A Bay Area slurricane slams into Yonkers.

I took my 20 favorite rappers and put them in head-to-head matchups to battle for their rank in Rap Kumite.

Four fights into Rap Kumite, and the journey has been hella fun. We’ve witnessed some wild matchups—Evidence vs. Slug; GZA vs. Aesop Rock; and the all-timer between Pusha-T and Freddie Gibbs. Matchups I only thought about because I wanted to write about my favorite rappers, but I didn’t want to write just any old list. Matchups that forced me to pick each rapper’s 10 best songs (a completely subjective task) and run through them on heavy rotation for a week. Boo-hoo! These passion projects can be torturous. Ironic since we engage in them to escape the everyday stress.

So, anyway, the competition intensifies in Rap Kumite 7, as we ascend the tower and get closer to the top rank. This particular rap “battle” will forever be known as the “Battle of the Earls”. Earl Simmons, aka DMX, the no-nonsense hardcore rapper from New York versus Earl Stevens, aka E-40, Yay Area rap mogul with the slick slang. DMX hit the scene in 1998 like that asteroid hit Earth in Deep Impact. There was some buzz about him after a few hot features (“24 Hrs. to Live”, “Money, Power, & Respect”, “4, 3, 2, 1”), but It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot slammed into hip-hop and changed the landscape. Darkman X released a series of Number 1 albums after that and became one of the 90s most famous rappers. Dude made movies with Jet Li and Steven Segal.

Meanwhile, E-40 spent the 90s marinating, putting out music with The Click and doing his solo work, rapping with a variety of talent—West Coast gangster types, Dirty South rhymers, East Coast thugs, and players from all walks of life. He repped the East Bay tried and true for over a decade before he linked up with Lil’ John and had major commercial success. Forty Water’s music brings a bounce to it that DMX didn’t have. It’s super hyphy and loud, which limits it from diving into the hellish depths where DMX’s music is sourced.

Take your pick. I made mine for Rap Kumite 7.

DMX

“I’m not a nice person. I mean, I’d smack the shit out you twice, dog, and that’s before I start cursin’.”

DMX channeled both sides of spiritual duality. He battled with “Damien”, pushing back against the Devil’s temptations, calling on God for forgiveness when he was caught “Slippin’”. Then, he would flip that shit and either bring the fight on “X is Comin For You” or invite it, like on “Bring Ya Whole Crew”. He gave sermons on the stage and from the pulpit. He was violent and aggressive on most tracks, but he also recognized the pain he caused and begged forgiveness from the Almighty.

Few rappers spit with a fire as intense as what DMX put on record, but few rappers actually live the life they rap about. Earl Simmons had his demons. He was far from perfect, but he was about as real as it gets.

Favorite Track

“What’s My Name”

This isn’t a showcase of DMX’s lyrical prowess, but it sure is a motherfucker of a song. When those ominous piano chords snap, and DMX starts screaming out the question, “You think this is a fucking game?”, I believe we know it is not in fact a game.

Throw this track on your workout playlist and run through a wall. This is pure DMX.

E-40

“I don’t mean no harm, it’s the hood in me. Sippin’ on that Richard Hennessy. Psychedelic colors in my jewelery. Suckers hella jealous ‘cause you’re diggin’ me.

His Bay Area slang is embedded in rap lexicon. “Hyphy” was the movement of the mid-00s, going toe-to-toe with “chopped and screwed” rap’s commercial surge. E Cuarenta has packaged and delivered his signature off-beat flow and vocal inflection for 30 odd years. His early work leaned hard into gangster, and that shit is nice and all, but E-40 hit his stride with the rise of super hyphy thump he helped bring to mainstream radio with hits like “U and Dat (feat. T. Pain and Kandi Girl)”. I liked his music before, but if an alien landed in my backyard and asked me to hear the single best album from a human known as Earl Stevens, I’d put on My Ghetto Report Card and pour a glass of Earl Stevens Mangoscato.

Favorite Track

“Tell Me When to Go (feat. Keek da Sneak)”

“Ghostride the whip!”

What I said about DMX and “What’s My Name?”—how that song is pure DMX—well, that’s how I feel about “Tell Me When to Go”. This track is hyphy, and it’ll forever be the Bay Area’s anthem.

There can only be ONE!

This is Rap Kumite 7, reserved for the 7th spot in my “Top 10”. Styles matter in fighting and in hip-hop. I love the way DMX and E-40 rap. Some rappers create a name for themselves by being great at one thing or another, and with these two dudes, it’s all about their styles. The draw to their music isn’t necessarily to what they’re rapping about. It’s more about how they rap about it. It’s their delivery.

DMX threatens with his menacing growl before he strikes out with raw, manic power. E-40 brings a slurricane of slang to create unstoppable bars.

DMX

E-40 has been severely underrated his entire career. He’s definitely not given enough respect for the impact he’s had on hip-hop slang and for his skill. His been prolific with his releases, and maybe that’s diluted his career for some. No one gets hyphy like E-40.

Speaking of “impact”, I said it earlier: DMX changed the landscape of hip-hop. I’d heard two E-40 solo albums—In A Major Way and Tha Hall Of Game before I’d heard It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, and neither of those E-40 joints hit me in the chest, stopped me right in my tracks, like that DMX debut did, right from the jump. You heard “Intro”, and you knew you were in for some shit. He doesn’t have the vast catalogue that E-40 has, but his work is more powerful.

Congratulations! The prize is a special place in my heart.

RAP KUMITE CHAMPS

10. Evidence
09. GZA
08. Pusha-T
07. DMX

Next in Rap Kumite 6, the Battle for Los Angeles between two gangster rap icons.
*Previously on Rap Kumite 8...