What Does Hip-Hop Look Like To You?

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A couple of days ago I got a text message from one of my homies from way back. Somebody she knew read the recent profile of Jay-Z by Zadie Smith in the New York Times that read an awful lot like any other profile of Jay-Z talking about being Jay-Z. You know the one, where the interviewer goes into total fanboy mode – no judgement, I’ve never met anybody of Jay’s stature so perhaps I’ll be starstruck too – and their excitement jumps off the page a little too much? Anyway, somebody that the homey knows who wasn’t that up on Jay or much of hip-hop asked her for some hip-hop songs that he should check out.

You know, this is the moment that most fans of hip-hop wait for in life. See, most folks you come across already have an opinion on hip-hop, either good or bad. If they’re upwardly mobile and white, chances are that they view rap as the devil spawn of what happens when Nikki Sixx meets cocaine meets Harlem meets blaxploitation. But every now and then, you come across that person who is open-minded enough to still be willing to form a new opinion. And thus you get the opportunity to introduce this person to the art form you love and help to shape their impression. Basically you get to point them to your own personal version of what hip-hop looks like. You know, not Chief Keef and whatever is going on with the Chicago Public Schools. And no Soulja Boy. And you can take them to a place where people named Lil Reese and Lil Scrappy are more irrelevant than they currently are.

Yes. You get to create a Hip-Hop Utopia and introduce this individual to the good sh*t. So the homey and I went back and forth on songs that she should present to her friend. Believe it or not, there’s a lot of pressure involved here. So I figured, I’d bring the pressure to you all. But first, if I was given the opportunity to represent hip-hop to somebody who was open enough to believe that my version of the genre was the one to believe in, and I could only share ten songs, here are the songs I’d offer up:

1. Pete Rock & CL Smooth – T.R.O.Y.

Pretty self-explanatory here, plus it’s my favorite song in hip-hop and one of my favorite songs period. I get to pretend like all hiphop is beautifully produced full of verses about something and nothing AT THE SAME DAMN TIME (and get to use played out statments like that one…which makes no sense because I wouldn’t actually say that…the Ravens put up 41).

2. Geto Boys – Mind Playing Tricks On Me

For one, it samples Isaac Hayes and I just got finished watching the Stax documentary for the umpteenth time. For two, it’s a song about paranoia and it proves that hip-hop can actually discuss mental health issues. Mmhmm. I said it. Obama is fighting for the right for songs like this. Dr. King marched for this song. Plus, it’s just a great hiphop song.

3. Eminem – Lose Yourself

Probably the best song in his catalog and the perfect description of what it feels like to step on stage. Plus, it describes the essence of hip-hop. It’s not a slow burn type of sport, it’s about taking in the moment, rising to the occasion, and leaving no doubt. It’s like Remember The Titans, except not at all.

4. Queen Latifah – Ladies First

Mostly because I actually think King La went off on this joint and Monie Love repped for the ladies quite properly.

5. Nas – One Mic

This song is pure hip-hop from one of the purest representations of hip-hop, you know, when he’s not channeling his Rick Ross aspirations.

6. Notorious B.I.G. – either Juicy or Kick In The Door

“Juicy” is probably the most logical choice because it’s the story every rapper wishes they had. Minus the phone bill being about $2000 flat. Luckily, most people have unlimited plans now. ‘Pac and Big died before that happened though.”Kick In The Door” on the other hand is so perfect to me. I’d marry it if it wasn’t probably already married to “Unbelievable”.

 

7. Outkast  – Bombs Over Baghdad

This isn’t even remotely my favorite song by the group, however, it’s such a dope record that shows how different hip-hop could take it, I’m all in. Oh, and by the way, ATLiens is my favorite ‘Kast album though Aquemini is totally worthy of its praise.

8. Jay – Z – Can’t narrow this down…Reasonable Doubt

I know this is cheating, but I can’t do it. I can’t pick just one.

9. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Thuggish Ruggish Bone

It’s just a dope ass song. Sue me. Worthy of being included for diversity of sound’s sake.

10. Tupac – Keep Ya Head Up

Self explanatory again.

Okay, there are so many songs and artists I didn’t include for various reasons but could easily deserve a spot on this list. However, I will bring it to you, the people…and for those that hate hip-hop, I’m gonna throw you a bone here…list some of the songs you think are the worst representation as evidence of the terribleness. Equal opportunity, plus I’m curious as to what songs folks who hate hip-hop really know and view as proof positive of the negativity within.

So creep with me folks…what does hip-hop really look like to you?

-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka MR. HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL HE A 3

Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow night to www.blis.fm/theblaqoutshow from 8-10pm to check out The Blaqout Show as we discuss what’s going on in the world of politics, love, and fashion! Holla if ya hear me!

785 thoughts on “What Does Hip-Hop Look Like To You?”

  1. Hip-Hop Sounds like The Roots and Cody Chestnutt “The Seed 2.0,” because I love the musical arrangement and Goodie Mob “Beautiful Skin” for the lyrics

    Aside: Y’all heard Chi Ali’s out of jail?

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  3. I only get 10?!! Man…alright :-|

    1) TokiMonsta’s “Sweet Day” or “Gamble”
    2) The Fugees “Fugee La”
    3) Nas “It Ain’t Hard to Tell”
    4) Wale feat. J. Cole and Curren$y “Rather Be With You (Vagina is For Lovers)
    5) Purple Ribbon All-Stars “Kryptonite”
    6) Kanye West feat. Paul Wall, GLC “Drive Slow”
    7) Kanye West “All Falls Down”
    8) J. Dilla “Lightworks”
    9) Craig Mack, B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta “Flava In Ya Ear” remix
    10) LL Cool J, Method Man, Red Man, Canibus and DMX “4, 3, 2, 1″
    11) Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Inspectah Deck “Guillotine Swordz”
    12) Eminem “My Name Is”
    13) Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre “Ain’t Nothin’ But a G Thang”

    13. Thug Life. By the way. It’s my birthday. Bathe me in Lake Minnetonka in glitter and birthday love. Please? :)

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  4. 1. Wu-Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M.
    2. Mos Def – Beef
    3. Missy Elliot feat. Ludacris – One Minute Man
    4. Jean Grae – Love Song
    5. Mobb Deep – Drink the Pain Away
    6. Clipse – Mr. Me Too
    7. A Tribe Called Quest – 8 Million Stories
    8. Quasimoto – Low Class Conspiracy
    9. Eminem – Murder Murder
    10. Xzibit – What U See is What U Get

    NY BIAS/Lazy list.

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  5. Ice Cream- Raekwon
    Mary Mary- RUN DMC
    Paul Revere- Beastie Boys
    The Show- Slick Rick/Doug E. Fresh
    Five Minutes of Funk- Whodini
    Mahogany- Eric B. & Rakim
    93′ Til Infinity- Soul of Mischeif
    The Foundation- Xzibit
    Brand New Funk- Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
    The song that was playing in “Breakin” when Turbo(or Ozone) was dancing with the broom.
    Clones- The Roots
    My Philosophy- Boogie Down Productions
    Jack of Spades- Boogie Down Productions
    TR- 808 is Coming- Boogie Down Productions
    Let tha Bass Go- The D.O.C

    I’ll be back, but for now just sample…

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  6. 1. Spaceship-kanye/ lost ones- lauryn hill
    2.one mic-nas
    3.cant knock the hustle-jigga
    4. Sky’s the limit-biggie
    5. keep ya head up-tupac
    6. bust a rhyme-missy ft eminem
    7. aint nothing but a g thang-dre and snoop
    8. crossroads-bone thugz
    9. no matter what they say-lil kim
    10.busta rhymes-hands where my eyes can see

    11.fugees-ready or not

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    • I see Nuthin’ But A G-Thang is going to make most folks list. Given that The Chronic is one of my most beloved hip-hop albums, the reason that I left it off is because I tried to stay away from blatant gangsta rap-ism. Sure Thuggish Ruggish Bone is there but nobody could understand them anyway.

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  8. I’m more of a RNB lover so I can’t really list one or ten hip hop songs I like that much but I will say Soulja Boy- Crank That was the worst representation of hip hop ever in my book. Oh and everything Future sings/raps/ is god-awful. His lyrics are ok but the delivery makes me wish I was deaf.

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    • Souljah Boy is bad, but he isn’t the worst. The worse was all that Snap Music crap. I’m waiting for the International Tribunal at The Hague to bring those fools to justice. That was a crime against culture.

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            • The majority of the music came from NY so it is going to be on the top of most folks list based off nostalgia alone. That is not a bias.

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                • +1 Obvious regional bias. They act like ninjas down South was in their rooms listening intently and takin notes on that sh!t lol. It’s called niche/situational music people. Folks thinkin that all hip hop has to be poetic, lyrical, and introspective is actually the worst thing that happened to hip hop. Encouraging everything to sound the same or be made with the same intent. Snap music was just another phase of dance music/club culture. Them ninjas never said they were making “hip hop” music anyway

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          • I’m 26 and there’s DEFINITELY NY bias that’s always most obvious when I’m around mostly New Yorkers/East Coast heads (never so with Mid-west folks though) for example it becomes apparent anytime music is discussed on this very blog

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            • New Yorkers only have a bias in the respect that we barely got hip hop from other regions besides Cali until 2001. We only had 2 hip-hop stations since 1990, and one turned into a old-school R & B station by 1995. So Hot 97 was the only radio station for hip hop until 2004 when we got Power 105.1. Hot 97 only played NY rap and popular Cali rap, other than that we barely got songs from anybody else until Aquemini came out. So now you should have a better understanding of why NY might have a bias.

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              • Accurate, but incomplete. The thing was that the underground rap and mixtape scenes were dominated by NY Traditionalists. A lot of people outside of NY don’t know this, but Pete Rock had a very influential show in terms of breaking new artists. If you know Pete Rock, he is very much a traditional old-school hip-hop head. Shows like Stretch Armstrong and Babito or Hank Love and Half-Pint or the show the Bomb Squad did on Adelphi University’s radio station were cut from the same cloth.

                On the mix tape scene, back in the day, DJs relied more on their club performances to pay the bills. (In fact, the mixtape genre came from taped performances of different DJs shows at different venues. Over time, it became a studio artform.) Many of the clubs and DJs had ties to various traditionalists as well, and it was hard for Southern groups to break through. To be fair though, Luke, 2 Live Crew and a lot of booty bass did become huge in the clubs through various connects.

                Simply put, unless you had ties to people down South or traveled a lot, you just didn’t hear a lot of Southern music. Throw in the long historical bias that Northerners have against the South, since Northern Blacks are largely (though not only) made up of people who packed up and left the South for various and sundry reasons, and it was hard for Southerners to get a fair hearing. It wasn’t until Master P broke down the door that most people up North gave the South a full and fair hearing.

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                • Well you’d know more about the underground scene and mixtape scene since I was a kid during that era, but as far as the radio goes, just like you mentioned, only time records got broken were by Stretch & Bobbito, and maybe Red Alert. Funkmaster Flex didn’t even break in artists unless they were on his albums, etc…you know the story.

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              • that’s not bias. that’s just life. however, the assumption that all things “other than NY” weren’t nearly as good is a bias. and let’s be real, that’s largely how most NYers view hiphop.

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                • +1,000,000,000- All I ask is that people recognize their preferences and opinions as just that. I have mine too. Neither is more valuable. Neither really matters either truth be told

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                  • I definitely have a NY bias. When it comes to hip hop though, I just don’t think it applies. The excuse that we weren’t willing (which is BS- the listeners weren’t the ones blocking) to hear the south for so long doesn’t matter. They weren’t heard, therefore they won’t make most people (older hip hop heads) list of the greatest.

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                • I can only say I think the bias merely came from things not sounding to what was familiar to people. NY had lyrics and beats and thats’w hat hip hop heads here knew. So when music from the South came and the lyrics weren’t as hard hitting but still came off raw in another way, with slower beats, I guess it didn’t resonate with NYers for a while.

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                • I can only say I think the bias merely came from things not sounding to what was familiar to people. NY had lyrics and beats and thats’w hat hip hop heads here knew. So when music from the South came and the lyrics weren’t as hard hitting but still came off raw in another way, with slower beats, I guess it didn’t resonate with NYers for a while.

