Wednesday, March 10, 2010

100 Greatest Hip-Hop songs of all time

This is a list that I came up with last year after I saw VH1's list of their 100 greatest hip hop songs and I have updated it slightly since the time that I first wrote it.  For my criteria, I tried to use songs that captured the message of what hip-hop is all about as well as the cultural impact that the songs had.  Some songs such as Parents Just Don't Understand and Bust A Move are included because they furthered the popularity of hip-hop even though they are obviously jokey types of songs.  Of course I have a personal bias towards East Coast rap of the mid-90s such as Nas, Biggie and the Wu-Tang Clan, but I tried not to pick too many songs from one artist.  I also will post the list without commentary except to say that my choice for #1, The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to me epitomizes what hip-hop is all about and even though it was released in 1982, it is still completely relevant today.  While the Sugar Hill Gang put hip-hop on the map, The Message gave us an illustrative description of what life was like coming up on the streets of urban New York, and that is what hip-hop is all about.  Please post some comments below.  I would love to hear other people's opinions and what songs people think I left out or am crazy for including.  Without further ado, here is the list:

100. OPP - Naughty By Nature
99. It Takes Two - Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock
98. Freaks Come Out At Night - Whodini
97. Regulate - Warren G ft. Nate Dogg
96. Parents Just Don't Understand - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
95. Bust A Move - Young MC
94. Cool Like Dat - Digable Planets
93. So Whatchu Want - The Beastie Boys
92. All I Need - Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige
91. Tennessee - Arrested Development
90. Wild Wild West - Kool Moe Dee
89. Ladies First - Queen Latifah f. Monie Love
88. Hard Out Here For A Pimp - Three 6 Mafia ft. Paula Campbell
87. B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad) - Outkast
86. It's All About the Benjamins - Puff Daddy & The Family ft/ Notorious B.I.G., Lil' Kim and The Lox
85. Momma Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
84. Chief Rocka - Lords of the Underground
83. Passin' Me By - The Pharcyde
82. Shimmy Shimmy Ya - Ol' Dirty Bastard
81. Insane in the Brain - Cypress Hill
80. Jump Around - House of Pain
79. Mo' Money Mo'Problems - Notorious B.I.G. ft/ Puff Daddy and Mase
78. Woo Ha! I Got You All in Check - Busta Rhymes
77. Colors - Ice-T
76. Hand on the Pump - Cypress Hill
75. Stayin' Alive - Wyclef Jean and the Refugee All-Stars
74. New Jack Hustler - Ice-T
73. One Mic - Nas
72. Dwyck - Gangstarr ft. Nice and Smooth
71. Me Myself and I - De La Soul
70. You Gots to Chill - EPMD
69. Ruff Riders Anthem - DMX
68. They Want EFX - Das EFX
67. Ms. Jackson - Outkast
66. Fu-gee-La - Fugees
65. How I Could Just Kill A Man - Cypress Hill
64. You Got Me - The Roots
63. Rock the Bells - LL Cool J
62. Treat Em Right - Chubb Rock
61. Scenario - Tribe Called Quest and Leaders of the New School
60. Flava in Your Ear - Craig Mack
59. The Choice is Yours - Black Sheep
58. Don't Sweat the Technique - Eric B. and Rakim
57. Gangsta's Paradise - Coolio
56. Hey Ya - Outkast
55. I Get the Job Done - Big Daddy Kane
54. Hard Knock Life - Jay Z
53. Big Poppa - Notorious B.I.G.
52. Brenda's Got A Baby - Tupac
51. Paul Revere - The Beastie Boys
50. Check the Rhime - A Tribe Called Quest
49. I Go To Work - Kool Moe Dee
48. The Symphony - Marley Marl & The Juice Crew All-Stars
47. I Got It Made - Special Ed
46. I Can't Live Without My Radio - LL Cool J
45. Push It - Salt N Pepa
44. They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) - Pete Rock and C L Smooth
43. Ain't No Half Steppin' - Big Daddy Kane
42. Little Weapon - Lupe Fiasco
41. Hip-Hop Saved My Life - Lupe Fiasco
40. It Ain't Hard To Tell - Nas
39. King of Rock - Run DMC
38. My Philosophy - Boogie Down Productions
37. Lose Yourself - Eminem
36. 99 Problems - Jay Z
35. MC's Act Like They Don't Know - KRS One
34. One Love - Nas
33. The Warning - Notorious B.I.G.
32. Dear Mama - Tupac
31. Tha Crossroads - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
30. By the Time I Get to Arizona - Public Enemy
29. Shook Ones: Part II - Mobb Deep
28. My Mind's Playin' Tricks On Me - Geto Boys
27. The Show - Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew featuring Slick Rick
26. The World is Yours - Nas
25. Today Was a Good Day - Ice Cube
24. Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg
23. It's Tricky - Run DMC
22. The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
21. La Di Da Di - Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew featuring Slick Rick
20. Paid in Full - Eric B. and Rakim
19. Nothin' But A G Thang - Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg
18. Keep Your Head Up - Tupac
17. Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos - Public Enemy
16. C.R.E.A.M. - Wu-Tang Clan
15. The Way I Am - Eminem
14. Protect Ya Neck - Wu-Tang Clan
13. Children's Story - Slick Rick
12. Stan - Eminem
11. Changes - Tupac
10. Planet Rock - Afrika Baambaata and Soul Sonic Force
9. New York State of Mind - Nas
8. Juicy - Notorious B.I.G.
7. I Used to Love H.E.R. - Common
6. Eric B. is President - Eric B. and Rakim
5. Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.
4. Walk This Way - Run DMC
3. Fight the Power - Public Enemy
2. Rapper's Delight - Sugar Hill Gang
1. The Message - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious

4 comments:

  1. Good list! I would have included Just a Friend by Biz Markie -- still one of my faves.

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  2. I'd make a playlist out of this. Excellent list!

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  3. You know I love this list, and we should most definitely make this a playlist at some point. Bonnaroo music first though. So happy to see Lupe representing!

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  4. good list, ryan crocodile!

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