The DEFINITIVE Top 50 Hip Hop Songs of All Time (write-off)
Sep 02 '00 (Updated Jan 08 '01)
Beatnuts ft. Cuban Lynx & Big Punisher- Off The Books
Setting this list off is the song that introduced us to the late Big Pun, Off The Books. This Beatnuts track features one of the tightest beats of all time, a flip of Buddy Baker’s Sign Song and George Semper’s cover of Get out of My Life Woman. The icing on this cake is of course Punisher, the self-proclaimed “King of the Hip Hop Quotables,” delivering a jaw-dropping, attention-getting verse over it:
Hey yo it's all love, but love's got a thin line,
And Pun's got a big 9, respect crime but not when it reflect mine
The s--t I'm on is wrong but it lasts long
Pull a fast one, then Pun'll wake up, with the stash gone
I'm mad strong, and my cream is fast
Smoke the greenest grass, my bitch got the meanest ass and a taste legit,
I don't have to waste a whole case of Crist'
All it takes is my pretty face and my gangsta wit
Lace the click, cause we all share
It's all fair like love and war, thug galore with the long hair
Big Pun, Pun the name that makes the kids run
Like spelling murder reverse it deliver redrum
Come one, come all, if you wanna brawl
I'm the mighty Thor clotheslining motherf---ers like Steven Segal
Cause all you gonna get, is your ass kicked or up in a casket
That's it (that's it?) That's it
Chino XL – Jesus
I had to pick at least one song from the rapper whose motto is “If you don’t have something nice to say…say it anyway.” Before Eminem was the master of the pop culture assaults, there was Chino XL, still in my opinion, the King of the Illest Similes ever. The one track I picked for Chino XL however, is not one you’ll be able to find anywhere though. I myself heard it way back in 1996 on the Wake Up Show’s best of the year mix. Kut Masta Kurt, who produced the original version, played the acapella of the track over a number of mainstream tracks of the moment such as Redman’s It’s Like That and Foxy Brown’s Get Me Home. I got it from the Rise 12’, why this song was never released on an album is beyond me. Chino tackles taboo topics with no remorse. He takes no prisoners talking about everyone in the world in 1996. This is the real fearless leader.
…Ever since Pac dissed me, Jersey tried to front on me
Now I'm so vain you could probably draw blood from me
So why you doubtin’?
I'm embezzling more money than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's accountant
And spitting blood like Gene Simmons, but that's irrelevant
This industry prays I go away like Arrested Development
Smilin' in a tenement
Now they got me on rewind to dig up a piece of my mind
But if y'all dig any deeper you might not like what you find
Pac died and I cried but I'm a representa
When it comes to dissing, my s--t make Makaveli sound like the "Macarena"
Jesus Christ superstar immunity
Got you apologizing like Marlon Brando did the whole Jewish community
Hiding like Anne Frank, your mind is stomped like I wrote "Mein Kampf"...
Make you shut the f--k up! Like wifey when the fight's on
Lyrical Jesus, I got Satan sleeping with his lights on
I have existed before man and will exist after man
I am in every man yet I am in no man therefore I am a God
Sounds odd, but my talent is priceless
So I rise on the wicked and the good
And rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Common – The Bitch in Yoo
Real hip hop heads know this to be the greatest diss song of all time. It’s a track that doesn’t go the route that Eminem and the Insane Clown Posse now go which is making as many homosexual implications as possible in a single song. It’s a track that shows that Common knows how to hit his opponent where it hurts, dissecting Cube’s entire career. This is what Cypress Hill’s uninspired attack on Cube Ice Cube Killah wish it could have been. This is what Canibus most likely used as a diagram for ruining LL Cool J’s battle reputation with 2nd Round K.O.
This song makes you wonder why Cube even bothered to have the subtle diss to Common on Westside Slaughterhouse:
Well it's the dog, breathin' through the smog
I'm a hog of this gangster s--t
Don of the click
All you suckas want to diss the Pacific
But you buster niggas never get specific
Used to Love H.E.R.
