The future of music

50 Best White Rappers of All Time (Ranked List)

November 6, 2023
Eminem, one of the best white rappers

Want to know the top white rappers making waves in hip hop?

I’ve compiled the most prominent white rappers leading the genre right now.

This list highlights both veteran and up-and-coming Caucasian MCs praised for their lyricism and flow.

Top picks of the best white rappers

  • Eminem
  • Jack Harlow
  • Mac Miller
  • Pitbull
  • Beastie Boys
  • “Weird Al” Yankovic
  • Lil Dicky
  • Lil Peep
  • Post Malone
  • NF

1. Eminem

Eminem, full name Marshal Mathers III, is an American rapper and record producer, often dubbed the greatest white rapper of all time. 

He is credited with popularizing hip-hop in Middle America, as well as breaking down racial barriers in the African-American-dominated hip-hop genre. 

He is often thought to be controversial, representing the angst of middle-class America.

Eminem went on hiatus in 2005 after becoming addicted to prescription drugs.

He played a fictionalized version of himself in the film 8 Mile. 

2. Jack Harlow

Jack Harlow is an American rapper, singer and producer from Louisville, Kentucky.

Harlow began rapping at the age of 12, making a CD and selling copies to his middle school classmates.  

His first major breakthrough was with his 2020 song “What’s Poppin’”, which gained popularity on social media video app TikTok. 

The song peaked at number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and he went on to receive a Grammy nomination for it. 

He released his debut album That’s What They All Say in 2020. 

3. Mac Miller

Mac Miller was an American rapper and music producer, who entered Pittsurgh’s hip-hop scene aged 15. 

He released his breakthrough mixtape K.I.D.S in 2010 and Best Day Ever in 2011. 

He became the first independently distributed debut album to top the US Billboard 200 since 1995. 

Miller struggled with drug abuse and alcohol addiction throughout his career, often focusing on it as a theme in his music. 

In 2018, Miller sadly passed away from an accidental drug overdose of cocaine, fentanyl, and alcohol at his home, aged 26.

4. Pitbull

Armando Christian Perez, professionally known as Pitbull, is an American rapper and businessman. 

His music features elements of pop, rap, reggaeton and Latin hip-hop.

He released his debut album in 2004, titled M.I.A.M.I.

He rebranded himself as a pop artist in 2011, releasing Planet Pit. 

He has sold over 25 million studio albums worldwide.

5. Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys were an American rap rock band from New York City, formed in the early 1980s.

They achieved local success with the release of their comedy hip hop single “Cooky Puss” in 1983.

They toured with Madonna in 1985, releasing their debut album Licensed To III the following year. 

They have sold 20 million records in the US and have seven platinum-selling albums. 

Group member Adam Yauch died of cancer in 2012, and the group disbanded. 

6. “Weird Al” Yankovic

“Weird Al” is an American singer, musician, record producer and actor.

He is known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture, often parodying specific songs.

He has sold more than 12 million albums since the start of his career.

He has earned five Grammys and had a further eleven nominations.

He also had his own TV programme, called The Weird Al Show in 1997.

7. Lil Dicky

Lil Dicky, whose full name is David Andrew Burd, is an American rapper, actor and comedian. 

He became famous following the release of the music video for his song Ex-Boyfriend in 2013.

He is now probably best known for his song “Freaky Friday”, which featured Chris Brown.

His 2019 music video for Earth featured singers and actors such as Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The song was made to raise awareness about the environment, pollution and climate change, with a portion of the song’s proceeds going to charity.  

8. Lil Peep

Lil Peep is a Swedish-American rapper, whose real name is Gustav Elijah Ahr. 

He was a pioneer in the world of emo rap and rock. 

He has become an inspiration for outcasts and youth subcultures.

Lil Peep began his career by releasing music on SoundCloud in 2013, under the name “Trap Goose”.

He first toured in 2016 across Russia and Europe, before touring in the US. 

9. Post Malone

Post Malone is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer, born in 1995.

He blends genres of hip hop, R&B, trap and pop.

He established his stage name by using a random rap name generator.

He gained recognition in 2015, with his debut single “White Iverson”. 

His song “Sunflower” was the promotional single for the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. 

10. NF

Nathan John Feuerstein, known by his initials NF, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer.

He first rose to fame after the release of his 2017 album Perception, which charted at number one in the US and is now certified platinum. 

His follow up album The Search also proved very popular after its release in 2019.

He grew up with divorced parents and was raised by his mother, until her boyfriend started abusing him and his father took him away.

His mother passed away in 2009 from a drug overdose.

11. Macklemore

Macklemore is an American rapper from Seattle, Washington. 

He is best known for his song “Thrift Shop”, created with producer Ryan Lewis, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2013. 