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          • LOL the reason why NY largely gets away with their bias is because folks from other regions universally agree on a lot of ya’ll ish (i.e. Jay or Biggie). Still doesn’t mean it ain’t a bias. There’s always a bias. Any hometown gotta admit that. It’s nostalgia at its purest.

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            • +1 Well said Cheekie. That’s all we mean when we tell New Yorkers how biased they are. They’re the most reluctant to admit their bias. At least in my experience

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              • There are two reasons behind that. One is the worse thing for a New Yorker to be is a homer. No one will admit to being a homer in New York, because being biases for your hometown is something “country” people do. Two, in some part of the country, especially in the South, people seemed to be biases against people from New York from the word “Hello”. In the wrong town, being a New Yorker can just make you a victim in and of itself, so someone from out of town pointing out the New Yorker is somewhat of a threat.

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    • I think Soulja Boy gets a bad wrap. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s trash as an artist. But I also don’t think that even he expected to blow up the way he did and become the new face of everything wrong with hiphop. Granted, his continued attempts at musical creation don’t help his case, but “Turn My Swag On” went hard.

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    • There are much worse rappers than Soulja Boi, he just happened to be the most famous at a rare time, adding to the fact that he was 16 when he blew. I can’t even hate on his crap rapping ass, because he sold enough records that he’d be a hip hop staple.

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    • I think “Crank Dat”, for what it was supposed to be- a dance song- was great. It was all about the dance. If “Crank Dat” sucks, “Wobble” sucks, “Electric Slide” sucks (actually it does), “Cupid Shuffle” sucks, etc.

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          • not true. i also dance. and folks dance everywhere. those songs are made for that. doesnt mean that they are good songs. for instance, “cupid shuffle” is terrible. but it gets people up and doing it. its functional. not good.

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            • So songs that make people want to dance aren’t good dance songs? This was my point- Crank Dat and the like are good dance songs because they serve their purpose.

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              • LOL I’m with you in that they’re good dance songs because of a dance song’s purpose in general. But, like… I don’t (nor wouldn’t) have any of those songs in rotation on the iPod. All of those songs are social songs to me. There have GOT to be others around for me to actively participate in them (well, unless I’m just learning them… then yes, I’d be by myself tryna learn it… ESP the dayum wobble lmao). That’s part of the appeal, IMO.

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                • You’ve just disproved you whole argument about Beyonce’s song, Love on Top, being a classic because it makes women everywhere dance each time they hear it — (which actually makes me hit the bar btw). I being a woman disagree not just because the song annoys me, but also because the song was rammed into my head by radio spins to the point that it stuck in kept kicking my pons. LOL Aside from that though, #NYbias — really? Nothing from KRS One on your list? Hmph… Bone Thugs beat out KRS? smh… I expected more from you, Sir. *giggles

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      • I think people hate on Wobble and Cupid Shuffle because they’ve heard them too many times. They’ve seen too many people who should’ve kept their tired assets in their seats get up and move to them. It’s an eye roller, to be sure. But Cupid Shuffle, though repetitive, is a decent song. And Wobble is kinda sneaky good. I initially wanted to hate it, but I listened to it in my car and its pretty good.

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  9. MC Lyte-cha cha cha
    A tribe called quest-Bonita applebum
    LL Cool J- I’m bad
    Doug E Fresh-the show
    Slick Rick-children’s story
    50 Cent-Baltimore love thing
    Juvenile-400 degrees
    Eric B & Rakim-Paid In Full
    Little Brother-Lovin It
    Scarface-Mary Jane

    That was hard. 10 is not enough. I need more ( je sais je sais, c’est ce qu’elle a dit)

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  10. “interviewer goes into total fanboy mode – no judgement, I’ve never met anybody of Jay’s stature so perhaps I’ll be starstruck too – and their excitement jumps off the page a little too much?”

    So Jay-Z, may I call you Mr. Z? Jay? Anyway, so why don’t you remind our readers just how amazingly awesome you are now, vs. how amazingly awesome you were…5 minutes ago?

    “Thuggish Ruggish Bone”

    Ah memories. That was on a mix tape my long distance college boyfriend sent to me during my first semester away from home. It was part of his campaign to de-bougie-fy me, I guess. Same reason why he always took me shopping for matching sportswear outfits and got us matching air-brushed graffiti sweatsuits. Now I shop at J. Crew, Banana Republic and Gap. Some good that did.

    One more for the list…
    11. Fugees – The Score

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    • Yo, f*ck J. Crew, Banana Republic and The Gap. They stay hating on anyone taller than 6 feet, and please don’t weigh more than 200 lbs. They are coming to see you Otis! If some crazy people decided to burn those places down, I’d swing by with a stick and a bag of marshmallows to enjoy the show. I remember the mistakes I made trying to shop in those places. You can’t unforget being hated on by a store.

      Moving along…

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  11. 01. – MC Lyte – Anything by her
    02. – A Tribe Called Quest – Scenerio
    03. – Fresh Price/ Jazzy Jeff – Summertime
    04. – Queen Latifah – U.N.I.T.Y
    05. – Eric B. and Rakim – I Ain’t No Joke
    06. – Q – Tip – Vivrant Thing
    07. – Nas with Olu Dara – Bridging The Gap
    08. – Rah Digga – Lessons of Today
    09. – De La Soul – Me, Myself and I
    10. – Monie Love – Monie in the Middle
    11. – Arrested Development – Mr. Wendel
    12. – X – Clan – Funkin’ Lesson
    14. – Public Enemy – 911 is a Joke
    15. – Roxanne Shante – Roxanne’s Revenge
    16. – LL Cool J – I Need Love
    17. – Beastie Boys – Brass Monkey
    18. – Doug E Fresh – The Show
    19. – Audio Two – Top Billin’
    20. – Whodini – Funky Beat

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  12. Hip hop for me looks like

    1. K’naan-Soobax
    2. Lupe Fiasco- He Say, She Say
    3. Emmanuel Jal- No Bling
    4. Trillville- Some Cut (lol… yeah)
    5. Joell Ortiz- Call Me
    6. K’naan- Till We Get There (ft. M-1 and some lady with a nice voice)
    7. Tupac- How Do You Want
    8. Ice Cube- It Was a Good Day
    9. Warren G- Regulate (ft Nate Dogg)
    10. The Roots- What They Do

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  14. 1.Madvillain- All Caps
    2.Nas-Memory Lane
    3.Jay-z & Big L- 7 Minute Freestyle
    4.Slick Rick-Hey Young World
    5.Raekwon-Ice Cream
    6.Black Star- Definition
    7. Mos Def-Pistola
    8. Notorious B.I.G.-The Wickedest Freestyle
    9. Eminem-Mushrooms
    10.Outkast-Two Dope Boyz

    Dwindling this list down to 10 choices is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

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  15. The experience – Goodie mob

    Best intro track in the history of mankind (well, maybe it’s a tie with Get down – Nas)

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    • Get Down by Nas should be the measuring stick for every song that comes out today. If you can’t come better then you don’t deserve a bar code. This would INSTANTLY improve hip-hop and have 98% of rappers looking for employment.

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      • “If you can’t come better then you don’t deserve a bar code. ”

        This could possibly be the best marketing slogan ever! Nike maybe? Apple? Hmmm…

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      • Um…Nas can’t even live up to that standard. Perhaps it’s a little high?

        I do agree though, if Nas could zone in like he did on that joitn for a whole album, he’d have the only completely indisputable classic post 9/11

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  16. 1-butter & lyrics to go (and obviously all the others)–a tribe called quest
    2-black is black–jungle brothers
    3-passin me by–pharcyde
    4–in the house & i got a love–cl smooth & pete rock (they are hip hop.)
    5–place on earth–panacea
    6–the blast–talib kweli
    7–make you feel that way–blackalicious
    8–black maybe & next time–common
    9–looseleaf paper–the cool kids
    10–breakadawn & eye know–de la soul
    11–grown man sport–pete rock (matter o’ fact, the entire hip hop underground soul classics, particularly the section with INI)
    12-whatcha like–little brother

    props to the selection of T.R.O.Y from pete rock & cl smooth. definitely one of my favorites. it was so hard to narrow down! im still unsure about my choices lol

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  17. Wow.. No Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Roots, A Tribe Called Quest or Common on your list????

    1. Electric Relaxation (actually all of Midnight Marauders, but definitely Electric Relaxation), Low End Theory-ATCQ
    2. Anything by Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Black Starr, and Reflection Eternal (taking cheating up a notch)
    3. Run DMC Greatest Hits
    4. Do You Want More, illadelph halflife, Phrenology, Tipping Point-The Roots
    5. The Light-Common
    6. The Mis-Education of Lauryn Hill
    7. Criminal Minded-Boogie Down Productions
    8. Illmatic & It Was Written-Nas
    9. Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, The Black Album, American Gangster
    10. Ready to Die & Life After Death-Biggie
    … Wish I could have cheated some Beastie Boys in my top 10….(see what I did there)

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    • Wow…. Can’t believe I left off OutKast, Little Brother, AND Wu Tang….

      Can we do producers next???
      I’ll start….
      1. Premier
      2. J-Dilla
      3. Pete Rock
      4. No ID
      5. Q Tip
      6. Timbaland
      7. Kanye West
      8. Hi Tek
      9. Just Blaze
      10. Organized Noize
      11. ?uestlove
      12. Rza
      13. 9th Wonder
      14. Dr. Dre

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    • “Electric Relaxation (actually all of Midnight Marauders, but definitely Electric Relaxation), Low End Theory-ATCQ”

      YASSSS! I remember attending a party in NY he was DJing for and took everything in me not to request EVERY song he did with Tribe lol

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    • here’s the thing about not including any of those rappers you included.

      ATCQ, I went back and forth over what song and it became more about them than it did about songs to rep. Granted, I could have included Electric Relaxation, but again, it would have been just to say ATCQ repped hip-hop. Midnight Marauders is one of my favorite albums ever, but that’s also largley because of the production.

      And no Talib is easy for me. Short of “The Blast” and “Definition” with Mos, there’s no songs that I think he’s kilt in such a fashion that would warrant his inclusion. He’s solid, his joint with MadLib is proof positive of this – a much underappreciated album- but naw, I’m cool.

      But you have to realize that I asked for songs…NOT ALBUMS.

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      • I feel like one has to be a certain age or from a certain area to roll with ATCQ. I’m under that age and I’m not from the East Coast. Like I really want someone to explain their appeal beyond being on other ish as compared to their contemporaries.
        “Electric Relaxation” and “Award Tour” were just cool background music to me when they were hot. The first and only song I really liked of theirs is “Stressed Out.” I came to like “Scenario” like a decade or so after the fact when I was doing some digging. None of these singles made me want to sit around and listen to an entire album from them. Meh.

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  18. Petey, while thuggishrugish bone is one of my all-time faves as well, i dont think its good for an untrained ear because he or she wouldnt be able to understand wtf theyre saying lol. I would prolly go with “crossroads” to represent BTIH.

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  19. Isn’t it allowed to pick songs, that are not way back in history. Or states really anybody of you the opinion that Hip Hop now is some commercial bullshit? What about Camron, Maino or Wiz Khalifa – they still produce hot records…

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    • “What about Camron, Maino or Wiz Khalifa – they still produce hot records…”

      Cam’ron used to be good- at least until 2007 rolled around. Maino and Wiz Khalifa? I can’t say if anything they did was good. All Maino had to his credit was “Hi Hater”…

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      • Agreed on Maino and Wiz Khalifa. And this is after finding out a few months back that Maino was a childhood acquaintance of mine. He’s put out decent stuff, but I wouldn’t stick him on a list like this.

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    • You can pick anybody you want. Obviously, for us older folks out there, we’re going to pick song that resonated more with us which are songs from the 90s when we think hip-hop didn’t suck en masse.

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  20. When trying to formulate a list, my own choices will not really cater to an untrained ear. I’ve been trying to do this for years for my friends and family members and most give me a clueless expression , or a statement which ends up sounding like” I never knew a women of your class would listen to such things” which really errks me. So for this experiment or route to nostalgia where Hip-Hop was my 2nd love, I’m just going to read everyone else’s list and start doing the bounce by the seaside for the week.

