Who is the best rapper of all time?

Nas' Illmatic is considered by many to be the best hip-hop album ever

Question: Who is the best rapper of all time?
Position‹4 of 8›: Nas is the best rapper
Argument‹3 of 3: Nas' Illmatic is considered by many to be the best hip-hop album ever

The argument

From production to lyrics, every element of Illmatic makes it the greatest hip-hop album of all time. This is only made more impressive by the fact that almost no guest artists appear on the album, except for a single verse by AZ. Nas relied on himself to craft this album, rather than relying on the fame and skill of other rappers. Nas was just 20 when he made the album, but his complex and timid lyrics about growing up in the New York City projects masquerade as the words of a master. The album released in 1994. Since then, no album has been able to top it. Nas' ability to create the greatest hip-hop album of all time makes him the best rapper of all time.

Premises

[P1]Illmatic is regarded by many as the greatest hip-hop album ever, with Nas crafting nearly every verse himself—just one guest verse, by AZ—rather than leaning on other artists' fame. [P2] He made it at just 20, yet its complex lyrics about the New York projects read like a master's work, and no album has topped it since its 1994 release. [C] Therefore, because he created the greatest hip-hop album of all time, Nas is the best rapper.

Counter-arguments

Nas may have created one of the best hip hop albums of all time, but that does not make him the best rapper of all time. Nas' lack of consistency in releasing excellent albums demonstrates a "one-hit-wonder-esque" characteristic that bars him from claiming the title "greatest rapper of all time."

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] "Considered by many" appeals to reputation rather than to any property of the record, and the near-absence of guest verses is a production choice rather than a measure of skill — collaboration is standard in the genre and is not usually read as borrowed ability. [Rejecting P2] "No album has topped it" restates the same critical consensus instead of adding evidence, and the counter's objection stands: a single landmark record speaks to a peak rather than to the sustained body of work the title "best rapper of all time" is usually taken to require.