Ghostface Killah/Rakim/Brother Ali

This is the most informative seminar on hip-hop microphone skills the Twin Cities will likely ever experience. While Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, and KRS-One would all get some votes, Rakimis rightfully regarded as the greatest MC who ever drew breath, duemostly to his quicksilver-smooth flow and pioneering, now pervasivelyinfluential, rhyme schemes. The Wu-Tanger Ghostface Killahis a gloriously idiosyncratic word-slinger who has dropped as manyfive-star discs as Jay-Z over the past decade, without Jigga’s boorishmaterialism. And Brother Ali has pulled slightly ahead of Atmosphere’sSlug in their thrilling competition for best local rhyme slayer.Speaking of competition, we suspect that none of these three will beslacking when the potential for embarrassment by comparison is so highand nigh.

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