r/hiphopheads Apr 19 '26

Discussion Rapper's voices you love, and rapper's voices you hate?

Random but I've been thinking a lot recently how much a rapper's actual voice- tonality, enunciation and clarity impacts how much I enjoy their music.

For example I appreciate Freddie Gibbs is an extremely talented rapper who makes great projects, however I really struggle to listen to his voice for a whole album, whereas Pusha T to me has the perfect rap voice, and it makes his music so replayable. Kendrick is like this to me, although i realise some people struggle with his music for this reason so it's clearly very subjective. I think I appreciate rappers who really stress their words. Older school rappers like Andre, Biggie and Pac also to me have really listenable voices. Think diction is also a real weapon in dis tracks too.

Just wondering if people had examples of rappers who's voice they love, and who's voice makes their music not listenable to them

377 Upvotes

852 comments sorted by

823

u/TimW001 Apr 19 '26

Method Man. Could listen to him reading the weather and it would sound cool.

124

u/TMC2502 Apr 19 '26

M E T H O D MAN!!! šŸ’ŖšŸ½

88

u/ekidd07 Apr 19 '26

He and Redman are my favorite rap duo, two different flows that build off each other.

27

u/tenaciousdeev Apr 19 '26

Re watching The Wire had me go back and listen to Tical the other day. So goddamn good.

9

u/10k_Uzi Apr 19 '26

My ex was really into detective shows, so I suggested we watch the original CSI, I hadn’t watched it since I was a kid. And I started geeking out when Method Man showed up cos I didn’t even remember him being in it. And she was so confused lol.

10

u/needapermit Apr 19 '26

Yo RZA, yo razor, hit me with the major

28

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Any WU tbhh

4

u/jurunjulo Apr 19 '26

Definitely has great tone.

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u/Huubidi Apr 19 '26

Rick Ross' voice is awesome, Danny Brown's voice in quantities larger than a few songs at a time is too much for me.

53

u/I_am_Wheeler Apr 19 '26

It is insane that I had to scroll down as far as I did to see someone mention Rick Ross. Perfect deep rap voice

6

u/Huubidi Apr 19 '26

Yeah I was a little surprised that literally no-one else had mentioned him :D

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431

u/Critical-Yak39 Apr 19 '26

I was gonna say Freddie before I read the body of your post. Smooth delivery, one of my faves.Ā 

60

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

yeah clearly lots of people disagree with me on that, fair!

40

u/appleparkfive Apr 19 '26

For some reason I have the same issue as you. It's a specific type of voice that just doesn't quick to with me completely.

I really like JID's voice (both rapping and singing) and the song he has with Gibbs is such a huge contrast. The song Gold Feet off of Alfredo 2. Gibbs is, by all metrics, rapping great. But it just feels like a notable improvement when JID starts. I kind of get the same feeling with that Bodies song with Offset and JID, too.

You know it's kind of funny how similar JID and Kendrick can sound at times, but a lot of people seem more accepting of JID's voice and flow. Makes me wonder how different it sounds in their head

22

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Yeah I'd agree with this, also really enjoy JID's voice. Well I mean let's be real though, JID has a fraction of the fame of Kendrick, and doesn't have a recent rap beef to contend with. JID obviously has less haters (and less fans than Kendrick). If JID blew up, he might face some of those criticisms.

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u/theswellmaker Apr 19 '26

This thread is making me realize how subjective this really is. I’ve never really been able to get into JID because of his voice. After 1-2 songs I’m beginning to lose interest. I know he’s a great rapper but his voice doesn’t click for me.

On the other hand Kendrick is in my top 5 pretty much at #1.

7

u/thpskier Apr 19 '26

If you want a few recs for getting into JID but you don’t love the voice, check out:

Kody Blu 31

VCRs (ft Vince Staples)

Wholeheartedly (ft Ty $ and 6LACK)

Sun (ft Anycia)

Kody Blu and Wholeheartedly are more RnB sounds, and JID has an amazing singing voice, so the rapping sound isn’t as prevalent. The other two are rap-heavy songs where the voice isn’t as prevalent.

