There's really not just one answer to this question. Unlike rock, which is broken into multiple categories: metal, alt, emo, soft, thrash etc, hip-hop doesn't seem to do that, even though it really should be. Maybe it is in that world and I'm just not aware of it.
Just from the choices from this thread alone you see master's of word play, master's of structure/flow, master's of content (all of which could be a part of being a lyrical master) and then there's just the fun party tracks.
Personally, I don't listen to a lot of rap, but I enjoy and study poetry and I look at dude's like Mos Def and Talib Kweli and Tupac and see the artistry and social awareness in their writing. Their ability to lay down beats and the flow is secondary for me.
To the idiot speaking of intelligence in rap, please name a rock or country song that is intelligent and I'll list 10 hip-hop songs that would blow it out of the water. Yes, there is a bunch of materialistic, immoral trash in hip-hop - especially current hip-hop, but there's a lot of trash in rock too.
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