This post is going to be about the top 10 greatest rap songs of all time. I am going to be using three things as criteria; impact in Hip Hop history, technicality of the song, and how commercially successful the song was and has been. There are dozens of great hip hop songs that have been released in the last 30 something years since Hip Hop was birthed, but I had to narrow them down to just 10 songs. Trust me, it was a hard task.
Now, here goes the list, in no particular order.
1. Rapper's Delight (Sugar Hill Gang)
So many rappers have used the beat of this song over the years, and it just always comes out sounding fresh. This song is like the first ever commercial rap song. It was released in 1979 by the Sugar Hill Gang, before a lot of people listening to rap music today were born, but till this day, the song still makes you nod your head when it comes on. You can't talk about Hip Hop's history without mentioning this song.
2. Ruff Ryders Anthem (DMX)
Released by a fairly unknown DMX in 1998. As soon as the song hit radio (Internet wasn't what it is right now), DMX's career took off. I mean, the beat, DMX's voice and delivery was something people had never really heard before. X had a cult following afterwards, and there was so much demand for his music that his label released two albums from him in the same year (It's Dark And Hell Is Hot, and Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood- both released in 1998). The remix to the song was released the following year, and it featured his fellow Ruff Ryders members- Jadakiss, Drag-On, Eve, and Styles P.
3. Hate Me Now (Nas feat. Puff Daddy)
At the beginning of the song, Puffy said- "Escobar's season has returned," referring to Nas...He couldn't have put it any better. Three years had gone by after his last album, and Nas has losing relevance in Hip Hop, but this song brought him back in a big way. People heard the song would feature Puff and thought it would be a normal Bad Boy kinda song, but it hit harder than expected. It became a street anthem as well as commercial success. The song was released in 1999, off Nas's third album, I Am. Hate Me Now is arguably the biggest song of Nas's career.
4. Regulate (Warren G feat. Nate Dogg)
This song had cool rap delivery and smooth singing mixed perfectly together. At the time, people were used to hearing the very gangster street oriented songs from the west coast, but this was something totally different. I guess that's why it became such a great song. Warren G was still rapping about the street life, and Nate Dogg was harmonizing/singing about the street life, but they did it in a very smooth way. The song was on the soundtrack of the movie, Above the Rim and was released in the summer of 1994.
5. Mind Playing Ticks on Me (Geto Boys)
The biggest song from Scarface's group, Geto Boys from back in the early 90s. You listen to the song, and the rappers are actually saying something. This was played a lot on the radio back in the day, and when I hear it played as an oldschool song today, it still sounds as fresh. The song is so good that you wish there was another verse after the last verse. If you haven't heard it, you should. You would love the laid back beat. It was released in 1991, off Geto Boys third album, We Can't Be Stopped.
6. Still D.R.E (Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg)
Dre had been away for almost half a decade. Of cos he was still doing things in the background, but he wasn't as big as he once was. He reunited with his old buddie, Snoop Dogg, and they created this gem. The piano sound continuously playing on the beat will stay registered in your head forever after the first time you hear this song, and the beat will just keep you nodding your head, in a feel good way. The dynamic duo were back, after having a fall out in the mid 90s, and it just was right timing. Dre just basically blessed us with his god-flow, narrating what he had been up to since the last time we heard from him. The song was released in 1999, off Dre's Chronic 2001 album.
7. Hit Em Up (Tupac feat. Outlawz)
This is top 3 greatest diss tracks in Hip Hop history. Tupac came at Biggie with so much energy and venom on this son, that the song became bigger than just a diss track. It even had girls rapping along to it. People weren't used to rappers calling out other rappers names on diss songs, so the song was a real big deal when it was released. Tupac gained so much more fans after the song, as he was seen as fearless, and super macho. It was released in June of 1996, three months before Tupac was killed in Las Vegas.
8. Who Am I: What's My Name? (Snopp Dogg)
Arguably the biggest song of Snoop's career. This was back when Snoop went by the name, Snopp Doggy Dogg. Although Snoop had been all over Dre's album (Chronic) the year before, this song, which was his first single off Doggy Style made him a household name. The song was released in 1993, and it was one of the biggest party songs of that year.
9. Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See (Busta Rhymes)
Busta Rhymes had always been known as the crazy loud rapper, till he came with this song. His smooth, rapid flow delivery was very catchy, and different from his normal style. A change he would later disclose was influenced by something Puff Daddy had said to him. The song had a catchy beat, and the fact that he used words that rhymed to end every line in each of the two verses on the song made it a game changer. It was widely successful, selling over 2 million copies. It was released in 1997, off Busta's second album, When Disaster Strikes.
10. Express Yourself (N.W.A)
This song showed the world N.W.A wasn't all about songs like F$#k the Police and similar songs like that. It had a nice melody to it, and was performed majorly by Dr. Dre. It was released in 1989 as the last single off the group's debut album, Straight Outta Compton. It sampled a pop song of the same title, and was one of N.W.A's most radio friendly songs of their career.
As I said, the songs were too many, and I had to cut some out to make it a list of ten. I would like to share the honorary mentions...My Name Is (Eminem), Mo Money, Mo Problems (Biggie feat. Mase and Puff Daddy), California Love (Tupac feat. Dr. Dre), Izzo (Jay Z), All About the Benjamins (Puff Daddy feat The L.O.X, Lil Kim, and Biggie), Doing It (LL Cool J)...
