A “rap report card” written by rapper Kool Moe Dee back in the 90s is being recirculated on Twitter and it’s sparked quite a conversation. For the report card, the Manhattan-bred rapper used 10 categories to give emcee grades between A+ and C+.
Kool Moe Dee’s report card assessed some of the hottest rappers of the 90s like JAY-Z, DMX, Snoop Dogg, and Keith Murray while artists like Lauryn Hill, Diddy, Biggie, and Tupac were amongst the highest trending artists on the scorecard. Surprisingly, only Lauryn Hill and Biggie secured an A+ in all categories, including vocabulary, articulation, creativity, originality, versatility, voice, records, stage presence, sticking to themes, and innovating rhymes. Unfortunately, Master P, Too Short, and Mase landed nothing but C+s.
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The latest recirculation of the report card led to some controversial conversations amongst Twitter users.
During an interview with the LA Times back in ‘87, Kool Moe Dee considered himself to be the best critic to even come up with artists ratings. “I listen to everything that comes out – and I mean everything – so I figured that I’d make a pretty good critic,” he said. “It’s all a matter of knowing your competition. The idea of a report card wasn’t meant to be insulting. I try to have good relations with all my rivals,” he continued.
Kool Moe Dee’s first iteration of the “rapper report card” covered artists like The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, and Rakhim. At the time, the rapper gave himself an overall ranking of 95, the highest grade on the chart. Commissioned by Ego Trip, the second iteration came as the 90s hip-hop landscape began to change.