The first official single from T.I. since his release finds the rapper right where we left him. The song is pure T.I., it's good to see prison didn't change a playa.
Showing posts with label T.I.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label T.I.. Show all posts
Friday, March 12, 2010
New Hotness: "I'm Back"
The first official single from T.I. since his release finds the rapper right where we left him. The song is pure T.I., it's good to see prison didn't change a playa.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
New Hotness: "Guilty"
Ur-shur baby. I cannot wait for Raymond v. Raymond, because if anyone can get it poppin' it's Usher. This song is pretty hot, and it features one of T.I.'s first post-prison raps.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The 100 greatest Hip-Hop songs of the 2000's: 1-10
1. "99 Problems" - Jay-Z
How do you defend the statement of claiming one song to be greater than all others? It's not easy. You could approach it from a cultural standpoint; trying to determine what song had the largest impact on our pop culture. You could consider artistic merit and aesthetics, two factors most people don't even consider when they think about Hip-Hop. Really, when you break it down, it has to be great for greatness sake. Great as in powerful. Great as in dominant. Great as in the fiery bellows of the greatest MC of the decade, in vicious top-form from a self-imposed fictional retirement. Great as in Rick Rubin, who here delivers a beat so other-worldly and unique that we have to question where the hell it came from. Great as in hands down the purest slice of Hip-Hop nostalgia in years that at the same time sounds years beyond 2003. When it comes down to it, I guess I had to ask myself, "Would it be right to put any song above this one?" Guess not.
2: "B.O.B." - OutKast
A lot of rock critics are saying now that the fusion of Hip-Hop and electronic dance music into the gelatinous pop-like substance we consume now was inevitable, fueled by the TRL generation. Unfortunately they and a large number of other "hipster-types" (i.e. people that can't dance) deride our modern booty music as unrefined and low-cultured. How wrong they are. If only they weren't total losers they would know that the Akons and J.R. Rotems of the world owe their Bugati's to "Bomb's Over Baghdad", a bombastic techno-rap that's so advanced and beyond comprehension I swear it was sent from the future. A Miami-Bass injected, dancefloor-drenched boogie anthem about a war that wouldn't start for another three years that ends chanting "Power music, electric revival!" To listen to this song is to hear the next ten years of Pop and Hip-Hop in five minutes. How did they do that?
3: "A Milli" - Lil' Wayne
The changes between 2000 and 2010 are pretty huge, and if you hear something in 2010 it's probably gonna sound more like "A Milli" than "B.O.B." Just a screwed up vocal sample, chopped up real quick with a simple yet sinister bass and snare. The staples of Southern Hip-Hop. So why "A Milli"? Because a beat like this puts it all on the rapper, and in 2008 there was no better rapper than Lil' Wayne. "A Milli" was an album stand in for every mixtape track Wayne had done in the years leading up to Tha Carter III; straight freestyle rapping, no hook. Without any of the frills of modern pop production Lil' Wayne made one of the most impactful singles of the decade with no chorus to speak off. Ask any geek off the street and he can probably rap the whole thing back to you.
4: "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.
There's something so intoxicating to American ears about international sounds bent into American genres. When we hear South Africans battle rapping in crazy afro-dutch accents we realize just how far our little hometown hero Hip-Hop has come since 1973 in the Bronx. M.I.A. was hyped up before her 2005 debut as an Indie savior of dance and Hip-Hop. It wasn't until her sophomore album Kala that her real success came, when she transformed her early multi-cultural jam vibe into a gritty, third world envisioning of American pop music. "Paper Planes" is the albums highlight and heart, a towering slab of funked-out rap that's half swagger and half satire. The snaps and thumps of the beat owe themselves to Southern Rap, but the international subject and starlet elevate this song into something bigger than the sum of its parts. By the time little Maya taunts "Some I murder, some I let go", you feel like Tupac in '95: Untouchable.
5: "What You Know" - T.I.
Southern Hip-Hop has been a lot of things, but most of the time its been almost a second tier genre. Throughout the 90s Hip-Hop's focus was on the coasts, and artists from New York and California were the ones bankrolled by major labels. They got the freshest beats and the videos with high production values. Southern MCs relied on soul samples or crude electro beats (think Goodie Mob and Mannie Fresh, respectively), while they formed their own independent labels. Wouldn't you know that this model set the stage for the influx of diversity in rap in the 2000s, and now Southern MCs dominate the landscape. What was (and still is) a challenge is adapting the Southern sound to the ever homogenized dance music of the Billboard charts. Words used to describe the dirty south of old might be "dusty", "funky", or "ghetto". "What You Know" conjures words like "regal", "epic", and "awesome". T.I., Atlanta trap superstar who started out rapping about rims, creates a track that rocks as hard as any Metallica song and is just as precise. Transforming the dirty dirty to the high and mighty.
6: "Hate It Or Love It" - The Game feat. 50 Cent
Nostalgia is huge part of Hip-Hop. The debates about "realness", or what constitutes real Hip-Hop, are tied up in the past. Old schoolers claim that what's on the radio isn't real rap. Guys from the 90s get pissed when you call them old school. The young MCs cite Jay-Z as Hip-Hop history. So when contemporary artists pay tribute, or make concessions, to the earlier days the results almost always take you back to simpler times, even if you weren't around for them. If Game really wants to be Dr. Dre, then this is his "Express Yourself"; a song imbued with positivity despite the reality of the rap interfere. Put this on at your next party and count the smiles.
