Hey, everyone. Anthony Fantano here, Internet's busiest music nerd. I hope you're doing well. It's time to get a little bit silly on this channel today with a tier list. A tier list that's been sitting in my notes for a while now in terms of, 'Will I? Won't I?' And that's the official Anthony Fantano white rapper tier list. Okay, look, off the bat, the concept, the idea of a white rapper is a topic that can be spoken about contextually for ages. In fact, I even have a great conversation with FD Signifier about this very topic that we will link down to below if you're looking for some more intelligent discourse on that issue, then we're going to have here.

And look, I know not every white rapper that I'm going to discuss today in this video is good. And I know that the list that I have in front of me today, curated by Austin, doesn't include every significant white rapper of all time ever. This is really just an abridged, abbreviated list covering what I guess you could say are numerous bases of white rappers. And if you guys want a part two where I cover more names and you want to suggest some additional names for a part two tier list, we can do that.But in the meantime, the tier list and the list of names that I'm going to go over is the list that we have.

So let's get into the tier list, starting with Action Bronson. A guy who really came up in the 2010s, made a name for himself with some pretty fun singles and mixtapes, great flow, a ton of personality, verses that are typically loaded with food references and just really outlandish scenarios and depictions of himself that add to his charm and his character. Love projects from him, like Rare Chandeliers, for example. I think he's come out with some good stuff over the years, even if his core album discography is inconsistent. I still do like to check out an Action Bronson feature or single when it's out, and still think he carries a lot of weight as an artist, which is why I would put Action Bronson pretty solidly in the B tier. I think he's a formidable, a talented, a respectable white rapper.

Okay, hitting a quick clip at the start of this. We are moving on to the man, the legend, the lyricist extraordinaire, Aesop Rock. What can be said about this man that has not been said a million times already, even by me in numerous reviews of his records over the years? Very few men are as conceptual and verbose and as coded as Aesop is, regardless of genre. And when it comes to word play, word choice, word assembly, he truly is unparalleled. The guy has been at it for years and years and years now and is arguably still coming out with material that is as good as the stuff he broke into the underground with back in the day. But yeah, as far as consistency, talent, catalog, contributions to the genre, overall messaging and ethos, so on and so forth, I feel like Aesop Rock is pretty much like a model white rapper. I think you could say we'll put him in the S tier. Aesop's great.

Okay, next. Continuing to alphabetical through the list over here. We have Beastie Boys. I mean, legends, absolute legends. So many classics under their belt, so many great records, so many ground-breaking songs. I mean, just like game-changing music, even if out of the gate, their style and their sound wasn't as deeply indebted to the roots of hip hop as some '80s rappers were with some of the rock fusions and with it being just a lot of frat party rap and that thing.

But not too long after that, they really did start making some of the best rap records of all time between Paul's Boutique, between Ill Communication, even Hello Nasty, I think, is very forward-thinking for its time with the production, even if it is a little bloated and inconsistent as an overall album. Also, lyrically, just love their chemistry, love the routines that they got in on as a trio that are all like, obviously, a callback to the golden era of hip hop in the '80s, and yet they still kept that sound, and they still kept that style sounding fresh deep into the 2000s. Even though I am afraid of filling up the S tier on this list prematurely, I am going to throw these guys in there as well. I'm throwing them in S, too. Bam. Beastie Boys are an S tier from me as well.

All right, next in the white rapper list, we have Bad Baby, Danielle Bregoli. Catch me out outside. Yada, yada, yada. I mean, look, a lot of people hate on Bad Baby, and I get and I understand why. She is a polarizing and a controversial figure. We're not going to go too deep into the back history of that because it's unnecessary. I'm sure many people who are watching are aware, or if you don't know, you don't need to know. But I can't admit that Danielle does have a couple of bangers under her belt. And on top of that, she did not too bad in the Alabama Barker diss track, beef, back and forth situation. She certainly came out the victor there in my eyes anyway. So even if she's not somebody who's music I'm really excited to dig into that deeply, and she's not someone who's always on my radar as far as new output, when I do come across one of her songs, it usually does at least capture a vibe and is fun. So I don't know. I feel like we can put Bad Baby in E, Bad Babe E. We can put Bad Baby there.

Okay, next in our list over here, we have the man, the myth, the legend, the one and only, boom, El-P. One-half of Run the Jewels, also known for his amazing solo work over the years, Company Flow, Def Jucks, really just being a pivotal figure within the New York underground hip hop and backpack scene for years and years and years and years.