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    • I’ve been trying to do this for years for my friends and family members and most give me a clueless expression , or a statement which ends up sounding like” I never knew a women of your class would listen to such things” which really errks me.

      Have you seen my childhood? LOL Seriously, I was in honor classes with all these White kids, and the administration looked at me crazy for loving hip-hop like I did. They even kept me out of the National Honor Society until my senior year due to “character issues”. Man, let a brother rock and backpack and LIVE!

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  21. 1. “Dear Momma” & “Hit em Up,” by Pac (so they can see his range). 2. “Stan” -Em 3. “Song cry”-JayZ 4. “All about the Benjamins”- Bad Boy 5. “Regulators” & “This DJ”- Warren G 6. “What we do (is wrong)”- The ROC 7. “Smile”- Scareface/Pac 8. “Live ya Life”- T.I. 9. “U.N.I.T.Y”- Latifah 10. “Life Goes On”- Pac. I think this is a pretty well rounded list, no?

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  22. “You know, not Chief Keef and whatever is going on with the Chicago Public Schools.” Ouch. Anywho.

    1. A Tribe Called Quest – Find a Way
    2. Mos Def – Ms. Fat Booty
    3. The Fugees – How Many Mics
    4. Digable Planets – Where I’m From
    5. MC Lyte and Missy Elliot – Cold Rock a Party
    6. Outkast – The Art of StoryTellin’ Part 1
    7. The Roots – The Seed 2.0

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  23. So no Tribe?? Really? Well, “Check the Rhime” by Tribe Called Quest would be on my list. Since I think it would be good to take them back closer to the beginning, I would also add “The Message” so they can see the evolution. The thing is I don’t think I would change your list…it would have to be more than 10 songs…15 :) Rakim & Slick Rick too

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  24. I told myself i’d stay outta this one but my two cents refuse to stay in my pocket so ummmm..I wrote a song bout it, like to hear it, hear it go!!
    1. Fight the power-Public Enemy
    2. T.R.O.Y-Pete Rock and CL Smooth
    3. Planet Rock- Afrika Bambatta and the Soulsonic Force
    4. Scenario-Tribe and the NT
    5. Juicy-B.I.G
    6. The World is Yours-Nas
    7. 10% Dis-MC Lyte
    8. KRS-One’s whole life
    9. Elevators-Outkast
    10. ‘Round the Way Girl-L.L.
    11. Dear Mama-Tupac
    12. C.R.E.A.M-Wu-Tang Clan
    13. Lose Yourself-Eminem
    14. Dwyck-Gangstarr
    15. J Dilla’s Whole Life

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    • I was trying to think of what Pac song should be included, and I’m leaning towards Dear Mama. I mean when that came out (at least for me) it completely changed hip hop cause it was a totally different emotion than most songs at the time were about. Even Brenda’s Got a Baby which I also love has a more sad tune to it. But Dear Mama and Keep Ya Head Up are two songs that I think stand out to me. I’d probably include DM before KYHU because I mean, I know every dude in 1995 was playing that song to their mom’s thinking they were being creative.

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      • Being a fan now equals a “Stan?” I guess you’re also one of those guys that calls people who have a different opinion than you “haters” too huh? Ignorance is a boat and nuccas like you can’t swim. Smh.

        Reply ↓

        • Nope, I’m just skeptical of people who claim to be huge fans of his. Most of whom didn’t really pay any attention to him until after he died (Usually, it’s anyone who happens to be under the age of 30).

          Do I like him? Yes. But I don’t like everything he’s done. I thought “Donuts” was a snoozefest and only half of “The Shining” was listenable.

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    • Yep. Your number 1 & number 3 have got to be on the list. I was waiting on someone to come through. There is no hip hop without a Public Enemy song or at all without Bambaataa…respect.

      Bond.

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      • It was crazy because I actually sat here and had an argument with myself over “what is more hip-hop, Planet Rock or Lookin For the Perfect Beat?” lol!

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  26. If you want some storytelling, you’ve got to include Slick Rick’s Children’s Story. That song is just so classic. I’d also add (I guess for historical purposes and because I love the songs)
    – The Message (Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five)
    – Rappers Delight (Sugar Hill Gang)
    – You’re All I Need To Get By (Method and Mary)
    – Walk This Way (Run DMC)
    – Award Tour (ATCQ)
    – Me Myself and I (De La Soul)
    – Paid in Full (EricB & Rakim)

    I could really go on and on because songs are just coming back to me, but I’ll stop here.

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  29. So, Panama, do you feel like a big man calling Queen Latifah out of her name? Or I guess that “King” ish is supposed to be funny, right? Ha! Ha! Grow the hell up man.

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  30. Make room, make room! Here is the “close thread” list!

    Ambitionz az a ridah – 2pac
    This song sums up a lot of things “Pac” for me “My attitude was f@ck it and muhfuggas love it” By the end of the track, you’ll love his attitude too.

    Cream – Wu-Tang Clan
    The beat is ridiculous and Inspektah Deck paints a vivid picture of growing up I the streets.

    TROY – Pete rock
    Demonstrates the best of what Hip-Hop can be. Amazing beats with great story telling. No imaginary murders. No legendary sexual conquests. Just life. Black life in America. We all can relate.

    Don’t push me – 50 Cent feat Lloyd Banks and Eminem
    From 50’s first album. Popular from guest appearances, getting shot and mixtapes, fiddy lived up to the hype on his first studio album. On this song however, he was just cool. Next up on the track though, was Lloyd Banks. Now Lloyd had a tiny bit of popularity, but he knew he had to shine on this track, and he did. Lloyd was hungry and it showed. He murdered this track. But he wasn’t the best.
    The best goes to Eminem. Marshall had NO reason to go berserk on this here. He was already rich and established. And yet, he takes a Daisy Cutter to the track.
    “Ain’t saying we ain’t laying down at night and ain’t praying
    I bully my way in this game, man I’m done playing
    Man I’m done saying that I’m done playing”
    This song demonstrates why Eminem is one of the greatest of all time

    Love of my life – Roots (live version) Feat Common
    Basically, Common’s verse closes this thread. A sample
    “When we touch, it was more than just a f@ck
    The Police, in her I found peace (like who?)
    Like Malcolm in the East
    Seen H.E.R. on the streets of New York, trickin off
    Tried to make a hit with H.E.R. but my d!ck went soft”
    Hearing this song live just takes it to another level

    Verbal Intercourse – Raekwon
    Ghost and Rae were awesome here. But Nas laps them with the first verse:
    “It’s like a cycle, n!gg@z come home, some’ll go in
    Do a bullet, come back, do the same sh!t again”
    And to top it off, the beat is so sick, no one has come with a more original track sense. One of the greatest songs of all time. The greatest verse of all time.

    Passing me by – the Pharcyde
    A classic of course. These verses were more reality than any so called “reality rap” verse

    Hip hop – Dead Prez
    Can’t talk hip hop if you’re not talking about revolution. I could put a BDP track here instead, but songs like “You must Learn” are a little before my hip-hop time.

    A Milli – Lil Wayne
    I believe Wizzie freestyles most if not all of this track. Though he often does this, that doesn’t make the feat any less impressive. Plus the beat is sick…….. and his watch is sick. This song is a trunk rattler. And we have to have at least one “setting-your-car-alarm-off-at-2am” track on the list. For that to, is hip-hop.

    Takeover – Jay Z
    And of course a list like this must include a battle rap. This one imo, is the best. Hov eviscerates Nas on this Track. And Nas has my favorite all time rap verse. Hov was mean, Hov was witty, Hov was dirty. He laid an old school Mike Tyson haymaker on Nas. Only a 99th level Rap Master could survive. Fortunately, Nas happened to be one.

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  31. *raises hand from the back of the classroom*

    “Funkdafied”–Da Brat.
    “Child of the Night”–Ludacris
    “Sabotage”–Wale

    And that’s all….K. Marie never wins in the Hip-Hop Head competition. *kicks rocks*

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  32. “I live for the Funk; I die for the Funk”
    -Lords of The Underground

    Good morning panama,
    Very good topic.

    In that its always been my view that the current state of hip hop is in a shambles, im always having these kinds of discussions with folk near and far. Id like to propose whole albums because the art of the album has truly been lost in an itunes-downloadable world. Here then are my hip hop album picks for the newly initiated, in no particular order:

    1. Follow the leader-eric b & rakim
    2. Illmatic-nas
    3. In control vol 1-marley marl
    4. Doggy style-snoop dogg
    5. Ready to die-notorious big
    6. Makaveli the seven day theory-tupac
    7. The blueprint-jay z
    8. Triumph-the wu tang clan
    9. Mos def & talib kweli are blackstar-mos def & talib kweli
    10. Capital punishment-big pun
    11. By all means necessary-krs one
    12. Mama said knock you out-ll cool j
    13. Long live the kane-big daddy kane
    14. The low end theory-a tribe called quest
    15. Game theory-the roots

    *bonus album thats really a mixtape thats better than anything bustas put out in roughly a decade:

    Dillagence-busta rhymes & j dilla

    No hip hop education is complete without a close listening to these albums in full. A thorough study on the backstories and histories of the artists and producers are also highly recommended. And yes, there will be a test.

    Happy listening.

    Now adjourn your arses…

    O.

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  33. This list is pretty much on my wavelength although of course there are many more. Somebody mentioned Tribe up-thread. Some Fugees, of course and all the Nas (well some) you can give me. I would hate to be the person that asked me to intro them to hip hop. It’s not the only genre I listen to but damned if it aint family, my religion even. Sometimes with all the Rossy Flossy Lil’ Numbnutz and DJ Ranoodliness in the genre I can forget how much I stan and stand for hip hop. An opp like this though? Oh, that poor soul who is foolish enough to ask me for their hip hop 101 lesson. It would be as annoying as when I introduce someone to one of my favorite movies… “Nah man, you have to watch the original Old Boy so you have a better POR for the remake. Let’s watch it again and then discuss… again! I need you to have a full-on overstanding of this genre” Pretty much like that.

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  34. Too many good songs and not enough space!

    A Tribe Called Quest – Electric Relaxation
    Jay Z – Song Cry
    Ghost Face – All That I Got Is You
    Public Enemy – Attack of the Living Baseheads / Welcome to the Terrordome
    Snoop Dogg – Gin and Juice. Dre KILLED the beat!
    Outkast- Hootie Hoo

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  35. Rap songs people of any age group loves

    Summertime – Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Will Smith
    Treat Em Right – Chubby Rock
    It Takes Two – Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
    I Know You Got Soul – Eric B & Rakim
    Sucker MCs – Run DMC
    La Di Da Di – Get Fresh Crew
    The Show – Get Fresh Crew
    Apache – Sugarhill Gang
    Set It Off – Big Daddy Kane
    Raw – Big Daddy Kane
    Ownlee Due – Kwame
    Scenario – ATCQ
    Protect Ya Neck – Wu Tang Clan
    I Wanna Rock – Luke :-)

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  36. I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Suicidal Thoughts. I mean, for a song that gets inside the mind of a young Black male, I think that does it. Should probably be included.

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  37. I just wanted to add some post 1990′s hip-hop and the only good contribution I could think of was pretty much anything by Murs….

    *continues reading and slinks back to corner*

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  38. I’m more of an album dude anyway. Plus, today is a weird day for me with my dad being a 9/11 survivor and my daughter having a birthday today. That said, I think I can nail 10 songs. Ready? See if you see where I’m going with this.

    Rocking It – Fearless Four
    I Can’t Live Without My Radio – LL Cool J
    Microphone Fiend – Rakim
    F*ck the Police – N.W.A
    I Wanna Rock – Luke
    Cream – Wu Tang Clan
    Sipppin on Some Syrup – Thee 6 Mafia featuring UGK and Project Pat
    24 Hours to Live – Puff Daddy featuring Mase, DMX and Black Rob
    Hip-Hop Is Dead – Nas
    D.O.A. – Jay-Z

    *Bonus Tracks (Not required, but useful)
    Marshall Mathers – Eminem (his best work, since I know someone would check for him, but I had his peak era filled in on my list)
    Stone Crazy -The Beatnuts (my favorite song from my favorite group)

    I wish I had 10 albums, because I could give a better spread of the genre, but I think if you give them those 10 songs, you’d get enough of a spread to give them a good survey of hip-hop. Also, you’d give them a chance to see how the music form has evolve. Listen to that list in order, and you can see how hip-hop moved out of The Bronx to serve the world. Also, they’d get to see the good and the bad in hip-hop, for good or ill. (Though if this list was in album form, Public Enemy would get a guaranteed entry.)

