2. Ice Cube, without him there is no NWA, I know Dre wrote the beats, and Easy brought the street cred, but Cube wrote most the lyrics and released a few stellar solo cds before he realized he could have more staying power if he switched to movies.
nas, rakim, big l, talib kweli, immortal technique, jay-z, tupac, biggie, dr. dre as a producer/rapper/etc., snoop (he's served his time), and eazy- e.