BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher Rankings

1) Kendrick Lamar
2) B.o.B
3) Big K.R.I.T.
4) Machine Gun Kelly
5) Tech N9ne

Bar for bar, I've got to give it to Kendrick Lamar. Dude is just nice. Next I have to give it up to B.o.B for showing everybody that he's a real MC, and not just a pop star (Side note: I wonder what B.o.B did at 3:32 when he was setting up that special needs line to make BET take the camera off of him? The retarded man bend wrist chest smack thing? Who's to know.) Coming in 3rd I have to give it up to K.R.I.T. He didn't go for punchlines and just spit some real nigga shit. Fourth is Machine Gun Kelly, who despite having a nice flow, made a couple of missteps (Rhyming "Cobain's back" with each other 3 times?). And bringing up the rear is Tech N9ne, who totally squandered his first appearance on BET since Sway and Tech's The Anthem back in 1999.

1) Busta Rhymes
2) Reek Da Villain
3) Ludacris
4) 2 Chainz

It was a close race between Busta Rhymes and Reek Da Villain, but I had to give it to Busta because he embodied exactly what you'd want from a cypher, from lyrics to delivery. Reek is clearly #2, and he's followed up by Ludacris at #3, who nearly loss points for his wild pronunciation of Zach Galifianakis' name. The #4 spot almost went to Premo's laptop or Luda's headphones because 2 Chainz brought pretty much nothing to the table here. Ultimately, I decided to just give him 4th place (and last overall) instead of 5th or 6th, but only because he changed his name from Tity Boi to 2 Chainz (even though for some reason he thought it'd be a good idea to rock 3 chains the day this was filmed).


1) Skillz
2) Lady Of Rage
3) Blind Fury
4) Dom Kennedy

You have to give this one to Skillz. You've just got to. In fact, it was almost predetermined he was going to have the hardest bars in his group as soon as BET called him to do it. Checking in at #2 is Lady Of Rage, who was shockingly quite impressive. Blind Fury did his thing as well, so he gets the 3 spot, and last was Dom Kennedy, who really didn't bring much to the table.


1) Pill
2) Meek Mill
3) Rick Ross
4) Stalley
5) Wale

The surprise upset first place goes to Pill! Who would've thunk it? Nobody, but he made it happen. Congrats. Next up is Meek Mill, though his raw Philly style carried him more so than his lyrics. I wasn't expecting much from Ross here, but he ripped it so he gets third. Stalley was nice, but he needed a little more energy, so that's good for 4th. Bringing up the rear is Wale. His verse didn't suck, he was just the 5th best on this occasion.


1) Lecrae
2) Nitty Scott
3) Estelle
4) Soprano

Lecrae blazed it and showed that a Christian rapper can be nice as hell too. He gets the #1 spot. Coming in #2 has got to be Nitty Scott, whom which I'd like to exchange numbers with and possible take out on a date. Third is Estelle, but it was by default because I refuse to sit and read Soprano's (I'm assuming) fourth place lyrics.


1) Kevin McCall
2) Tyga
3) Chris Brown
4) Ace Hood

I thought Kevin McCall was a singer? Clearly I had him mixed up with somebody else because dude is nice, and for that, he gets first place. Second goes to Tyga, who has improved more lyrically in the last 2-3 years than anyone I can recall. I mean, dude was completely wack back in 2008, but now he's almost nice. Next I'll give props to Chris Brown, who is 10x the rapper he is singer. Last place goes to Ace Hood, but it's not because he sucked, it's just because the others did better. Ace was just fine, and I'm just proud he remembered his rhyme this time.


1) Eminem
2) Joe Budden
3) Royce Da 5'9"
4) Crooked I
5) Yelawolf
6) Joell Ortiz

This is easily the greatest cypher in the history of the BET Hip-Hop Awards, and it's truly a shame somebody had to come in last in my rankings. For starters, Eminem is just out of this world lyrically. To this date, NOBODY can flip rhymes the way he can and that was on full display in this video. Coming in at #2 is Joe Budden as he remains the most underrated rapper, possibly ever. Royce is 3rd because not only did he murder his verse, but "Hi Rihanna" is still a trending topic on Twitter nearly 24 hours later. Crooked I gets 4th place for his killer bars, while Yelawolf and Joell Ortiz bring up the rear with sick verses that just weren't on the level of the lead 4, but still good as hell. Damn, that was tough.

Illest of the Night: Eminem
Runner Up: Joe Budden

Wackest of the Night: 2 Chainz
Runner Down: Tech N9ne