7: "Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell
The Neptunes had to work with a lot of people before they found the one voice perfectly suited for their spaced-out electro funk. At a time when rap radio was yelling at you to "Lean Back" and "Get Low", things got real quiet whenever "Drop It Like It's Hot" came on. Over the deepest beat they ever made the Neptunes and Snoop make some strange magic here, with Snoop's threats and street language swallowed whole by the beat's echoing hugeness. As soon as this track was everywhere, imitators came running with quiet storm beats, but it just wasn't the same. If you need an example of perfect chemistry in 21st century rap, look no furthur than Snoop and the Neptunes.
8: "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)" - Nelly
Something I asked myself a lot in writing this list was, "how did this happen?" How did we get to the point of rap being just another aisle in Tower Records to having Hip-Hop pop, Hip-Hop culture? Hell, some would say we have a Hip-Hop president. If I had to pick a turning point for the tide of Hip-Hop in America, it would be this song. At the beginning of this new millenium, a young man was given unto the world, and his name was Nelly. He had a song called "Country Grammar", built around a grade-school jump rope rhyme and sing-song rapped at super speeds. He wasn't from New York or California, he wasn't even from Atlanta. He was from...St. Louis? His music video had all these crazy hood people, and rims, and fried chicken! This was not the same old music we'd always heard. It was new, and most importantly it was distinct. This song blew the roof off regional rap; finally audiences were ready for something new. In the song, Nelly shouts out nearly every city across America, and finishes with "getting paid off this country grammar." Thus the definition of regional rap in the 2000s.
9: "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" - UGK feat. OutKast
This song, more than anything else, reminds us of what we don't have in contemporary Hip-Hop. The passing of Pimp C just months after this song was released made it so UGK would never have a single like this again. This was the biggest song they'd released since "Big Pimpin'" came out nearly ten years earlier, and a chance at fame was finally theirs. OutKast makes one of their first real Hip-Hop songs in five years, and their abscense from the Top Ten can be felt. Three 6 Mafia crafts a beat for Southern Soul purists that sounds more like Motown than Cash Money. In so many ways, this is the music we're not getting; souled out slow jams about marraige and fidelity, and also pimpin and poppin tags. This song should have launched UGK into the stratosphere, but there's no UGK left. RIP to the Pimp.
10: "Daylight" - Aesop Rock
Where are the descendants of Aesop? Where are the legions of high-functioning MCs gracing the covers of indie music mags, spitting dense cerebral lyrics to art-crowd white boy fans? In 2000 it seemed that they would be everywhere, saving Hip-Hop from itself. Aesop's label, Definitive Jux, was supposed to be the vessel, delivering a cadre of post-modern rappers. So where is alternative Hip-Hop in 2010? Jurassic 5 broke up, Black Star still only has one album, and just last month El-P stepped down as director of Def Jux, the label he founded in 1999. The idea was that indie rap would coexist alongside mainstream rap, but just look around. The scores of underground MCs still exist, but they no longer strive for a unified aesthetic. Instead they try harder and harder to sound like everybody else. This great rap movement never came, but Aesop Rock's 2001 album Labor Days is its high-water mark. "Daylight" is a song imbued with the raw passion that separated these alternative MCs from the flock. It's a shame this didn't blow up, because its one of the greatest Hip-Hop songs of all time.
How do you defend the statement of claiming one song to be greater than all others? It's not easy. You could approach it from a cultural standpoint; trying to determine what song had the largest impact on our pop culture. You could consider artistic merit and aesthetics, two factors most people don't even consider when they think about Hip-Hop. Really, when you break it down, it has to be great for greatness sake. Great as in powerful. Great as in dominant. Great as in the fiery bellows of the greatest MC of the decade, in vicious top-form from a self-imposed fictional retirement. Great as in Rick Rubin, who here delivers a beat so other-worldly and unique that we have to question where the hell it came from. Great as in hands down the purest slice of Hip-Hop nostalgia in years that at the same time sounds years beyond 2003. When it comes down to it, I guess I had to ask myself, "Would it be right to put any song above this one?" Guess not.
2: "B.O.B." - OutKast
A lot of rock critics are saying now that the fusion of Hip-Hop and electronic dance music into the gelatinous pop-like substance we consume now was inevitable, fueled by the TRL generation. Unfortunately they and a large number of other "hipster-types" (i.e. people that can't dance) deride our modern booty music as unrefined and low-cultured. How wrong they are. If only they weren't total losers they would know that the Akons and J.R. Rotems of the world owe their Bugati's to "Bomb's Over Baghdad", a bombastic techno-rap that's so advanced and beyond comprehension I swear it was sent from the future. A Miami-Bass injected, dancefloor-drenched boogie anthem about a war that wouldn't start for another three years that ends chanting "Power music, electric revival!" To listen to this song is to hear the next ten years of Pop and Hip-Hop in five minutes. How did they do that?
3: "A Milli" - Lil' Wayne
The changes between 2000 and 2010 are pretty huge, and if you hear something in 2010 it's probably gonna sound more like "A Milli" than "B.O.B." Just a screwed up vocal sample, chopped up real quick with a simple yet sinister bass and snare. The staples of Southern Hip-Hop. So why "A Milli"? Because a beat like this puts it all on the rapper, and in 2008 there was no better rapper than Lil' Wayne. "A Milli" was an album stand in for every mixtape track Wayne had done in the years leading up to Tha Carter III; straight freestyle rapping, no hook. Without any of the frills of modern pop production Lil' Wayne made one of the most impactful singles of the decade with no chorus to speak off. Ask any geek off the street and he can probably rap the whole thing back to you.
4: "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.