Mad cause we f---ed her
Pussy whipped bitch with no Common Sense
Hip Hop started in the West
Ice Cube bailin' through the East without a vest.
Now what makes this song so far above all the other battle tracks is the work that went into it. Fans of Common know he’s one of the smartest MCs in the industry today. He spends weeks writing his lyrics. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chi-Town lyricist spent a good deal of time doing his homework to come up with all these complexly ill barbs.
A bitch nigga wit’ a attitude named Cube
Step to the Com wit’ a feud
Now what the f--k I look like dissing our whole coast?
You ain't made s--t dope since “AmeriKKKa's Most”
Wanted deceased from the Midwest to the East
On the dick of the East for your first release
Your lease is up at the crib, house n----s get evicted
And videos of white boys talking you get “Wicked”
Natural Born Killa, n---a you natural born God
Greedy, rich, got the nerve to say you rob
Hypocrite, I'm filling out your “Death Certificate”
Slanging bean pies and St Ide's in the same sentence
Shoulda repented, on the 16th of October
Get some beats besides George Clinton to rock over
Rap career is over, better off acting
What trouble I see, you're managing WC and Wack 10
You backed in to a four-corner hustla
Lying on your dick, said you was f---in’ her
Use “Higher Learning,” don't take my words out of text
Went from gangsta to Islam to the dick of Das EFX
It'll take the Nation of Millions to Hold Me Back
From giving you mouth shots or hit wit’ the pipe Ralph got
Chris Tucker ain't around, it's your Friday, it was good
I wasn't salty, she was wit’ the Boyz N the Hood
Cut Chemist - Lesson 6
Back in the ‘80’s, Double D. and Steinski's released three groundbreaking works of art, the Lesson trilogy. They were mosaics comprised of movie, news, and other music clips. After their release however, the pioneering Caucasian duo went AWOL.
Cut to 1991, an at the time unknown Josh Davis (DJ Shadow) releases Lesson 4, a tribute to that duo’s legacy as a B-side to Hollywood Basic Records’ Lifer’s Group single for The Real Deal. Although it was a solid effort on Shadow’s part, it would take six years before the concept of a worthy companion to the legendary Lessons could be fully realized.
Cut to 1996, the first all-DJ compilation is released, Return of the DJ Vol. 1. At the time of its release, it is considered revolutionary featuring such great turntablists as the Beat Junkies, the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, and ASAP Productions (DJ Yukata, DJ Honda, and DJ Alladdin). Also featured was Unity Committee’s Cut Chemist’s Lesson 4: The Radio. The homage to the Lessons this time was a better step into the right direction but still was missing something. This version, while inventive at times, was missing that oomph.
Cut to 1997, on the compilation Deep Concentration Cut Chemist drops Lesson 6: The Lecture. Absolute brilliance is achieved. The track opens with the best of what Lesson 4 had to offer and then segues into its own. Everything from educational records to Sapo’s drums from Been Had to Jason Björn Lindh’s flute from Daphnia is unleashed upon us flowing mellifluously along with Cut Chemist’s turntable wizardry on this dare I say it, magical hip hop collage.
Dr. Octagon – Blue Flowers
This dark, comedic classic opens with a haunting instrumental with vintage violins playing courtesy of Automator subsequently followed 30 seconds later by disturbing imagery courtesy of the always incoherent Kool Keith:
Dr. Octagon, paramedic fetus of the East
With priests, I'm from the Church of the Operating Room
With the strike support, scalpels since the holocaust
I do indeed in greed, explore meet the patients
Back to brooms with the nurse with the voodoo curse
Holding up office lights, standing at huge heights
Back and forth, left wing swing to North
East and South with blood pouring down your mouth
I come prepared with the white suit and stethoscope
Listen to your heartbeat, delete beep beep BEEP
Your insurance is high, but my price is cheap
Look at the land...