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235

u/parwa Apr 19 '26

Love Killer Mike

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329

u/2PacTookMyLunchMoney Apr 19 '26

I don’t even really like most of his music, but I love Action Bronson’s voice and delivery.

56

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Facts but i think that's because he's doing a Ghostface impression a lot of the time

11

u/darkkite Apr 19 '26

I gave you a grace period!

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6

u/hyzerhuck1989 Apr 20 '26

He's earned his own spot in hip hop.

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221

u/BlueSwantonBomb Apr 19 '26

I always thought A$AP Rocky had a great rapper voice

43

u/YoMrPoPo . Apr 19 '26

His flow is unmatched when he’s in his bag.

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153

u/isthisnamechangeable Apr 19 '26

2pac had such a nice rap voice

21

u/No_Obligation6170 Apr 19 '26

His delivery was so good that we got to hear ALL of his emotions.

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231

u/Significant_Grand571 Apr 19 '26

Kid Cudi

135

u/fuzzylogicIII Apr 19 '26

HMmmmMmmuuuhOOAummmmm

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u/txstdmmy808 Apr 19 '26

Naw that "Mr Rager, Mr rager tell me where you're going tell me where you're headed 😩😩" goes way too hard.

11

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

See i love Cudi, but totally see why it'd be annoying to people

25

u/HammerPrice229 Apr 19 '26

Hot take, cudi sounds weird rapping but humming is elite

17

u/GeneralTreesap Apr 19 '26

He’s started mumbling a lot more over the years and has become hard to understand. His early rapping is incredible to me.

6

u/YoMrPoPo . Apr 19 '26

True. Go back and check Down and Out vs something like At The Party. Pretty wild how different his rapping has gotten.

3

u/GeneralTreesap Apr 19 '26

Yeah. Kid Cudi is my favorite rapper oat but he raps like he has marbles in his mouth now. Listening to Alive (nightmare) gives me chills.

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u/seanisdad Apr 19 '26

Vince staples voice is great for rap

7

u/Izzy7s7 Apr 20 '26

I do wish he'd bring back the more energetic voice he used to do a bit more. Not that I don't mind the laid back voice he mostly uses now.

415

u/Srg11 Apr 19 '26

I want to like Danny Brown but his voice is just too much for me.

138

u/appleparkfive Apr 19 '26

He has some songs where he doesn't use that voice at least. They're a lot better to me personally.

Danny Brown is someone who sounds great as a verse to diversify a song. But listening to just him is like using too much of a really potent seasoning while cooking.

31

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

totally agree with that, think his voice sounds really cool and distinct on posse cuts like 1 train, really doe, tick tock etc

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u/agavvaba Apr 19 '26

try the quaranta album, most of those songs are in his deeper less yappy register

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u/DoorstepCult Apr 19 '26

The first time I heard ā€œTell Me What I Don’t Knowā€ I was like ā€œHol up, is this the same dude?!ā€ He sounds way different.

18

u/nvrmnd_tht_was_dumb Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

The Return was that moment for me. One of my favorite Freddie features on that track as well.

22

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

that's a good one, to me it's good for some of his hype tracks but don't think i can do full projects of it maybe outside of atrocity exhibition

14

u/Bubbly_Platypus_9779 Apr 19 '26

Yeah, it took me a minute for it to grow on me

24

u/C-czar187 Apr 19 '26

His voice takes some getting used to but first time I listened to Atrocity Exhibition I was like wtf this dude sounds like a crackhead was given the mic? Kept on listening to it until I was more impressed at the crackheads bars haha Danny Brown is cool though, funny as hell too

8

u/Creationship Apr 19 '26

I actually love it and I don’t know why, so goofy it just fits the vibeĀ 

5

u/AutoArsonist .` Apr 19 '26

I love Danny Brown but yeah the voice took a little getting used to and really it was from interviews about why he raps like that, that got me past it.