Again, this guy is a legend, highly influential, and really just an incredible talent. His delivery and his writing is just so thoughtful and so gritty. And like with Aesop Rock, who I mentioned earlier, you're just talking about so much fantastic talent that is playing out consistently over such a long period, regardless of what era of El-P you're talking about. He's putting out great stuff. And also, can't forget about the fact that this guy is also in his own right, a top-tier producer, too. It's his beats that are sound tracking all of those amazing Run the Jewels bangers. So yeah, but where would I place El-P? I mean, again, another artist who I think there's definitely an argument for putting him in S. There's certainly an argument for putting him in S, too. But I think for the sake of this not being too lopsided, I will make him an A placement, a very high A placement at the very least. But yeah, El-P, another incredible white rapper, in my opinion.

Okay, next in the list, we have G-Eazy? Yeah, G-Eazy. What is there to say about G-Eazy? I mean, came up in the 2010s, doesn't have a single classic to his name. All of his albums are underwhelming at best, and a lot of his latest material doesn't even see him dealing in hip hop that much. So I don't really know. I just don't really care for or rate G-Easy as a rapper, honestly. I've never really heard a whole G-Eazy verse that blew my mind. I've never had a G-Eazy song stuck in my head. I mean, he doesn't come across a super terrible or toxic person. And I don't think he makes the worst music out there in the world. For the most part, it's okay. He's certainly a more talented rapper than he is a 'rock' artist or 'whatever other genres he's experimented with' artist. So I don't know. I think G-Eazy is passable. If a G-Eazy song came on at a party, I might look over my shoulder for a second, but for the most part, I'd be pretty unbothered by it. I guess we could say G-Eazy could go in the D-section, maybe also E as well. I'll put G-Eazy in the E-section because there's no G here. It just goes up to F. There's no G. Otherwise, G-Eazy would go in G. All right, next, let's talk about Kid Rock.

"My name is Kiiiiiiiid!" Kid Rock is a special, weird, annoying anomaly. A guy who's obnoxious presentation and the content within his music and a host of other things pretty much overshadows anything that you could say his work in the past because certainly nothing he's made recently is great. Yeah, pretty much everything about this man overshadows anything that was redeemable about his music in the past. And looking back at that older stuff, be it Devil Without a Cause or the stuff that came out even earlier, it's not like those records have aged that well. Kid Rock's rapping has always been mediocre at best. I think for sure he has the capacity to every once in a blue moon bust out a fun, entertaining party jam that gets the crowd moving. But the thing is, so many artists have the capacity to do that. And at least with those other options, you're probably getting more solid discographies and less blind, stupid patriotism and culture war nonsense, where you're unloading bullets into cans of Bud Light like a loser. I'm going to put Kid Rock in the F section because there's really no reason to be interested in Kid Rock.

Okay, next in the list, we have Yung Lean, Scandinavian internet rap legend, Sad Boys boy, Drain Gang cohort as well, I guess you could say. And yeah, I mean, honestly, I've never really been big on Yung Lean as a rapper. He's not really a guy who I'm blown away by in terms of his lyricism or even his flow and vocal delivery. But with that being said, I feel like there is validity to what Yung Lean has done over the years in terms of certain aesthetics and vibes and production choices in his music, and creating a certain essence with his sound in the cloud rap lane. That was truly his own and led to a lot of interesting records, not only from him, but numerous artists connected to that Drain Gang, Sad Boy network. I do think there is a lot of validity and something truly be special about what Yung Lean, what has been built off of his music over the years, even if it's not my favorite thing in the world. I would definitely put him in the C tier for sure. There we go. Going further into the list, we have... ugh, Little Dicky.

I don't really know what I can say here that I have not said a million times already. This man makes some of the most annoying and unfunny music I think I have ever heard in my life. His songs are truly so deeply cringe to the point where I don't know how he got hot in the first place. I'm going to make quick work of this part and put him in the F row as well.

Okay, next. Lil Xan. How did we get here? Okay, who do we have next?