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      • First, SS93 does nail the love that song got. Also, that song was in HEAVY rotation in New York when it came out. People really didn’t check for Miami bass in New York like that, but they’ve always shown Luke love. Also, if you listened to a lot of early crew hip-hop (think old tapes from Paradise Garage circa 1980), “I Wanna Rock” takes a lot of ideas from that. It’s one of those old new songs, if you get my meaning.

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          • I got exposed a lot of Three 6 due to a weird string of circumstances. For one, my brother actually did time in Texas, of all places, due to him being transferred to a private prison. As a result, he’d put me on to what was popping down there. Also, a family friend connected to my dad married a man from Mississippi so I heard a lot of that stuff that way as well. Three 6 can produce their a$$es off, even if they aren’t the most lyrical dudes. In an ideal world, I’d love to hear them and, say, O.C. or Papoose do a record together. I think it would be bananas.

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          • My first exposure to Three 6 Mafia was through Rap City on BET, because Hot 97 never got any Southern hits. I remember they had one joint with the Tear Da Club Up Thugs, was rocking with it ever since. I think the first joint we got on the radio from them was Chickenhead by Project Pat

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      • Reading what you typed, I put together my list as a playlist on Spotify and listened to it straight while doing stuff on my computer and around the house. While listening to the obvious changes in production style and values, the one thing I picked up is the sheer aggression that someone uninitiated in hip-hop. Most music speaks in allusion and innuendo, and because of that is reflective of power and security. You know, the whole “power renders itself invisible” concept you hear in Sociology 101.

        Hip-hop is not only NOT that, but stylistically renders itself in complete opposition to the idea. I get why an intellectually-oriented person would have an issue with hip-hop. It violates a lot of key tenets of Western Civilization, and does it in a blatant, overt manner.

        Though those same tendencies are why I love it so much. You can’t BS in hip-hop, and that’s a great thing.

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          • +1 To both of you!

            And 3-6 has PLENTY bangers. They’re probably the best at the hyper-masculine adrenaline/testosterone heavy music that’s got so much bass it gives u goosebumps and gets u ready for either fightin (“We Gon Rumble”) or gorilla style f*ckin (can’t think of that “Hit it from the back, punish it punish it!” song’s name). They make good situational music. Full of aggressive energy and NO moral compass. They really were/are the devil’s music (if u believe in the devil) but their beats were unique and brilliantly appealing. Ironically I grew up in GA but didn’t start liking them till college when my friend from MICHIGAN of all places used to bump them in his whip ALL THE TIME lol

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    • I definitely understand why you put Fcuk The Police on your list. I’m not a NWA fan but their very early stuff, before White kids in the burbs discovered them, was very real.

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  39. What does hip hop look like to me? Like this…
    (Disclaimer: When I talk about hip hop, I talk in terms of albums, not singles. So when this list was comprised, that’s how I came up with it.)

    Pete Rock & CL Smooth- Mecca And The Soul Brother
    O.C.- Jewelz
    Smif-N-Wessun- Dah Shinin’
    EPMD- Business As Usual
    Brand Nubian- One For All
    Redman- Dare Iz A Darkside
    Diamond D. – Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop
    Ultramagnetic MC’s- Critical Beatdown
    Masta Ace Incorporated- Slaughterhouse
    Pharoahe Monch- Internal Affairs

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    • Are you sure you’re from Alabama? Because I own 6 of the albums on the list, and my brother owns the other 4. That’s just about the Backpackers boxed set that they sell around Christmas…for the headnodda in your life. LOL Wow…

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        • “Are you sure you’re from Alabama? Because I own 6 of the albums on the list, and my brother owns the other 4. That’s just about the Backpackers boxed set that they sell around Christmas…for the headnodda in your life. LOL Wow…”

          PA- *shakes head disapprovingly”- I basically said the same thing 2 or 3 weeks ago and you shouted me down, talking about everybody in your area of Alabama was listening to East Coast. My family is from Birmingham and them ni66as would strangle me if I threw on anything north of Nappy Roots.

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          • I didn’t shout you down though. I said that not everyone down her listened to the same thing. Sure, the likes of Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Future and people of that ilk are popular now, but it was a different story back in the late 80′s-late 90′s.

            When I talk about what people down here bought and listened to, I spoke fromm experience- as I used to work in a record store once upon a time. I’m telling you firsthand that what you may have heard on the radio isn’t indicative of what people are buying. Keep in mind that back in the late 90′s, 95.7 Jamz played the ignorant hip hop during the week, but played the underground hip hop for the heads on the weekends (Shout out to the DJ’s B. Brian and Dwight Stone- who’s a born again Chrisitian now…the hell?!).

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        • Seriously though, walk into any high school within a 50 mile radius of Columbus Circle in the 90s with those tapes or CDs in your backpack, and you’d get instant love.

          You have excellent tastes. :)

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    • Every time someone mentions Redman the first think that I think of is him showing that beat down home of his on MTV Cribs. Lol. He actually had a money box on top of the fridge!

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  40. I made out a long, thoughtful list of artist and records that would represent hip hop as my ears hear it and I just deleted it. It was way too long, it didn’t make much sense and was basically unnecessary. Hip Hop can not be for everybody. I don’t think that everybody should like hip hop and glad they don’t. Although hip hop music has been co-opted by every type of person, it is still uniquely African in it’s make up. It is the truest (only second to skin color) link to Africa that black people in America have. Blacks in America mostly don’t know where we are from in Africa. Don’t have our own traditional names. We don’t know any of the languages. Don’t have any relatives over there. Outside of knowing the unfortunate story of how we arrived in America, 90% of us have absolutely no ties to “the motherland.” Is there anything more traditionally African than storytelling, drums, and syncopated rhythm? What would happen if you rolled all these traditions into one art form? You would have Rap (Hip Hop) music. I do have my preferences but mostly, I can dig just about song that’s out. If I were to tell a non-rap fan what hip hop sounds like to me, I would just tell them to listen for loud drums that vibrate your area- a nod to Africa. Listen for profanity- a nod to my personal tastes and listen for aggressiveness- a nod to my existence in America. When you hear these things- you will know what I Hip Hop sounds like to me.

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  42. I love how you added Thuggish Ruggish Bone! Chicago approves. Not of Cheef Keef.

    I’d have to say Common’s “I Used to Love H.E.R.” is what hip hop is to me. Which yeah is an obvious choice but that’s what makes it great to me. Because when I first heard that song it DID hit me like TADOW. Mixing music and emotions (like love) is what it’s all about so the fact he made hip-hop a metaphor for a chick (and larger than that, for love) was dope to me.

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  43. Being from the south I’d say it sounds a little different to me, much more bass here. My introduction to hip hop mix would really be all over the place.

    “Just to Get By” remix is one of my favorite songs ever. that’s the first song. There would be quite a bit of Wu Tang, just because they’re on some other sh!t. There’s Biggie in that Mix, Ludacris, Mystikal, old Twista, and probably some Mariah in there somewhere. Mobb Deep for a couple classics. “Bout it” for good measure. “For the Love of Money” would be the last song. (Good look with that Bone.)

    On second thought, I could not introduce some one with one CD, it would have to be a box set of maybe 4 CDs… I’d try to show them hip hop can be dark, it can be illustrative in it’s story telling, it can fun just like other genres- but you will be hard-pressed to be still while it’s on.

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  44. I know people named Summertime, and I’d probably agree that that should be included, but I’d also try to include “Parents Just Don’t Understand” – nice storytelling, nothing vulgar, something that summed up our thoughts back then (at least mine), plus its classic Will Smith back when he was good.

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      • Yap! I was at McDonald’s waiting to be served, when I noticed a lot of commotion around a big burly dude with no neck. Standing opposite us was a woman and a man who was filming the scene, so I thought that it was some football player.

        When he turned around and requested them to stop filming him, it was then I realized it was Busta Bust. At first, the lady did not oblige and his security had to step in. [This one security boy looked like he lived and breathed McD burgers, but I was in no position to ask and ascertain that as being the case. I wasn't trying to die in America, let alone in a Mc'D spot]. She started getting loud saying, “Oh so that’s how you gon do me ( a fan)”. There was a little back and forth, and Busta Bust validated his position hip-hopically by asking her if she would be okay with him, filming her getting some ass in the privacy of her bedroom [to mean that she was infringing on his privacy]!”

        To make a long story short, as he waited for his order, he went over and smoothed out the situation with her in a hush hush conversation, that seemed as though he was whispering sweet nasty nothings in her ear. Nyhoo, this encounter ended with a peck on her cheek for her!! Oh yeah, even the at the counter serving was much taken by Busta’s presence, because for five minutes he could not get my order right, and made me repeat, HOT CHOCOLATE 100,000 TIMES! as he kept glancing over him, smiling and shid. Jesus! Needless to say, that chick was much enthralled by Busta Bust’s suaveness, and I think they hooked up later that night. [key word, THINK]

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        • Wow, maybe he has grown up or has been humbled since the incident with my sister (it was well over a decade ago). My sister used to work at HMV after school. This was the one in Harlem and he was doing some kind of promo there. Basically he was acting like an entitled diva. He decided he wanted something from outside the store and walked up to my sister and barked orders at her (a teenager at the time) to go and get it for him. Besides the fact that most people are not allowed to just up and leave their job in the middle of a shift, he didn’t offer her the money to buy what he wanted and didn’t say anything about HMV covering the cost. My sister didn’t like his attitude and told him to fall back and he started barking on her some more, again I need to state she was a teenager at the time. It was pretty disgusting . . .

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          • Urrrrgh!! That was beyond foul.

            Thank goodness, my observation of him showed a man different than what you describe. However, it being a RANDOM, one time observation, it could very well be change has a come, times humbled him, or eh, he just happened to be in a good mood. Whatever, the case I hope his then attitude the best of luck, and his now seemingly changed attitude, kudos.

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  48. You ain’t go No Yeezy ninja….

    1. Juicy-BIG
    2. This Can’t be Life-Jay/Face/Beanie
    3. All Falls Down-Kanye
    4. It Ain’t Hard to Tell-Nas
    5. All I Need-Method Man/Mary
    6. Hard Knock Life-Jay
    7. Ain’t Nothing But a G Thang-Beats by Dre/Snoop Lion
    8. Lose Yourself-Em
    9. Super Lyrical-Big Pun/Black Thought
    10. Hurt Me Soul-Lupe

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  49. 1) Born 2 Mack- 2 $hort
    2) Today Was a Good Day-Ice Cube
    3) Little Ghetto Boy-Dr. Dre
    4) C.R.E.A.M.-Wu Tang
    5) Tennessee-Arrested Development
    6) To Live and Die in LA-Tupac
    7) Juicy- Biggie
    8) Scarred-Luke
    9) The World is a Ghetto-Geto Boyz
    10) Nobody Need Nobody-Playa Fly and Gangsta Blac
    11) The N*gga Experience-Goodie Mob (Ceelo)
    12) Babylon-OutKast
    13) War With God-Ludacris (Eminem without the novelty of being a white guy)

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  50. Its interesting that you can almost tell what region most people are from just by looking at their lists…..
    East coasters rep HARD!

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    • “Its interesting that you can almost tell what region most people are from just by looking at their lists…..
      East coasters rep HARD!”

      I truly believe that’s why I, bhillboy, get so much flack on VSB. East Coasters have a certain mindset that tends to be a little more progressive and definitely PC- politically correct. What people from the East Coast fail to notice is that most people do not live like them. There’s a wide range of life that does not conform to East Coast sensibilities. I am of that mind frame. I’ve lived in the Midwest and South most of my life and 80% of the songs on these lists would not make it on the list of an average midwestern or southerner. And it’s not because they don’t know what “good” music is. It’s because they are not aware of most of the music and even if they did they wouldn’t like it.

