The Best 30 Rappers Over 30
A few Tuesday’s ago (May, 19th to be exact) we saw album releases from Busta Rhymes, Method Man/Redman, & of course, Eminem. This was so far the biggest release date of 2009. All three acts that I mentioned are veterans in the game and well respected by their peers. Another thing they have in common: They’re all over the age of 30. If you think about it, most of Hip-Hop’s elite are over the age of 30. I guess it’s no longer a young man’s game. So I was thinking, since you see a lot of lists with titles such as “25 Hottest Celebs Under 25” or “40 Richest Under 40”, why not The Best 30 Rappers Over 30? But for this list, we got set some ground rules. #1 of course is the most obvious; you gotta be over the age of 30 (That throws out people like Weezy, Lupe, Drake, & T.I.). #2, you have to be 30 as of this list (Both The Game & Joe Budden will be 30 this year, but aren’t as of yet). #3, you got to be active and releasing records with new material that’s relevant (Rakim & Big Daddy Kane are legends but they don’t make this list). Other than that, the only requirement is being 3-0 or older. So, here’s it: The Best 30 Rappers Over 30 (Ordered from oldest to youngest). 30 is the new 20! Did I forget anybody? (Update: Fabolous replaces Beanie Sigel)
Ice Cube (June 15, 1969) – 39
Jay-Z (December 4, 1969) – 39
Raekwon (January 12, 1970) – 39
Q-Tip (April 10, 1970) – 39
Redman (April 17, 1970) – 39
Ghostface Killah (May 9, 1970) – 39
Fat Joe (August 19, 1970) – 38
Scarface (November 9, 1970) – 38
DMX (December 18, 1970) – 38
Method Man (April 1, 1971) – 38
Snoop Dogg (October 20, 1971) – 37
Common (March 13, 1972) – 37
Busta Rhymes (May 20, 1972) – 37
Black Thought (October 3, 1972) – 36
Eminem (October 17, 1972) – 36
Bun B (March 19, 1973) – 36
Nas (September 14, 1973) – 35
Mos Def (December 11, 1973) – 35
Andre 3000 (May 27, 1974) – 35
Styles P (November 28, 1974) – 34
Big Boi (February 1, 1975) – 34
Jadakiss (May 27, 1975) – 34
50 Cent (July 6, 1975) – 33
Talib Kweli (October 3, 1975) – 33
Rick Ross (January 28, 1976) – 33
Cam’ron (February 4, 1976) – 33
Kanye West (June 8, 1977) – 31
Ludacris (September 11, 1977) – 31
Young Jeezy (October 12, 1977)- 31
Fabolous (November 18, 1977) – 31
Some of these dudes is old as fuck!
what are you 2 yrs old or something?
fuck dat. i wanna see da best UNDER 30.
i agree…..i seriously always thought redman was older than method man
Fabolous is over 30 u gotta put him up
how about Kool G Rap??
how about reading the intro like normal ppl?? haha jp….but really…..
Where is Phonte? He is 30. You can switch somebody else out for him.
He one of the best doing it!
Come on nappyafro!
whens the last time phonte had a solo album?? mayb thtts y he didnt make it on the list………….plus fabolous is better neways
haha not even close
WHERE IS BUN B!!!!!!!!?????
Bun B is RIGHT under Eminem at age 36
o ya and imagine wen u do this list 10 yrs from now?????…..cus i dont
I wonder how many grandfathers are on this list?
I just don’t get how you can keep DMX up there if you won’t put Kane or Rakim in. Ra’s done more than X in the past couple years.
Replace Fabolous with GZA
Replace Rick Ross with Rakim (he’s dropping an album this year)
Replace Kanye West with KRS-One (KRS droppin album and Kanye can’t rap)
Replace Cam’ron with Dr. Dre
Replace Young Jeezy with Phonte
Dre don’t even write his own rhymes.
I’m sure he writes about half, but atleast he’s not taking credit for all his rhymes.
I’m just saying that bottom six (excluding Ludacris) is looking pretty weak and could do better.
listen jus cus u like 2 wear ur tight jeans and listen to ur charles hamilton cd on ur way to high school on the short bus to ur senior prom doesnt mean phonte is better than fab….fabs is more versatile thn dude,sold more albums, has more punchlines thts for damn sure and prolly has a song tht ur boyfriend likes and ur lil sister loves….u phonte cant appeal to both street n backpack crowd…..neways u sed replace kanye west w/ krs-one….gtfoh how u gon say hes more relevant n makes better music…n thn u sed replace young jeezy w/ phonte…20 outta my 20 cousins would choose young jeezy over phonte anyday doesnt tht say sumthin…were goin by the criteria not who u have posted in ur bedroom.
