Pharoah is an incredible lyricist, but the bar for entry is high because like some other rappers, like Black Thought, De La Soul, or Comega, Pharoah is a rapper's rapper. But dude is in my personal top 15 and Organized Konfusion's 1st joint is my all-time favorite hip-hop record.
no disrespect to you or Mega homie..I respect Mega a lot, but as far as lyrics and most definitely flow he has never been in that upper echelon to me. He wasnt as good as Nature, flow or lyric wise...but he was a better artist due to his hustle, grind and commitment.
I am very strict with my list. So yeah, you have Nas, Jay, Thought, Rakim, G Rap, AZ. These are elite MC's to me. Monche is in my top 10.
As far as my personal favorites? He is definitely in my top 3-5.
I agree with you from a flow standpoint, it's not smooth but I think lyrically, he is slept on, he can be surprisingly profound and declarative, but I'll concede flow isn't his strong point.