Group Thread: Hip Hop Olympics

The BITM crew talks to each other a lot, way more than about the stuff you see on here. I (The Niftian) decided to bring y'all a little further into our world by sharing some of our convos with you. We've told you before that we don't always agree on stuff, and here is one example of that. Common posed a question recently, which prompted the following discussion...






If Hip-hop had an Olympics, which seven emcees would you send?








Twon Johnson: Mine are Andre 3000, Nas, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Phonte, Black Thought and Elzhi

StayFly: Nas, 3 Stacks, Em (def for the battles) for the vets you need on the team. Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica (I know Jay ain't that "young," but young to rapping, I guess) for the young guns. Rapsody and Jean Grae for the ladies (I guess Rapsody could go for the young guns, too)

Irish Ninja: My squad goes like this: Paten Locke, Skyzoo, Apathy, Grip Grand, Von Pea, Aesop Rock, and Drake. I can already hear y'all about Drake, but whatever; I'm trying to win.

StayFly: Drake over Em? Besides singing...you could say Em has had more commercial success if that's what you're going for...

Irish Ninja: If we're going for commercial success, then I'll change my roster. But skills? As popular as it is to hate on Drake, he's got crazy metaphors and flows. If his subject matter was anything else besides the emo is he's on, his wordplay would be better received. As for the rest of my roster, each is a beast in their own right in my book. Wish I would have drafted Elec, though...

Twon Johnson: What would the events be, though?

StayFly: I'm assuming a freestlye battle until you drop, hence Em being on my team.

Ra'z Al Ghoul: Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, Rakim, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Elec, Joe Budden. 3 Stacks!!! And Phonte, smh. I got caught off guard with Phonte. Damn...

Irish Ninja: Events? Definitely Last Man Standing, Freestyle Relay (spit 16 bars and hand off)...something about verbal gymnastics has GOT to be in there.

StayFly: Nice...and def got to be a back and forth like Jadakiss and Style P do (I guess a shorter relay?). Who would be the judges...producers? Or other rappers, too?

Ra'z Al Ghoul: If there was a set schedule of events, my roster might change.

Irish Ninja: Then let me throw this in the mix (yup, I said it...just like that): who would you choose to be your squad's coach?

Twon Johnson: Judges would have to be producers/DJs. Black Thought is our coach, Nas is our captain.

StayFly: Hmm...then I'm gonna need a judges list, because for coach I think I'ma go with KRS One. Assistant coach is DJ Premier, but if he's a judge (I think he should be), then I'd need another assistant.

Ra'z Al Ghoul: .....Kanye

Twon Johnson: BOOOOOOOO!!! Ra'z, your squad is taking an "L!"

Irish Ninja: RZA is the coach 'round these parts, with El-P as his assistant.

StayFly: I'd have to say producers that at least been around in the 80s/90s (even the late 90s): Preem, 9th Wonder, RZA, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Hi Tek, Pete Rock, Dr. Dre, Alchemist.

Irish Ninja: Rza can't judge, he's my coach...

StayFly: No doubt, good coach. So what, like 5 judges? I don't know what's an appropriate number. I'm assuming one judge we can all agree on is Kool Herc? So that's one...I'd put in a vote for 9th, because I want Preem as coach. Unless y'all think Preem should really be judge, which I don't think I could argue with.

Irish Ninja: I vote Jazzy Jeff as Judge #2.

StayFly: Maybe six judges; that way we all get one judge...if we all think Herc is an unanimous judge. Hey, wait a minute: would Drake be disqualified because he's from Canada? I'm assuming it's a U.S. hip-hop team!

The Niftian: Kool Herc and KRS One as coaches, RZA as an assistant coach, Nas and/or Andre 3000 as captains (due to their tenure in the game), Eminem, Jean Grae, Kendrick Lamar to round out the squad. If we could raise the dead, my boy Eyedea would DEF be on my list.

Irish Ninja: Yea, if I can't have Drake, I'll take Blu. Nifty, I was seriously considering Eyedea! I only passed because of the whole "dead" thing, may he rest in peace.

This convo isn't even complete, y'all! We usually hash out a topic over the course of a couple days. Stay tuned to the site, though, because I'll be keeping you updated on the things we love and talk about most: hip-hop! Now, with all that being said, who's in YOUR Hip-Hop Olympic 2012 Squad? Leave the comments below!