The Top 25 Hip Hop Tracks for 2000 Jul 23 '01    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 Mai by Eri Sugai From $4 The Bottom Line MF once again distributes his knowledge to the needy. Perk up, grab a 40, hit some honey dip, and read on. *** 25) Between Me And You- Ja Rule "MF!" you cry out in anger. "How does this make it onto a real hip hop heads list!?!?!" The answer is simple silly. While much of commercial rap manages to suck harder than yo mama, some of it can still be spectacularly good. This is a prime example. Backed by one of the most infectious oriental style loops I've ever heard, and a killer chorus to boot, Ja Rule was able to get some airtime in my stereo with this song. 24) Corrida del Toros- Dan-eo This one is aimed at my Canadian heads of course, although it wouldn't hurt for all y'all Muricans to check it out as well. My man Dan-e-o is a part of a Toronto crew called Monolith, which is made up of about 10 members in classic Wu style. This was off his "Book Of Daniel" debut LP, and was the perfect taste tester for Dan-e-o incredible breath control and rapid fire thought provoking lyrics- this time aimed at the music industry. 23) That Smut- Smut Peddlers I've always maintained that one can never go wrong with a little smut in their lives, and Cage, Eon, and Might Mi, also known as the Smut Peddlers, didn't prove me wrong with their debut LP. "That Smut" was the lead single, and epitomized everything the Peddlers are about in terms of style, lyrics, and beat. Plus the single cover was amongst the funniest I've ever seen, with Beetlejuice from the Howard Stern Show paired with some skanky looking women. Normally I don't give any points for packaging, but this one I can't pass up. 22) The Rah Rah- Outsidaz Released at the very start of 2000 off their "Night Life" EP, "The Rah Rah" wasn't so much an Outsidaz cut as it was a Pacewon solo joint. An infectious chanted chorus, and the crazy vocal stylings of Pacewon paired with a spectacular underground head nodder beat, equals satisfaction to MF. 21) Self Conscience- Prodigy and Nas A change of pace from everything else thus far, "Self Conscience" was a track released off the "QB's Finest" LP, and featured the vocals of NY legends Nas and Prodigy. Like you'd expect, they don't disappoint, dropping lyrics that'll make you think. This time, the theme is that each is speaking with their conscience about their actions in life. Very deep, and the beat fits perfectly here, with it's haunting soft keys, and nearly non existant drums. 20) Ms. Jackson- Outkast Everyone's mama, and their baby's momma's momma has heard this no doubt. "Ms. Jackson" carried Outkast's LP, "Stankonia" to multiplatinum success after the mixed reaction that the first single off the LP, "B.O.B." received. Some great singing here, and once again Big Boi and Andre hook you up with some conscious lyrics dealing with the subject of parenthood. 19) Woah- Black Rob A personal fave. I hate Puffy and most of what he stands for (apart for that brief fling with J-Lo), but I can't front. The beat on this, supplied by Buckwild, was off the heazy, and Black Rob literally burst on the hip hop scene with this anthem, reminiscent of another deceptively simple hit from a couple of years ago- "Ha" by Juvenile" 18) Defeat- Afu-Ra Afu-Ra probably dropped one of the most underrated albums of the past 2 years or so with "Body of the Life Force". In my humble opinion, this was the best track off of said LP. With the classic production of DJ Premier behind him, you KNEW this was going to rock instrumentally- the only question was what Afu would do with it. He took it and made a blazing battle rap is what he did. Pumps me up everytime I hear it. 17) No, No, No- Heltah Skeltah, Starang Wondah with Tony Touch Can't forget to show some love to my peeps at Duck Down, and that love comes in the form of Ruck, Rock and Starang at #17. An impressive Spanish flavored beat provided by Tony Toca, and some of the most funny lines I've ever heard in a rap song in relation to females= a hit in my book. 16) I Just Wanna Luv U- Jay-Z From the first drum kick, you knew this was Neptunes ish. I guess the only question was- could Jay rock over it? Indeed he could, flipping his style a bit here, although still dealing with the standard (drugs, money, women). What saved this whole situation was the beat. Man could it rock the rumps on the floor. And it still does. 15) N.Y. Giants- Big Pun feat. M.O.P. The late Big Pun left me with a bad taste in my mouth when I copped his final release. Most of the songs felt bland, and most of the fire he had on his rookie release was missing. However, on "NY Giants", paired with MOP, you could almost feel the energy flying off the tracklisting. Needless to say, one of the hypest tracks of the year, and one that'll just make you want to fight. 14) Move Something- Reflection Eternal Those horns, oh those horns. Hi-Tek managed to make a pure underground joint here, that could STILL rock the party. Impressive to say the least. A rumbling score, matched with the somewhat bland vocal delivery of Talib Kweli makes up one of the surprise club hits of 2G. 13) Money Jane- Baby Blue, Kardinal, Jully Black, Sean Paul I'm repping for Canada once again, as this track, off the Baby Blue Soundcrew compilation, tore up the Canadian airwaves through much of 2000. Canadian star Kardinal Offishal teamed up with R&B songstress Jully Black, and dancehall hero Sean Paul to make a track that is hip hop no doubt, but contains large doses of reggae as well, lending it a very unique take. Great stuff. 