Many have opinions about what criteria makes a great MC, but few have the credentials to back them up like De La Soul. As Hip-Hop survivors and thrivers for more than 20 years, Posdnuous, Dave and Maseo are among Rap’s most influential artists, and when they speak, Heads listen.

As Ambrosia For Heads’ Finding The GOAT competition winds down, De La spoke in-depth with VLAD TV about whether they think there is a true “King” of Hip-Hop, and what criteria should be used in making such an evaluation. They were asked specifically if Eminem was the greatest of all-time, and their response was that there is no one GOAT, there are many.

After saying Em might be a king, based on album sales, as well as Jay Z, the trio also cited MF DOOM, saying he’s a “king amongst kings.” To some, that might be surprising but, as Heads who’ve followed Finding the GOAT saw, it was indeed the masked villain who toppled Jay Z in their head to head match up.

At the end, Dave (aka Trugoy the Dove) rattles off several factors that should be considered when evaluating an MC, including voice, cadence, lyrical content, catalog and agility. And, in De La’s case, perhaps they should start with a mirror…Check out the video.

What are your criteria for what makes a great MC?