I dont think anyone makes it very big mainstream for their lyrical talent. Eminem is probably one of the only emcees who is popular in mainstream music because of that. Hit singles are tracks with a catchy beat and hook that all the mindless people in the clubs can dance to.

Canibus is very ill,, not just his vocab when he spits is incredible, but his multi's and metaphors are unmatched by 99.9% of emcees underground or mainstream. Yeah there is always the occasional garbage track from Canibus, and his beats are not always the illest ( for the cat that said he'd only listen if bis did acapella, he actually does come with a sick beat once in a while ) , but as far as his lyrical ability and mic presence go he is talented as fuck.

About the "big" words,, people keep saying that he wouldn't use these words in everyday conversation... no fucking shit sherlock. Who besides a college professor would just speak like that on a normal day? That does not mean that he doesn't know the words and what they mean,, I seriously doubt that Canibus looks in a dictonary to get words for his rhymes, and if you've ever heard one of his true freestyles (not all the radio joints because most of them are just repeats or writtens to sound nice on the air) he still will randomly use that crazy ass vocabulary.

The topic of this thread is just gay. To ask if someone is a nerd because they use complex words while RHYMING is just ignorant. He does it to add the extra difficulty and show his skill extends beyond the bounds of one and two syllable words (something 50 Cent needs to work on a bit)