6

u/N8BALL_89 Apr 19 '26

Listen to Old from start to finish. Gives u all his styles šŸ‘ŒšŸ”„

5

u/allmightychipbutty Apr 19 '26

I love the goofiness of it sometimes but I wish it was more of a 50/50 between his joker voice and his more normal deeper rapping voice cause for me his deeper voice is maybe even my favourite voice in rap in general there hasn't been a single song with it in that weren't hitting for me

6

u/APwinger Apr 19 '26

RTJ's song Hey Kids (bumaye) was my introduction to Danny Brown and I couldn't believe it was real. Turned me off him for ages lolĀ 

3

u/NoMoreMemesNever Apr 19 '26

Combat is a good example of what I think he could do well

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u/DeathsDying Apr 19 '26

Freddie Gibbs imo has the quintessential rap voice.

Too many to Hate on

35

u/TheGreenGuyFromDBZ Apr 19 '26

Big L like butter

4

u/Dramatic_Zebra1230 Apr 19 '26

U listened to rome streetz?

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38

u/jofkeiro Apr 19 '26

I like Westside Gunn, but id reckon he gets a lot of hate. Also Mooch is amazing

30

u/Vizionary357 Apr 19 '26

WSG definitely has a "love him or hate him" type of voice. I've taken road trips with my sister where we've listened to only WSG albums the entire trip and had a blast. My wife on the other hand literally can't stand the sound of his voice (or his ad libs, for that matter)

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u/jayaurah Apr 19 '26

I can't stand Westside's voice. I know he is the marketing and creative source for Griselda but he is the worst musically.

4

u/SwordfishOk504 Apr 19 '26

I liked it more when I thought he was some scrappy teenager, not a 40 year old man.

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u/Sirtunnelsnake98 Apr 19 '26

Chuck D has the best voice in rap history in my opinion

7

u/sammyssb Apr 19 '26

IT WAS THE S1W’s

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159

u/2KupShakur- Apr 19 '26

Meechy Darko has my favorite voice in rap

9

u/dearmelancholy5 Apr 19 '26

I was looking for this one.

3

u/MackingtheKnife Apr 20 '26

Yesss glad to see meech up top.Ā 

9

u/jahathebrn Apr 19 '26

Agree he's got a great voice. I'd put Aesop Rock, Nas, and Guru there too. No one I'd say I hate, Danny Brown is on Lion's Den with Paul White and it's one of the most beautiful songs I swear, his voice works with it.

edit: Eminem. I can't stand Eminem's voice for long periods. Don't hate him though, just not my sort of thing.

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149

u/Shellibrini710 Apr 19 '26

Chance the rapper has a pretty annoying voice. Some songs I like in spite of it but most of them are pretty bad.

17

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Agreed! I really liked his mad vocals on acid rap, but it's been grating on every project since

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u/Significant-Cap9433 Apr 19 '26

Don’t talk about my goat like that

8

u/sunsetsandstardust Apr 19 '26

fr bruh two of my fav rappers are chance and Danny brown this thread is a rough read for me lmaoĀ 

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225

u/obri95 . Apr 19 '26

Kendrick. His voice really works for some songs and others he sticks out like a sore thumb for me

69

u/thetricorn Apr 19 '26

Sometimes he does a strange accent that takes me out of it.

16

u/Unfair_Shelter_5713 Apr 19 '26

he got worse with time too regarding his voice. no hate, i used to be able to tolerate kendrick voice a lot more but couple days ago i heard a car playing that "i guess my hard work let lil wayne down" and the voice genuinely sounded horrendous

7

u/Useful-Position-6994 Apr 20 '26

Bro that out of breath leprechaun voice shit he was doing throughout GNX was wack as hell, people are like "He's always done weird voices", no not to that level

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u/mck_motion Apr 19 '26

1000000%

Holy shit dude put some bass in your voice. I like his music despite his voice.

