Kool Moe Dee became a hot topic last week when his old “Rapper Report Cards” resurfaced on the net. The report cards prompted many debates and hot takes on hip-hop Twitter as everyone had their own opinion on what grade each emcee actually deserved. The Treacherous Three emcee implemented a traditional grading scale, giving emcees letter grades based on vocabulary, articulation, creativity, originality, versatility, voice, records, stage presence, sticking to themes, and innovating rhymes.

In Moe Dee’s first card, written in 1987, Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, and Kool Moe Dee were the only three MCs to get a perfect grade, while in the second, The Fugees’ Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, Naughty By Nature’s Treach, Method Man, Biggie, 2Pac and Mystikal all received As or A+s.

In a recent interview with HipHopDX, Naughty By Nature’s Treach spoke about how he was honored to be recognized by his idol, Kool Moe Dee, admitting he would have been appreciative of any grade Moe Dee would’ve given him. 

“First of all, it’s an honor,” Treach explains. “Kool Moe Dee is past legendary — he’s an icon. And he’s one of, in his era, was known as one of the most fiercest battle rappers out there. Nobody wanted any problems with him until LL [COOL J] came, and then they had their back and forth battle, which was one of the greatest Hip Hop battles of all time.”

“So hearing that from Moe Dee, who is in the Hip Hop world, you have to know, it’s different type of rappers. These are lyricists. So when he grades anybody on something, if he would’ve gave me a D, I would’ve had to accept because it’s from one of my legends, one of my rappers I looked up to totally. So to hear that from him is humbling, it is honorable. And it just proves to me that I did something right in the Hip Hop game.”

What grade would you have given Treach and Naughty by Nature in 1987? Stay tuned for more hip-hop news.