To some, that may just look like non sequitur gibberish, but that’s part of the beauty of the Black Elvis’ lyrics, trying to decipher his seemingly indecipherable messages.
Another this that truly makes this abstract hip hop collage stand out, is the way it fades out. Q-Bert, arguably the best DJ in the world, flexes his unmatchable skills with some out of this world turntablism that puts any other turntablist you could name to shame. Hearing this Invisibl Skratch Pikl get busy on the ones and twos makes me wonder how The Source could ever name Kid Capri the best DJ ever.
The fact of the matter is, when these three talents combine, you’re not hearing any old ensemble, what you’re hearing is a truly sui generis trio.
EPMD ft. Redman & K Solo – Headbanger
Erick Sermon has always been the master beat maker, this is in my opinion his best concoction to date. Mixing the drums from Honey Drippers’ Impeach The President and Joe Tex’s Papa Was Too along with the funk from Parliament’s One of Those Funky Things was an ingenious move on the Green-Eyed Bandit’s part. This rugged and raw track featuring three of New York’s finest is one of my all-time favorite posse cuts.
Geto Boys – My Mind Playin’ Tricks on Me
Imagine if you will three tales of paranoia. One about a reclusive, suicidal, father who’s regretting a relationship, one about a local celebrity who’s worrying about his past catching up to him, and one about a fatal hallucination. Enter the minds of the Geto Boys: Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill. Each verse is effective in its own way, but the cream of this here crop belongs to Bill. Bushwick Bill proves to be a master storyteller, telling us about a Halloween beat down of someone he’s been having dreams about. The twist at the end is simply ingenious if you haven’t heard the song before.
Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day
Ice Cube's mellow head nodder, It Was A Good Day, is the kind of song you listen to when you’re getting dressed and reminiscing about the night before. The tale of the perfect day where Cube not only survives all his detractors and gets all the girls, forever immortalized Fat Burger and showed that Cube has unbelievable skills as an MC as he manages to rhyme “big fat fanny” with “punanny” and still look like the Pillsbury Dough Pimp that he is. Props also to DJ Pooh for his flip of the Isley Brothers’ Footsteps in the Dark.
Killah Priest – B.I.B.L.E.
Few rappers offer such sage advice as this clever young lyricist. B.I.B.L.E. is the scintillating acronym for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” B.I.B.L.E. is this MC’s tale of his Caine-type journey and also serves as his manifesto.
I strolled through the books of Job to unfold
And open bibles, instead of hoping on revivals
Calling on His name and screaming “Hallelujah”
When he hardly knew ya, that's how the devil's fooled ya
See look into my eyes brethren, that's the lies of a reverend
Why should you die to go to heaven?
The Earth is already in space, the bible I embrace
A difficult task I had to take
I studied ‘til my eyes was swollen, and only arose when
I found out that we were the chosen
I deal with the truth, and build with the youth
And teach my son as he kneels on the stoop
“Son, life is a pool of sin, corrupted with foolish men
And women with wicked minds, who build picket signs
To legalize abortion, the evil eye distortion”
I quiz Son with my wisdom
Before I converted, I was perverted, and knowledge was asserted
The study of wisdom, I preferred it
The understanding, it gave me mental freedom
I even learnt Caucasians were really the Tribe of Edam
The white image, of Christ, is really Cesare Borgia
And uh, the second son of Pope Alexander
The Sixth of Rome, and once the picture was shown
That's how the devils tricked my dome
I prophesized to save a man, but no one gave a damn
For my nation - the seed of Abraham
Blessed with the tongue of Hebrew
Now we're strung on needles, and some are plunging evils
So study and be wise in these days of darkness
Peace to my nephew Marcus
The basic instructions before leaving earth
Life is a test many quest the universe
And through my research, I felt the joy and the hurt
The first shall be last and the last shall be first
The basic instructions before leaving earth
Lost Boyz ft. A+, Redman & Canibus - Beasts from the East
Canibus’ breakout verse (which was a Hip Hop Quotable the month it was released) is perhaps one of, if not the most impressive battle verse ever written. This Horseman’s “50 bars of total sickness” is a slashing attack on any and everything in his path. After taking a listen, we realize it’s no reason even Rakim digs this hungry young MC who even recently admitted that he killed everyone else on this track. It’s no wonder either, this is Canibus’ song in every way but name. He gets the most time to shine.