There's something so intoxicating to American ears about international sounds bent into American genres. When we hear South Africans battle rapping in crazy afro-dutch accents we realize just how far our little hometown hero Hip-Hop has come since 1973 in the Bronx. M.I.A. was hyped up before her 2005 debut as an Indie savior of dance and Hip-Hop. It wasn't until her sophomore album Kala that her real success came, when she transformed her early multi-cultural jam vibe into a gritty, third world envisioning of American pop music. "Paper Planes" is the albums highlight and heart, a towering slab of funked-out rap that's half swagger and half satire. The snaps and thumps of the beat owe themselves to Southern Rap, but the international subject and starlet elevate this song into something bigger than the sum of its parts. By the time little Maya taunts "Some I murder, some I let go", you feel like Tupac in '95: Untouchable.
5: "What You Know" - T.I.
Southern Hip-Hop has been a lot of things, but most of the time its been almost a second tier genre. Throughout the 90s Hip-Hop's focus was on the coasts, and artists from New York and California were the ones bankrolled by major labels. They got the freshest beats and the videos with high production values. Southern MCs relied on soul samples or crude electro beats (think Goodie Mob and Mannie Fresh, respectively), while they formed their own independent labels. Wouldn't you know that this model set the stage for the influx of diversity in rap in the 2000s, and now Southern MCs dominate the landscape. What was (and still is) a challenge is adapting the Southern sound to the ever homogenized dance music of the Billboard charts. Words used to describe the dirty south of old might be "dusty", "funky", or "ghetto". "What You Know" conjures words like "regal", "epic", and "awesome". T.I., Atlanta trap superstar who started out rapping about rims, creates a track that rocks as hard as any Metallica song and is just as precise. Transforming the dirty dirty to the high and mighty.
6: "Hate It Or Love It" - The Game feat. 50 Cent
Nostalgia is huge part of Hip-Hop. The debates about "realness", or what constitutes real Hip-Hop, are tied up in the past. Old schoolers claim that what's on the radio isn't real rap. Guys from the 90s get pissed when you call them old school. The young MCs cite Jay-Z as Hip-Hop history. So when contemporary artists pay tribute, or make concessions, to the earlier days the results almost always take you back to simpler times, even if you weren't around for them. If Game really wants to be Dr. Dre, then this is his "Express Yourself"; a song imbued with positivity despite the reality of the rap interfere. Put this on at your next party and count the smiles.
7: "Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell
The Neptunes had to work with a lot of people before they found the one voice perfectly suited for their spaced-out electro funk. At a time when rap radio was yelling at you to "Lean Back" and "Get Low", things got real quiet whenever "Drop It Like It's Hot" came on. Over the deepest beat they ever made the Neptunes and Snoop make some strange magic here, with Snoop's threats and street language swallowed whole by the beat's echoing hugeness. As soon as this track was everywhere, imitators came running with quiet storm beats, but it just wasn't the same. If you need an example of perfect chemistry in 21st century rap, look no furthur than Snoop and the Neptunes.
8: "Country Grammar (Hot Shit)" - Nelly
Something I asked myself a lot in writing this list was, "how did this happen?" How did we get to the point of rap being just another aisle in Tower Records to having Hip-Hop pop, Hip-Hop culture? Hell, some would say we have a Hip-Hop president. If I had to pick a turning point for the tide of Hip-Hop in America, it would be this song. At the beginning of this new millenium, a young man was given unto the world, and his name was Nelly. He had a song called "Country Grammar", built around a grade-school jump rope rhyme and sing-song rapped at super speeds. He wasn't from New York or California, he wasn't even from Atlanta. He was from...St. Louis? His music video had all these crazy hood people, and rims, and fried chicken! This was not the same old music we'd always heard. It was new, and most importantly it was distinct. This song blew the roof off regional rap; finally audiences were ready for something new. In the song, Nelly shouts out nearly every city across America, and finishes with "getting paid off this country grammar." Thus the definition of regional rap in the 2000s.
9: "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" - UGK feat. OutKast
This song, more than anything else, reminds us of what we don't have in contemporary Hip-Hop. The passing of Pimp C just months after this song was released made it so UGK would never have a single like this again. This was the biggest song they'd released since "Big Pimpin'" came out nearly ten years earlier, and a chance at fame was finally theirs. OutKast makes one of their first real Hip-Hop songs in five years, and their abscense from the Top Ten can be felt. Three 6 Mafia crafts a beat for Southern Soul purists that sounds more like Motown than Cash Money. In so many ways, this is the music we're not getting; souled out slow jams about marraige and fidelity, and also pimpin and poppin tags. This song should have launched UGK into the stratosphere, but there's no UGK left. RIP to the Pimp.
10: "Daylight" - Aesop Rock
Where are the descendants of Aesop? Where are the legions of high-functioning MCs gracing the covers of indie music mags, spitting dense cerebral lyrics to art-crowd white boy fans? In 2000 it seemed that they would be everywhere, saving Hip-Hop from itself. Aesop's label, Definitive Jux, was supposed to be the vessel, delivering a cadre of post-modern rappers. So where is alternative Hip-Hop in 2010? Jurassic 5 broke up, Black Star still only has one album, and just last month El-P stepped down as director of Def Jux, the label he founded in 1999. The idea was that indie rap would coexist alongside mainstream rap, but just look around. The scores of underground MCs still exist, but they no longer strive for a unified aesthetic. Instead they try harder and harder to sound like everybody else. This great rap movement never came, but Aesop Rock's 2001 album Labor Days is its high-water mark. "Daylight" is a song imbued with the raw passion that separated these alternative MCs from the flock. It's a shame this didn't blow up, because its one of the greatest Hip-Hop songs of all time.
