"Rap music skyrocketed to popularity in the 2000s, with artists like Eminem leading the way, as the genre went totally mainstream. In addition, the '00s saw a whole slew of cross-over rap artists charting, including the likes of OutKast and Gnarls Barkley. Some of the biggest selling albums of this decade were rap albums, including Jay-Z's Blueprint albums, Nelly's Country Grammer, and 2000s The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem (produced by Dr. Dre). Diddy, formerly known as Puff Daddy in the 90s (and formally known as Sean Combs), released the album The Saga Continues... as "P. Diddy" in 2001 and, after changing his stage name (again) to just "Diddy," he released the wildly popular album Press Play in 2006. And, while Ludacris released his first album in the 90s, his major-label debut came in 2000 with Back for the First Time. He followed that up with 2001's Word of Mouf -- thus, earning a spot on this list of the best rappers of the 2000s."
Credit goes to Ranker.com