Now, even had this song just boasted Canibus’ verse, it still would’ve made my list. However, it’s the fact that A+ and Redman also deliver strong verses on Beasts from the East that makes this track extra special. When you combine the talents of these three MCs, you’ve not only got one of the tightest battle songs ever, you’ve also got another one of my all-time favorite posse cuts.
Canibus brings the sickest drama
Fierce enough to pierce the thickest armor
I smack bitches for trying to suck dick through the condom
Playing with the mic is something I won’t do
My only concern when I approach you, is to roast you
I smoke you, and whoever you standing close to
And make every man in your crew deny that he knows you
Defeatin’, niggas like Segal Steven,
Putting MCs in, positions to prevent 'em from breathing
I'll make you question any and everything you've ever believed in
By peepin’ your deepest secrets like psychic readers,
What's the matter with ya'll? I splatter ya'll
Against the motherf---ing wall with these raw lyrics I catapult
None of ya'll got the balls big enough to battle,
I go “On & On” like Erykah Badu
A hundred times nicer than the best is
Twice as arrogant as KRS is, who wanna test this?
F--k y’all, you don’t impress me and no one can test me
An MC so ill, I got AIDS scared to catch me
All that s--t you poppin’ will stop, when I put you in a headlock,
And apply pressure until I crush your motherf---in’ noggin
I grab mics and push niggas to the left
So fast their hearts end up on the right sides of their chests
My hypothesis, is that nobody can see this
Lyrical genius, I got it sewn like a seamstress
But if you want to battle, I'm down,
If you got nine lives, I'll take eight of them off your hands right now
Step up and get your neck cut from ear to ear
If you survive, then you can cover your scar with a beard
I'm the illest from Queens to the New Jerusalem briddicks
Anyone who ain’t feeling my shittick can suck my diddick
You need to quit it, if you ain’t spittin’
More than 50 bars per minute cause you ain’t in lyrical fitness
Kickin' boring raps with metaphors that's wack
All of ya'll mothaf---as need NordiTrack
To get ya weight up, f---in’ with Canibus you get ate up
Beat down and sprayed up, just for bringing my name up
Been rockin’ longer than niggas twice my age
Back in the days, before Bob Marley was rockin’ a fade
Before Honest Abe signed the paper that freed slaves
Before Neanderthals was drawing on walls in caves
I existed, in the Garden of Eden gettin’ lifted
Stickin’ dick to Eve before she was Adam’s mistress
Before Christ created Christmas, I been in lyrical fitness
The Canibus is spittin’ ‘til he's spitless
50 bars of total sickness, you wont forget this
I'm puttin' every wack MC alive on my s--t list
Verbally vicious, telekinetically gifted
Took you a minute to exhibit that I'm sick wit’ it
Now you tell me who you think is damaging s--t
Going once, going twice
Sold to that nigga named Canibus
Me and Mr. Cheeks, A+, and Funk Doctor
Hopping out the Hue helicopter to suey chop ya
Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige - I'll Be There For You (Puff Daddy Mix)
This is definitely Method Man’s most successful, and most introspective track ever. The Wu-Tang love story as told by the Ticallion Stallion and one of the Ultimate Divas boasts Johnny Blaze’s ghetto love lyrics perfectly complimented by Mary J’s exceptionally dulcet vocals. Aside from Who Shot Ya, co-produced by the Trackmasters, this is the only song that is proof of Puffy’s competency in producing.