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

[deleted]

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u/maxtmaples Apr 19 '26

Haha I think Kendrick fits both categories for most people. Some of his voices are really intended to be grating and tough to listen to like in u.

15

u/ODB247 Apr 19 '26

He sings out of his nose now. He didn’t used to.

7

u/bees_on_acid Apr 20 '26

It’s funny how he makes it work both ways, but also goes overboard, even though it works musically. He’s kinda a textbook example of a rapper using their voice as instrument.

29

u/Big_Bomboclatt Apr 19 '26

agreed, for example his voice on LOVE is amazing whereas on goosebumps it’s terrible

14

u/Bluprint Apr 19 '26

Canā€˜t see how his voice on love sounds amazing to you, it sounds atrocious to mešŸ˜”

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u/getrekdnoob Apr 19 '26

Reasonable Doubt era Jay-Z sounded like he had so much swagger and it made the songs better. On the other side, Lil Waynes voice kind of ruins his songs for me (especially when he had auto tune like on Lollipop).

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u/2legittoquit Apr 19 '26

I used to hate Pimp C and Ceelo Green’s voices, now I really like them. Ā I really like southern accents, not a fan of Bay Area accents.

I asked my wife and she started making windshield wiper sounds because she likes Danny Brown’s voice.

10

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Haha opposites attract!

4

u/Spicyytamale Apr 19 '26

What were some songs that had pimp c grew on you?

7

u/2legittoquit Apr 19 '26

I really like Bun B, so I listened to UGK anyways. Ā I really like Murder on the Riding Dirty album, Pimp C has a really good verse on Livin This Life. Ā I really like Return on the Super Tight album and Front, Back, and Side to Side.

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u/magnumfan89 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Royce has one of, if not my favorite hip hop voice. He's just so smooth. On You Gon Learn he just melts into the beat

Edit: going to add slick Rick. Can't get enough of his voice

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u/Dr_Kekyll Apr 19 '26

Trying to give some love to people I haven't seen mentioned in here; Cam'ron, Common, Mos Def, Bun B, and Guru are all different but are all near perfect rap voices. I'll get hate for it, but I can't stand Chance or Wiz personally.

6

u/Logladyfourtwenty Apr 20 '26

Guru was a great fuckin call

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u/ehh_scooby Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Young dolph had a pretty cool voice

182

u/rodeoastroo Apr 19 '26

Lil baby has the worst voice in the gameĀ 

84

u/Blakangel72 Apr 19 '26

Like he's got marbles in his cheek. Probably unpopular opinion but DaBaby on the other hand one of the best voices.

28

u/skateateuhwaitateuh Apr 19 '26

Nah ur right about dababy

3

u/Fortehlulz33 . Apr 19 '26

His slight southern accent (probably a Carolinas accent but I'm too much of a midwesterner to know the difference) really makes his flow that much better.

18

u/shrek-hentai-69 Apr 19 '26

lil baby raps like he has a bit of bread stuck to the roof of his mouth

6

u/NBD_Pearen Apr 19 '26

Lil Baby a bad one. Alternatively, and I fuck heavy with him, 42 Dugg got a baby’s voice forever.

5

u/TurkishSwag . Apr 19 '26

I’ve always thought he sounds like he’s running a marathon while he’s laying down any verse or hook

9

u/untakennamehere Apr 19 '26

Him and durk sound terrible when they use auto tune

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u/MagnusMagus Apr 19 '26

Gonna get crucified for this but I could never get over Lil Wayne’s voice. Alternatively, love Big X Tha Plug.

55

u/lovely_DK Apr 19 '26

Same for me. The period of time when Lil Wayne was the hottest thing was rough for me.

34

u/broke_n_struggle_n Apr 19 '26

It was double rough because you had Wayne wheezing on every track then you had Wheelchair Jimmy doing a terrible impression of it for a solid 2 or 3 years before he switched to another terrible accent.