It was the first single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 without support of a major record label. 

The duo’s follow up single, “Can’t Hold Us”, also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

They won four Grammys at the 2014 awards. 

12. Action Bronson

Action Bronson is an American rapper, songwriter, chef and television presenter from Queens, New York.

He began his musical career with the release of a mixtape called Bon Appetit…Bitch in 2011. 

He hosted The Untitled Action Bronson Show, a talk/variety show, and still hosts a travel program called Fuck, That’s Delicious. 

His major-label debut studio album Mr. Wonderful debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, having received over 48,000 streams that week. 

13. Machine Gun Kelly

Colson Baker, known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly, is an American rapper and singer that is known for his genre duality, crossing hip-hop with alt-rock. 

He released four mixtapes between 2007 and 2010, before signing with Bad Boy Records.

His debut studio album Lace Up was released in 2012.

His fifth album Tickets to my Downfall was released in 2020 and marked his departure from hip-hop and entry into pop punk.

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

14. Vanilla Ice

Vanilla Ice, whose full name is Robert Matthew Van Winkle, is an American rapper, actor and television host. 

He was born in South Dallas and raised there and also in Texas.

He released his debut album Hooked in 1989 on Ichiban Records.

His best known hit is “Ice Ice Baby”, but he is also known for his cover of “Play That Funky Music”.

15. Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg

Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch was an American hip hop group formed by actor Mark Wahlberg in 1991. 

The group’s most known song is “Good Vibrations”, which made it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Their follow up single “Wildside” was also successful, making it to the number one spot.

Their first album Music for the People was a huge success.

16. Blackbear

Blackbear, a musician, singer, rapper and record producer, has released six studio albums throughout his career.

He is a member of the alternative hip hop/R&B duo Mansionz with singer-songwriter Mike Posner.

He was born and raised in Florida, with a father of Italian descent.

He began his career in a rock band in Florida called Polaroid.  

See also: Best Florida Rappers

17. Kid Rock

Kid Rock is known for blending genres across rock, hip hop and country.

He is a self-taught musician and can apparently play every instrument in his backing band. 

He began his career as a rapper and DJ, releasing his debut album Grit Sandwiches for Breakfast in 1990.

His single “Cowboy” from 1990 is considered a pioneering song in the country rap genre. 

18. Bo Burnham

Bo Burnham is a famous musician, comedian and filmmaker from Hamilton, Massachusetts.

He often combines musical elements with his comedy.

He released a Netflix special called Inside in 2021, which was released in Burnham’s guest house with no crew or audience.

It was about his day-to-day life indoors. 

19. Russ

Russ is an American rapper, musician and songwriter. 

He spent many years releasing his music online for free, before releasing his twelfth album There’s Really A Wolf with Columbia Records.

The album has since been certified platinum.

He was born in New Jersey and is of Sicilian descent.

He was taught to play the guitar by his father.

20. Fergie

One of the few women on this list, Fergie is an American rapper and singer who first found success as part of hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas.

Her first album The Dutchess saw commercial success, producing three Billboard Hot 100 songs. 

She has also featured in films, launched a perfume line and a footwear line.

She was born in California, and is of British, Irish and Mexican descent. 

21. Dappy 

Dappy’s full name is Costadinos Contostavlos, but he is better known by his stage name.

He is the lead singer of N-Dubz, a hip hop and grime group that was most successful in the late 2000s.

The band went on hiatus in 2011 and the members went on to pursue solo careers.

He was convicted of battery in 2007 and pleaded guilty to two counts of assault in 2008 after spitting in a woman’s face on a drunken night out.

He released “Oh My” in 2018 with fellow rapper Ay Em, and it reached number 23 on the British charts. 

22. Everlast

Erik Francis Shrody, known better by his stage name Everlast, is a singer, rapper and songwriter and was the frontman of hip hop group House of Pain. 

He received a Grammy award in 2000 for “Put Your Lights Out”.

He went to Taft High School in LA at the same time as fellow rappers Ice Cube and N.W.A and The Posse member Krazy Dee.

A feud formed between Everlast and Eminem in 1999, when Everlast apparently congratulated Eminem on his success and Eminem ‘blew him off’.

23. Brother Ali

Brother Ali is an American rapper, activist and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective.

He was born in Wisconsin and has albinism.

He has spoken about being accepted more by his black classmates than his white ones in school, saying that he could relate to them more because they were also judged for their skin color. 

24. Rittz

Jonathan McCollum, known by his rapper name Rittz, is an American rapper from Pennsylvania.

His parents were apparently heavily interested in rock and roll, exposing all of their children to music, musical instruments and recording studios from a young age. 

In 2009, after failing to get his music career off the ground multiple times, he was contacted by Yelawolf, which led to financial support from the rapper.

