Why TDE is the Best Rap Label in the Game By: Parufka

Why TDE is the best rap label in the game

Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith has brought together some of the best artists in Hip Hop. His crew has dominated the scene for the past decade and show no signs of stopping. The Black Hippy rap crew of K-dot, Q, Soul, and Jay Rock make the heart and soul of the group, and new members such as SZA and Isaiah Rashad add to the already incredible mix.

What makes me love Black Hippy, and TDE is that they hold the most ‘A’ players in the game out of any other group. You’ve probably already heard of Kendrick’s success but every Black Hippy member has sold out shows nationwide and dropped a project that landed in the top 5 US R&B/Hip Hop Album charts. SZA and Isaiah joined the top 5 club with their latest projects Ctrl and The Sun’s Tirade. Admittedly, newest TDE signees SiR and Lance Skiiiwalker haven’t been close to the rest of the group in chart ratings but they’re recent collaborations show potential for great future projects.

Other popular rap labels/crews include Drake’s OVO Sound, Rick Ross’s MMG, Kanye West’s GOOD Music, and the A$AP MOB. The unfortunate truth about most of these groups is that their main figurehead is leaps ahead of everyone else, and is the only reason that their group/label is even noticed. Other than Drake, OVO really doesn’t have much going for it except for the occasional bangers from PARTYNEXTDOOR and iLoveMakonnen. Rick Ross, Meek Mill, and Wale contribute to most of the sales from Maybach Music but Meek’s continuous legal troubles and Wale’s recently lackluster album have left a lot to be desired from the group. I’ve discussed my thoughts on A$AP members in a previous article but in summary my thoughts remain unchanged that Rocky and Ferg are the only entertaining people left in the crew.

GOOD Music might be the only crew worth competing with Top Dawg but even the genius from Kanye West and the relentless bars from Pusha T aren’t enough to beat the all-star Compton crew. You could argue that Big Sean and Desiigner are also prominent members but Big Sean has never been on the same tier as any of these “Top Dawgs” lyrically and Desiigner is looking more and more like a one-hit-wonder every month. Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, and Mos Def are also some of my favorite members but Cudi and Mos Def left the label in the past 5 years, and while Cyhi’s new album No Dope on Sundays is a masterful work of art, I feel that it fell short on making a significant impact in the rap scene.

TDE continues to grow in many directions and I’m looking forward to see what they bring to the table in the coming years. If you’ve never been to a TDE show, check them out on The Championship Tour this summer.