Shorty I'm there for you anytime you need me
For real girl it's me in your world, believe me
Nuttin' make a man feel better than a woman
Queen with a crown that be down for whatever
There are few things that's forever, my lady
We can make war or make babies
Back when I was nothin'
You made a brother feel like he was somethin'
That's why I'm with you to this day boo, no frontin'
Even when the skies were gray
You would rub me on my back and say "Baby it'll be okay"
Now that's real to a brother like me baby
Never ever give my cootie away, and keep it tight aight
And I'ma walk these dogs so we can live
In a fat ass crib with thousands of kids
Word life you don't need a ring to be my wife
Just be there for me and I'ma make sure we
Be livin in the effin lap of luxury
I'm realizing that you didn't have to funk wit' me
But you did, now I'm going all out kid
And I got mad love to give, you my nigga
Mobb Deep - Survival of the Fittest
This grim track from the QB duo of Havoc and Prodigy gets under your skin, and that’s what makes it so brilliant. Havoc’s quietly chaotic instrumental is a work of art. The record pops in the background added to it make the song’s street life lyrics seem only all the more real. It’s a crying shame that Sick of It All sacrilegiously remade Survival of the Fittest to make this song more accessible to wiggers. Prodigy’s brilliant melancholy rhymes deserve better.
There's a war goin’ on outside no man is safe from
You could run, but you can't hide forever
From these, streets that we done took
You walkin’ wit’ ya head down scared to look
You shook, cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks
They never around when the beef cooks
In my part of town, it's similar to Vietnam
Now we all grown up and old
And beyond the cop's control
They better have the riot gear ready
Trying to bag me and get rocked steady
By the mac one-double, I touch you
And leave you with not much to go home wit’
My skin is thick, cause I be up in the mix of action
If I'm not at home, puffin lye, relaxin’
New York got a nigga depressed
So I wear a slug-proof underneath my Guess
God bless my soul
Before I put my foot down and begin to stroll
Into the drama I built
And all unfinished beef, you will soon be killed
Put us together, it's like mixin’ vodka and milk
I'm goin’ out blastin’, takin’ my enemies with me
And if not, they scarred, so they will never forget me
Lord forgive me, the Hennessey got me not knowin’ how to act
I'm fallin’ and I can't turn back
Or maybe it's the words from my man Killa Black
That I can't say so it's left the untold fact
Until my death
My goal's to stay alive
Survival of the fit only the strong survive
Nas - One Love
Many years ago, a hungry Queens MC named Nasty Nas blazed the mic. His hard-hitting true to life street mentality lyrics layered over some of the illest instrumental concoctions by some of the greatest producers in the world resulted in the second greatest hip hop album of all time. The Source cited him as the next Rakim. By real hip hop heads, his album was one of the most anticipated albums of all time. The album dropped in ’94, earning its 5-mic rating from The Source. It ranked #33 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll and NME's list of the “Top 50 Albums Of 1994.”
However, at the 1995 Source Hip Hop Music Awards, Notorious BIG, despite only getting 4.5 mics from the magazine, picked up the best album of the year award for Ready to Die. That was the beginning of the end for Nasty Nas. We all know what happened after that: Trackmasters, pink suits, Puffy, and pretentious bulls—t.
But I’ve digressed; this is about prime Nasir Jones. This is One Love, featuring the greatest beat of all time, Q-Tip’s flip of The Heath Brothers’ Smiling Billy Suite Pt. 2. This five-minute plus long opus is one of those inexplicably creepy songs where you just can’t place your finger on why this song is depressing you. I can’t tell if it’s the haunting xylophones, Q-Tip’s mantra chorus, or Nas’ letter to the pen and the story of his life.