25. Iggy Azalea 

Iggy Azalea is an Australian rapper, songwriter and model.

She moved from Australia to the US when she was sixteen, to pursue her musical career.

She gained recognition from releasing music videos on YouTube. 

She released her debut album Ignorant Art in 2011. 

Azalea is one of very few prominent white female rappers. 

Her single Fancy, featuring Charlie XCX, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014. 

26. Aitch 

Harrison James Armstrong, better known by his stage name Aitch, is a British rapper from Manchester.

He has released ten charting singles in the UK, including “Taste (Make It Shake)” and “Strike a Pose”. 

His song “Rain” has had over 51 million views on YouTube and 140 million streams on Spotify.

In August 2022, he collaborated with Ed Sheeran on a song called “My G”, which is about his sister with Down Syndrome.

He is one of the most popular white rappers in the UK. 

27. G-Eazy

G-Eazy is an American rapper, born in 1989.

He released his first major album in 2014, called These Things Happen. 

His second album was released in 2015 and features a single called “Me, Myself & I”, featuring Bebe Rexha, that reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

He started out as a record producer before joining a hip hop group called “The Bay Boyz”. 

In 2010, he was given the opportunity to open for famous rappers like Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg. 

28. Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York.

He was a pioneer within the alternative and underground hip hop movement in the 1990s.

His name apparently derived from the name of a character in a film he acted in with some friends. 

He released his most recent album Spirit World Field Guide in November 2020.

29. Mike Shinoda

Mike Shinoda is an American musician, producer and rapper, best known for being the lead vocalist for American rock band Linkin Park.

He was born and raised in Los Angeles and formed an early version of Linkin Park with his high-school friends Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon. 

He created a hip-hop side project called Fort Minor in 2004.

He released a solo album in 2018 called Post Traumatic, which was about the death of one of the Linkin Park band members.

30. Logic 

Logic is an American rapper and record producer, who has released seven albums.

He has received two Grammy awards for his music. 

He began his career by releasing a mixtape called Young, Broke & Infamous in 2010.

Logic achieved mainstream recognition in 2017, with the release of his album Everybody, which has since been certified platinum. 

The lead single “1-800-273-8255” takes its title from the phone number to the American National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, as the single was created to raise awareness about suicide prevention. 

31. Yelawolf

Yelawolf, whose full name is Michael Wayne Atha, is an American rapper from Alabama.

He began to gain recognition after the release of his EP Trunk Muzic EP in 2010.

This allowed him to sign with Interscope Records.

The next year, he signed a deal with fellow white rapper Eminem’s label Shady Records.

32. House of Pain

House of Pain is an American hip hop trio from the 1990s.

It was made up of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy and Everlast, who also appears on this list as a solo artist.

The group are best known for their single “Jump Around”, which was released in 1992.

The song made it to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Danny Boy’s drug addiction apparently created a toxic environment, which led to the group breaking up. 

33. El-P

Jaime Meline, better known by his stage name El-P (which is shortened from El-Producto), is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer.

He was a driving force in the alternative hip hop scene in the 1990s, producing for rappers like Aesop Rock, Cage and Mr Lif.

He was born in Brooklyn and his parents divorced when he was seven years old. 

El-P later wrote a song about hearing his mother being assaulted by his stepfather.

He was also expelled from two different high schools.

34. Chanel West Coast

Chanel West Coast’s real name is Chelsea Chanel Dudley. 

She is an American rapper, TV personality and singer. 

Her father was a DJ in Los Angeles, so used to take her to clubs as a child.

She began listening to rap music aged eleven and began to create her own music a few years later. 

She cites Tupak Shakur as one of her inspirations. 

35. Vinnie Paz

Vinnie Paz is a Sicilian American rapper and producer, who was formerly known as Ikon the Verbal Hologram. 

He is best known for being behind the underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks. 

He was also a member of hip hop group Army of the Pharaohs. 

He released his first solo album in 2010, called Season of the Assassin. 

36. Jessie J

Jessie J is an English singer from London. 

She began her career aged 11, performing in a West End musical called Whistle Down The Wind. 

She studied at the BRIT School, which is known for producing many famous musicians and actors. 

She is most famous for her songs “Do It Like A Dude” and “Price Tag”.

She makes use of hip hop styles in her songs. 

37. Paul Wall

Paul Wall is an American rapper and DJ, who has released many albums under the Swishahouse Records label.

He has been nominated for a Grammy for his song “Grillz”, in collaboration with rapper Nelly. 

His first album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. 

He took a break from music for a time, beginning a career in acting.

38. Hoodie Allen

Steven Markowitz is an American rapper, singer and songwriter, better known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, from New York.