Mac Miller, the late great Mac Miller. Songwriter, rapper, lyricist, producer, extraordinaire, who I think had one of the more versatile and interesting careers of the 2010s, certainly one of the most respectable rappers, just generally speaking, to come out of that initial big internet wave and push in the 2010s. Many of his records have aged quite nicely and have become modern classics in recent years, with even some of the posthumous stuff from him that's dropped as of late, being excellent and really measuring up quality-wise. Also a guy who very much, over the duration of his career, very much understood his place within the genre culturally as a white artist, too. It's just so obviously a tragedy to have lost him at the place that we did, considering how a lot of that music coming out after Swimming was shaping up. But yeah, Mac Miller is another artist I think I could put very firmly in the A tier, but I could see him inching up to a S given more time and seeing how the influence of his music measures up with maybe another decade or so.

All right, next we have Macklemore. Macklemore, Mr. Thrift Shop himself. Now, Macklemore, I have mixed feelings on. I think maybe a lot of people do. I mean, I'll say off the bat, I think there are a lot of positive things that you can list about Macklemore. I do think he's talented writer. I do think he's an artist who puts a lot of heart and thought into the concepts and the thematic focus behind many of his songs, too. I think he has a pretty decent ear for production. He is a passionate performer as well. He is also somebody, at different points in his career, has gone the extra mile to really stand up for what he believes in and put his name on the line for some significant causes.

And that's all good. But simultaneously, there are some tracks from him that are quite corny and awful and unlistenable. I feel like his catalog, unfortunately, is pretty inconsistent. His breakout record with Ryan Lewis, in my opinion, he hasn't really done anything nearly as good since then, and I'm not really anticipating that he will. And also on top of that, there are a lot of people who, for their own reasons, hold against Macklemore. Just a lot of the stuff that for him has proven to be a contextual headache, if you will, because there have been moments in his career where his popularity, because he's white, has overshadowed the work, the superior work, like provably superior work of a black artist in the hip hop genre. I mean, everyone remembers the infamous Grammy Awards where he won rap album over Kendrick, good kid, m.A.A.d city, which is insane. Even Macklemore himself knows he shouldn't have gotten that. But with that being said, as annoying as that is, that is not like Macklemore's doing. And he didn't handle an awkward situation well. Yes, that's true. But I mean, it's a really weird, fucking awkward situation that I don't think he anticipated or wanted to be thrown in to begin with.

How the guy, again, over history has worked through certain situations is not perfect. I feel like there are times when that is held against him more than it should be. At the end of the day, I feel like his music should count a little bit more than that, especially since when you actually look at the way he carries himself and the things he says in his music, he doesn't seem to be a super terrible guy. Again, this comes out in the sorts of songs that he makes and the points that he tends to really home in on in his music. If there's anything that I wish I had from Macklemore at this point, despite the very obvious talent that he has showcased on many a song, it's just a more consistent discography because, again, I just don't really think, creatively speaking, he's bounced back all that well from that first record with Ryan Lewis. So I don't know. I would probably put Macklemore over in the C-Row over there and leave it right there.

Okay, moving on. We have MGK [Machine Gun Kelly], multi-genre artist at this point. I mean, his new record, Lost Americana sees him doing a pop thing much of the time. And before that, he was going full pop punk. But then before that, for many, many years, he was just pretty much a rapper, and not one that I ever really cared much for or checked for. I mean, look, I've seen and heard lyrical performances from MGK where it seems like he's got down a lot of good, solid technical skill. But the substance of MGK's writing in verses just doesn't really do much for me personally. Sometimes I even question how much passion is in there to begin with, given that he so easily switched genres after taking such a massive L against Eminem when they were having their own little beef going. I mean, look, in the broader sphere of white rappers out there, I think you could do a lot worse than MGK. He's yet to make a record, in my opinion, that is truly great or classic or game-changing or significant. And even though his music doesn't do anything for me, I could see why other people get at least something from it. I could put him in the D row.

All right, moving on from there. Who do we have? We have, oh, the guy himself, Mr. Eminem. Yep, Eminem, Marshall Mathers, white rapper extraordinaire. There's a whole generation of white rappers who sound exactly the way they do because of this guy. He pretty much gave white rappers the handbook on how to be a white rapper. I mean, there are a lot of people that hold that against him, although, again, like in the case of Macklemore and other artists in general, here's the thing. He just has a sound and he has a style that got popular, and it just influenced a lot of people who grew up listening to him, and it is what it is. And look, his discography is not the most consistent either. Even the most hardcore Eminem fans know. The guy has put out some pretty mediocre stuff here and there. But with that being said, you can't really deny he has come out with some of the most game-changing and significant hip hop music of the past 20, 30 years. And while you can chalk up at least some of Eminem's popularity to the fact that he does appeal in a particular way because he's white, even Eminem would tell you this, he has reached and displayed over the course of his career a certain level of technical proficiency and talent and lyrical creativity the few artists have ever reached, even if he does display a lot of that with an occasionally cringy sense of humor, which is not for everybody.