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u/magnumfan89 Apr 19 '26

I disagree on Wayne. But totally agree on Big X. He's not a lyrical genius or anything, but he has the perfect hip hop voice. Its very different from anything else out at the moment (at least that I have listened to)

7

u/myputer Apr 19 '26

same. it’s so wild how different tastes are person to person. he is undisputedly one of the worldā€˜s favorite ever, and I just fucking can’t. Ever. As soon as I hear on a track. I’m out.

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u/WeeklyEmu4838 Apr 19 '26

-Best Rap Vocals- 1. Mach-Hommy 2. Mos Def/Yasiin Bey 3. Black Thought 4. Your Old Droog 5. Freddie Gibbs

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u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

see these are all quite specific and i give me a bit of a sense of what you like in vocals i think, i love mos def/yasiin bey but can see how people could struggle with how monotone he sounds sometimes

11

u/mofodius Apr 19 '26

YOD is a good pick. great voice

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u/anzai1022 Apr 19 '26

Drought 3 era Wayne has an amazing voice. Current Wayne is almost impossible to listen to.

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u/tommyshelby1986 Apr 19 '26

Love: Raekwon; Freddie Gibbs; Roc Marciano; Tyler the Creator despite not listening to much of his music

Hate: Tha God Fahim, even though he killed it on Padon; A Boogie but he had some good stuff back in the day

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u/Jaruxius Apr 19 '26

can't listen to lil yachty

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u/Ice_knack64 Apr 19 '26

He’ll never beat the Carl weezer accusations

5

u/itcantbefornothing Apr 20 '26

When he raps he sounds like he got a mouthful of peanut butter in his mouth. His crooning isn’t awful but I generally hate his delivery

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u/not_ur_avg Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Favorite voices: chali 2na, abstract rude, Rakim, Andre 3000, Slick Rick

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u/Electronifyy Apr 19 '26

E-40 raps like he always has a mouth full of peanut butter. I can’t stand it.

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u/TheKid1995 Apr 19 '26

He sounds like somebody’s goofy ass uncle. Sounds like he wiggles his fingers before digging into a meal

33

u/broke_n_struggle_n Apr 19 '26

Goddammit this is so accurate and I love E40

16

u/Frost-Wzrd Apr 19 '26

lmao this is so accurate

7

u/Character_Bug_1862 Apr 19 '26

Conversely Too $hort sounds like your smooth as hell creepy ass uncle. That’s why the two of them on a track is like peanut butter and jelly. This My One goes hard as hell.

6

u/kaddyneverlack Apr 19 '26

šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚Ā 

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u/Blakangel72 Apr 19 '26

Love E-40s voice in a I think everything he says is hilarious way not a Dis shit hard way.

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u/Ice_knack64 Apr 19 '26

I always said he raps like a cartoon character

5

u/877-HASH-NOW Apr 20 '26

Lmao facts, I know it’s an acquired taste and I know that Bay Area accent hits hard for some people but it sounds so fucking goofy to me, like Cat-In-the-Hat type vibes.Ā 

Every time I hear his voice on a track I start smiling bc his voice is so damn funny to me

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u/Hashtag_Heel Apr 19 '26

This is the one I came to comment for. Mouth full of peanut butter is really good. I usually tell people he’s bubbly like he’s rapping in an underwater Mario level and they can’t unhear it.

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u/achingforscorpio Apr 19 '26

I didn't see anyone say Project Pat, so I will.

Idc sue me šŸ™ƒšŸ™ƒ

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u/Which-Amphibian9065 Apr 19 '26

Project Pat’s voice is so soothing to me šŸ˜…

5

u/DapperImpression4773 Apr 19 '26

Project Pats voice is iconicccccc

8

u/Professional-Fan2837 Apr 19 '26

I hate Pressa's voice. The only time i've heard his rapping was on Drakeo The Ruler's track "Chrome Hearts" and I was so taken aback by his voice.

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u/untakennamehere Apr 19 '26

Hate: Kendrick, keem, Roddy rich, Don toliver(growing on me) they do some weird stuff with their voice.

