The best '00s rappers include any and all worthy artists who influenced hip-hop music between 2000 and 2010. This decade brought with it some of the most talented rappers the music world has ever seen, including the likes of Lil' Wayne, Rock Ross, Nas and Drake. Some rappers on this list were also fantastic in the 90s, but continued to be extremely relevant during subsequent years. Agree with the choices on this best '00s rappers list? Vote them up! Obviously, you can also vote down those artists you don't think deserve to be listed. Also? If you have a particular favorite rapper from the '00s that isn't on this list, by all means, add away!
Rap music skyrocketed to popularity in the 2000s, with artists like Eminem leading the way, as the genre went totally mainstream. In addition, the '00s saw a whole slew of cross-over rap artists charting, including the likes of OutKast and Gnarls Barkley. Some of the biggest selling albums of this decade were rap albums, including Jay-Z's 'Blueprint' albums, Nelly's 'Country Grammer' and 2000's 'The Marshall Mathers LP' by Eminem (produced by Dr. Dre). Diddy, formerly known as Puff Daddy in the 90s (and formally known as Sean Combs), released the album 'The Saga Continues...' as "P. Diddy" in 2001 and, after changing his stage name (again) to just "Diddy," he released the wildly popular album 'Press Play' in 2006. And, while Ludacris released his first album in the 90s, his major label debut came in 2000 with 'Back for the First Time.' He followed that up with 2001's 'Word of Mouf' -- thus, earning a spot on this list of the best rappers of the 2000s.
And of course, no discussion of the best '00 rappers would be complete without a mention of Kanye West. West produced for others during the 90s and early 2000s (including incredible work on Jay-Z's 'Blueprint' album), but in 2004, with the release of his debut album, 'The College Dropout,' Kanye became a huge commercial success. 'The College Dropout' established West as one of the most talented rappers/hip hop artists of the decade.
Yes, it's easy to put together a list of the best '00s rappers with names like Eminem, Kanye West and Jay-Z, but digging a little deeper produces some outstanding artists like Talib Kweli and Jadakiss.
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