Sometimes I sit back with a buddah sack
Mind's in another world, thinking how can we exist through the facts
Written in school text books, bibles, et cetera
F--k a school lecture, the lies get me vexed-er
So I be ghost from my projects
I take my pen and pad for the week
And hittin' nails while I'm sleepin'
A two day stay, you may say, I need the time alone
To relax my dome, no phone, left the 9 at home
You see the streets have me stressed somethin' terrible
F---in’ with the corners have a nigga up in Bellevue
or H.D.M., hit with numbers from 8 to 10
A future in a maximum state pen is grim
So I comes back home, nobody's helpin' shorty doo-wop
Roll the two phillies together and the friends we call them oowops
He said, "Nas, n----s could be bustin' off the roof,
so I wear a bullet proof and pack a black tres-deuce"
He inhaled so deep, shut his eyes like he was sleep
Started coughing when I peeked to watch me speak
I sat back like the mack, my army suit was black
We was chillin' on these bitches where he pumped his loose cracks
I took an L when he passed it, this little bastard
keeps me blasted, he starts talkin' mad s--t
I had to school him, told him don't let n----s fool him
'Cause when the pistol blows that's when a murder be the cool one
Tough luck when n----s are struck, families f---ed up
Could've caught your man, but didn't look when you bucked up
Mistakes happen, so take heed never bust up
If the crowd catch him solo, make the right man bleed
Shorty's laugh was cold blooded as he spoke so foul
Only twelve, trying to tell me that he liked my style
Then I rose, wiping the blunt's ash from my clothes
Then froze only to blow the herb smoke through my nose
And told my little man that I'm a go cy prose
There's some jewels in the skull that he can sell if he chose
Words of wisdom from Nas, try to rise up above
Keep an eye out for jake, shorty what
One Love
Necro - Get on your Knees
As far as sex songs go, I could have easily put something by 2 Live Crew, Too Short’s Cocktails or even the song being sampled here, Akinyele and Crystal Johnson’s ode to oral sex, Put It In Your Mouth. But I’m sorry, I just had to pick this catchy tune because Necro knows his porno like Hank Hill knows his porno. This white rapper’s rip on the porn industry sounds refreshingly hardcore. Necro sounds exactly what Eminem aspires to, but never will be: Raw, XXX foul-mouthed, outspoken, ingenious.
When it comes to this porn s—t, you know who the master is
Bitch I'll leave Necro tagged on your ass with jizz
Sex in the ‘90s without a rubber? Yo, that’s dead
I like skinny bitches but Debbie Diamond looks like a crackhead…
…I'ma hit you with shots of cum
Kelly LeBrock didn’t know how to suck cock
But teaching her was lots of fun…
…Juggle my lizard tongue in your snatch
Lickin’ Lana Sands' tits be like licking a cutting board with two points attached
Believe me I've tried it often
My shlong almost put Nina Hartley up in a coffin
My c--k ain’t never soft
It stays solid 24/7 bom'
Ever since I f---ed Medusa clit, that snake pit turned my s--t to stone
Riz Tony ebony needs twat, be raunchy
Put a biscuit to Ginger Limbs head and forced back in the porn, G
Traci Lords don’t think you're excused, from getting further abused
Cause your torpedo shaped tits be jewels
You can't handle it, why is your slut bugging?
Don't she know she’s in for intense f---ing, sucking, and butt plugging?
When it comes to this porn s—t, yo, nothing new to me
So yo! Dionne, tell them what you f---ing do for me.
Public Enemy – 911 Is A Joke
Who else but the team of Flavor Flav and Terminator X could make an infectiously catchy party jam that doubles as a very serious social commentary? This dynamic duo’s message was simple: In case of emergencies, you’re fucked. And yes, as you breathe your last breath, you will hear Vincent Price’s cheesy laughing from Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Davey D actually posted an interesting anecdote based on this track in his newsletter a couple of months ago that I thought would be nice to share:
Back in the days when PE did their song '911 Is A Joke' which was rapped by Flavor Flav, the group came under fire from both law enforcement as well as 911 operators…
…The night that '911 Is A Joke' was recorded [January or February of 1990] myself, and several members of Public Enemy's Bomb Squad while standing in front of Green Street studios were suddenly swooped upon by 8-10 police officers on horseback and patrol cars who had us up against the wall and accused us of threatening to shoot a man. When producer Eric Saddler questioned why we were being frisked and detained one of the officers shoved Eric and told us to shut up before he got 'itchy'. He was sarcastically referring to headlines that existed in that morning’s paper about a young Brooklyn kid who was 'accidentally' shot in the back by a cop whose finger was itching.
