Gunna Says Young Thug Is the Best Rapper Alive

Gunna declares the best rapper of all time and the artist he's giving the crown is not far from home.

During a chat with Young Thug for Interview Magazine, Gunna named the YSL Records founder as the best rapper alive.

"Who is the best rapper?" Thug asks.

"It would have to be you, Slime, on god," the 26-year-old rapper replies to his mentor. "You make the most songs out of everybody. Anybody can rap and make songs, but you're making real songs. It's hard to do that. I understand it because I make songs, too."

Gunna's love for Thug has never been a secret. The rhymer has often cited Slime as a significant influence. During his interview for the 2019 XXL Freshman cover last year, he mentioned Thugger as well as Jay-Z and Nipsey Hussle as three rappers who have inspired him.

Thug and Gunna's relationship goes back to 2015, after the "Drip Too Hard" rhymer's uncle introduced the two Georgia boys.

"I met [Young Thug] the day he shot the 'With That' video in my neighborhood," Gunna said. "My uncle called me like, 'We got Thug out here, he shooting a video. Come down here, make sure he's good.' We locked in from there."

Following the passing of Gunna's uncle, the two sparked a tight-knit friendship that eventually led to Gunna signing a deal with Thugger's Young Stoner Life Records and 300 Entertainment.

Since the former XXL Freshman began working with Thugger, the two have crafted dozens of songs featuring them both. Most recently, Gunna released his sophomore album, Wunna. On the 18-track album, Thugger makes two appearances, featuring on songs "Dollaz on My Head" and "Far."

See 15 Rappers With the Best Gimmicks of All Time

Eminem

Gimmick: Slim Shady

Eminem’s alter ego Slim Shady certainly had a darker side. Under the guise of Slim, the persona gave Em the freedom to aim his vitriol at anyone he pleases—often celebrities and other rappers. His more "evil" and comical side is what drew many of his fans to his music. While his violent storylines of murdering his mother and girlfriend are purely fictional, it became the controversial part of his gimmicky character.

Kanye West

Gimmick: The Dropout Bear Mascot

In 2004, Kanye West introduced The Dropout Bear on the cover of his 2004 debut album, The College Dropout. Initially, the bear wasn’t part of any marketing plan for the project, according to Kanye's former manager Plain Pat. In a a 2014 interview, he said that the bear mascot costume just happened to be at a school where Kanye was doing a photo shoot for the album and he decided to wear it. Thus, a gimmick was born. Kanye would use the Dropout Bear on his 2005 LP Late Registration and an animated version (designed by artist Takashi Murakami) for the cover of his 2007 effort, Graduation.

Nicki Minaj

Gimmick: Barbie

Nicki Minaj named herself Barbie and even appeared like an imaginary doll on the cover of her 2010 album Pink Friday. Interestingly, Nicki came up with the name by accident. "I just said one day...instead of saying, 'Bye' I said 'It's Barbie bitch,' " she explained to MTV News in 2010. "I could just imagine a Barbie becoming like a Chucky and you think it's all cute but the head starts spinning or something crazy and the kids just took that and ran with it." Those kids she speaks of are her Barbz, an international army of devoted fans that know all her songs and will vehemently go after anyone who tries to disrespect their Queen.

Master P

Gimmick: No Limit Army Tank

In the late 1990s, Master P bulldozed his way into the rap game like a tank with No Limit Records. More than just a gimmick, the tank represented his elite army of rappers on his iconic label. Among the artists rapping on his powerhouse imprint included Mystikal, Snoop Dogg, Mia X and Master P's brothers Silkk The Shocker and C-Murder. The tank eventually become a mascot for the label with Master P driving a gold-plated vehicle for his video for “Make ‘Em Say Ugh."

DMX

Gimmick: Pitbulls, Barking like a dog

DMX’s affinity for canines is way more than just puppy love. The former Ruff Ryders rapper has a deep connection with man’s best friend. So X incorporated that into his persona and music. X can be heard barking and rapping on tracks like "Get at Me Dog" and in his promotional campaign photos he was often photographed handling pitbulls. While this may have seemed strange upon first growl, it worked for DMX.

The Gravediggaz

Gimmick: Horrorcore

The Gravediggaz are one of many influential groups in the horrorcore hip-hop sub-genre. The group consisted of RZA (a.k.a. The RZArector), Frukwan (a.k.a. The Gatekeeper), the late Poetic (a.k.a. The Grym Reaper) and Prince Paul (a.k.a. The Undertaker). Much like the Wu-Tang Clan tapping into martial arts flicks, the Gravediggaz utilized cinematic themes from horror movies to create their 1994 debut album, 6 Feet Deep. While some people might consider horrorcore a gimmick, the Gravediggaz’s gruesome melodramas of murder and mayhem would later influence rappers like Eminem and Tyler, The Creator to explore dark themes in their music.

Megan Thee Stallion

Gimmick: Hot Girl Summer / Drive the Boat

In the summer of 2019, Megan Thee Stallion teamed up with Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign for the girl-power anthem “Hot Girl Summer.” The song sparked a viral meme on social media involving women (and some men) to post selfies of themselves in their flyest summertime gear and captioning their photos “It’s a hot girl summer.” Additionally, the 2019 XXL Freshman also promoted the phrase “Drive the boat” long before her hit song came to fruition. For the uniformed, "driving the boat" consists of taking straight shots of liquor, preferably Hennessy or D'usse. And like the boss that she is, Megan had the term “Hot Girl Summer” trademarked for a wide range of uses.