Friday, January 29, 2010
The 100 greatest Hip-Hop songs of the 2000's: 21-30
21: "Oh Boy" - Cam'ron feat. Juelz Santana
If things had worked out differently, Cam'ron could have been 50 Cent, the Diplomats could have been G-Unit. Cam was cursed with bad luck, his group dissolved around him, Rocafella dropped him, and his stock in the rap world plummeted. This doesn't mean Cam'ron didn't produce some of the most interesting rap of the decade; both Come Home With Me and Purple Haze are stellar albums. What it does mean is that we may have had a chance to have a lot more Cam'ron in our lives, which wouldn't have hurt anybody.
22: "Ms. Jackson" - OutKast
In the year 2000, OutKast was the best band in the world. That statement isn't really debatable, as the music scene at the turn of the millennium was bleak as hell. In a sea of Creed and N*SYNC, OutKast were some of the only people doing anything interesting. With "Ms. Jackson", they let the world know they had skill. The song hit number one and earned the duo a Grammy, launching OutKast into the pantheon of rock critic favorites. The fact that they haven't given us a song like this every year since then is a fact we have to live with.
23: "Jesus Walks" - Kanye West
The complete absence of spirituality in popular music can't be denied. That's why its no surprise that "Jesus Walks" garnered some much attention. Kanye dared radio to play the song, and they did in droves. Critics applauded the song while religious leaders saw it as an amazing call the Christ. Even the Stellar Awards, the biggest gospel recognition award, came close to nominating The College Dropout for best gospel rap album, until someone noticed that it wasn't gospel at all. Perhaps most importantly, "Jesus Walks" gave us the first indication that West was destined for mega-stardom, someone who could say unpopular things and still have people listen.
24: "In Da Club" - 50 Cent
What a great idea. Take Eminem's massive fan base of new Hip-Hop listeners and package them an inner-city rapper ready to further the Shady empire. His debut album sold 872,000 copies in its first week, thanks to scores of white kids. 50 was able to dominate the rap scene for the first half of the decade, being THE rap superstar. Unfortunately those white kids didn't stay loyal for long, and his black listeners began to see through his facade and nine bullet holes. 50 Cent will always be a millionaire, but he might not sell a million copies again.
25: "One Mic" - Nas
When rap was in its golden age, it had the potential to change the world. MCs like KRS-One saw themselves as teachers trying to uplift their people. I don't have to tell you again that that is no longer the case. Yet the idea still influences modern rap, the position of MC as inspiration still exists. While underground of independent Hip-Hop still clings to that ideal, mainstream rappers seem to ignore it. Nas is a special breed though, a relic from the New York hardcore days that knows what it means to be an MC. You have to pair the tales of the streets with the hopes of the heart. Emotion needs its place in rap music, and power and dominance aren't emotions. Let's hope that Nas stays visible amongst the herd.
26: "Still Tippin'" - Mike Jones feat. Slim Thug & Paul Wall
Wanna know what Houston sounded like in 2005? Well, here you go. I don't think a specific city's music scene exploded into national consciousness like this since Seattle in 1991. If that's true, then this is Houston's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; three of its best MCs over an archetypal Swishahouse beat, dripping with southern swag.
27: "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" - Jay-Z
Timbaland and Jay-Z make quite the team. Together they made "Big Pimpin", which if it wasn't released on December 28, 1999 would be near the top of this list. "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" is a different animal, full of swirling synths and dramatic drum programming. The whole thing feels easily executed and nonchalant, perfect for 2003.
28: "Bring 'Em Out" - T.I.
Sometimes when you listen to a song, you want it to energize you, to get you out of your seat and get to clappin'. This is one of those. T.I.'s first crossover hit is a stadium ready banger, and is played at almost any NBA game you go to. Built around a Jay-Z vocal sample, producer Swizz Beatz creates a cavalcade of horns, sirens, and whistles; the song literally sounds like half time. Jock Jams for the 21st century.
29: "Touch The Sky" - Kanye West feat. Lupe Fiasco
Soul is always welcome in Hip-Hop, and Kanye was the main purveyor of Soul Rap during the last decade. Produced by Just Blaze and centered around a killer Curtis Mayfield sample, "Touch The Sky" oozes with 70's bump and funk (and it's not just due to the Evel Knievel inspired video). Add a fresh-faced Lupe to the mix and those horns are gonna stay with you all day.
30: "Fix Up, Look Sharp" - Dizzee Rascal
From across the pond came Dizzee, a mushmouthed East London rapper with one hell of a debut album. Boy In Da Corner sounded like nothing we'd ever heard in Hip-Hop, and frankly its still ahead of its time. The minimalist laptop beats were like nothing in rap at the time, leading to the album topping many critics year-end best of lists. Yet the album didn't make much impact on American Hip-Hop loyalists, with this song being the exception. Build around a bombastic Billy Squire sample, "Fix Up, Look Sharp" got your attention. The song grabs you and holds you close, your ears wanting to recoil as youstrain to make out Dizzee's garbled lyrics. A sensory assault of the finest kind.
If things had worked out differently, Cam'ron could have been 50 Cent, the Diplomats could have been G-Unit. Cam was cursed with bad luck, his group dissolved around him, Rocafella dropped him, and his stock in the rap world plummeted. This doesn't mean Cam'ron didn't produce some of the most interesting rap of the decade; both Come Home With Me and Purple Haze are stellar albums. What it does mean is that we may have had a chance to have a lot more Cam'ron in our lives, which wouldn't have hurt anybody.
22: "Ms. Jackson" - OutKast
In the year 2000, OutKast was the best band in the world. That statement isn't really debatable, as the music scene at the turn of the millennium was bleak as hell. In a sea of Creed and N*SYNC, OutKast were some of the only people doing anything interesting. With "Ms. Jackson", they let the world know they had skill. The song hit number one and earned the duo a Grammy, launching OutKast into the pantheon of rock critic favorites. The fact that they haven't given us a song like this every year since then is a fact we have to live with.
