[bigsqwill]

Think about the best of the best ala Eric Roberts circa the eighties. Who brought the most to the table and who is still carrying the torch into the future of the genre.

I'm gonna say Jay Z for the fact of longevity. He has had stellar production throughout his career and has seen his lyrics respected by the streets, critics and the mainstream (15 year old girls who can repeat the entire first verse of "Big Pimpin")

As for the underground I gotta say C.L. Smooth for almost the same reasons as stated above sans the mainstream success.

Let the games begin.