Lambira's 23 Favorite Hip-Hop Songs (Write-off)
Sep 05 '00
This is my belated entry into Master Donlee Brussel’s Top hip-hop songs of all time write-off. For, ahem, brevity’s sake (and because I ran out of energy, and this was getting super-long) I’ve limited it to my top 23. After soaking in my brilliance, please visit the other participants, who include:
Andrew_Hicks
beast003
botsybaby
chewychin
chezon
docmyst
knix
kristinafh
Lars_Lindahl
Mike_Bracken
Psychovant
SpookyMonkey
Suburbia25
Y2JmcDohl
Why you should care what I consider the top 20 rap/hip-hop songs of all time? I can’t really answer that; and in fact, of this entire group of merry writeoffers, I am without a doubt the most unhip. But it was not always that way. As a student at the University Of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the late ‘80’s/early 90’s, I was something of a trailblazer: the first female DJ on campus. My illustrious career began one night at a place that I tended bar as a sophomore as I listened to some frat boy yob ‘Getting The Led Out’ for the bazillionth time in a row. Frustrated, I marched up to the manager and said, “I can play better music than THIS jackass.” He gave me an hour to run home and grab my CDs and a half hour to learn the equipment. I spun tunes the rest of the night, and the bar patrons voted on my fate to the tune of The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” by shouting in response to the part of that verse that they agreed with.
I stayed. Yes, I played my share of bad music (one of my lower points included introducing Grunge Night--Wednesdays, two-for-one 32 oz beers). But I felt more than a measure of pride when the University of Illinois basketball team used to come in on my nights and dance. The players derived no end of merriment from me, a suburbs-raised white chick spinning good tunes. Occasionally they’d drag me with them to dance clubs and after-hours bars, where I’d listen to freestyle competitions and old school rap. (Of course, at that time it wasn’t OLD, it was just SCHOOL).
After college I moved to Chicago and continued to spin at bars in the city; I was dating another DJ and working and boozing every night. I finally quit when I realized that due to my lifestyle, I hadn’t seen sunshine in nearly two weeks. I was facing the crossroads of either going deep, getting sucked in and staying in the bar lifestyle forever, or straightening out, quitting smoking, and joining society with a real, responsible job.
Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view)I chose the latter. Now that you know my ‘credentials’, if it matters, here are my choices for the top 23 rap songs, for a multitude of different reasons. Many of them I will probably not explain very well. But it’s MY list, in no particular order, so deal with it.
1. The Sugarhill Gang- Rapper’s Delight Any list of rap/hiphop songs HAS to start with the Sugarhill Gang, credited as being the father of rap as we know it. Disco, to be sure, but, but with a rap delivery and sensibility.
2. NWA- Express Yourself A list of great hiphop/rap songs cannot be complete without including NWA. Love them or hate them, NWA gave us Easy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr Dre before they went their separate ways (Easy later died of AIDS). Express Yourself, although a deceptively lighthearted offering from the band that gave us F**k Tha Police, brought Dre to the mike(although his rhymes about remaining drug-free seem comical since he subsequently released1996’s drug-soakedThe Chronic), while stealing an infectious hook from the classic Charles Wright & The 103rd Street Band song of the same name.
3. Ice Cube - It Was A Very Good Day Since I’ve never lived in the ‘hood, it probably sounds hypocritical for me to say that this song seems to accurately portray a day in the life of a stereotypical gangster. But Ice’s lazy-hazy rapping style combined with the spare, guitar-driven melodies make it a classic even if it didn’t perfectly capture the sensibility of that lifestyle. Or what the outside world thinks that lifestyle is like.
4. Ice-T- New Jack Hustler Er, ditto above. But where Cube is laid-back, T is frenetic, driving, challenging. The masses seemed confused: what’s with these two Ice guys? The fact that they both turned to acting didn’t help. New Jack Hustler is the better known, although not necessarily the better, song. My money is always on Cube.
5. Eric B & Rakim - Paid In Full - Sadly, this song’s hook will live forever in infamy, having been horribly misappropriated by Milli Vanilli. But the multilayered samples and beat changes in this homage to money is just hella catchy -- Eric B and Rakim will always rock.
6. Public Enemy - Bring The Noise PE is my all time favorite rap group, for their passion, their lyrical skills, and just because Flavor Flav is such a freak. I could have picked 911 Is A Joke or Burn Hollywood Burn as being more representative of PE’s mission and message. But Bring The Noise is just the shit. NOBODY raps like Chuck D. And I like the original version better than the one done years later with Anthrax, and I speak from firsthand knowledge as one of only a handful of women who went to the PE/Anthrax concert and stayed for the whole thing. And with VH-1: are they getting better or am I just aging into the demographic? Is the fact that PE has their very own Behind The Music justice, or tragedy?
