Black Thought has revealed his top 10 rappers of all time and his list is full of heavy hitters.
During an Instagram Live interview with Fatman Scoop, The Roots frontrunner listed Rakim, Chuck D, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, The D.O.C., Rev Run, Schoolly D, EST and LL Cool J as his picks for his top MCs.
Later in the interview, he reflected on his creative process when collaborating with artists like Kool G Rap and Rakim. “If I did a record with G Rap, the nuances of my style that come from G Rap will probably stand out more because that’s who I was paired with,” he said.
“There’s certain artists that are one-fifth of who I feel makes me up and Rakim is one of those dudes,” he continued. “I occupy a dope space where most of the MCs that I have a certain level of respect for, that respect is mutual. That’s all the validity, that’s all really the accolades, that’s all my flowers while I’m still here.”
Aside from music, Black Thought, Questlove and their production company, Two One Five Entertainment, recently signed a first-look deal with Universal Television and Universal Television Alternative Studio. Variety reported that the three-year deal will expand their current relationship with NBC outside of their current role as the house band for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
“Many of our initial projects have been music-centric content and one of our goals is to become the premiere hub for music storytelling – a safe space for these stories to be shared across a variety of platforms,” the “Twofifteen” spitter said. “Eventually, we will expand outside of music with our stories. However, as we all know, every story has a rhythm and Two One Five Entertainment will harness that rhythm and create well-produced, compelling content.”
Watch Black Thought name his top 10 rappers of all time in the interview below.