50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time: Nos. 50-41

Due to their hard-nosed demeanor and gruff wordplay, Brooklyn duo M.O.P. — rappers Lil Fame and Billy Danze — have confirmed their standing on the East Coast circuit for greater than 25 years. For 1998 album  First Household 4 Life, they secured rap stalwarts reminiscent of Jay-Z, Gang Starr and Naughty By Nature’s Treach and enlisted DJ Premier’s manufacturing prowess. In 2000, the pair reached their apex with their largest hit thus far, “Ante Up.” The bombastic monitor was a gumbo of brash vitality and explosive manufacturing, a traditional which later morphed into an much more indelible remix that includes Busta Rhymes, Remy Ma and Teflon.  — CARL LAMARRE

Proud descendants of the Black cultural and human expertise, Brooklynites Mos Def and Talib Kweli stood as inheritors of the grand hip-hop custom. They had been additionally consultant of artists rejecting the overt violence characterizing the Infamous B.I.G. and Tupac period of hip-hop. Taking their title from Black activist Marcus Garvey — and sprinkling references to Black music icons like Slick Rick, Erykah Badu and Gil Scott-Heron into their free-flowing bars/rhymes — they broke by means of with 1998’s Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. The critically adored set was a crystal-clear distillation of that late-’90s sentiment, offered by two lyrically deft MCs and movement innovators, containing layers that also ship new insights 25 years later. A follow-up album lastly arrived in 2022 — however even when their output was restricted to only that first, singular doc, Black Star deserves its place within the pantheon. — DAN RYS

Longtime greatest mates Yung Miami and JT joined forces within the late 2010s to develop into rap’s rambunctious It-girls. The Metropolis Women effused their addictive IDGAF vitality by means of ratchet, bass-bumping membership anthems stuffed with charismatic, cocksure bars about utilizing males for cash and splurging on title manufacturers. “F–okay that Netflix and chill – what’s your net-net-net price?” Yung Miami rapped on Drake’s Billboard Scorching 100-topping “In My Emotions,” for one of many group’s largest crossover moments. Since then, the 2 have constantly promoted uncensored, sex-positive rap by means of platinum singles like “P—y Speak,” whereas increasing their storytelling expertise into TV by government producing Issa Rae’s HBO collection Rap Sh!t. — HERAN MAMO

From the start, Rae Sremmurd had their artistic formulation down pat: Swae Lee floating throughout melodies; Slim Jxmmi croaking out pummeling bars. Collectively, the Tupelo, Miss. sibling duo specialised in hypnotically minimal party-starters like “No Flex Zone” and “No Sort.” But Rae Sremmurd transcended their preliminary blueprint by evolving alongside one another — hits like “Powerglide” and the Scorching 100-topping “Black Beatles” stretched outward whereas folding in friends Gucci Mane and Juicy J, respectively. They usually additionally advanced individually, as 2018’s SR3MM gave Swae and Jxmmi their very own solo albums, whereas a joint third disc plugged again into the duo’s highly effective chemistry. — JASON LIPSHUTZ

The Ying Yang Twins reigned supreme over nightclubs, radio stations and center college dances of the early twenty first century after their 2000 debut single, “Whistle Whereas You Twurk.” The Atlanta duo – consisting of not-brothers Kaine and D-Roc – adopted that breakthrough with an epic string of get together singles and collaborations: “Salt Shaker,” “Wait (The Whisper Track),” “Shake” with Pitbull and their unforgettable function on Lil Jon & the East Aspect Boyz’s game-changer “Get Low.” The Ying Yang Twins’ crossover success was so plain that even pop princess Britney Spears enlisted the pair for her hip-hop-flavored Within the Zone deep reduce “(I Bought That) Increase Increase.” With their gritty chants, earworm hooks and iconic ad-libs (“Ah, up!”), Kaine and D-Roc’s position in bringing southern crunk to the mainstream stays unequivocal. — NEENA ROUHANI