12) X- Xzibit Mr. X to tha Z made his way back into the spotlight with this disgustingly ill track, the first single off of his "Restless" LP. Backed by some incredible Dre production, which featured a jutting piano line, and some gorgeous violins, X managed to make a radio hit without even trying, OR compromising himself. 11) Cherchez Le Ghost- Ghostface Killah feat. U-God A change of pace here for the Wu, and an indicator for the future, as Ghostface COMPLKTELY flips the script and drops the most commercial sounding track I've ever heard anyone in the Wu do. And somehow it all still works. A sparse catchy beat, and some great singing, paired with only ONE short verse from Ghost. Not a standard hip hop track by any means, but different enough to earn my approval. 10) Ante Up- M.O.P. Remember what I said about MOP in my call on the Big Pun track? Multiply that by about 100 times to understand the energy and rawness of this track. Screaming horns and a blaring bassline served as a backdrop to the high volume and near-insane vocal style of Danz and Fame. Gets everyone jumping at a club. 9) B.O.B.- Outkast "MF, didn't you say up above that Ms.Jackson was better received that this?" Correct kids. However, this was STILL the best track off the "Stankonia" LP. Get this- it ran at 140+ beats per minute. That's wacko. And Andre and Big Boi still managed to stay on beat. That's some serious flow folks. Incredible. 8) Ooh!- De La Soul feat. Redman Stalwart hip hop legends De La Soul blessed us with an album in 2G as well, and while it didn't live up to their previous releases, it still managed to bump pretty hard. The high spot for me at least, was this track, which featured the Funk Dr. Spot, Redman himself. But don't get it twisted, he doesn't do anything but the chorus, which to me always seemed like a waste. A crazy infectious chorus, mixed with a great beat, equalled my happiness, even though I thought De La came a little bit weak here lyrically. 7) Keep It Thoro- Prodigy My fave beat of 2000, provided by the Alchemist, and P doesn't disappoint, dropping some of the best thuggisms I've heard since the 2nd Mobb Deep LP. The beat is so good, yet so simple, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it first. A simple bassline and drums, all held together spectacularly by the most amazing piano loop I've ever heard. 6) Bad Boyz- Shyne feat. Barrington Levy "More Puffy product MF? You SUCK!" Well whatever. Sure Shyne sounds a bit like Biggie. Sure he goes over much of the same subject matter as Biggie. Doesn't negate the fact that this song seriously laid the lumber in 2000. Most menacing bassline of the year, mixed with the upbeat reggae flow of Mr. Levy, gives you a middle ground for Shyne to showcase his better than average lyrical dexterity. A shame he had to take most of the fall for Puffy in that court case. 5) Rubbin- Choclair feat. Saukrates Look at me just reppin the North to the fullest. The second single off of Chox's debut LP "Ice Cold", and in my opinion, better than "Let's Ride" (probably because I heard it less than that ubiquitous song). Some great production provided by Big Sox, with some beautiful horns serving as the bass, and your standard Choclair "I love women" rap made this a smooth addition to the top 5. 4) The Jump Off- Wutang Clan As someone in rock once said- "the boys are back in town". Or something to that effect. Anyways, I digress. This served as the lead single to the Wu's HIGHLY anticipated 3rd full length release, "The W". And with a title like "Protect Ya Neck- The Jump Off", referring to their past glory, one had high hopes. This single at least, lived up to those hopes. The RZA flips what sounds like a Supertramp guitar lick here, and provides an old school sounding backdrop for the other 9 memebers, who all rip it in "Enter the 36 Chambers" style. Brought a tear to my eye when I first heard it. 3) Stan- Eminem You just KNEW I wasn't going to leave off America's favorite blonde, didn't ya? No, I don't mean Anna Kournikova, I mean Eminem. Showing a, how can I say, different side here, Em tackled the issue of fan stalking, and dropped one of the most intelligent and thought-provoking rhymes of the year, all over a haunting vocal sample of now famous songstress Dido. Stunning. 2) Even If- Method Man The Wu manage to get 2 entries into the top 5 with the inclusion of this joint, and with good reason. Using the formula that made "Da Rockwilder" so successful, Meth once again enlisted the services of producer Rockwilder to make this absolutely disgustingly killer and bananas party track. See MOP for what the energy level is like, minus all the "I wanna kill you" bravada. Some great scratches, and a couple of well above average Meth verses made this near perfect. The only non perfect thing? You have to buy the Nutty Professor 2 soundtrack to get this. 1)Boom- Royce Da 5'9 In my original rankings, I had #'s 1 and 2 flipped, with Meth taking the top spot. I've reconsidered though, as I feel this song best epitomizes what rap is all about. Premier once again is behind the boards, and gives us his now cookie cutter drum and bass package, but with a twist, adding in some great beeping noises to the beat, and some atmospheric violins as counterpoints. The REAL treat here, incredibly, isn't the beat- it's Royce, who shows that Eminem won't be the only rapper to blow up from Detroit. Showcasing a blend of storytelling and battle rap styles, he manages to blow everything out of the water in 2G, and fully deserves top spot here. *** Whew, that's it. Now get to downloading this stuff. Or better yet, BUYING it, ya cheap bastards!

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