23: "Jesus Walks" - Kanye West
The complete absence of spirituality in popular music can't be denied. That's why its no surprise that "Jesus Walks" garnered some much attention. Kanye dared radio to play the song, and they did in droves. Critics applauded the song while religious leaders saw it as an amazing call the Christ. Even the Stellar Awards, the biggest gospel recognition award, came close to nominating The College Dropout for best gospel rap album, until someone noticed that it wasn't gospel at all. Perhaps most importantly, "Jesus Walks" gave us the first indication that West was destined for mega-stardom, someone who could say unpopular things and still have people listen.
24: "In Da Club" - 50 Cent
What a great idea. Take Eminem's massive fan base of new Hip-Hop listeners and package them an inner-city rapper ready to further the Shady empire. His debut album sold 872,000 copies in its first week, thanks to scores of white kids. 50 was able to dominate the rap scene for the first half of the decade, being THE rap superstar. Unfortunately those white kids didn't stay loyal for long, and his black listeners began to see through his facade and nine bullet holes. 50 Cent will always be a millionaire, but he might not sell a million copies again.
25: "One Mic" - Nas
When rap was in its golden age, it had the potential to change the world. MCs like KRS-One saw themselves as teachers trying to uplift their people. I don't have to tell you again that that is no longer the case. Yet the idea still influences modern rap, the position of MC as inspiration still exists. While underground of independent Hip-Hop still clings to that ideal, mainstream rappers seem to ignore it. Nas is a special breed though, a relic from the New York hardcore days that knows what it means to be an MC. You have to pair the tales of the streets with the hopes of the heart. Emotion needs its place in rap music, and power and dominance aren't emotions. Let's hope that Nas stays visible amongst the herd.
26: "Still Tippin'" - Mike Jones feat. Slim Thug & Paul Wall
Wanna know what Houston sounded like in 2005? Well, here you go. I don't think a specific city's music scene exploded into national consciousness like this since Seattle in 1991. If that's true, then this is Houston's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"; three of its best MCs over an archetypal Swishahouse beat, dripping with southern swag.
27: "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" - Jay-Z
Timbaland and Jay-Z make quite the team. Together they made "Big Pimpin", which if it wasn't released on December 28, 1999 would be near the top of this list. "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" is a different animal, full of swirling synths and dramatic drum programming. The whole thing feels easily executed and nonchalant, perfect for 2003.
28: "Bring 'Em Out" - T.I.
Sometimes when you listen to a song, you want it to energize you, to get you out of your seat and get to clappin'. This is one of those. T.I.'s first crossover hit is a stadium ready banger, and is played at almost any NBA game you go to. Built around a Jay-Z vocal sample, producer Swizz Beatz creates a cavalcade of horns, sirens, and whistles; the song literally sounds like half time. Jock Jams for the 21st century.
29: "Touch The Sky" - Kanye West feat. Lupe Fiasco
Soul is always welcome in Hip-Hop, and Kanye was the main purveyor of Soul Rap during the last decade. Produced by Just Blaze and centered around a killer Curtis Mayfield sample, "Touch The Sky" oozes with 70's bump and funk (and it's not just due to the Evel Knievel inspired video). Add a fresh-faced Lupe to the mix and those horns are gonna stay with you all day.
30: "Fix Up, Look Sharp" - Dizzee Rascal
From across the pond came Dizzee, a mushmouthed East London rapper with one hell of a debut album. Boy In Da Corner sounded like nothing we'd ever heard in Hip-Hop, and frankly its still ahead of its time. The minimalist laptop beats were like nothing in rap at the time, leading to the album topping many critics year-end best of lists. Yet the album didn't make much impact on American Hip-Hop loyalists, with this song being the exception. Build around a bombastic Billy Squire sample, "Fix Up, Look Sharp" got your attention. The song grabs you and holds you close, your ears wanting to recoil as youstrain to make out Dizzee's garbled lyrics. A sensory assault of the finest kind.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The 100 greatest Hip-Hop songs of the 2000's: 51-60
51: "Rubber Band Man" - T.I.
I have an old issue of The Source from 2003 on my desk that has an article entitled "The New South", sort of a profile in up-and-coming Southern MC's. The three they choose to feature most heavily were Lil Jon, David Banner, and Bone Crusher. You have to turn a few pages to see, buried in with photos of Killer Mike and Field Mob, a lone picture of a young man named T.I. staring apathetically at the camera. There was a lot of talent emerging from Atlanta during the early days of Crunk, and its a testament to T.I.'s talent that he was able to make himself into a Hip-Hop superstar. This song helped, with the aforementioned Mr. Banner producing (his strongest suit) and a fiery T.I. making the drug game sound cheery.
52: "Music" - Erick Sermon feat. Marvin Gaye
Sure, its a tribute, but to whom? Is it for Marvin, an ode to him, a call for remembrance? Doubtful. As producer and founding member of EPMD, Sermon seems to be making tribute to music in general. When we've become so mired in Hip-Hop culture as we did in this past decade, its easy to forget what it is we're doing here: making music. Having Marvin sugarcoat it for us makes it that much sweeter.
53: "Awnaw" - Nappy Roots feat. Jazze Pha
Southern Hip-Hop seems to have spawned from a West-Coast influence, owing much of its success to the gangsterism of N.W.A. or the hyphy sounds of Oakland. That's why it's so nice to hear a song that actually sounds "Southern", although artists that attempt this are often reduced to one hit wonders. Nappy Roots were no exception, but what a hit. They deliver a down-home ode to good living that is incredibly authentic and endearingly earnest.
