-ology or rapology, this book is required reading! Peace
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Search Customer Discussions
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