When others PE members like Hank Shocklee and journalist Harry Allen emerged from the studio and verified who we were, the officers refused to let us go. They brought the alleged victim over and he initially told police we were the one's who pulled a gun on him. Upon further questioning he later back off that story. We were still detained while they ran background checks. It was only when some white occupants of the Green Street came out did the police finally believe it was Public Enemy members they had up against the wall. We also later found out the guy who summoned police had actually earlier that evening harassed a young Black woman by calling her 'nigger bitch' and chased her out of a nearby bar where she went to use a phone. She got scared and left her pager behind which the man took. This young woman just happened to be the girlfriend to rap star Son of Berserk who went over to the bar by himself and unbeknownst to anyone to retrieve the pager. The man had already left the bar, but upon seeing Berserk approaching he fled and flag down the police who immediately came upon the scene and detained 5 of us. No apologies were offered, the man, no weapons were found and the man who falsely accused us was let go…It was later that night that '911 Was A Joke' was recorded.
Ras Kass - The Nature of the Threat
This revolutionary examination on how the white man has kept the black man down since the beginning of time is one of my top three favorite hip hop songs ever. Had it not been for the lackluster Makaveli-type beat, it would undoubtedly be my #1. But as it is, it’s a brilliant history lesson as told by Professor Ras Kass.
In an interview with Kronick magazine, the C-Arson lyricist said this, "when I did Nature Of The Threat I wanted to do it for me. I like to freak me out; some s--t that I could at the end of the day say, “You took yourself to another level.”
I think people need to hear Nature Of The Threat. It's a shame that Priority Records didn't even release my record in Europe, but it was the #1 song in London; it was the record of the year in London. Muh' F---as in certain magazines showed that they was thirsty for information in other places. They was burnin' it like it was Puffy. That muh'f---as wanna learn some s--t somewhere else, and then here we are in the United States, the most so-called civilized nation in the world, and they don't wanna hear s--t.”
For those willing to hear the truth, I give you the philosopher of the new millennium.
Talib Kweli – The Manifesto
After hearing this joint off Lyricist Lounge: volume one, I had a feeling that hip hop had a chance to become pure again, to return to its roots. What Talib Kweli preaches here is what I want to hear more MCs doing.
From open mics to solutions, I got a collage of answers
And a ten point program just like the Black Panthers
One: First respect yourself as an artist
If you don't respect yourself then your rhymes is garbage
Two: Make sure your crew is as tight as you
‘Cause when them n----s fallin’ off, they gonna bring you down too
Three: Understand the meaning of MC
The power to move the crowd like Moses split the seas
Four: Know your s--t and don't ever be blunted
If you don't know what the words mean then your rhymes mean nothin’
Five: Kick facts in the raps, and curse with clarity
What's a curse when language is immersed in vulgarity?
Six: We gonna fix industrial poli-tricks
S—t, they made an art form out of ridin’ dicks
Seven: We soldiers for God needin’ new recruits
So if you rhymin’ for the loot, then you’s a prostitute
But Eight: Acknowledge that you need food on your plate
In order to say your grace, make sure your business is straight
Nine: We buildin’ black minds with intelligence
And when you freestyle, keep the subject matter relevant
Ten: Every MC grab a pen
And write some conscious lyrics to tell the children
I'll say it again, every MC find you a pen
And drop some conscious s--t for our children
The Manifesto.
