Ranking Hip-Hop's Hypemen

For those of us who have seen a live hip-hop performance-- either in person or on television-- it is, paraphrasing Steve Harvey, 40 motherfuckers on stage at one time screaming every other word at different times. It's a mess.

But there are a few, who standout for their contributions on wax; the kind of person when you hear the track, you spend more time listening to the background than to the so-called lyrics in front of them.

Here's to you, hip-hop hypeman. You may not have been the label's first choice for the record, but your skilled friend/cousin would have it no other way:

Honorable Mention: Lil Jon (-no group-)
If Lil Jon was in an actual group of rappers, instead of a group consisting of him and two burly negroes used to carry his records around, he would have not only been in the top five, but he would have pushed everybody else down a spot.

5. Crunchy Black (Three 6 Mafia)
He can't rap-- in fact, he can barely talk. You may ask, how is this motherfucker on the list. Easy-- if you have ever listened to or heard a Three 6 Mafia song, you will know that Crunchy Black is like your retarded cousin you move up, and pitch underhanded to in the backyard game of wiffleball. It's not so much "how" he gets it done, it's just that he does it, and has a good time. CB is noted for HILARIOUS gangsta walk, which you can find here

4. Sticky Fingaz (Onyx)
One sure sign of a good hypeman: his solo album sucks ass. I know that the Autobiography of Kirk Jones was critically acclaimed, but Sticky broke away from his formula of being an energy guy. The guy on "What if I was White" was NOT the same person who "chillin in the b-boy stance" and demanded the microphone before he "bust in his pants". Even when he made the classic dis track, "Jackin 4 Beats", he was Mr. Enthsiasm, putting the smackdown on 50, Juvenile, Ja Rule and others. Alas, the good old days are over. Go on, Sticky. Star in those made for TV movies. You can catch footage of Sticky here.

3. Freaky Tah (Lost Boyz)
The perfect hypeman. If you have ever listened to "Lex, Coupes, Beamaz, and Benz" or "Music Makes Me High", you can't help but notice the man who was crunk when Lil Jon was a nerd in Atlanta. [insert how much we miss Freaky Tah]. [Disregard the fact that his body of work was comparable to building a SOLO cup tower].

2. Ol' Dirty Bastard (Wu-Tang Clan)
A hybrid of sorts. On one hand, he was talented enough to release not one, but two gold albums and appear on arguably one of the best R&B remixes ever (Fantasy); on the other hand, he was relegated to minor roles on every post 36 Chambers album from the Wu-Tang. ODB may not have been a hypeman in the truest sense, but that was his role in the Wu-Tang. One that has been emulated by D12 and other groups I am far too lazy to look up.

1. Flavor Flav (Public Enemy)
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!