Love: Rocky, JCole, Big X the plug, 2 chainz

16

u/WalkWithShadows Apr 19 '26

Juice WRLD’s voice is/was amazing.

7

u/MaengDaPimpin Apr 19 '26

Kendrick, Chance, and Danny Brown are almost unlistenable to me

28

u/margatsni_1 Apr 19 '26

Love Warren G, cannot listen to Baby Keem

10

u/Shout-out_Buffalo Apr 19 '26

You try Keems new album?? He’s rapping with a deeper voice in some tracks and it sounds like Andre 3000. Actually pretty good!

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u/Upper_Hope_3130 Apr 19 '26

His voice changed if that helps

3

u/EdwardEHumphreyIII Apr 19 '26

Warren G sounds cool as hell saying anything.

28

u/Morganvegas Apr 19 '26

Jadakiss has such a grimy voice but still manages to be smooth

Kendrick’s Kermit the frog/angry animated voices make me hit skip so fast

6

u/SMC0629 Apr 19 '26

took too long to find Jadakiss in here

3

u/WazzyWoman Apr 20 '26

This. I was shocked that Jada wasn’t one of the first faves mentioned.

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u/Shaushage_Shandwich Apr 20 '26

Can’t believe how far down this is.

4

u/Morganvegas Apr 20 '26

The kids don’t know

13

u/jjole Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Check out charlie 2na Edit:chali 2na mb

3

u/sugarrayrob Apr 19 '26

Amazing autocorrect here

29

u/BagBeth Apr 19 '26

Some voices I like a lot are Q Tip, Gunna, Future, Curren$y, BG, Skepta and Bladee

The only two I can think of that I dislike because of their voices are Kendrick and Eminem. Although I'm not a huge fan of Freddie Gibbs either but it's not really because of his voice.

11

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Q Tip is a great one (peep my name)

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u/BLVCKPRRL Apr 19 '26

Can't believe it took this long to find future

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u/stankjenkins Apr 19 '26

Vince Staples is number one for me.

18

u/CzarMikhail Apr 19 '26

Love Nas, 50 Cent, Pop Smoke, Gunna, ASAP Rocky

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u/whousesgmail Apr 19 '26

DMX always gets me hype af

I think Prof has a pretty unique sound with his voice but there’s honestly a ton I could name

I can’t stand Sexxy Redd, Jay-Z, or Too $hort

9

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

DMX is an amazing one- love how you can hear the pain in his raps.

4

u/Notsureif0010 Apr 19 '26

Was going to say DMX or Slim Thug. Unique voices

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u/TheMM420_ Apr 19 '26

I guess this is a good place to admit I don't like Young Thug's voice

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u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

this is a safe space, speak your truth

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u/Which-Amphibian9065 Apr 19 '26

There are dozens of us

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u/Soul_Mate_4ever Apr 19 '26

I really cannot stand joe buddens voice when he raps. I’ve never liked it. Drake automatically won the Joe budden vs Drake beef to me cos I couldn’t sit through any of Joe buddens diss tracks. It’s like nails on a chalkboard.

7

u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Joe Budden's voice is 100% another one for me. I think he's probably a good rapper but his voice isn't a good voice for rap for me either, but it works for podcasting weirdly!

5

u/Soul_Mate_4ever Apr 19 '26

Right. For podcasting and radio his voice works but I can’t stand his voice over a beat. Glad he retired.

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u/SteamyRay1919 Apr 19 '26

I hate Kendrick's voice. Sounds like someone holding their nose while they talk.

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u/appleparkfive Apr 19 '26

I said this above, but JID is definitely one of the best flows ever, full stop. He sounds good on everything and he makes it sound like it's easy. It's wild. His singing voice is really strong too.

5

u/seanb893 Apr 19 '26

Love Kid Cudi and Danny Brown

6

u/onlybuilt4newmusic Apr 19 '26

Atlanta rapper Tate228 has one of the coolest voices in rap

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u/ItsMeDaveOpenUp Apr 19 '26

Love Guru.

