Rappers Impersonating Other Rappers

Image via Complex Original

What’s funnier than Earl Sweatshirt in a bald cap and fake facial hair? Absolutely nothing. Earl’s Joe Budden impersonation came about through his clan’s sketch show, Loiter Squad, which guaranteed the highest production values. The skit parodied Love & Hip Hop, but instead of Budden being faced with a divorce from his wife, it was his beard that wanted out. Earl captures Budden’s soft-spoken voice well enough, but once the tears start flowing it’s a wrap.

Prior to his gig on 106 & Park, Bow Wow—err, Shad Moss—evidently had a lot of time to film himself doing impressions of other rappers. The video isn’t from his official account, and by the way it was filmed one could assume it wasn’t supposed to make it to the web. It is also slightly strange that he is looking off screen for the majority of video even though there doesn’t appear to be anyone else in the room. Regardless, his impression of 50 Cent is right on the money.

Details we don’t have: why DJ Premier and Pharrell are lurking around a room somewhere telling stories, why Skateboard P seems so wired, or who the people milling around in the back are. What we do have is the two telling the story of how the Busta Rhymes’ song “G-Stro” was created, with both giving animated impressions of said rapper. Pharrell even weaves his best nasally Q-Tip voice into the yarn. At eight minutes, it’s one of the longer videos, but it’s completely worth it.

Drake is a multitalented entertainer; he sings, he raps, he does that bouncing around hand waving thing that’s kind of like a dance. But apparently master impersonator needs to be on that list as well. While hosting Saturday Night Live back in January, he portrayed a varying array of other famous personalities. Among them was his own rap mentor, Lil Wayne, as well as Jay Z. While the particulars of the skit with Weezy miss the mark (Drake pretending to be Wayne pretending to be Urkel?), the way that he captures his facial expressions and voice is dead on.

Hidden on Obie Trice's 2003 mixtape The Bar Is Open is a gem from Eminem, and it doesn't even involve his lyrical capabilities. Well, not really. The track "Funk Flex Interlude" features Em impersonating Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and 50 Cent, all in the name of promoting Trice. He even impersonates Canibus, where he spits a few bars as the Mic-nificent.  If Eminem's decorated rap career suddenly ceases to satisfy him, he could totally be successful doing rapper impressions professionally.

Kendrick Lamar is probably a busy dude. What with being the reigning king of rap and all that, you would think that he wouldn’t have much time to sit around with OF and make vines. But he did, even devoting one glorious six seconds to his impression of Tyler, The Creator. It’s not really accurate, but the fact that it exists at all is what makes it exceptional.

There’s a part two of Shad Moss' impersonation streak, and this time it features Lil Wayne. If we’re being honest, Weezy is probably the easiest target for impressions because everybody can fake a good vocal wail. The whole thing is precise until he tries to copy his wheezing laugh and fails miserably. Good thing the video ends there.

"Scenario” features one of the most scene-stealing verses of all time from Busta Rhymes. In this video, Q-Tip recounts how he got a young Busta to get on the track. Having known him for so long, he’s able to capture all the idiosyncrasies of his gestures and voice flawlessly, and poke fun at him at the same time. At one point he even goes into a two-minute long diatribe about Busta Rhymes' thumbs. His thumbs. And it’s hilarious.

Rappers: they’re just like us! They call up their friends (usually other rappers) to congratulate them on cool stuff that they do. Wiz Khalifa recounted this occurrence with Birdman while being interviewed by DJ Whoo Kid on Hollywood Saturdays. In general, his impression of the hand-rubbing millionaire is awful, except for the last “baby” he tacks on the end.

Hopsin is still struggling to find a distinctive voice outside of the “black Eminem” he’s been dubbed as by the Internet, so it makes sense that his impersonations of other rappers would be on point. In this short clip, he imitates the vocal stylings of Drake, the grim bars of Tyler, The Creator, and the swift cadence of Yelawolf.

Everything coming out of Red Bull Music Academy’s lectures is golden. Granted, it would be difficult to go wrong with music legends waxing philosophic about the good ol' days. In this particular video, it’s Q-Tip on the couch discussing the making of “Memory Lane." Q-Tip plays a snippet of DJ Premier’s first version of the song, which is a more aggressive outline of the final product. While retelling the story, he puts on a deeper voice to imitate a '90s era Nas. And it’s perfect.

Eminem really is one of the funniest rappers ever. In the video above, Em is seen rattling off Xzibit's verse from "What's the Difference" in X's signature voice. In front of Xzibit, no less. Afterward, Eminem politely explains to Xzibit that his presence won't be needed for the concert now that he can spit the verse bar for bar. Classic Slim Shady.