I can't really speak on who's the GOAT of Letsbeef because I was never one of those people who went and read all the battles of the greats. I mostly read battles that were contemporary with the times when I was active, and even then, it was mostly just the ones I was asked to vote on or as part of my duties running a tournament or the FVC. I didn't go out of my way to read whoever was considered a legend.
With that being said, I think the criteria for deciding the GOAT should include those who are dope at audio, text, AND tracks. That narrows down the list pretty well because very few people were good at all 3. Even a lot of the people who could do both text and audio weren't great at tracks and they mostly did acapella audio battles where mostly punchlines matter. Riding a beat well and making something you could actually bump is something different.
Some of the names that come to mind on terms of people I did check out are Real Talk, Conceited, SWAVY, ERUPT, Ticket, Grizzeat, Swissha (Mikey Deniro) and a few others I can't think of at the moment.
Now there are people who are better than some of the names I just mentioned in audio and tracks...guys like stricc and Phil Banks, but their text battling wasn't as deep. There are also guys who are as strong (if not stronger) in both text and audio battling (guys like UNKNOWN ARTIST/YOU WISH and RULE), but their tracks didn't impress me as much. If we consider legacy and influence on LB battle culture, then these guys would definitely be there. But I think strictly speaking, the GOAT conversation should start at who has mastered all 3 (text, audio, tracks).
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