The Roots ft. Erykah Badu and Eve - You Got Me
The Recording Academy finally did something right for once. Sadly, this also came in a night when they did the gross injustice of awarding Eminem two Grammy Awards undeservingly because they finally found a white guy to vote for in the genre as opposed to an Uncle Tom assimilationist Negro (Will Smith). Nevertheless, the highlight of that night, for me at least, was seeing this underrated hip hop group who I’d listened to since 1993 when Organix dropped pick up a long overdue Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance By Duo Or Group for You Got Me. Seeing this veteran crew get the respect they deserved for a track that was truly worthy of the supposed prestigiousness surrounding the Grammy made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
This love ballad with a grandeur chorus by soul diva Badu is easily one of the most powerfully emotional songs to ever emerge from this genre. The ever-evolving Roots once again redefine hip hop with this drum & bass track. The interplay between Black Thought and Eve is nothing short of amazing.
Too Short ft. Parliament and Funkadelic - Gettin' It
What served as Too Short’s swan song for two years is a very clever evaluation of Short Dawg’s own musical career, which offers several insightful and inspirational lyrics.
So get yours, and buy my new album
Peep the game and don't be like Calvin
Get everything you want, get real, get your mail
Get your girl to make bail and get your ass out of jail
You should be gettin’ it, everything you want
Everything you dreamed of, never have to front
You should be gettin’ it, gettin’ money
I'm talking ‘bout you black, don't laugh it ain’t funny
You should get a good lawyer, like Johnny Cochran
Swear to tell the truth, hell nah I didn't pop him
Get your kids in school, so they can get an education
Get a degree, and take a vacation.
Wu Tang Clan - Protect Ya Neck
Back in 1993, an eight-member Shaolin Island crew named The Wu-Tang Clan “struck a match to the underground, industry ignited.” The song was Protect Ya Neck, such a huge radio hit, that the only way you could get the uncensored version (Bloody Mix) was from the 12’. Inspektah Deck, Raekwon, Method Man, U-God, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah, RZA, and Genius each took turns blazing the mics with fiery intensity over a brilliantly minimalist RZA beat that is only complimented by the kung fu radio edit censors. The track is groundbreaking because it marked the beginning of an era.
Honorable Mentions (Dignifying Myself)
A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour
Ahmad, Ras Kass, & Saafir – Come Widdit
Big L - Ebonics
Biz Markee - Studda Step
Black Star ft. Common - Respiration
Bush Babees ft. Mos Def & De La Soul - Love Song (Remix)
Cocoa Brovaz ft. Mr. Cheeks – Super Brookyln
Common - I Used To Love H.E.R.
De La Soul - Me, Myself, and I
DJ Honda ft. Mos Def - Travellin' Man
Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full
Gang Starr ft. Nice & Smooth - DWYCK
Grandmaster Flash - The Message
Jay-Z ft. Notorious BIG – Brookyln’s Finest
Leaders of the New School – Spontaneous (13 MC’s Deep)
Main Source ft. Akinyele, Joe Fatal, & Nas - Live At The Barbeque
Mobb Deep ft. Big Noyd & Rakim – Hoodlum
N.W.A. – Fuck Tha Police
Naughty By Nature - Craziest
Notorious BIG - Who Shot Ya
O.C. - Time's Up
Ozomatli - Cut Chemist Suite
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
Pharcyde - Passin' Me By
Run DMC – Sucker MCs
Scarface - I Seen A Man Die
Slick Rick – Children’s Story
Special Ed - Never Go Back
Tha Alkaholiks - Daamn
The Roots - Clones
- © 2000 by Donlee Brussel
As the organizer, I probably should've said something important about the genre of hip hop, something to mark the revolution taking place in music today, but that's just not my style. I'm simply going to tell you to check out the other participants' articles who I've no doubt shamed with my own:
Andrew_Hicks
beast003
botsybaby
chewychin
knix
kristinafh
Lambira
Lars_Lindahl
Mike_Bracken
Psychovant
SpookyMonkey
Suburbia25
Y2JmcDohl
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Donlee_Brussel
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 277 members
About Me:
The best movie, music, and book reviews written by a Chinese Jew on Epinions, ever.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.