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      • “80% of the songs on these lists would not make it on the list of an average midwestern or southerner. And it’s not because they don’t know what “good” music is. It’s because they are not aware of most of the music and even if they did they wouldn’t like it.”

        Nods head enthusiastically. I even looked up some of these songs and was like “uhhh….maybe I need to hear it in the right context and with the right people at the right time”. Musical taste is very subjective. Different regions have different styles and tastes. I prefer the Southern and Mid-western styles myself

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      • You think the Midwest has a distinctive hip-hop style? I don’t think so, but not that there’s anything wrong with that. The breadth of hip-hop produced in the Midwest is so all over the place that I wouldn’t put someone new to hip-hop in a situation to be exposed. They’d just end up confused as to the basic framework.

        In terms of an East Coast bias, yeah, I can see that. People tend to rep where they’re from, and the cultural biases that exist there. I don’t get the whole PC talk though. If anything, the South is the king of PC with all the indirect talk they use. Still, I know the world is bigger than the East Coast. Just recognize that everyone got their own stuff.

        (Oh, and on my list, I made sure to show places other than the East Coast love b/c I know hip-hop is a national genre. It would be jerky to do otherwise.)

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        • I didn’t say that the midwest had a distinctive hip hop style. But you just don’t get a lot of the same East Coast music that y’all think is hot.

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        • “You think the Midwest has a distinctive hip-hop style?”

          I said that, and yes. When I think of artists like Bone Thugz, Do or Die, Twista I think of that melodic and rapid ryhmes per bar style. I also think many of them have a re-mixed Southern accent that’s uniquely appealing to regions other than just the mid-west because they annunciate more and don’t speak as Southern/country. As far as younger rappers Freddie Gibbs is the perfect example of how the MidWest style is a blend of Northern and Southern rap with a distinctive flavor. Dude is raw. Still a work in progress but a very good rapper imo.

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  51. Here’s how I view hip hop:

    Goodie Mob- Cell Therapy
    Gangstarr- Mass Appeal
    Ice -T – Six In the Morning
    The Crooklyn Dodgers – Crooklyn
    Wu-Tang Clan – Protect Ya Neck
    Killer Mike – Ric Flair
    The Roots- Clones & Proceed
    OutKast ft. Backbone and Cool Breeze – Slump
    Biggie – The Entire Ready to Die cd
    De La Soul ft. MF Doom – Rock Co Flow
    De La Soul- A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays
    Pete Rock & CL Smooth- Straighten It Out
    Jay ft Beans and Scarface- Can’t Be Life
    Ghetto Mafia- For the Good Times (Straight From the Dec)
    ATCQ- The entire Low End Theory disc

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  52. Okay time for a list that isn’t terrible.

    1. Wu-Tang Clan – C.R.E.A.M.
    2. A Tribe Called Quest – 8 Million Stories

    These are from the two most important and best albums to come from NYC. Yes, head and shoulders above Illmatic and Ready to Die as far as importance. These two albums from ’93 completely changed the direction of hip hop both regionally and nationally. Considering Biggie and Nas would attempt to assimilate themselves into the Wu aesthetic and not the other way around proves just hat.

    3. Jay Electronica – Exhibit C

    Outside of maybe rappers that rhyme about Little Italy, I don’t think you could find any rapper that there sole career can be pointed to one track with the general consensus being that this will be an extremely special rapper.

    4. 2 Live Crew – Me So Horny
    5. H.W.A. – Eat This

    Obviously have to represent the raunchy side of rap so 2 Live Crew is the obvious choice. I did not want to lazy and pick a Lil’ Kim song to represent from the women’s perspective. One because I’m not a big Kim fan. Two I feel Kim cedes her sexually agency so often that she is a poor representation. Three she wasn’t even the first or best. Finally, I needed some West Coast representation so there we get HWA (Hoez with Attitude) and Eat This.

    6. Quasimoto – Low Class Conspiracy

    Gotta represent Jazz’s influence on hip hop. Yeah yeah, I put A Tribe Called Quest, but for my money Madlib has been head and shoulders above everyone at merging hip hop and jazz at each and every conceivable level and in every single way that jazz exists rather than just masturbating after Bebop and pre-50s jazz in general. Also, The Unseen & The Further Adventures of Quasimoto > Jazzmatazz series.

    7. Eminem feat. Royce da 5’9″ – Bad Meets Evil

    Just because of where Detroit could of been taken if they didn’t have that split so earlier in their careers…

    8. Xzibit – What U See is What U Get

    Yeah, I’m a fan. One of the most underrated rappers from the West Coast rappers of all time.

    9. Young Jeezy – My Hood

    Best trap rapper of the 00s.

    10. Blu – Amnesia

    The future GOAT’s perfect song.

    Reply ↓

    • Look, Midnight Marauders is a perfect album to me…but how exactly do you think Midnight Marauders changed music regionally and nationally?? That is perplexing to me.

      Oh,and I’m not sure I agree about either of those albums being more important than Illmatic either. I need to hear the argument there. The only argument I can see there is that Illmatic is just the best album, not genre bending.

      Reply ↓

      • Seriously? The production alone on both of the albums puts them leagues above Illmatic as far as importance. Q-Tip even did the production for one of the songs! Then Nas went on to become a Wu-Gambino! Midnight Marauders is STILL influencing rappers in 2012. Drake, Kanye West, Little Brother, and Pharrell all owe their existence to that album. Those 4, and many more obviously, represent pretty much every corner of hip hop from superproducers to backpackers to multiplatinum rappers. Where are the sons and daughters of Illmatic? I mean the Wu speaks for themselves with having literally hundreds of Wu-affiliates from, again literally, all across the globe.

        Reply ↓

        • I just disagree with you there. Do I enjoy the production more? Yes. But Illmatic illustrated to everybody how to body verses left and right. Production doesnt make an album all by itself. I just think you’re overhyping them. Which is hard for me to say b/c of how much I love MM. Illmatic was a who’s who of top shelf NYC production and lyricism. People love MM but nobody’s talking about them ninjas rapping. And hell, I”d think more people would think that The Low End Theory was more important than MM and that sound was direclty influenced by Dr. Dre as said by Q-Tip himself. So what does that mean??

          Enter the 36…lol. I’ll give you that one moreso in terms of importance but its more for the impact than the actual product. And even still there I’m skeptical.

          Reply ↓

      • I see where he’s going with Wu-Tang. Just like Rakim changed how hip-hop lyrics and solo acts presented themselves, Wu-Tang completely redid how rap crews presented themselves, from song structure to how they interacted with each other on the mic to even the business side of hip-hop. In an odd way, Wu-Tang wrote the blueprint that allowed a LOT of Southern hip-hop cats to market themselves and blow up.

        Reply ↓

    • Man, I forgot Jeezy. “Jeezy the Snowman” would have to be in there somewhere. His beats were basically everything I wanted a beat to be…perfection for people with speakers.

      Reply ↓

  53. Today Was a Good Day – Ice Cube
    Mr. Wendal – Arrested Development
    My Hood – Young Jeezy
    Cha Cha Cha – MC Lyte
    Life Is Too Short – Too Short
    Get By – Talib Kweli
    Crossroads – Bone Thugs
    Flava In Ya Ear – Craig Mack
    If I Ruled the World – Nas
    La Di Da Di – Slick Rick/Doug E Fresh

    Reply ↓

  54. Honorable Mention (Not Listed):
    Rebel without a Pause- Public Enemy
    The Message- Grandmaster Flash
    It was a good Day- Ice Cube
    The symphony- Juice Crew
    Hip Hop Junkies- nice n Smooth
    I Got it Made- Special Ed
    Choice is Yours- Black sheep
    Time’s Up -OC
    Retrospect For life- Common
    Rebirth of Slick- Digable Planets
    I aint no Joke- rakim
    4th Chamber- Gza100 Miles n Running -NWA
    All i Need- Method Man
    Point of No Return- Immortal Technique
    Who Shot Ya- Notorious BIG
    Awnaw- nappy Roots
    Flipside- Freeway
    Run- Ghostface
    get Tour monney/ Shimmy shimy Ya- ODB
    Hip hop Drunkies- Tha licks/ODB
    NIGGER-nas
    Shooter- lil Wayne
    5 on it- Luniz
    Lady venom/ Put it On Me- Swollen Members
    99 Problems- Jay-z
    me So Horny-2 live Crew
    Rump Shaker-wrexx n Efect
    Dick Starbuck & Josie- High & Mighty/ Smut peddlers
    Tenesee- Arrested Developent
    Breathe- Blitz The Ambassador
    Horse n Carriage – Camron
    2nd Round KO- Canibus
    LA, LA-Capone-n Noreaga
    Let me blow your mind- Eve
    Know That- mos Def
    Roxanne- UTFO

    Reply ↓

  55. Wow this is incredibly hard I,ve been listening to hip hop since 1984…there’s been so much hot shits over the decades

    It ain’t easy- tupac
    Galactic soul-dj spinna and phone
    Electric relaxation- tribe called quest
    93 til infinity- souls of mischief
    I use to love her – common
    My umi – mos def
    Life’s a bitch- naz and az
    Space age pimpin- 8 ball and Mjg
    Get dis money- slum village
    every bloc- little brother
    The vapors- biz Markie
    Who got the props- black moon
    Uknowhowwedo- bahamadia

    Yeah I know it’s more than 10 but you gotta have enough joints to make a good mix cd
    Basically my hip hop and music collection is so vast, that I’d have to kidnap this person for week

    Reply ↓

    • Space Age Pimpin is my sh!t!!!! “Would you steal for me? Yeah if that sh!t belogs to you” haha, good one! Life’s a B!tch was a great addition. I was trying to think of the perfect Nas track, don’t know how I forgot that one

      Reply ↓

          • You are trippin. That was crazy, I almost yelled out in my crib (laughs).

            Comin’ Out Hard is, was, and will always be a cornerstone of (Southern) Hip Hop/Rap/ Gangsta Rap & Country Rap Tunes (RIP to Mr. Chad Butler).

            That is their defining opus, arguably not outdone by many other albums regionally, even nationally. A consistant ‘play through’ album. From beginning to end. Non-stop. On Top of the world had songs that worth skipworthy, notably “Hand of The Devil”, “Break’em Off”, etc.

            If you say it’s your favorite album, cool. But their best? Cuz..no.

            Bond.

            Reply ↓

      • I’m upset with myself that I left Ball & G off my list. Space Age Pimpin, In the Middle of The Night, and PIMP HARD!! Anybody that thinks southern cats can’t rhyme needs to listen to every MJG verse on Pimp Hard. It wasn’t even lyrics. I know actual pimps who mouthpiece ain’t that crisp!

        Reply ↓

        • Dude…Pimp Hard is an all time classic. Man MJG be talkin slick as f*ck on tracks! My favorite line is when he said “Had a broad yesterday she hit me 10 times. If I diss her it’ll take a n*gga 10 lines.” haha. Such a slick and simpe way to phrase it. Brilliant simplicity if you will. I tell people all the time that MJG might have my favorite delivery in all of rap too. Like top 3 easily because that sh!t is so authoritative, crisp, and unique. He’s not particularly lyrical (although I have heard him go in lyrically before) but his delivery gets ur attention when he’s on the right beat. Such as….

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhlAkJSBGl8

          Reply ↓

  56. I’m going to limit my list to rap made after 1995, and I’m going to cheat and name albums they need to buy. I also have an obvious East coast bias.

