Top 10 Rappers: #10

Side Note: So I originally started writing this as one post, but as the days turned into weeks and the post got longer and longer it became clear that it would have to be broken up.  So here we go part 1 of the Top 10 Rappers series.

#10 Dr. Dre

Ok, this list HAS to start with Dre.  While he might not have the sickest lyrical skills on the mic, he is one of the founders of the West Coast sound and has two of the best hip-hop albums to his name in the form of "The Chronic" and "The Chronic 2001."  Both are masterpieces.  Along with J-Dilla, Dre is one of the godfathers of modern beats.  His work with Eminem among others as a producer is legendary.  He is truly the original Kanye: a man who doesn't especially focus on lyrical mastery but instead creates an atmosphere of easily accessible sounds and vibes with mass appeal. But the fact that he has been able to do this with a genre as alienating as gangsta rap (which he along with the other members of N.W.A. pretty much invented) is even more impressive than what Kanye is doing today.