Even over other talented and lyrical rappers like The GZA and Big Boi, metal-masked rap villain MF DOOM reigns supreme in my hip-hop collection just because of how original and totally cool he is. He possesses that underground, underdog charm that I like, but that's only part of my reason for placing him above all other rappers. He (almost) disposes of rap cliches entirely, such as opening and/or closing tracks with shit talk, rapping about hood life and how much weed he can smoke, and he subdues emphasis on bitches and money. Oh, and he's also responsible for Vaudeville Villain, one of my top three favorite hip-hop albums of all time, as well as the almost-as-awesome and most critically acclaimed album Madvillainy. His monotonous and symmetrical flow is instantly recognizable and his masked villain persona just completes the package for me. In short, I love the guy.
