Being a fast rapper does not always equal being one of the greats, but Eminem executes it properly. On his latest Juice WLRD-assisted single, Godzilla, from Music to be Murdered By, Eminem packs an impressive record of 10.93 syllables per second, much faster than his previous record on Rap God (9.6 syllables/second).
Even though Eminem is famous for his fast rapping, it does not represent more than 10% of his long-lasting discography. In fact, some old school rappers were rapping fast long before him. There's no denying that these 10 rappers can go head-to-head against Em, in terms of fast rapping.
10 Logic
Rapper Logic is no stranger to fast-rapping. On 100 Miles & Running from his 2018 album YSIV, the Rattpack wraps up approximately 11.7 syllables per second, or in other words, 69 words in under nine seconds. That's impressively even faster than Rap God, syllable-per-second-wise, but contains fewer words than Rap God. On Disgusting from the 2012 Young Sinatra: Undeniable mixtape, Logic spits 9.5 SPS.
9 R.A. The Rugged Man
R.A. The Rugged Man is the real epitome of underrated, and talking about fast-rapping wouldn't be complete without mentioning the New York-native rapper.
On Holla-Loo-Yuh from his 2013 star-studded Legends Never Die album, The Rugged Man teams up with the likes of Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko. He raps for a whopping 11.6 syllables-per-second supersonic speed on the second verse, "This is foolery, I'm a hooligan, leaving you drooling / When I'm beating you brutally, slappin' your ***** and takin' your jewelry / Your mama crying when she reading your eulogy."
8 Kendrick Lamar
Fast-rapping might not be Kendrick Lamar's forte, but he's definitely up for the competition. On the last verse of Rigamortis from his Section.80 album, Kung Fu Kenny kills the jazzy-influenced beats with 4.6 words per second. The fast part itself contains 198 words in 43 words.
To make it even more impressive, it's not the first time Kendrick races against oxygen. On Play With Fire from the C4 mixtape, Kendrick raps exactly 5 words per second, with 220 words in 44 seconds.
7 Yelawolf
Eminem's own former Shady Records signee, Yelawolf, is also on this list. In 2011, Yela hopped on Travis Barker's Give the Drummer Some album for a hell-fire feature with two other fast-rappers in the game, Busta Rhymes and Twista.
Yela secured the third verse of the song where he spits 11.5 syllables per-second, "Yeah, I'm an animal, everybody's edible and Yelawolf / Is headed for your arm and hand and your - head, I'm a cannibal / Good heavens, the man's hoppin' over the fence like a ******* antelope."
6 Tonedeff
In 2013, the same year as The Marshall Mathers LP 2 album dropped, Pedro 'Tonedeff Rojas, Jr. unleashed the beast with his song Crispy (192) from the Demon EP. As the title of the song suggests, Tonedeff goes hard on a 192 tempo on the third verse. Even more impressive, he does so after going for 180 BPM in the first two verses, landing him a breathtaking achievement of 14.1 syllables per second.
In comparison, Eminem's fastest rap, Speedom featuring Tech N9ne, is 'only' 12.9 syllables per second.
5 Krayzie Bone Of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Who could forget Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? Best known for his Bone Thugs days and the Chamillionaire feature on Ridin,' Krayzie Bone packs 12.5 syllables per-second on Clash of the Titans, which also is a remix to Eminem's Rap God.
Claiming himself as the 'Lyrical Messiah' and the 'Undertaker,' Krayzie Bone also gives a laundry-list of a shout out to Eminem, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def, 2Chainz, T.I, Jeezy, Nipsey Hussle, and many others.
4 Twisted Insane
Fan of horrorcore raps? Then Twisted Insane is the man. With a tangled, morbid, and horrorcore twist, the Brainsick Muzik honcho, Twisted Insane, raps in a Midwest Chopper style, famous for its over-the-top and supersonic speed.
On The Evergassin Gobstopper from his 2007 The Monster In The Dark album, Twisted Insane details a chaotic, bloody murder in a jaw-droppingly fast way. The Chop Shop from his 2015 album Voodoo also describes a brutal murder while picking an extraordinary 15.7 syllables per second.
3 Tech N9ne
There are so many Tech N9ne songs to prove that he's, arguably, the best fast-rapper around, even better than Eminem. He's a Chopper rapper, and it's a subgenre of hip-hop that features neck-breaking rapid-fire fast rapping as its most prominent trait.
On Worldwide Chopper from his 2011 album All 6's and 7's, Tech N9ne links up with the likes of other fast rappers: Busta Rhymes, Yelawolf, Twisted Insane, Twista. Good luck rapping to it at karaoke.
2 Busta Rhymes
Whether you agree or not about his place in hip-hop, there's no denying that Busta Rhymes belongs in the top-three best of rapid-flowing emcees. On his signature song, Break Ya Neck, from Busta's 2001 album Genesis, which was also produced by Dr. Dre, Busta flawlessly makes any other fast-paced rapper look doddery with his speedy rhymes.
In fact, it's not his only fast rap. His verses on Chris Brown's Look at Me Now, Can You Keep Up?, and Why Stop Now should be considered Rap God's hardest contenders.
1 Twista
Not to be confused with Twisted Insane, Twista has been rapping with the fire-rapid flow before it was cool.
On 1991's Mista Tung Twista from his debut album Runnin' Off at da Mouth, the Chicago-based rapper packs an impressive collection of 1.287 words in only four minutes and 36 seconds, which averaged 28 words-per-minute or 598 syllables in 55 seconds. Shortly after, Twista secured a spot at the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest rapper.