Now, here goes the list, in no particular order.
1. Rapper's Delight (Sugar Hill Gang)So many rappers have used the beat of this song over the years, and it just always comes out sounding fresh. This song is like the first ever commercial rap song. It was released in 1979 by the Sugar Hill Gang, before a lot of people listening to rap music today were born, but till this day, the song still makes you nod your head when it comes on. You can't talk about Hip Hop's history without mentioning this song.
2. Ruff Ryders Anthem (DMX)Released by a fairly unknown DMX in 1998. As soon as the song hit radio (Internet wasn't what it is right now), DMX's career took off. I mean, the beat, DMX's voice and delivery was something people had never really heard before. X had a cult following afterwards, and there was so much demand for his music that his label released two albums from him in the same year (It's Dark And Hell Is Hot, and Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood- both released in 1998). The remix to the song was released the following year, and it featured his fellow Ruff Ryders members- Jadakiss, Drag-On, Eve, and Styles P.
3. Hate Me Now (Nas feat. Puff Daddy)At the beginning of the song, Puffy said- "Escobar's season has returned," referring to Nas...He couldn't have put it any better. Three years had gone by after his last album, and Nas has losing relevance in Hip Hop, but this song brought him back in a big way. People heard the song would feature Puff and thought it would be a normal Bad Boy kinda song, but it hit harder than expected. It became a street anthem as well as commercial success. The song was released in 1999, off Nas's third album, I Am. Hate Me Now is arguably the biggest song of Nas's career.
4. Regulate (Warren G feat. Nate Dogg)This song had cool rap delivery and smooth singing mixed perfectly together. At the time, people were used to hearing the very gangster street oriented songs from the west coast, but this was something totally different. I guess that's why it became such a great song. Warren G was still rapping about the street life, and Nate Dogg was harmonizing/singing about the street life, but they did it in a very smooth way. The song was on the soundtrack of the movie, Above the Rim and was released in the summer of 1994.
5. Mind Playing Ticks on Me (Geto Boys)The biggest song from Scarface's group, Geto Boys from back in the early 90s. You listen to the song, and the rappers are actually saying something. This was played a lot on the radio back in the day, and when I hear it played as an oldschool song today, it still sounds as fresh. The song is so good that you wish there was another verse after the last verse. If you haven't heard it, you should. You would love the laid back beat. It was released in 1991, off Geto Boys third album, We Can't Be Stopped.
6. Still D.R.E (Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg)Dre had been away for almost half a decade. Of cos he was still doing things in the background, but he wasn't as big as he once was. He reunited with his old buddie, Snoop Dogg, and they created this gem. The piano sound continuously playing on the beat will stay registered in your head forever after the first time you hear this song, and the beat will just keep you nodding your head, in a feel good way. The dynamic duo were back, after having a fall out in the mid 90s, and it just was right timing. Dre just basically blessed us with his god-flow, narrating what he had been up to since the last time we heard from him. The song was released in 1999, off Dre's Chronic 2001 album.
7. Hit Em Up (Tupac feat. Outlawz) This is top 3 greatest diss tracks in Hip Hop history. Tupac came at Biggie with so much energy and venom on this son, that the song became bigger than just a diss track. It even had girls rapping along to it. People weren't used to rappers calling out other rappers names on diss songs, so the song was a real big deal when it was released. Tupac gained so much more fans after the song, as he was seen as fearless, and super macho. It was released in June of 1996, three months before Tupac was killed in Las Vegas.
8. Who Am I: What's My Name? (Snopp Dogg)Arguably the biggest song of Snoop's career. This was back when Snoop went by the name, Snopp Doggy Dogg. Although Snoop had been all over Dre's album (Chronic) the year before, this song, which was his first single off Doggy Style made him a household name. The song was released in 1993, and it was one of the biggest party songs of that year.
9. Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See (Busta Rhymes)Busta Rhymes had always been known as the crazy loud rapper, till he came with this song. His smooth, rapid flow delivery was very catchy, and different from his normal style. A change he would later disclose was influenced by something Puff Daddy had said to him. The song had a catchy beat, and the fact that he used words that rhymed to end every line in each of the two verses on the song made it a game changer. It was widely successful, selling over 2 million copies. It was released in 1997, off Busta's second album, When Disaster Strikes.
10. Express Yourself (N.W.A)This song showed the world N.W.A wasn't all about songs like F$#k the Police and similar songs like that. It had a nice melody to it, and was performed majorly by Dr. Dre. It was released in 1989 as the last single off the group's debut album, Straight Outta Compton. It sampled a pop song of the same title, and was one of N.W.A's most radio friendly songs of their career.
As I said, the songs were too many, and I had to cut some out to make it a list of ten. I would like to share the honorary mentions...My Name Is (Eminem), Mo Money, Mo Problems (Biggie feat. Mase and Puff Daddy), California Love (Tupac feat. Dr. Dre), Izzo (Jay Z), All About the Benjamins (Puff Daddy feat The L.O.X, Lil Kim, and Biggie), Doing It (LL Cool J)...
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