He was born in 1988 and released his first official EP in 2012, which debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200. 

He actually began a career at Google before pursuing his goals in music.

He began rapping at a young age, often performing for his friends at parties. 

39. The Kid Laroi

The Kid Laroi is an Australian rapper, singer and songwriter from New South Wales. 

He gained recognition from his association with rapper Juice Wrld while he was on tour in Australia. 

He gained popularity in 2020 with a song called “Go” in collaboration with Juice Wrld. 

His collaboration with Justin Bieber on a song called “Stay” allowed him to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

40. Suicideboys

Suicideboys are an American hip hop duo from New Orleans, founded in 2014. 

They originally rose to recognition through SoundCloud, but now own and operate their own label called G*59 Records.

They have a cult following, and are considered one of the most popular acts in the underground rap scene. 

They are cousins and grew up very close. 

41. Lil Xan

Nicholas Diego Leanos, better known by his stage name Lil Xan or Diego, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from California.

He is best known for his 2017 song “Betrayed”, which was certified platinum by the RIAA.

Leanos grew up in a family that was struggling financially, and he even resorted to selling drugs before he became famous for his music.

He mainly gained recognition for his music through streaming sites like YouTube and Soundcloud. 

42. Jelly Roll

Jelly Roll is an American rapper that has collaborated with Yelawolf and Lil Wyte. 

He grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, which may explain the country influence in his music. 

His 2010 collaboration with Lil Wyte on a song called “Pop Another Pill” gained over 6.3 million views on YouTube.

43. Tom Macdonald

Tom Macdonald is a Canadian rapper and songwriter, but is also a former professional wrestler. 

He became famous after the release of his song “Dear Rappers” in 2018.

He released a song called “Straight White Male” which described his belief that straight white men are being demonized in society, and faced backlash.

He often discusses American racial politics in his music, despite being Canadian. 

44. Merkules

Merkules is a Canadian rapper that is known for his “hangover-rap” style of music.

He began making music at fifteen and went on to tour with Snak the Ripper, supporting him as a hype man.

Aged sixteen, he was the victim of a random attack when walking home one night and still has facial scars from the incident today.

His 2016 album Scars was inspired by this event. 

45. Chris Webby

Chris Webby is an American rapper from Connecticut. 

He has worked with artists like Mac Miller, Prodigy and Kid Ink.

He has cited Eminem as one of his biggest influences. 

He was diagnosed with ADD at a young age and has been on attention medication throughout most of his life.

See also: Best Connecticut Rappers

46. Tay Money 

Taylor Noelle Watson is an American rapper, better known by her stage name Tay Money. 

She gained fame after the release of her song “Trapper’s Delight” in 2018.

Her single “Bussin’”, released in 2019, became a trending song on TikTok and went viral.

She signed a record deal with Interscope Records and Geffen Records in 2021.

47. Mike Stud 

Mike Stud was a Duke basketball player before starting his career in rap music. 

He apparently began rapping as a joke before he began to take it seriously. 

He had to miss an entire season of basketball while recovering from surgery, which was when he turned to music to pass the time. 

He first started getting recognised for his music after his release of “College Humour”, which he recorded on SoundCloud ironically. 

48. Bhad Bhabie 

Danielle Marie Bregoli, professionally known as Bhad Bhabie is an American rapper and internet personality. 

She became famous after appearing on Dr Phil, where she said the phrase, “Cash me ousside, how bout dah?”, which turned her into an internet sensation. 

She then became the youngest female rapper to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 with her debut single “These Heaux”.

49. Riff Raff

Riff Raff is an American rapper that was originally managed by Swishahouse. 

His debut album Neon Icon was released in 2014. 

He was born in Houston, Texas in 1982, to a father that was a Vietnam war veteran and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

He began rapping in 2005, making homemade CDs of his rapping over other artists’ beats. 

50. Simon Rex

Simon Rex is an American actor, rapper, musician and former model.

He rose to fame from starring in the Scary Movie franchise. 

He developed a rap personality under the name Dirt Nasty, and has several solo albums. 

He also co-founded the hip hop group Three Loco. 

Best White Rappers – Final Thoughts

While this by no means an exhaustive list of all the white rappers on the hip hop scene at the moment, this list certainly demonstrates that the genre is not entirely made up of African-American artists. 

Eminem, for instance, is often considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. 

In a younger generation of artists, rappers like Jack Harlow are finding huge success, much like Aitch in the UK. 

For whatever style of rap music you like, you are bound to find a white rap artist in amongst the mix.  

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Will Fenton

Will, the founder of MIDDER, is a multifaceted individual with a deep passion for music and personal finance. As a self-proclaimed music and personal finance geek, he has a keen eye for futuristic technologies, especially those that empower creators and the public.

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