54: "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
This is Jay-Z's first number one hit. Let me repeat that: this is Jay-Z's FIRST NUMBER ONE HIT. That's pretty amazing for arguably the biggest rap star of the past 15 years, but radio was never very friendly towards the Jigga Man. He's kind of an enigma; critics love him, he's had more number one albums than the Beatles, but few find him really captivating or electrifying like his younger contemporaries. Yet this song is redemptive, for all those times Jay didn't wow us right out the gate or talked about himself just a bit to much in his songs. Here we see Jay as we should; a product of New York and it's music.
55: "Modern Man's Hustle" - Atmosphere
In 1999, if asked to name a trend for the coming decade, I probably would have said white rappers. Eminem's popularity was gargantuan, and his legion of new white rap fans set the stage for the 21st century Hip-Hop domination we see now. Yet the white rappers never came; there hasn't been anyone close to making it in the mainstream like Em, and those in underground rap scenes have made little impact outside of them. Those that have seen success, like Atmosphere and its MC Slug, have had to create their own niches that don't rely on their whiteness. So we get Atmosphere's unique brand of emotional, angst-ridden rap that deals mostly with girls, sex, and relationships. We may never get another Eminem, but I'm not sure anybody's asking for one.
56: "Tell Me When To Go" - E-40 feat. Keak Da Sneak
Mention the word "Hyphy" to anyone from the Bay Area and a grin will form on their face. Ask them to explain it and they'll probably say "You wouldn't understand." Oakland's music has long been inside information to NorCal residents, people who've been appreciating E-40 and Keak for over 10 years. This was the rest of the world's only opportunity to get on board, with a thumping Lil Jon beat that is purposefully non-Crunk and verses from Hyphy veterans looking for a bigger audience, though I think they're quite content with the one they have.
57: "In The Music" - The Roots
I have an old issue of The Source from 2003 on my desk that has an article entitled "The New South", sort of a profile in up-and-coming Southern MC's. The three they choose to feature most heavily were Lil Jon, David Banner, and Bone Crusher. You have to turn a few pages to see, buried in with photos of Killer Mike and Field Mob, a lone picture of a young man named T.I. staring apathetically at the camera. There was a lot of talent emerging from Atlanta during the early days of Crunk, and its a testament to T.I.'s talent that he was able to make himself into a Hip-Hop superstar. This song helped, with the aforementioned Mr. Banner producing (his strongest suit) and a fiery T.I. making the drug game sound cheery.
52: "Music" - Erick Sermon feat. Marvin Gaye
Sure, its a tribute, but to whom? Is it for Marvin, an ode to him, a call for remembrance? Doubtful. As producer and founding member of EPMD, Sermon seems to be making tribute to music in general. When we've become so mired in Hip-Hop culture as we did in this past decade, its easy to forget what it is we're doing here: making music. Having Marvin sugarcoat it for us makes it that much sweeter.
53: "Awnaw" - Nappy Roots feat. Jazze Pha
Southern Hip-Hop seems to have spawned from a West-Coast influence, owing much of its success to the gangsterism of N.W.A. or the hyphy sounds of Oakland. That's why it's so nice to hear a song that actually sounds "Southern", although artists that attempt this are often reduced to one hit wonders. Nappy Roots were no exception, but what a hit. They deliver a down-home ode to good living that is incredibly authentic and endearingly earnest.
54: "Empire State of Mind" - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
This is Jay-Z's first number one hit. Let me repeat that: this is Jay-Z's FIRST NUMBER ONE HIT. That's pretty amazing for arguably the biggest rap star of the past 15 years, but radio was never very friendly towards the Jigga Man. He's kind of an enigma; critics love him, he's had more number one albums than the Beatles, but few find him really captivating or electrifying like his younger contemporaries. Yet this song is redemptive, for all those times Jay didn't wow us right out the gate or talked about himself just a bit to much in his songs. Here we see Jay as we should; a product of New York and it's music.
55: "Modern Man's Hustle" - Atmosphere
In 1999, if asked to name a trend for the coming decade, I probably would have said white rappers. Eminem's popularity was gargantuan, and his legion of new white rap fans set the stage for the 21st century Hip-Hop domination we see now. Yet the white rappers never came; there hasn't been anyone close to making it in the mainstream like Em, and those in underground rap scenes have made little impact outside of them. Those that have seen success, like Atmosphere and its MC Slug, have had to create their own niches that don't rely on their whiteness. So we get Atmosphere's unique brand of emotional, angst-ridden rap that deals mostly with girls, sex, and relationships. We may never get another Eminem, but I'm not sure anybody's asking for one.
56: "Tell Me When To Go" - E-40 feat. Keak Da Sneak
Mention the word "Hyphy" to anyone from the Bay Area and a grin will form on their face. Ask them to explain it and they'll probably say "You wouldn't understand." Oakland's music has long been inside information to NorCal residents, people who've been appreciating E-40 and Keak for over 10 years. This was the rest of the world's only opportunity to get on board, with a thumping Lil Jon beat that is purposefully non-Crunk and verses from Hyphy veterans looking for a bigger audience, though I think they're quite content with the one they have.
57: "In The Music" - The Roots
When The Roots released Phrenology in 2002, critics raved over it, citing its neo-soul psychedelia and new age stylings. For me, especially after loving the dark muted jazz that was Things Fall Apart, the album never lived up to the hype. That's why 2006's Game Theory was such pleasant shock. It abandoned the long jam session feel of their previous two albums and instead painted a bleak landscape of America; mired in the Bush years and fearful of the inner city. The whole album is amazing, and "In The Music" is its most paranoid and anxious track.
