Rap Battle 90's Bracket Round 1: Dre Dre (6) vs Goodie Mob (11)

The godfather of G-Funk, Dre's a one seed in a battle of producers, and while he spent a lot more time making beats than spitting rhymes, he could hold his own on the mic. Honestly the only reason he isn't higher is he just doesn't have a big body of work as a rapper. But when he did drop bars they were memorable and massively chinfluential.

Who can forget their first time listening to The Chronic? Dre slowed it down and took hip hop places it had never been before and did something no one before him could accomplish - he put something together every white kid in the burbs could understand and connect with (like Beastie Boys) while maintaining full credibility on the streets (unlike Beastie Boys). It's on the short list of GOAT rap albums and Nuthin' But A G Thing is on the short list of greatest rap songs (and is probably my pick for most important). The iconic keyboard was first thing I ever learned to play in 8th grade piano (and that from a student, not the teacher), and probably the only thing I still remember.

Oh and he brought Snoop Dogg to the masses. Also Eminem.

Unfortunately Dre didn't follow up The Chronic for seven years by which point the game had changed massively, but 2001 still spit out multiple hits that hold up very well. We'll just pretend Compton never happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F0CAEoF4XM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE891IHxyV8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CL6n0FJZpk




Goodie Mob was my introduction to southern rap. I discovered C-Lo, Big Gipp and the crew on BET and was instantly hooked. While Outkast would eventually (far) surpass them, they still put together a solid career, and C-Lo would ultimately become a surprise household name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGy4bmG5SJw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKO43xG66OI