They solely recorded collectively for 4 years, however Mount Vernon, New York’s Pete Rock & CL Clean left an indelible imprint on ’90s hip-hop. Rock’s mixture of tight drums and impressed funk, R&B and jazz crate-digging made his manufacturing model one of many standard-bearers for East Coast rap. That mixed with CL’s dexterous, commanding and soulful flows made units like breakout 1991 EP All Souled Out and all-killer 1992 debut LP Mecca and Soul Brother among the many most important listens of their period. The duo’s signature tune stays an absolute all-timer: “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” an impossibly poignant, smiling-through-the-tears elegy for late Heavy D & The Boyz dancer “Bother T. Roy” Dixon — raised to the heavens by the best sax loop in rap historical past. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Who knew that carrying garments backwards may ever develop into a factor? It did in 1992 when Atlanta duo Kris Kross bounced onto the scene with the bubbling “Soar.” Its eight-week stand atop the Scorching 100 — the primary rap document to reign for that lengthy — coupled with its success across the globe made for an early portent of hip-hop’s present worldwide reputation. Found by producer Jermaine Dupri and signed to Ruffhouse/Columbia, younger teenagers and greatest mates Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly (who died in 2013) and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith turned their switched-around nicknames right into a vogue assertion that thousands and thousands of followers eagerly adopted. Along with “Soar,” Kris Kross’s quick however estimable run by means of 1996 included crossover hits “Heat It Up” and “Tonite’s Tha Night time” and platinum albums Completely Krossed Out and Da Bomb — serving to pave the way in which for Bow Wow and different younger rap stars. — GAIL MITCHELL

“The Child’s rather more than hair and a smile” raps the hi-top fade-rocking half of Child ‘N Play in 1990’s shock hit movie Home Celebration. Even when skeptics noticed the party-rap duo as too protected and pleasant at a time when gangsta rappers had been firing pictures heard ‘around the world, the NYC duo’s impression on tradition was plain. Home Celebration (the primary within the movie collection) set the template for rappers eyeing the silver display screen, whereas their easygoing movement and relatable raps on frivolously funky classics like “Rollin’ With Child ‘N Play” and Scorching Rap Songs No. 1s “Ain’t Gonna Damage No person” and “Funhouse” influenced future crossover success tales like Flo Rida and The Black Eyed Peas. Plus, within the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, few (if any) rappers may boast a buzzier vogue aesthetic. — JOE LYNCH

Rapper Dwight “Heavy D” Myers & The Boyz (dancers/hype males Glen “G. Whiz” Parrish and Troy “Bother T. Roy” Dixon; in-house producer Edward “DJ Eddie F” Ferrell) was one other ‘90s hip-hop group — the primary signed to Uptown, future dwelling of Infamous B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige — that percolated on uplifting, feel-good get together vibes and easy dance strikes. After Heavy’s visitor function on hit singles by Levert (“Simply Coolin’”) and Janet Jackson (“Alright”) in 1989, the rapper (additionally Pete Rock’s cousin) and his crew definitively proved “We Bought Our Personal Thang” that very same yr, with their first high 5 rap hit. The light big — who died in 2011 — put his melodic movement and signature diddly-dee vocal riffs to good use on extra get together classics together with “Someone for Me,” “Bought Me Ready” and the R&B/pop crossover “Now That We Discovered Love.” — G.M. 

North Carolina fixtures ninth Marvel, Phonte and Huge Pooh lassoed the competitors once they shaped Little Brother within the early 2000s. The triumvirate boasted formidable wordsmiths in ‘Te and Pooh and a burgeoning producer in ninth, who earned his breakout second when he produced Jay-Z’s 2003 The Black Album standout “Risk.” LB’s first two albums, 2003’s The Listening and 2005’s The Minstrel Present, received over a cult fanbase with lush manufacturing, scintillating skits and lyrical landmines planted by the group’s cerebral MCs, notably on “Lovin’ It” and “Velocity.” Although ninth Marvel left earlier than the group’s third album, 2009’s Getback, ‘Te and Pooh’s unrelenting starvation remained intact by means of three extra initiatives, together with their 2019 gem Might the Lord Watch. — C.L.