Kwame The Boy Genius

Gimmick: Polka Dots

Thirty years ago, Kwame turned heads by living in a world of polka dots for his 1990 sophomore album, A Day in the Life: A Pokadelick Adventure. His polka dot suits started a new fashion trend in hip-hop and became part of the rapper’s gimmick. So much so that his fans would dress up like him. The trend didn’t last long. The Notorious B.I.G. officially buried the fashion style on his classic 1994 song "Unbelievable", in which he spits, “Your life is played out like Kwame and them fuckin' polka dots."

MF Doom

Gimmick: The Metal Mask

MF Doom, formerly Zev Love K of 1980's rap group KMD, is arguably the most elusive rapper in the rap game. Along with being evasive, the metal mask he uses as a disguise is a gimmick that has kept him shrouded in mystery for many years. As MF Doom, which was inspired by Marvel’s evil comic book character Doctor Doom, he’s been able to garner a huge fan base. However, the gimmick has irked his fans as well. In the past, Doom has been known to send an imposter in his place to perform at his concerts without any explanation.

Jay-Z

Gimmick: The Rockefeller Family

John D. Rockefeller Sr. was a billionaire oil tycoon in the 1880s that at one time was worth over $340 billion. Jay-Z, Dame Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke were inspired by the Rockefeller family's entrepreneurial spirit and called their label Roc-A-Fella Records, a twist on the Rockefeller namesake. The Roc has been represented in the form of a hand signal (throwing up a diamond shape with both hands), diamond chains and merch galore. Although not quite as wealthy as John D. Rockefeller once was, Hov has amassed a huge fortune for himself. Jay-Z is currently a billionaire from his recordings, Roc Nation and TIDAL ownerships, and investments in other companies such as Uber.

Lady of Rage

Gimmick: Afro Puffs

Lady of Rage managed to make Dr. Dre’s signature G-Funk production bounce with bravado from a woman's perspective on her 1994 single “Afro Puffs.” Although Rage wasn’t fond of the single, it became a top five hit on the Billboard Rap Songs chart. Additionally, her afro puff hairstyle became her signature look that represented her street attitude at the time. Her look inspired many young girls to follow her lead with the hairstyle.

Rick Ross

Gimmick: Former Drug Kingpin Ricky "Freeway Rick" Ross

Rick Ross has certainly made a name for himself with his drug culture-inspired rhymes. Adopting the persona of real-life drug kingpin Ricky “Freeway Rick” Ross is a gimmick that has brought him much success and side-eyes from haters. In June of 2010, "Freeway" Ricky Ross filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against the Maybach Music Group honcho for $10 million, claiming the rapper based his persona off Freeway's life. After a three-year legal battle, a judge sided with Rick Ross, ruling that the Miami rapper has “entitlement to protection” to use the name under the First Amendment.

The Wu-Tang Clan

Gimmick: Classic Kung Fu Films

Legendary producer RZA is a huge martial arts fan. His inspiration to form the Wu-Tang Clan was inspired by hours of watching classic Hong Kong Kung Fu films like 1978’s The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and 1983’s Shaolin and Wu Tang. RZA injected plenty of cinematic flavor into the Wu-Tang Clan’s classic 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) through soundbites and dialogue from various Kung Fu movies. More than just a gimmick, the Wu merged hip-hop with martial arts and introduced fans to a genre of movies that also inspired a young man from Compton named Kendrick Lamar, a.k.a. Kung Fu Kenny.

Eve

Gimmick: Pitbull in a Skirt

Much like her Ruff Ryders cohort DMX, Eve latched on to the canine gimmick by calling herself a “pitbull in a skirt” on her 1999 single, “What Ya Want." "Puttin' it down, Ruff Ryders put in they work/Snatched up the illest, vicious pitbull in a skirt (Grrrrrr)/Makin ’em hurt, haters steady dishing up dirt," she raps on the song. The former First Lady of Ruff Ryders would become more than just a pitbull in a skirt, eventually becoming an actress, a fashion designer and a co-host on the daytime talk show The Talk.

Jeezy

Gimmick: The Snowman

In 2005, when Jeezy was then known as Young Jeezy, he designed an angry snowman with furrowed eyebrows and a straight line for a mouth and slapped it on a T-shirt. The new tee would become part of his marketing plan to promote his debut album, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101 with merch that flooded the streets of ATL and beyond. The Atlanta rapper then had a diamond-encrusted snowman medallion made and wore it on the cover of his Trap or Die mixtape. For Jeezy, the snowman symbolizes being a bona fide hustler. "Snowman is a cool dude," he told MTV News in 2005. "He's a gangsta, too. There's a Snowman in every ’hood, several Snowmen in the ’hood. You gotta be that dude to look up to with the car and the girl. Whatever you do, be the best at it, because that's what the Snowman is going to do." Jeezy is a cool dude and knows how to market himself.