Who is the better rap musician: Ludacris or T.I. (Clifford Harris)?

Ludacris

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by Timothy Lawson

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I love a good discussion about who is better than whom in the rap industry. I have made strong arguments in favor of Eminem, Joe Budden, Fabolous, Jay-Z and others. I have great things to say about both T.I. and Ludacris. A lot of the rap fans that I talk with about these artists are so quickly to place Ludacris on another level and although I agree that Ludacris is the better artist, T.I. deserves to be in the same company.

T.I. has had some great success in the past year, musically. Paper Trail had amazing substance and was a significant album preceding his incarceration. Trap Muzik hit the scene in 2003 and gave him the visibility that I'm Serious couldn't. Each album that came out after that only made him more popular and more credible in the rap industry. His lyrical content started to become more respectable and the demographic of his fan base continued to grow. However, even with all of his success, T.I. falls short in comparison with Ludacris.

Ludacris has been recognized more than T.I. in the retail market. His album sales are the proof here. I believe that Paper Trail was an overall better album than Ludacris' latest album, Theatre of the Mind, but Luda still managed to sell a million more copies. Ludacris' career sales are double that of T.I.'s with 11 million sold over T.I.'s 5 million. Ludacris has been awarded six Grammys for his musical efforts; two of those awards were for Best Rap album.

When deciding between two rappers I have to consider how they would do in a battle between each other. Ludacris is well known for his clever metaphors and witty punch lines. He has already shown his ability to throw jabs at his fellow Atlanta artist, T.I., with his verse on Young Buck's "Stomp," released in 2004. T.I. had recorded a verse for the original version of "Stomp" but had been replaced by The Game for its official release. Oddly enough, Ludacris has not been in any highly publicized battles with other rap artists, whereas T.I. has been put in the spotlight for his controversies with Lil Flip and Shawty Lo.

Looking over the past eight years that both artists have been on the scene, I am confident in saying Ludacris is more diverse lyrically. He has proven, time and time again, that he can get parties started with hits like "Roll Out," Move," and "Stand Up." He does more collaboration work than T.I. does, and was recognized for it when Usher's "Yeah," featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, won a Grammy for best Rap/Sung Duo. Ludacris also appeared on T.I.'s latest album on the track "On Top of the World." The track only proves to me that Ludacris has more presence lyrically. His cadence, delivery, rhyme schemes and energy are all a notch above T.I.'s.

Both emcees have been recognized for their talent through album sales and awards. The fans have spoken many times in polls on websites and in magazines about who their favorite rapper is. Although neither T.I. nor Ludacris ever claim the title of best rapper alive, Ludacris always makes it past T.I. by brining in more votes. The two went head to head in Vibe Magazine's "Best Rapper Alive" tournament, resulting in Ludacris moving on, past T.I., with 58 percent of the vote.

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