Hey, hey!!! lol (not to be an asshole)… I’ve been wearing fitted clothes for the past 3-4 years and I listen to everything, from Jeezy to Pac, Gucci to Little Brother, Three 6 (before Da Unbreakables) and Evil Pimp to Ye, Common, and Kid Cudi. Even some Led Zeppelin, Wille Hutch, or some smooth jazz don’t hurt.
Don’t hate on the clothes or that type of swag. That’s just us on some grown people stuff (with money), dealing with grown people things (with money), and 80% of the things we are involved with is not in the rap/urban industry (like business, finance, or design).
I just like when every style gets their deserved respect. I don’t hate on the people wearing tall tees and roc jeans, because…one, don’t have the money; two, young as hell; or three, don’t have to deal with casual/business things/people all the time.
Just my thoughts…
O yeah…they both are equally good to me. Little Brother inspires me more just because 9th Wonder on the Fruity Loops is crazy mixed with good lyrics and real hip hop topics.
Listen hoe. I’ve been listening to hip hop before you were playing your bullshit r&b cds in high school. Charles Hamilton? You really think I listen to him after the replacement list i added?
Just because you sell records doesn’t mean your a good rapper. Fab makes his music to sell to a younger audience. His lyrics are not impressive and i’ll bet anything he works longer on choruses than verses. Fab realistically shouldn’t even make the top 50 over 30 list. And anyone dissing Boogie Down Productions should change their genre of music to anything besides hip hop.
Yeah Dre never wrote nothing since he was in high school doing papers, if he wrote that back then. Where is Cee-Lo? He was a good rapper. We don’t really have much of a choice nowadays with the best at over 30. We definitely don’t have much of a selection under 30.
Who in the hell is this Phonte character? Never heard of ‘em. Sounds like I’m not missing much.
you kidding right? Get from under that rock and go to google. You missing out.
Did u say replace Cam’ron? And with Dr.Dre of all people? Are u a fuckin nuthead?
Pharoahe Monch. Period.
Well, about Mos Def. Anybody hear his new album? It definitely has other world vibes, barely a rap album with his singing and the instrumentals.
@ chris porter
dude u hav a good perspective on life….i c0-sign evrything u sed
What happen to Candyman remember dat man that made that knockin boots song. he wuz tyte
No Kool G Rap or K-Rino, this list is a fraud.
smh, I see you ain’t take my suggestions
I think its a good list! and what about those rappers over 40!! Let’s get that list started!
i know u do
Dang, everyone knows that you have a thing for B-Easy!
LL COOL J
LL washed up like dingy shirts
His old albums are still better quality than most of these new cats. He just did an album and he’s still doing shows. He should be on the list too…another one of my suggestions.
LL can suck my fucking nuts, he aint worth shit!
i read that jerm! i think b-easy is a nice man with great articles. i like his articles! stop hating!!
I’m the best mayne.
um yo, we all know, Dr. Dre cannot rap, he raps like Puff Daddy. Both of them are hellafied producers, but NOT top rappers in the least bit.
i agree with almost all 30, but how the fuck are you not gonna have pimp c on the list? && you have rick ross on there? whats up with that shit, he’s so much of a fucking poser, and that right there shudd just make you not want to put him on there. and what about krazie, and lazie? fat joe? he’s a fat ass wetback he ain’t even that fucking good. repsect your list though.
Because Pimp C is dead. Do you see Biggie, Pun, Big L or Pac on there?
Yeah, Dr. Dre shouldn’t make this list, but the bottom 6 (excluding ludacris) is still weak.
Fab is definitely maturing lyrically, but yeah some of these choices (Rick Ross and Jeezy) would be replaceable. Twista should replace Ricky Ross and Young Jeezy should be replaced by, i dunno, someone
Also, how the fuck is DMX still relevant, if anything, he’s one of the most irrelevant rapper nowadays, with his name randomly popping up merely because of the crimes he commits and the retarded statements he makes.
Put canibus on the list. He 34 and has put out tons of material. Yes, some are assss, but he got rip the jacker and for whom the beat tolls which are both fire.
“Put canibus on the list. He 34 and has put out tons of material. Yes, some are assss,”
I stopped reading after that.
I sorta like Canibus, but nobody cares about him anymore other than underground heads who kiss his feet. His beat choice is complete ASS.
it seems as if none of you fucking idiots know what your talking about. Where the hell is Dr. Dre, Immortal Technique, Atmosphere, Mos Def, Mobb Deep, I can come up with plenty more
where’s MF doom?
Wtf? No Rakim? Smh…