58: "Sippin' On Some Syrup" - Three 6 Mafia feat. UGK
How this happened is anybody's guess. Two southern crews that made their debuts in the 90's go on to be some of the biggest taste-makers of the 2000's. When this song dropped in 2000 it got some attention, but was really too ahead of its time for the Nelly-fueled Hip-Hop landscape. Ten years later the elements that sounded foreign then are now commonplace; slow metronomes of electronic beats, mush-mouthed southern odes to cough syrup, and a vicious (and viscous) regional intensity.
59: "The Whole World" - OutKast feat. Killer Mike
Ah, OutKast. In the first few years of the decade it seemed as if they were poised for domination; 2000's Stankonia produced their biggest hits of their career while the music press were ready to anoint them the title of biggest band in the universe. However, somewhere between the sprawling solo albums and the failure that was Idlewild, OutKast became a dinosaur, a relic of Hip-Hop's past. Andre 3000 seems completely disinterested in music, and Big Boi's solo album has been in record label limbo for years. This moment was sweet though, when OutKast made this new track for their greatest hits album and in the process created an eerie horn-driven vaudevillian cheer where Killer Mike's howl is pushed to the forefront. The last blast of raw creativity from a united OutKast.
60: "Why?" - Jadakiss feat. Anthony Hamilton
As years go by we see less and less political and social commentary in Hip-Hop. The feelings that were so important to Golden Era rappers like KRS-One have been replaced by "realness" and gangsterism. That's why Jadakiss's song caught our attention in 2004; it was a Bush-era protest that reminded us of the revolution songs of the 70's,with Anthony Hamilton adding the soul much needed to get the message across.
58: "Sippin' On Some Syrup" - Three 6 Mafia feat. UGK
How this happened is anybody's guess. Two southern crews that made their debuts in the 90's go on to be some of the biggest taste-makers of the 2000's. When this song dropped in 2000 it got some attention, but was really too ahead of its time for the Nelly-fueled Hip-Hop landscape. Ten years later the elements that sounded foreign then are now commonplace; slow metronomes of electronic beats, mush-mouthed southern odes to cough syrup, and a vicious (and viscous) regional intensity.
59: "The Whole World" - OutKast feat. Killer Mike
Ah, OutKast. In the first few years of the decade it seemed as if they were poised for domination; 2000's Stankonia produced their biggest hits of their career while the music press were ready to anoint them the title of biggest band in the universe. However, somewhere between the sprawling solo albums and the failure that was Idlewild, OutKast became a dinosaur, a relic of Hip-Hop's past. Andre 3000 seems completely disinterested in music, and Big Boi's solo album has been in record label limbo for years. This moment was sweet though, when OutKast made this new track for their greatest hits album and in the process created an eerie horn-driven vaudevillian cheer where Killer Mike's howl is pushed to the forefront. The last blast of raw creativity from a united OutKast.
60: "Why?" - Jadakiss feat. Anthony Hamilton
As years go by we see less and less political and social commentary in Hip-Hop. The feelings that were so important to Golden Era rappers like KRS-One have been replaced by "realness" and gangsterism. That's why Jadakiss's song caught our attention in 2004; it was a Bush-era protest that reminded us of the revolution songs of the 70's,with Anthony Hamilton adding the soul much needed to get the message across.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The 100 greatest Hip-Hop songs of the 2000's: 61-70
61: "From The Chuuuch To Da Palace" - Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell
What can I say, the Neptunes are all over this list. They were THE production team of the decade, and their strength laid in the huge number of people they worked. Snoop might have been the best decision they ever made. The man with the longest career in Hip-Hop delivers over this beat and makes it feel like an electronic feedback assault. His other Neptunes classic would sound more like a murmur over whispers, and we'll see it later in this list.
62: "Gravel Pit" - Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang stayed productive and important in the 2000's, that is if you ask anybody who isn't in the group. It seems the Clan looks at the current state of Hip-Hop and doesn't see a place for itself. It's a far cry from the gritty urban early 90's that spawned them, and its true that most modern rap doesn't come close to the atmosphere or lyrical dexterity of the Wu. But when RZA's on the beat and you get verses from some of the greatest voices in the game, perfection is impossible to avoid.
63: "Stronger" - Kanye West
The blending of electronic and Hip-Hop music is not an idea new to the last decade. Everyone from Afrika Bambaataa to Mantronix to Timbaland has blended electro, dance and rap before. Electrified Hip-Hop did find a new existence in the Rap/Pop world of the late 2000's, and "Stronger" led the charge. Its hard not to create dancefloor dynamite when you supe up one of the greatest Daft Punk songs, but add Kanye's goofy meets gangsta mentality and you've got a sure thing.
64: "Day 'N' Nite" - Kid Cudi
Here we have a direct response to the Electro/Rap movement. Artists like Kid Cudi and Drake could be labeled "Post-Kanyean", with their relance on dance-inspired sounds forced to slow to Hip-Hop speeds and lyrics that probably wouldn't impress Rakim or Nas. Say hello to the trend of the next decade.
65: "Dumb It Down" - Lupe Fiasco
The importance of lyrical expertise seems to have left the building around the time we lost Pac & Big, with beats and producers growing increasingly important. The Hip-Hop community has responded with the "Real Hip-Hop" argument, basically claiming that older music like Wu-Tang or Biggie is what rap should be, and almost all new rap (whether its Lil' Wayne or Soulja Boy) is garbage. Lupe doesn't make this argument at all. He is a modern day MC, but he sees many of his contemporaries as folding to pressure, either from black urban listeners or white owners and distributors. The problem is not old vs. new, but that there are too many interests involved in the rap process now. It seems the only interests Lupe cares about are his own.