7. Urban Dance Squad - Deeper Shade Of Soul One of my greatest regrets is that although I have the UDS album that features this song (and believe me, the term ‘one-hit wonder is a perfect fit) it pains me to no end that I can’t find anywhere, not even on Napster, the single version that features tons of funky, Fishbone-esque horns. This song used to be my signature, back in the day. It always got people dancing. I should have stolen that LP when I graduated.
8. Beastie Boys - Professor Booty What to pick, what to pick. I adore the Beastie Boys, although I hate most of Licensed To Ill. Although Paul’s Boutique is unquestionably the better album, I go with Booty from Check Your Head because I like the progression of the song: it sort of reminds me of a vortex, sucking you deeper and deeper into it until the unceremonious beat-box end.
9. Jay-Z - Canigeta (the R-rated version) This is one of the few newer artists that I have on my list, because I don’t really listen much to the radio anymore unless it’s NPR. But again, it sticks with you with a great beat, impressive use of the F-word, and hilariously shallow lyrics. Even that horrible-baby-doll sounding Amil doesn’t bother me here.
10. Rob Base - It Takes Two Many of my favorites make great use of funk classics, and this one borrows hooks and beats from The Female Preacher Lyn Collins’ rocking anthem Think. Even though this song is pretty silly, if you’re of a certain age, you MUST dance when you hear it.
11. Run-DMC - Tricky This beat is my recital/I think it’s very vital/To rock a rhyme that’s right on time... Gotta love those fat rhymin’ bastards. And they were WAY ahead of their time with the whole Adidas tracksuit thing.
12. Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) With a melancholy combination of deep bass riffs, muted trumpets, and soft-voiced rapping, this is a funky, haunting, laid-back treat.
13. De La Soul - Buddy Another tough choice; to this day, I still listen to 3 Feet High And Rising regularly. Although I like every song on this album I go with the ode to the penis because of the presence of the Jungle Brothers and Q-Tip (whose voice is one of my all time favorites) from A Tribe Called Quest. Buy 3 Feet High for hits like My Myself And I, and The Magic Number; stay for Jenifa Taught Me, Eye Know, and Potholes In My Lawn.
14. Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing) Since we’re on the funky kick here, I’ll take a moment to give a nod to Lauryn, who so brilliantly blended soul, rap, funk, some new-agey empowerment, a power ballad, and a little bit of everything else on this song from The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill.
15. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message The porn-y synthesizers make the lyrics sound deceptively campy on the surface, but the measured delivery of the refrain Don’t push me cause/I’m close to the edge/I’m trying not to/lose my head coupled with the use of sarcastic laughter in time with the beat drive home the Master’s message.
16. UFTO- Roxanne Roxanne I just can’t explain why I put this one on. The voices are goofy, the lyrics are kind of pointless, the chorus jarring. But I like it because it’s a showcase of a voice unadorned and uncovered, presented as an instrument, whether you like that particular voice or not.
17. Arrested Development - Tennessee More funky/spiritual/message-oriented grooves. To bad they had to follow it up with the completely irritating Mr. Wendall before they faded gently into obscurity.
18. Geto Boys – Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta - I wrote about this song on my Office Space soundtrack review, and I still like it here because of the special appearance by the President of The United States of America.
19. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg - Gin And Juice ‘Cause I loves the Dogg, and I loves the Gin and Juice.
20. Salt –n- Pepa – Let’s Talk About Sex An ode to female sexual empowerment, which I am rooting for all the way. And fun to listen to.
21. LL Cool J. - Going Back To Cali Ladies love cool James, and I am no exception. I almost picked Rock The Bells, but in the end, I had to go with this one because it’s just frivolous fun with one of the most memorable beats in all of rap.
22. The Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours For no other reason than I played it hundreds of times and never got sick of it.
23. Kurtis Blow- Basketball Did this inspire Master P to try out for the NBA? Who knows. But basketballers have always dreamed of being rappers, and vice versa. This song is an homage to the true great American sport. Screw the NFL.
I’m running out of steam here, so I will end this now. Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to check out the others’ lists. Have a lovely day.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Lambira
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: bumble
Reviews written: 133
Trusted by: 305 members
About Me:
Finicky and allergy-ridden, I often display a holier-than-thou attitude to compensate for a boring life.
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.