Enough Top 5 Debates, Let’s Talk About Your Sixth Man
If you are a fan of hip hop, then you’re knowledge has been tested by one inescapable question. One that feels as if you’re being interviewed prior to gaining access into the secret cool club brimming with peers who share your love for the genre that fancies its boom baps — percussions for the unfamiliar — who’s [in] your top 5? While there’s never a right or wrong answer, even as much as enthusiasts might want to exclaim otherwise, not many people fixate on the one artist who just missed the cut.
Seriously, think about it. Who is your sixth man — or woman? For those not familiar with the term, which derives from basketball, here is an explanation:
The sixth man in basketball is a player who is not a starter but comes off the bench much more often than other reserves, often being the first player to be substituted in. The sixth man often plays minutes equal to or exceeding some of the starters and posts similar statistics.
Because the rap genre tends to parallel sports due to its competitive origins, here are some criteria to pine over that are a bit less literal to take into account:
- Does the artist have songs that are undeniably a part of your playlist, sometimes even besting those from your top 5 depending on your mood?
- Is there an album that could justifiably beat out a weaker LP from any one of the emcees cemented in the top 5 slots?
- How many verses (whether from a feature or otherwise) does this artist have that stick out in your memory?
I recently came to the realization of who my own sixth man would be under these criteria, it also made me reconstruct my top 5 and put my top 10 under a tighter reign. That for me is Common [Sense]. His music is revered within my library, housing the majority of his discography and freestyles on tap. My favorite song comes not from anyone in my top 5, but via Hi-Tek featuring the Chicago spitter entitled “The Sun God”.
His album Be is one I can play on infinite repeat and after seeing him perform live, I was reminded just how many lyrics were stored in my subconscious. So, the natural response would be why isn’t he placed firmly within the first tier of faves? For me, the answer is simple. Like any basketball team, each player serves a specific purpose and fills different voids on both offense and defense. James Harden is an incredible talent, but if I had the technology to have 5 clones of him to run a game of 5 on 5 on the blacktop, I would be petrified once they all had to switch on defense. While the rappers ahead of him assist in other areas sonically which make up my musical palette, it doesn’t cement him as a “starter” of sorts for me. So who would you pull from the reserves in a clutch?