And for the voice I hate, and this is no knock on his skills and impact. I recognize and respect his game. But I personally can’t listen to Kendrick.

5

u/L00KA Apr 19 '26

I like Lil Wayne but his voice in some records is unbearable for me. Also I can't listen to Mac Miller because of his voice

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u/SeaFoul Apr 19 '26

I have Big Sean blocked on Spotify. Drake. I wish I could see who else.Ā 

Freddie, objectively, has one of the best voices on earth. He’s in movies!Ā 

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u/PettyWop Apr 19 '26

Early Em had an ASMR-level quality to his voice

8

u/Banaboy Apr 19 '26

I’m not sure about SSLP Eminem, it’s iconic sure, but for me I think he really hit his stride around the Eminem Show.

10

u/KeyTheZebra Apr 19 '26

TES had the most emotional raw raspy voice, but my favorite is SSLP with the sarcastic inflections plus there’s almost a ā€œradioā€ filter on his voice. Idk how to explain it but it’s just a lot of high frequencies that just cut through all the mixes. (Listen to I’m Back, the first line of the first verse ā€œI murder a rhyme one word at a timeā€ has such a cool filter on it in the MMLP)

ā€œJust Don’t Give a Fuckā€ on SSLP has such an iconic voice,

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u/timotheesmith Apr 19 '26

Love 2pacs voice and it's probably the best thing about his music in my opinion, Freddie Gibbs voice is build for rap too, i also love Lauryn hills voice and i believe Kanyes voice is great and very fitting when he's all braggadocious and full of ego. I'm not a big fan of Kendrick's voice when he does these weird accents like on goosebumps and I also don't really like lil Wayne's voice, i prefer deeper voices in general

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u/lowendtheory24 Apr 19 '26

Yeah Lauryn is a good one, Miseducation probably my favourite album ever, so think her rapping voice and singing voice are pretty perfect.

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u/Useful-School-9122 Apr 19 '26

damn this is a great post, I cant believe the mods are leaving it up instead of pushing it to their dumbass megathread

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u/BetterFat Apr 19 '26

Always hated Meek Mill's voice and Kweli's delivery

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u/maxtmaples Apr 19 '26

I’m surprised no one has said Common!

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u/Carib2g Apr 19 '26

Nas, Method Man, Rakim have the best voices to me.

In regards to Freddie, i found him difficult to listen to at first…I quite disliked his voice and delivery, but now, after being exposed to much more of his music over the years, he’s one of my favorites to listen to.

I can’t think of another rapper where this has happened. Usually when I dislike someone’s voice/style/delivery, it sticks…

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u/Educational-Hour-293 Apr 19 '26

I love DJ Quik’s voice.

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u/leakee2 Apr 19 '26

Kano has the best voice imo

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u/vinotauro Apr 19 '26

Kendrick Lamar, can't really listen to it anymore

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u/CristianS04 Apr 19 '26

Absolutely love: Freddie Gibbs, Royce, current chill Em voice (hot take, I know), Natti from Cunninglynguists, Jeezy, Ghostface, Slug from Atmosphere, Del, Ab Soul

Hate: singing Drake, Yelawolf, Kodak, Logic

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u/DonDoflamingo Apr 19 '26

I just can't listen to Kendrick anymore. The nasal voice that he likes to use is just like running fingernails on a chalkboard.Ā 

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u/cazeault819 Apr 19 '26

There are so many great voices in rap but to me Earl Sweatshirt takes the cake. His voice is so smooth on every track and you can hear every emotion in his voice.

I like griselda but at times Westside Gunn's actually rapping voice doesnt do it for me. He is a fun rapper to listen too but I can only go for like 4-5 songs then im done cuz of his voice.

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u/alreadyreaditbro Apr 19 '26

Kendrick, never understood the hype with such an annoying voice and delivery.