    It Was Written (Still, to me, the best Nas album)
    Liquid Swords (No album better captured tenement/dope boy grunge and angst like the GZA’s did)
    Things Fall Apart
    Supreme Clientele
    The Blueprint
    Get Rich or Die Trying
    My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
    The Score (no one ever mentions this album anymore)
    Life After Death
    Capital Punishment
    BlackStar

    Reply ↓

  57. Immortal Technique- 4th Branch or Rich Man’s World (pretty much any Immortal Technique personifies what hip hop was originally about and gets a co-sign from me)
    Outkast- Return of the G (anything Outkast is perfect in my book)
    Tupac- Keep Ya Head Up or Dear Mama
    Outkast-Humble Mumble (possibly my favorite)
    Jay-z-Feelin It or Can I Live
    Cee-lo – Big Ole Words (CLASSIC!) or One for the Road (I love Gettin Grown too)
    Juvenile- Who’s da M.F. (if you can understand at least 75% of his New Orleans drawl/slang it’s a great heartfelt song)
    Bone Thugz n Harmony- For the Love of Money or Crossroads
    Goodie Mob- Fighting or Thought Process

    Reply ↓

  58. i guess what hip hop looks like to me is just the songs that move me the most… the songs that no matter where i am and they play i MUST sing along, doing my hip hop bop, neck nod and shoulder swang…

    1-Audio Two- Top Billin – The VERY first rap song that i knew every single word… When we got a siberian husky and a cockatoo we named them Milk and Giz respectively…

    2-Special Ed- I Got It Made… He was young cute and was saying some things… the beat KILLED

    3-Ill and Al Scratch- Where My Homies… i loved the voices, thought they were se.xy… and everyone loves call-and-answer songs!!

    4-MOP-Ante Up I would get HYPE… HOOD Yolie would come out…

    5-Mobb Deep- Quiet Storm Remix There isn’t a person that likes any kind of hip hop/rap that doesnt BANG to this song… word life

    6-Black Rob- Like Whoa tied with Flavor In Your Ear (Bad Boy Remix)… themes everybody rocked to… tell me i’m lying

    7-Scenario Remix— I’m from LONG ISLAND… and so is Leaders of the New School and we showed yall how we do

    8- Jungle Brothers- I’ll House You… showing again that hip hop is everything and everywhere… house music what!!! we got that too… Oh Oh Oh Yea

    9- Stop The Violence Movement- Self Destruction.. My first foray into hip hop “message music”… still carries pure truth to this day

    10-LL Cool JRound the Way Girl… not a perfect girl, not a video girl, not a model… a girl like ME :D

    Biggie Smalls – Machine Gun Funk… again Yolie getting HOOD… its my favorite Biggie Song.. no rhyme no reason it just IS

    Camp Lo Luchini- Come on everyone was singing this song, talking about the video.. it just rocked… mixing jazz with hip hop… NICE

    Reply ↓

  59. Man I’m lovin today’s posts..
    There really gettin my juices flowing ( insert visual imagery here)
    You folks are listing joints I havn’t heard in years or just outright forgot about. I’m in the office making a list of joints I need to go illegally download after work….thank you

    Reply ↓

  60. Is this really what hip hop is or is it just cherry picking songs we like/aren’t patently offensive or ignant?

    For every “U.N.I.T.Y” we have a hundred ‘Lipglosses’ or ‘P-Popping on a Handstands.’

    Reply ↓

    • I agree… I think these lists are slanting Hip Hop too positively… yall know d@mn well there needs to be some Soulja Boy Tell Em and Drake and Gucci and so forth on these lists… we may not be proud of them, but that’s hip hop too right? Or is this where the hip hop vs rap debate begins?

      Reply ↓

    • I mean, that’s the point. I even said it in my post. You get to rewrite history the way you want. Of course folks are going to give it the slant they want.

      Hell, the title is what does hiphop look like TO YOU.

      Reply ↓

    • I feel you SweetSass, I think I tapped out after the Blueprint 2. I couldn’t take the ignorant music anymore and it was getting too hard to find good music. Back in the day, you could find songs that told a story on the B side of the cassette (yeah I said cassette). Side A may have gotten all the radio play but the B side held the gems.

      Also the artists pushed the envelope too far with the chexual references and the videos became p0rn lite. If it wern’t for my teeager, I would be totaly out of the Rap/Hip Hop loop.

      Reply ↓

    • First, way to piss in the punch bowl. If you had your own ideas of what should be represented, you could have just posted them. Second, there is a lot of admitted ignorance there. There is also a lot of brilliance. Humans have a tendency to do a lot of great and horrible things. If you can’t hang, that’s your issue.

      Reply ↓

      • “If you had your own ideas of what should be represented, you could have just posted them. Second, there is a lot of admitted ignorance there. There is also a lot of brilliance. Humans have a tendency to do a lot of great and horrible things. If you can’t hang, that’s your issue.”

        That post was all kinda awesome. I wanted to see her list too…smh

        Reply ↓

  61. This is definitely one of those questions that you have to think about for a minute. But off the top of my head I can say:

    the entire Black Star album

    ATLiens and Aquemini

    certain Kanye songs off of The College Dropout, Graduation, MBDTF, and maybe 808s.

    Nas – One Mic

    The Score

    The Carnival

    Still Standing, I Refuse Limitation, and Distant Wilderness off of the Still Standing Goodie Mob album (really just Cee-lo’s verses, but whatever).

    I’ll be back with more selections. This is fun. Also Champ, I’m not an Eminem fan (not a hater, just not a fan), but I’d say Till I Collapse before Lose Yourself.

    Reply ↓

    • “Still Standing, I Refuse Limitation, and Distant Wilderness off of the Still Standing Goodie Mob album (really just Cee-lo’s verses, but whatever).”

      Smart lady. Yeah, I wish Cee-lo (and sometimes Gipp) would just do an independent rap album

      Reply ↓

      • Whoa – I REALLY hope you didn’t sleep on Cee-lo’s first two solo albums. If you did, gon’ head and peep those. They’re both gems. I’m all for musical growth, but I wish he would rap again.

        Reply ↓

  62. A lot of people have mentioned my favorites like Summertime, Scenario, Electric Relaxation etc. So I’ll add a few that always get play from me.

    1) Jimmy – Native Tongues
    2) Stakes Is High – De La Soul
    3) Jay-Z – Can I Live (yes Panama, you can pick just one)
    4) Smile – Scarface f/ 2-Pac
    5) Jingling Baby (remix) – LL Cool J
    6) Let Me Ride – Dr. Dre
    7) Mass Appeal – Gangstarr
    8) The What – The Notorious B.I.G f/ Method Man
    9) Swordz – Raekwon, Ghostface, Inspectah Deck, GZA
    10) Liquid Swords – GZA f/ Method Man
    11) Where Dem Dollas At -Gangsta Boo
    12) Niggaz Done Started Sumthin – DMX f/ Ma$e & LOX
    13) Spottieottiedopaliscious – Outkast
    14) Not Enough – Little Brother f/ Darien Brockington (I consider this to be one of the greatest songs of all time)
    15) Lady Brown – Cyne (youtube this song right now, you’ll thank me later)
    16) Decapitated Orgasms – Five Deez (one of the best hip hop love songs you never heard)

    I know I did more than 10 and I got lots more but yall discuss for now.

    Reply ↓

      • DMX first album “Its Dark And Hell is Hot” was the 1st hip-hop album I actually paid cash for. I was just bumping it in the car recently. As violent as it was, I love it.

        Reply ↓

        • It’s criminal that DMX didn’t get mentioned until 5pm. I’m a tell you how real DMX love is. My girlfriend let me borrower her Then there was X CD about 10 months ago and I think I left it in a rental. She was complaining last weekend how she had the case but no CD. Then 4 days ago she got a package from overstock with a brand new Then there was X CD in it. She got that much love for X that she recoped that sh!t and won’t let me borrow it again. That’s love right there.

          Reply ↓

  63. Apollo Kids- Ghostface
    Grate Unkown- Heltah Skeltah ,
    Slave-Black Moon
    Lefleur Laflah Eskoshka- Fab Five BCC
    Hard like a Criminal- Das EFX
    Shiftee- Onyx
    Supastar-Grouphome
    Next level- Showbiz and AG
    Execution of a chump- Gangstarr
    Perfect Match- Cella Dwellas
    Come Clean- Jeru da damaja
    My jimmy weighs a ton- Jungle brothas
    No equal – Beatnuts
    Follow the leader- Eric B and Rakim
    Bobyahed2dis- Redman
    Onion head- Sean P
    Drugs- Lil Kim

    *just to whet appetites, I done forget more dopeness than most know exist!!!!!

    Reply ↓

  64. 1. “Ain’t No Half Steppin” by Big Daddy Kane
    2.”Lyte As A Rock” by MC Lyte (the greatest female MC ever!)
    3.”Treat “Em Right” by Chubb Rock (that joint cranks to this day)
    4. “I Got It Made” by Special Ed (alligator souffle….classic!)
    5. “It Takes Two” by Rob Base & DJ Ez Rock
    6. “Push It” by Salt-n-Pepa (probably the most popular female rap song of all time)
    7. “I Need Love” by LL Cool J (every rapper that does a love song needs to send this cat a check….or at least give a shout-out for breaking the barrier)
    8. “Around The Way Girl” by LL Cool J (I never cared for the video model/exotic types either)
    9. “Walk This Way” by Run-DMC & Aerosmith (the original rap/rock mash-up!)
    10. “It Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube (he ate well, won some money gambling & had sex with a fly honey….it doesn’t get any better than that!)
    11. “O.P.P.” by Naughty By Nature
    12. “Nothin But a G Thang” by Dr. Dre (he changed the game with this one!)
    13. ” Deep Cover” by Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg (that beat is FIRE!)
    14. “Who Shot Ya” by Biggie (that joint rocks, period)
    15. “Dear Mama” by Tupac (he spoke for millions of dudes on that one. Always a good look to show love to the single moms!)
    16. “Streets Is Watching” by Jay-Z
    17. “Hot In Herre” by Nelly (it was a great time to be in the club back when that song came out!)
    18. “Guess Who’s Back” Scarface feat. Jay-Z & Beanie Siegel (some of Kanye West’s finest production work)
    19. “Stan” by Eminem….flawless!
    20. Anything by Heavy D (RIP)….any rapper that can flow on a house track gets major props in my book!)

    Reply ↓

  65. Tracey Lee- The Theme
    LL- Around the way Girl (or Cars drive by)
    Das EFX – They Want EFX
    Mobb Deep- Shook Ones (or drink the pain away)
    Monie Love – Monie in the middle
    Arrested Development – Fishin’ 4 Religion
    Ghostface – Cherchez La Ghost
    Pharcyde – Passing me by
    Bone Thugs- Thuggish Ruggish bone (agreed!)
    Outcast – Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik

    I am not ashamed. lol
    These all represent an branch of the tree, a moment in time, a tangent for artistic growth.
    *reactivates lurk mode*

    Reply ↓

  66. Damnit, I can’t believe some of yall forgot these joints here

    Luccini – Camp Lo
    On Da B Side – Da Brat f/ The Notorious B.I.G
    Can’t Stop the Reign – Shaq f/ The Notorious B.I.G
    Straighten It Out – Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
    Superstar – Group Home
    Return of the Prophet – Jeru the Damaja
    Izm – KRS-1 f/ Channel Live
    Mona Lisa – Slick Rick
    Big Daddy – Heavy D
    Smooth Operator – Big Daddy Kane
    Nobody Beats the Biz – Biz Markie
    Microphone Fiend – Eric B & Rakim
    Doggy Dog World – Snoop & Da Dogg Pound

    maaaan i can keep going all day

    Reply ↓

  67. This could’ve easily been 1st:

    Bun B (feat. Young Jeezy and Jay-z)- Pushin
    Scarface- Get Outta My Face (You MUUUUUST listen to this one in bass-heavy speakers)
    Jay-z- Mama Loves Me (so real and heartfelt)
    Freddie Gibbs- Do Wrong (great track, even tho his verses aren’t as good as usual)
    Notorious B.I.G.- I Got a Story to Tell (all time classic storytelling rap, hilarious 2 lol!)
    Dead Prez- Walk Like a Warrior (Instant Classic)
    Mos Def- Mathematics (LOVE this song)
    BIG K.R.I.T. feat. Freddie Gibbs – Play the Game (Freddie’s verse sums his artistic aptitude up perfectly)
    Outkast feat. 8 Ball & MJG- Throw Your Hands Up (the Southern bar BQ theme song)
    UGK- Quit Hatin the South (that one’s for the VSBs that regularly take shots ;)
    Big Pun-Still Not a Player (Pun’s flow is d@mn near immaculate on this song)

    I have more, but I’ll stop now

    Reply ↓

  68. Ok, sir. I’ll take your list. What do I have to offer in return? I have here one pack of gum. Mystery flavor. Missing two pieces. Not enough? Wait…….I have a hunk of cheese. It’s midnight moon. Best cheese on earth. A scrap of Venice lace to gaze at. Some B-1 vitamins, for energy. And one of those hand grip exerciser things. Wait…… 32 cents.

