Busta Rhymes is known for being a beast on the microphone, but even he’s self-aware enough to know that there are other MCs with a skill level as intimidating as his own.
On Monday (August 28), SPIN published an article titled “Famous Rappers Name Their Favorite Underrated Rappers.” Whereas most artists featured on the list reeled off several names, with some even going into great detail, Busta kept it succinct as he seemed to have his answer ready.
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“Roc Marciano,” he said. “A lot of people are scared to rhyme with him.”
Both spitters go way back in the NYC Hip Hop scene. Roc Marci was once a member of Busta’s collective, Flipmode Squad, in the late ’90s and early ’00s, during which time he was even featured on Busta’s Anarchy album.
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The Brooklyn rap legend previously heaped high praise on the Long Island native in 2018, placing him in his Top 5 rappers of all time.
“When I say Roc Marci is my Top 5 MC ever, there’s a whole lot of science behind that,” Busta said during the rapper’s show at Manhattan’s Highline Ballroom. “The God Roc Marciano is a godsend.”
He added: “The precision, his ability to be an incredible architect with words. The man is a craftsman with the pen.”
Throughout SPIN‘s celebratory, Hip Hop 50-themed piece, many other rappers brought attention to their favorite unsung heroes — some predictable and others entirely unexpected.
“My favorite underrated rapper is Curren$y,” Jermaine Dupri said. “Although he took a different path, it became a whole new path for more rappers with the same mindset.
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“It’s very camouflage. It’s the same shit poppin’, the same flossin’ and the same level of braggadocious. It’s even more fly than whoever your favorite is.”
Bun B also kept it bar-centered, saying: “My favorite underrated rapper would be Boldy James. His continuous output of high-quality work paired with distinct collaborations with some of the best in the game is a credit to his focus on creating the best product possible for himself and his fans.”
Bay Area native G-Eazy, like a lot of rappers from the region, made it a point to show that he is who is because of where he’s from. Unsurprisingly, he said: “It would have to be E-40, one of the greatest who ever did it and got away with it.
“Not only a pillar and a king of the bay but also the whole west coast for that matter. He’s one of the most prolific artists we’ve ever seen and an originator of so much of the slang and culture we hear and see every day.”
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Saba, on the other hand, paid tribute to Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), who he said has “historically been great the whole time; legendary freestyles, great beat selection, great singing voice, good albums. He’s just a big historical figure that needs to be respected as such.
“And he’s still flyer than most rappers. I feel like the older the man gets, the flyer he gets. Great acting career, too. Yeah, I’m gonna go with Yasiin Bey. Can we get him? Is he available? Could we put him on a project?”