And that's the thing. There are many Eminem songs and records that personally are not for me. But I can't really deny the guy's, incomparable impact, both commercially and culturally. I'm going to put eminem in the S tier. But if there was an argument for putting him in the A tier, it's that because of Eminem, we have Tom McDonald. And that really is a terrible thing that as a society, we just should not have.

Okay, next we have NF, guy whose music I just don't really get a whole lot out of either. Not only because of the obnoxious and over the top, messaging and themes that go into a lot of his tracks. But also this guy in a lot of respects to my ears, just reads as an Eminem clone, but with much worse production and less interesting songs. I'm just going to be quick about this and put him in the D tier as well.

All right, after this, we have Paul Wall, a Southern legend, in my opinion. Certainly not one of my favorite rappers out there, but he's got some bangers to his name for sure. Great vocal presence and some solid features over the course of his career as well. I can see myself putting Paul over in the B tier, I think. We could put Paul in B.

Postie [Post Malone] over here is difficult to rate as a rapper, in my opinion, because even at his peak as a hip hop artist, I think a lot of his songs barely even felt like rap songs to begin with, as much as they were pop songs set to trap beats. The only reason I think this guy was able to coalesce into hip hop music was because of the fact that that super hyper melodic trap stuff was so trendy at the time when "White Iverson" dropped. And over time, his music just got poppier and poppier. And now he's just going from straight up singer-songwriter music to making country music. So I don't know. I feel like Post Malone has made some good music over the years for sure. Music I enjoy. And I certainly enjoyed him more in the Beerbongs & Bentleys era than I did what he's doing now. But I mean, again, it's difficult to measure him as a rapper among anybody else who's doing what they're doing here because he's not the rapper who I feel like traditionally is dropping a great verse, is really sharp with the pen.

Again, I feel like in a lot of his best moments, he writes a lot of pop songs to rap instrumentals, which there's nothing wrong with, but in my opinion, that does not a rapper make, if we're talking about a rapper in the purest sense. But he is undeniably hip hop adjacent and has written some of the most popular hip hop and hip hop connected music of the past 10, 15 years. So I don't know. I feel like he's fine. He's okay. I could put him in the C tier. Post Malone's all right.

After this, we have Quadeca. Quadeca has come out with some great music. At one time, a YouTube rapper, now really just a polymath in terms of different genres going into his music. But still, hip hop continues to be a major influence. A guy who produces for other hip hop artists, a guy who fuses hip hop music quite creatively, and seems to have deep respect and appreciation for the genre and the culture itself. I feel like he still has time to build up that discography and that catalog to the point where it does become classic, and we do really get that long term consistency. But what he showcased so far is very impressive. And while at the moment, I would put him in the B tier, I think with more consistency down the road, we could see him jumping up a tier or two in the future.

After this, we have Slim Jesus. I'm just going to go F. I can't remember the last time I heard a Slim Jesus song. I'm not looking for any Slim Jesus.

And the last artist, at least for this tier list, and again, we are open to doing a part two, another iteration of this. Let us know in the comments who you would like to see in that. And if you want a follow-up in general, we would have to go Yelawolf. And Yelawolf is a guy who, I think, as a rapper, as a lyricist, is undeniably a talent. I do think his features, generally speaking, are pretty solid and entertaining. I think he's made some bangers over the years, some of his early mixtape work, I think is pretty good. He's an artist, though, in my opinion, who has faltered when it's come to a lot of his commercial releases, though. I don't find his core albums to be as interesting as some of those earlier mixtapes, and I don't find him to be as great at crafting albums as he is single songs sometimes. But certainly, again, he's a guy who, I can't deny, is talented in his own right. I just don't find his catalog to be as consistent as some of the artists in this list over here. So I would put him in the C tier as well.

And I think that's going to be it for now. That's me tier-ing some white rappers for you. There you go. Let me know what you think of these placements over here. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Let me know. Did I overrate anybody? Did I underrate anybody? You'll just have to tell me.

Anthony Fantano, white rappers, tier list, forever?