Best 10 Rap/Hip-Hop Artists of the Decade

The 2000s was a decade of worldwide success and prominence in Hip-Hop. Numerous rappers came and went, some fell from the throne they held in the 90s, and only a few rose to superstardom and became legendary. The following list is comprised of the top Hip-Hop acts of the 2000s, who held their spot despite tight scrutiny and endured through many years in the spotlight.

10) Nelly: Nelly rose to stardom in 2000 with the release of Country Grammar, but it was his sophomore effort, Nellyville, that made him a household name. It's lead single Hot In Herre was one of the biggest during the decade, accompanied by other successful singles, notably Air Force Ones with Justin Timberlake and Dilemma with Kelly Rowland from Destiny's Child. Nelly went on to release three more successful albums, Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention, Sweat/Suit, a double disc album that was sold separately, and Brass Knuckles.

2000: Country Grammar
2002: Nellyville
2003: Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention
2004: Sweat/Suit2008: Brass knuckles

9) T.I: Despite minimal success in his early years, T.I later gained worldwide fame with Trap Muzik and Urban Legend, 2 highly successful albums. In 2006, T.I starred in the film ATL alongside other noteworthy musicians. He went on to release King and T.I vs T.I.P, both of which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. On October 2007, T.I was arrested on federal charges after he attempted to purchase firearms from a federal agent. He was later sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

2001: I'm Serious
2003: Trap Muzik
2005: Urban Legend
2006: King
2007: T.I vs T.I.P.
2008: Paper Trail

8) The Game: Jayceon Taylor debuted in 2005 under G-Unit with The Documentary. He collaborated with label front man and former friend 50 Cent on many records, but eventually the friendship deteriorated and generated into a full-fledged violent rap beef. Aside from beefs with other rappers, The Game has seldom been seen after he released The Doctor's Advocate, his sophomore album.

2005: The Documentary
2007: The Doctor's Advocate
2008: LAX

7) Ludacris: Ludacris debuted in 2000 with Back For The First Time, a highly successful album that paved the way for his future successes. He later released Word Of Mouf, arguably his best album, and it further cemented his place in hip-hop as a heavyweight. Ludacris went on to release 4 more albums. Apart from his music ventures, Ludacris was the target of criticism by Bill O'Reilly, who called for the boycott of Pepsi products due to the fact they were sponsoring the rapper, who had at often times had violent lyrics. Ludacris was subsequently fired by Pepsi.

2000: Back For The First Time
2001: Word Of Mouf
2003: Chicken-N-Beer
2004: The Red Light District
2006: Release Therapy
2008: Theater Of The Mind

6) Nas: Nas kicked off the 2000s with arguably one of the best rap albums of the decade, Stillmatic. The album featured Ether, a lyrical assault on former enemy Jay-Z, who had previously made insulting comments about the rapper. The beef escalated and nearly became violent after Nas' daughter and his wife Carmen, who had an affair with Jay-Z, were forced into the picture. Unlike the all too familiar tragic rap war of the past, 2pac vs The Notorious BIG, these two rivals eventually settled their differences and came to a diplomatic ending. Nas later signed with Jay-Z's Def Jam label, and continues to release albums. The two even collaborated on a song on Nas' album Hip Hop Is Dead titled Black Republicans. After Stillmatic, Nas released God's Son, a successful album that included the singles Made You Look and I Can. He later released a number of albums, all of which have been successful.

2001: Stillmatic
2002: God's Son
2004: Street's Disciple
2006: Hip Hop Is Dead
2008: Untitled.

5) Lil Wayne: Weezy rose to fame in 2004 with the release of The Carter, an album which marked a change in his style of rapping, a change that many consider to be for the better. The New Orleans native later released The Carter 2, which further added to his celebrity. It seemed he could do no better, but as the years progressed and an uncountable number of guest appearances later, Lil Wayne garnered much anticipation for his next addition to the Carter series. The Carter 3 exploded, and it sold over 1 million units in its first week in stores. As the decade ends, Lil Wayne is still the top dog in hip-hop and there seems to be no end near. Lil Wayne now has his eyes set on conquering the world of Rock music with The Rebirth, his first 'rock' album.

2000: Lights Out
2004: The Carter
2005: The Carter 2
2008: The Carter 3

4) Kanye West: Kanye West was the brawn behind Jay-Z's brain in 2001's The Blueprint. The producer/rapper produced the majority of the album along with other noteworthy albums including 'Be' by Common. Kanye made his rap debut with College Dropout, with the lead single being 'Through The Wire', a song he recorded while having his jaw wired shut after a tragic automobile accident nearly killed him. Through The Wire was the first in a string of successful hits, and as the decade fades out, Kanye is still one of the guys on top. Despite his success, the rapper has been in the center of his fair share of controversy. The death of his mother, and among other things, his rude interruption of other artists during award shows. This was topped off by an incident at the 2009 VMAs in which Kanye jumped on stage, forcefully grabbed the microphone from country singer Taylor Swift, who was accepting an award, and claimed that Beyonce should've been awarded instead. Despite these missteps, there is no doubt that Kanye will be remembered as one of the biggest forces in all of hip-hop history.

2004: College Dropout
2005: Late Registration
2007: Graduation
2008: 808s & Heartbreak

3) 50 Cent: Not long after being discovered by Eminem, 50 Cent exploded in the face of Hip-Hop enthusiasts with the major hit record In Da Club, his Shady Records debut album 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' and a highly publicized beef with Murda Inc rapper Ja Rule. Through hit record after hit record and beefs with other rap artists, 50 Cent became one of the genre's biggest stars. Among many other exploits, Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson starred in the semi-biographical film 'Get Rich Or Die Tryin', developed his own vitamin drink, and co-authored The 50^th Law with Robert Greene. 50 Cent will go down as one of the central figures in the 2000s era of hip-hop.

2003: Get Rich Or Die Tryin
2005: The Massacre
2007: Curtis
2009: Before I Self Destruct

2) Jay-Z: Shawn Carter released the classic Blueprint 1 on September 11^th 2001, which was immediately followed by The Blueprint 2. In 2003, the rapper prepared for retirement and performed an extravagant concert at Madison Square Garden as a goodbye gesture to his fans. What most thought was the end of the Jigga Man's era was only a temporary break, he was back no more than 2 years later with Kingdom Come, and what followed was a series of successful albums. Most recently, Jay-Z released the Blueprint 3 to much fan-fare, and he was subsequently touted one of the biggest stars of 2009.

2000: The Dynasty: Roc-La-Familia
2001: The Blueprint
2002: The Blueprint 2 - The Gift & The Curse
2003: The Black Album
2005: Kingdom Come
2007: American Gangster
2009: The Blueprint 3

1) Eminem: The iconic Eminem burst onto the hip-hop scene in 1999 with the critically acclaimed Slim Shady LP, followed by arguably his most popular album to date, The Marshall Mathers LP. He has since then released 3 albums, all of which are now certified platinum. Slim Shady starred in the semi-autobiographical film 8-Mile, and released Mosh; a politically charged rap song highly critical of the then president George W. Bush. In October of 2008, months before he released his most recent album Relapse, he published The Way I Am, an autobiographical book detailing his rise from the streets of Detroit, to being one of the biggest and baddest rappers of all time. Eminem was the highest selling rap artist of the decade, outdoing fellow legends Jay-Z and the late Tupac Shakur.

2000: The Marshall Mathers LP
2002: The Eminem Show:
2004: Encore
2009: Relapse