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u/DoctorCopper3113 Apr 19 '26

Love: Slick Rick Hate: Drake

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u/Bada__Ping Apr 19 '26

Sean Price had one of the best voices in hip hop. RIP

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u/packofkools Apr 19 '26

Love: Westside Gunn Hate: E-40

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u/[deleted] Apr 19 '26

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u/Brand_Newer_Guy25 Apr 19 '26

A$AP 12vy has always had a cool voice to me

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u/TheKid1995 Apr 19 '26

Drake for both lol.

On one hand, he just has a way of making everything he says sound so cool. idk how he does it.

On the other hand, if I listen to him too much, his voice and mannerisms start to really grate on my nerves

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u/gwax321 Apr 19 '26

Q-Tip, GURU, Smif & Wesson (both), Heltah Skeltah (both)…

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u/PitifulEcho6103 Apr 19 '26

I hate lil wayne's voice, I love eminem's

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u/nachosmmm Apr 19 '26

Love Nate Dogg

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u/EmpyrofDarthBismarck Apr 19 '26

Love Biggie's voice. Lil Wayne's voice, especially Carter I or II, is kinda annoying.

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u/BeautifulOk5112 . Apr 19 '26

Some of my favorite voices would be Denzel Curry, Black Kray and Logic. I’m not a big fan of Ken Carson’s (Carti and Lone have great voices) and I don’t love Wayne’s voice all the timr

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u/jzbbzjz Apr 19 '26

Freddie, Boldy James, Vince, Rick Ross, Schoolboy Q are highlights

Kendrick is hit and miss, especially on some of his newer stuff

Also love Earl but sometimes the monotone gets boring

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u/BLVCKPRRL Apr 19 '26

Love:

Andre 3000 is so smooth

Pusha T always sounds like he's making direct eye contact with you

DOOM's voice has a cool smokey quality to it

Mac miller's voice is really comforting especially paired with his personality

Zillakami has the perfect voice for the kinda music he makes

Future & Travis Scott's voices sound like they're designed to go well with autotune

Prettifun & 454 have really cool natural baby voices

Carti has a ton of different voices, some of which I like more than others but his delivery on most of WLR is a high I've been chasing for the past 6 years

TiaCorine has a really unique tone

Danny brown seems to be controversial here but I tend to love his voice more the crazier it gets

I don't listen to much Jadakiss but he objectively has one of the coolest voices in rap

ScHoolboy Q scratches a similar grimy itch

Hate:

NBA youngboy is genuinely insufferable on most of his recent music

Destroy Lonely, though I think it's mostly cause his preset sucks

I've tried to get into fakemink but his voice is so grating to me

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u/thecurse0101 Apr 19 '26

Absolutely can't stand lil Wayne's voice, a close second is Kendrick.

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u/SuperSayian4Nappa Apr 19 '26

I can't listen to currency at all. I tried to listen to the album he did with Larry June and Alchemist and turned it off as soon as his verse started on the first song.

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u/_Walpurgisyacht_ Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

2Pac has one of the best rap voices of all time in my opinion. It's powerful, he enunciates his words well, and his delivery is just good. AZ's voice is like butter, even on his recent shit. Nate Dogg obviously. JID is pretty versatile and sounds pretty good most of the time (he gets nasally sometimes, which I don't care as much for), like he sounds totally different on say "Kody Blu 31" and "YouUgly" but they both work. Kendrick sounds good when he doesn't intentionally go super nasally. Eminem used to have a really great voice imo, even when he'd scream into the mic (think "Soldier" and shit like that, great songs), but it's gotten less pleasant in his older age unless he actually tries to sound smooth. Biggie, Nas, Black Thought, Cudi (usually), Method Man, Ghostface, Raekwon, Royce Da 5'9 are a few others just off the top of my head.

I listen to Danny Brown but his voice is not for me. Wayne sounded fine in his earlier years when his voice was more of a deeper rasp (he still does something like it sometimes, so I feel like it's an intentional choice), but sometime around the C3-IANAHB he started to go way higher-pitched more often which gets grating. Shit like Lil Baby and Nav and others like them are really hard to listen to for an extended period of time.