    Trade?

    Reply ↓

  70. IBwin with my crewin- Yoyo
    Knock ya self out- Jadakiss
    Watch for the hook- Cool Breeze
    Storytellin- Outkast/Slick rick
    Mona Lisa- Slick Rick
    It’s ok- Slimm Calhoun

    Reply ↓

  71. Get the fires ready. One Mic sucked as an overall song. Cool as just a spoken word piece but as a SONG?? No go. Reasonable Doubt is overrated as an album. There’s a reason it didn’t light up the streets when it came out. Most people just mention it because they were TOLD it was Jay’s best work. Vol 2 was actually his best album. AND Eminem could possibly be the most overrated (read: very good but ya’ll being REAL extra) rapper ever. There’s 100 black dudes that spit equivalent or better that don’t get that type of press. If we being real he hasn’t put together a decent album since Encore.

    Reply ↓

      • Me too LOL I think “It was written” and “Illmatic” and few a cuts off “Life is good” are my favorite Nas joints also the collabos with Rae etc….

        I never like Em always thought he was stupidly extra over rated and psychotic.

        Reply ↓

    • Vol. 2 was trash, get that shyte out of here. Reasonable Doubt is a classic, but only if you understand the perspective & language. I never sold drugs, but I do happen to be smart enough to get the lingo. Eminem can’t be overrated if he’s made more personal & overall career-destroying songs that became huge success. No one has taken the chances he has AND crafted their raps to be better with each outing.

      We can chalk it up to opinions, but what I just said has facts in it. But still, perspective is perspective.

      Reply ↓

      • Overrated =/= bad. It means yall are REAL extra when referencing said noun. He CAN rap, but is he really that much better than EVERYBODY else??? The correct answer is NOT EVEN.

        Reply ↓

          • I’ll give you that. He can spit when he feels like it but just because _________ *insert album* sold 8 million doesn’t mean it was worth two drops of rat piss. Em is the Lamar Odom of rap. He got the skills but he’s just too hot and cold overall for my taste.

            Reply ↓

        • Uhhh..yea he is.

          His word game is crazy, because he takes the time to sit down and pen his rhymes. Shyte just go look up the lyrics on their own, without the songs, and there’s pure poetry in many of his songs.

          You might people are STANING him but there’s a reason for that.

          Reply ↓

        • Uhhh..yea he is.

          His word game is crazy, because he takes the time to sit down and pen his rhymes. Shyte just go look up the lyrics on their own, without the songs, and there’s pure poetry in many of his songs.

          You might people are STANING him but there’s a reason for that.

          Reply ↓

            • I am a fan, but I respect lyricism more than anything else. Out of most prolific rappers, Em’s lyricism shits on them. He gets on another artist’s records and shytes on it so bad, that there’s no redemption. There’s a reason a lot of rappers don’t ask for Em to be on their records, they actually wait until he asks them.

              Only rapper I know right now that bodies a track nearly as vicious as Em is Kendrick Lamar, and he’s another one that shytes on anyone’s song if he’s on it.

              Reply ↓

    • I agree with you on “One Mic”….Nas could’ve done without that song. However, in my opinion, Jay-Z’s “Vol.2″ sucked! The only standout songs are “Hard Knock Life” and “So Ghetto.” To me, Vol.1 was much better (except for that song “Sunshine.) And Reasonable Doubt was a great album, but it didn’t get the exposure it should’ve back when it came out. But I also agree with you regarding Eminem. I actually stopped listening to him after “Encore.” He’s a great rapper, I’ll give him that. But to call him the greatest….nah, I can’t get on that bandwagon.

      Reply ↓

      • My two favororite tracks on that Vol 2 get no burn from anyone else I’ve ever talked to. A week ago with 2 $hort and Resevior Dogs with the Lox. That’s the only song I can recall where Sheek actually sounded like he knew what he was doing.

        Reply ↓

    • “Cool as just a spoken word piece but as a SONG?? No go.”

      Dude. You’re on to something.That one statement sums up the divide on musical tastes between the North and the South imo. It’s a matter of preference. The East Coast tends to prefer the spoken word style. My brother said the other day that East Coast rappers are more like poets, and the Southern rappers are more like pastors. One style asks the listener to focus more on the content and complexity of the words and linguistic devices, the other asks the listener to FEEL the overall music and absorb the words and all their subtlety and nuance as well as their entertainment quality and relevance. It’s a matter of preference that’s all. I just don’t really look at East coast hip hop and (most) Southern rap as the same genre of music honestly. That’s why it’s impossible for me to make top 5s and sh!t like that. It requires me to compare people that don’t even make the same genre of music really. I’m too specific when I compare. We all have preferences and we’re all right, because it’s a game of opinions (which reminds me I need to watch the next Game of Thrones episode, I’m only on season 1 episode 3.)

      Reply ↓

    • Well, I see you with One Mic. It’s on my list of “songs that northern DJs should never play in the South” ™. Hot as it is, it’s effectively everything Southerners hate about Northern MCs. Weak, jazz-influenced beat? Check. Deep lyricism? Check. Unconventional rhyme patterns? Check. Rapper just standing there during the performance? Check. The only thing needed to make it complete was the vid in an abandoned building.

      Reasonable Doubt is something else. On one hand, the album went over a lot of people’s heads. On the other hand, people get all smug when they figure it out. I’m not sure anyone has listened to Reasonable Doubt without thinking of all the different meanings behind it since 1999. It’s too culturally loaded an album to be fairly judged.

      Reply ↓

    • …just when I was giving you props for mentioning Playa Fly you say some madness like Resonable Doubt being overrated. Just madness fam’…

      Only reason I think it didn’t ‘blow’ in the streets, was because of marketability. Roc A Bloc didn’t promote it to the level of the same albums that it’s held against today (Illmatic, 36 Chambers, Ready To Die) and all of those albums were on major labels. Be mindful, he still moved almost 500K units so it’s still a win.

      Production & lyrics were stellar. After hearing that I wanted to know who Earl Klugh was (laughs), and I went through my pops old Ohio Players records to rediscover where that ‘feeling’ came from. The lyrics varied from reflective, to introspective, funny, witty, serious, etc. He showed out on this album. I don’t think we saw him cover this much of the spectrum of human emotion (with quality) again until Roc La Familia/Blueprint.

      Reconsider…reconsider….

      Bond.

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    • re: One Mic – you smokin’.
      re: Reasonable Doubt being overrated…lol…its no surprise Vol 2 is your favorite. that would be my guess.
      re: Em most overrated ever? which dudes are spitting better? nigga, name me 100. have at it.

      has he put together a decent album sine Encore? no. hell i dont think he’s put together a decent album since The Marshall Mathers LP.

      Reply ↓

      • Are there 100 known folks that can spit with him? Nope. But marketability is a big factor there. The fact that Rhianna is known outside of her bathroom should tell you talent means nothing. I can, however, give you 100 albums (from known acts) that are better than his. The words OVERRATED & AVERAGE get a lot of people in a tizzy. 66.7% of a normal distribution of ANYTHING is going to be average. Overrated, once again, does not mean bad. All it means is: what you tell me it is =/= what it is in reality. Who, besides hardcore Em stans and white people can rip of one verse from five different Em songs? I can do that with artists I don’t even love. Can’t do it with Em.

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    • ” AND Eminem could possibly be the most overrated (read: very good but ya’ll being REAL extra) rapper ever. There’s 100 black dudes that spit equivalent or better that don’t get that type of press ”

      Rass kass immediately comes to mind…..

      it took pac being killed and 10 years of shitty rap for me to appreciate reasonable doubt, or anything biggie did besides unbelievable….i really really really could not stand biggie or anything that came outta bad boy besides craig mack

      Reply ↓

      • Man Craig Mack was hard. I liked Mark Curry too. Thanks for ruining a few more careers Sean “Sign right here and I’ll make you rich” Combs.

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  72. I wanna play too!

    Rapper’s Delight – Sugarhill Gang (1979)
    The Show – Dougie Fresh & Slick Rick (1985)
    I Ain’t No Joke – Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
    Gin and Juice – Snoop Dog (1993)
    U.N.I.T.Y.- Queen Latifa (1993)
    One More Chance – The Notorious B.I.G (1995)
    I Ain’t Mad at Cha – Tupac (1996)
    Can’t Knock the Hustle – Jay Z (1996)
    Fu-Gee-La – Fugees (1996)
    One Mic – Nas (2002)
    Make It Clap – Busta Rhymes (2003)
    Dirt Off Your Shoulder – Jay Z (2003)
    Salt Shaker – Ying Yang Twins (2003)
    What You Know – T.I. (2006)
    Ace Hood – Hustle Hard (Remix) (Feat Lil Wayne & Rick Ross) (2011)
    Kanye West – Mercy ft. Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz (2012)

    Basically if I were to put someone on to hip hop I would give them a hip hop timeline sample.

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  73. I spent way too much time putting this list together. My real top 10 for beginners has songs from the OP, but I decided not to duplicate those.

    1. Mos Def’s “Ms. Fat Booty”
    2. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message”
    3. Digital Underground “The Humpty Dance”
    4. Rakim “I Ain’t No Joke”
    5. Nas “If I Ruled the World”
    6. Queen Latifah “U.N.I.T.Y.”
    7. Talib Kweli “Get By”
    8. Pharcyde’s “Passin Me By”
    9. Twista “Overnight Celebrity”
    10. Outkast “B.O.B”

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  74. F- IT! I WANNA NAME SOME SONGS TOO!

    What I’ll do is name some songs that are criminally slept on and ones I think you should youtube to expand your range.

    Mac Dre-She Neva Seen, Mafioso, and Giggin’
    Killer Mike- City of Dope, God in the Building
    BG- Loaded (about him being addicted to Heroin), Livin Legend, Uptown (Remix Hot)
    Juvenile- 400 degrees.
    Sha Slimm – Everyday thang, Something to Pimp to (Remix)- Hometown Favorite
    Young Butta- Broken Home (hometown favorite)
    Mood- Tunnel Bound, Illuminated Sunlight- ….Hi Tek for Blackstar and Talib Kweli Reflection (Hometown Favorite)
    Yo Gotti- That b!tch ain’t yo b!tch, Full time hustla, Where I’m at
    8 Ball and MJG- Pimps
    UNLV- drag em in the river- NOT SLEPT ON BUT STILL ON MY LIST
    Poison Clan- Action and Shake what ya mama gave ya
    Brotha Lynch Hung- It’s real, One mo pound
    MC Eiht- Compton Bomb
    Spice 1- Dirty Bay
    36 Mafia- Who run it (not slept on), Slob on my knob
    Devin the Dude- What I be on/ I be gettin’ by
    Hi Tek- Piano

    Man, I could go on and on

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  76. 1. That Thing – Lauryn Hill
    2. Children’s Story – Slick Rick
    3. Hard Knock Life – Jay-Z
    4. What? – A Tribe Called Quest
    5. Juicy – Biggie
    6. Through the Wire – Kanye West
    7. Keep Ya Head Up – Tupac
    8. Shake It Fast – Mystikal (because we all need a little ass-shaking music)
    9. Party Ain’t a Party – Queen Pen ft. Mr. Cheeks, Freeky Tah, Markell Riley, and Nutta Butta
    10. Daydream – John Legend ft. Jill Scott

    Looking at the list now, I guess I’m partial to samples and stories (though you’d be hard-pressed to find a song that doesn’t sample SOMEONE these days)

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  77. I think we need to break this list up into categories:

    1. Top 10 or 20 East Coast rap songs of all time
    2. Top 10 or 20 West Coast rap songs of all time
    3. Top 10 or 20 Southern rap songs of all time
    4. Top 10 or 20 Midwest (including Texas) songs of all time

    Either that, or break it up into the top 10 or 20 rap songs of each decade. I would love to see the results on that.

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      • Not really. If you factor in the Miami bass joints (Oh, they got classics in this area!), the Dungeon Family, Suave House, No Limit, early Cash Money, the stuff put out on Ichiban Records, Mystikal and Rap-A-Lot, that list would be a very long list.

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        • First, Miami is not a Southern city. It used to be back in the day but now it’s a cosmopolitan city. So I wouldn’t count that Luke stuff nor all that bass Miami bass as Southern.

          I’ll give you some that music that was coming out of New Orleans in the late 90′ and early 2000′s. But some of the other Southern stuff was very regional, even city to city regional, so I’m not sure how much would count. I mean some songs were only charting at local radio in one city.

          Agree?

          But I’ll throw in Nelly and that St. Louis stuff and you might have enough for a list.

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          • “First, Miami is not a Southern city. It used to be back in the day but now it’s a cosmopolitan city.”

            …And Miami is still a Southern city- cosmopolitan or not.

            Oddly enough, when people list stuff on lists about the East and the West, why does their regional stuff get a passs, but the South does not with theirs?

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              • PA- Reppin’ for the South. Now on to Val- Miami is a Southern city. Get outside of downtown and Miami (South) Beach and them ni66a’s is country as hell. North Miami is as country as any small town. Thirdly, There are many great songs and artists from the South and thinking there aren’t shows your regional bias. Outkast, Lil’ Wayne, TI- alone can fill 20 songs. And that’s only the most popular. When you start to go to Luke and the 2 Live Crew, Young Jezzy, 36 Mafia, UGK, 8 Ball and MJG, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacriss.- Girl stop. You betta ask somebody.

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    • “4. Top 10 or 20 Midwest (including Texas) songs of all time”

      We’re not Midwestern though.
      Texas rap will need its own category period.
      K? Thx, Bye :)

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  78. Coming up with only 10 was extremely difficult!!! But here goes…
    1. Brass Monkey- Beastie Boys
    2. The Choice Is Yours- Black Sheep
    3. Check the Rhime-Tribe
    4. If I Ruled the World- Nas f/Lauryn Hill version
    5. Big Pimpin- Jay-Z
    6. Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None)- Snoop
    7. Renegade-Jay-Z/Eminem
    8. I Get Around- Pac
    9. Ha- Juvenile
    10. Scenario- Tribe/Leaders of the New School

    Reply ↓

      • You know considering I have lived in Kansas my whole life (yeah I said Kansas lol), I am more of an East Coast hip hop fan. Plus we were only doing 10..if I did my complete list it would definitely include more Southern artists.

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  79. 1. Night of The Living Baseheads-It’s one of my favorite hip hop videos and was just dope
    2. Plug Tunin’-De La Soul (with the Lawrence Welk sample)
    3. Gangsta Gangsta-NWA
    4. Scenario Remix-Tribe and LONS (RIP Kid Hood!)
    5. Protect Ya Neck-Wu Tang Clan
    6. Wrath of My Madness-Queen Latifah
    7. Cappucino-MC Lyte
    9.Electric Relaxation-A Tribe Called Quest
    10. Summer Vacation-Ice Cube

    Honorable Mention:
    Umi Says-Mos Def
    Cha Cha Cha-MC Lyte
    Microphone Fiend-Eric B and Rakim
    Fight The Power-Public Enemy
    Dope Man-NWA

    Let’s Go-Kool Moe Dee for: “Lower Level, Lack Lustre, Last Least, Limp Lover
    Lousy Lame, Latent Lethargic, Lazy Lemon, Little Logic, Lucky Leech, Liver Lipped
    Laborious Louse on a Loser’s Lips, Live in Limbo, Lyrical Lapse, Low Life with the loud raps, boy

    Hip Hop-Dead Prez

    The Mack Daddy on the Left-De La Sout feat. Jeff (that piano riff!)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvAgSEInUkY

    No Snakes Alive-King Geedorah
    Iron Galaxy-Cannibal Ox
    Glaciers of Ice-Raekwon, feat. Masta Killer and Ghostface Killer
    Verbal Intercourse-Raekwon, feat. Nas
    Catch a Bad One-Del
    93′ Til’ Infinity-Souls of Mischief

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  80. Do you guys remember in the travesty that was Making the Band (Da Band) when they all had to learn ‘Juicy’ and one girl in the confessional says “How you don’t know Juicy?!” with the most disgusted/ing look on her face????

    I pray for the day when someone knows what I’m talking about.

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  82. welp…. i don’t think there’s a particular order here:

    Aquemini [album]- Outkast
    Feelin’ It- Jay Z
    Nuthin But A G Thang- Dr. Dre
    I Get Around- Tupac
    Push It- Salt-N-Pepa
    Love Line- Exile f. Blu
    I Shouldn’t Have Done It- Slick Rick
    Five Minutes of Funk- Whodini
    Space Age Pimpin’- 8Ball & MJG
    The Love Below- Outkast

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      • aw shucks… i blush… really though Blu with Exile producing helped tune my ears to respecting more than the southern sound I love so dearly and i love how Exile continually merges jazz and hip hop sounds and energies coupled with Blu’s lyricism & delivery…ahhh…makes me happy

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  83. I can’t stop….

    Bird In the Hand-Ice Cube
    Move- Oh No feat. Dilla & Roc C
    On The DL-Pharcyde
    At Your Own Risk-King Tee
    Bass-King Tee
    My Philosophy-Boogie Down Productions
    Black Cop-KRS One
    Everything Remains Raw-Busta Rhymes
    Deep Cover- Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
    D@@@@m-Alkaholiks

    More obscure 9depends on how you think of it), but REMEMBER:
    Pass It On-Yo-Yo
    Mix Tapes-The Nonce
    Recognized Thresholds for Negative Stress-Boogie Monsters
    Blue Cheese-UMC’s
    That’s How It Is-Casual

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  84. There is depressing lack of appreciation for Hell Hath No Fury. It’s pretty much the greatest drug dealer album of all time. It’s one of the most layered albums of all time in terms of lyrics merging with production.

    Reply ↓

    • I fux with Clipse, [they had me at Grindin] and HHNF def goes in on the coke game raps nsh!t… it’s because of this though that it doesn’t make lists for me because it’s not an album I just wanna hear anytime, anywhere, anyplace…

      Reply ↓

    • “There is depressing lack of appreciation for Hell Hath No Fury. It’s pretty much the greatest drug dealer album of all time.”

      No argument there. The problem is that the producers behind it give some folks a reason not to acknowledge it. The Clipse are underground MC’s with commerical producers behind them. If it was anyone else besides the Neptunes, believe me you’d see that album on everyone’s list.

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  85. Front Back Side to Side-UGK
    Trill-The Clipse
    Click, Clack-Slim Thug
    100%-Big Pun
    Taste-Pac Div
    When We Were Kings-Shane Eli
    Taxing-Special Ed
    Apollo Kids-Ghostface Killah
    Surgical Gloves-Raekwon
    Party Is Goin’ On Over Here-Busta Rhymes
    OG RON C mixtapes
    10% Dis-MC Lyte

    Alrighty…I’ll stop here, because I could go all day. :)

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  86. you know, my previous list did not pay any homage to female mc’s so…….

    superstar – lauren hill
    on the smooth tip – sweet t
    yeah yeah yeah -oaktown 357
    i am the lyte -cha cha cha
    ladies 1st -monie love and queen latifah
    the recipe – boss
    deeper -boss
    afro puffs -lady of rage
    U.N.I.T.Y -queen latifah
    you can’t play with my yo yo -yo yo
    love thirst- jean grae

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  87. can i just say that i love the passion that some of y’all have for the music?
    shout out to the lurkers for coming out and good clean disagreements!!
    that’s all i gots (im an r&b/soul girl).

    Reply ↓

    • +1
      Although I love all things music…my first love will always be R&B. So I say lets flip it for a minute and say we are introducing someone to R&B/Soul instead of hip hop…what would be your top ten songs/artists?

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  88. Oh god this is really hard, I don’t listen to a lot of hip hop nor rap but I listen to it when I love the beats so I’ll give it a shot.
    *Thinks* ok…

    1. Camp Lo-Luchini (This is it)
    2. Lil Kim- No Time
    3.Foxy Brown- I’ll Be
    4.Jay-z- Dead Presidents
    5. Notorious B.I.G.- Warning
    6. Three 6 Mafia- Stay Fly
    7. DMX- What’s My Name
    8. Notorious B.I.G/Jay-z- I Love The Dough
    9. Eve- What Yall Want
    10. Queen Latifah- U.N.I.T.Y
    11. Jadakiss- We Gonna Make It
    12. Nas- Made You Look
    13. Juvenile- Back That Ass Up
    14. Notorious B.I.G- Hypnotize
    15. Foxy Brown- Oh Yeah
    16. Azealia Banks- Liquorice, Us,and 212.

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  89. I’ve been a lurker for the last couple years, but I had to throw in a song that I hadn’t read on anyone’s list. If I was introducing someone to hip-hop, I’d have them listen to Renegade. It features Jay-Z and Eminem at the top of their game, both of whom are generally considered as top 5 of all time, and it is one of few times where I’ve heard Jay get bodied on his own track.

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  91. I LOVED hip hop ya’ll, could’ve made lists on here all day, coming up we was one n the same, we pratically the same age.
    I was truly in love til it broke my heart, and disillusioned me
    I came to see it didn’t love, like, or even respect me.
    It was more interested in other dudes LOL so I had to say my goodbyes but every once in a while like today I remember that love.

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  92. I really, really, can’t stop…..I’m such a hip hop head!

    Careful (Click, Click)-Wu Tang Clan
    Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)-Wu Tang Clan (U-God’s and Cappa’s verse and the beat change! Yasss!)
    Flava In Ya Ear Remix-Craig Mack
    I Ain’t Havin’ That-Heltah Skeltah
    Time’s Up-O.C.

    Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers-Crooklyn Dodgers 95 , This version:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opWYnUpNtG8

    Heads Ain’t Redee-Black Moon feat. Smif n Wessun, this version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN2_sB095w0

    I Can’t Go To Sleep-Wu Tang Clan feat. Isaac Hayes
    The Night The Earth Cried-Gravediggaz (ill video too!)
    Diary of a Madman-Gravediggaz (RIP Too Poetic)
    ^Really…That first Gravediggaz album was a banger…I know it was too dark for some, but that album KNOCKED!..”GIVIN NI@@AS BRAIN DIMPLES!”

    Run-Ghostface Killa feat. Jadakiss

    Stand Up-Charlie Baltimore feat. Ghostface (I had to post it again!):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwPgyLGMWLk

    Miguel Sanchez-Ghostface (Slaps!!!!!)
    Block Rock-Ghostface Killa

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  93. I appreciate this post because I get to look up some of these songs that I don’t know about being the young’n that I am, as far as my list

    1) Beenie Seigel ft. Freeway & Young Chris – I can’t go on this way
    2) Wu tang – Triumph
    3) Nelly – Splurge
    4) Styles P. – Switch My Style
    5) Tupac – I get Around
    6) T.I. – Castle Walls
    7) Jay – z – Allure
    8) Jim Jones ft. Camron – Beautiful Noise
    9) Eminem – The Way I Am
    10) Nas – The World is Yours
    or I want to talk to you
    or Some of Us Have Angels
    or Drunk By Myself

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  94. Dabrat – funkdafiend
    Goodie mob – soul food
    Nas – it was written
    Bone – art of war
    Mystikal – unpreditable
    Kanye – cOllege dropout
    Wayne 1st cater cd the rest are wack
    Foxy brown – ill na na

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  95. I wanna play!

    Hip hop looks like…

    Eminem – Stan
    Slick Rick – Children’s Story
    Immortal Technique – Dance with the Devil
    Jay Z – Song Cry or 99 Problems
    Eve – Love is Blind
    Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – Crossroads
    Common – Testify
    Nas – Rewind
    Naughty by Nature – O.P.P.
    Wayne – “Prostitute Flange” or “Me and My Drank”
    Matisyahu – King without a Crown
    8balll & MJG – Paid Dues

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