66: "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" - Birdman & Lil' Wayne
Sometimes a song is just imbued with a kind of power, and every time you hear it you go superhuman. This is one of those songs. Over horns that sound like they were sampled from the Imperial March Birdman & Wayne massacre the track with lines like "Bitch i'm paid, that's all I gotta say" and "Show me my opponent". Take into consideration that Wayne's verse was used as the climax of Girl Talk's Feed the Animals and you've got a classic on your hands.
67: "Live Your Life" - T.I. feat. Rihanna
T.I.'s 2008 album Paper Trail was markedly different from his previous efforts. Where his earlier albums focused on his hood mentality bred in the Atlanta Trap, Paper Trail is focused, polished, and most importantly, redemptive and positive. Maybe it was facing a year in prison that de-thugged T.I., but the results seem worth it. A score of hits came from the album, but "Life Your Life" made the biggest impact. Its also the best thing Rihanna's ever done.
68: "Project Bitch" - Cash Money Millionaires
"Cash Money Records, where dreams come true." The Cash Money story is ready for the Hollywood treatment; a little indie label in New Orleans blows up to the national scene, implants itself in the nation's psyche, surpasses its crosstown rivals No Limit, and spawns one of the biggest names in 21st century rap. When I first heard this song I was 12 and living in the suburbs, and it blew my mind. Thus the power of regional rap; a song with the style of the community that birthed it gets piped across the country, giving everyone a chance to hear what they want to hear: something new.
69: "Black Mags" - The Cool Kids
Things change. Rap goes Pop. East vs. West becomes obsolete. Indie rap goes from intellectual and lush to sparse and to the point. The Cool Kids represent this change, with two MCs and an 808 they make a style of rap with a foot firmly in both the new and the old school. All it takes to be a gangster now is black and white film and a shitty bicycle. Yeah, things change.
70: "Wait (The Whisper Song)" - Ying Yang Twins
Chris Rock was right, I'm tired of defending this shit. Is it so wrong to have a song with the original skeet-skeeters whispering amorously about how good they are at sexing? It is? Well, we don't really care. Wait til you see my dick.
What can I say, the Neptunes are all over this list. They were THE production team of the decade, and their strength laid in the huge number of people they worked. Snoop might have been the best decision they ever made. The man with the longest career in Hip-Hop delivers over this beat and makes it feel like an electronic feedback assault. His other Neptunes classic would sound more like a murmur over whispers, and we'll see it later in this list.
62: "Gravel Pit" - Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang stayed productive and important in the 2000's, that is if you ask anybody who isn't in the group. It seems the Clan looks at the current state of Hip-Hop and doesn't see a place for itself. It's a far cry from the gritty urban early 90's that spawned them, and its true that most modern rap doesn't come close to the atmosphere or lyrical dexterity of the Wu. But when RZA's on the beat and you get verses from some of the greatest voices in the game, perfection is impossible to avoid.
63: "Stronger" - Kanye West
The blending of electronic and Hip-Hop music is not an idea new to the last decade. Everyone from Afrika Bambaataa to Mantronix to Timbaland has blended electro, dance and rap before. Electrified Hip-Hop did find a new existence in the Rap/Pop world of the late 2000's, and "Stronger" led the charge. Its hard not to create dancefloor dynamite when you supe up one of the greatest Daft Punk songs, but add Kanye's goofy meets gangsta mentality and you've got a sure thing.
64: "Day 'N' Nite" - Kid Cudi
Here we have a direct response to the Electro/Rap movement. Artists like Kid Cudi and Drake could be labeled "Post-Kanyean", with their relance on dance-inspired sounds forced to slow to Hip-Hop speeds and lyrics that probably wouldn't impress Rakim or Nas. Say hello to the trend of the next decade.
65: "Dumb It Down" - Lupe Fiasco
The importance of lyrical expertise seems to have left the building around the time we lost Pac & Big, with beats and producers growing increasingly important. The Hip-Hop community has responded with the "Real Hip-Hop" argument, basically claiming that older music like Wu-Tang or Biggie is what rap should be, and almost all new rap (whether its Lil' Wayne or Soulja Boy) is garbage. Lupe doesn't make this argument at all. He is a modern day MC, but he sees many of his contemporaries as folding to pressure, either from black urban listeners or white owners and distributors. The problem is not old vs. new, but that there are too many interests involved in the rap process now. It seems the only interests Lupe cares about are his own.
66: "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" - Birdman & Lil' Wayne
Sometimes a song is just imbued with a kind of power, and every time you hear it you go superhuman. This is one of those songs. Over horns that sound like they were sampled from the Imperial March Birdman & Wayne massacre the track with lines like "Bitch i'm paid, that's all I gotta say" and "Show me my opponent". Take into consideration that Wayne's verse was used as the climax of Girl Talk's Feed the Animals and you've got a classic on your hands.
67: "Live Your Life" - T.I. feat. Rihanna
T.I.'s 2008 album Paper Trail was markedly different from his previous efforts. Where his earlier albums focused on his hood mentality bred in the Atlanta Trap, Paper Trail is focused, polished, and most importantly, redemptive and positive. Maybe it was facing a year in prison that de-thugged T.I., but the results seem worth it. A score of hits came from the album, but "Life Your Life" made the biggest impact. Its also the best thing Rihanna's ever done.
68: "Project Bitch" - Cash Money Millionaires
"Cash Money Records, where dreams come true." The Cash Money story is ready for the Hollywood treatment; a little indie label in New Orleans blows up to the national scene, implants itself in the nation's psyche, surpasses its crosstown rivals No Limit, and spawns one of the biggest names in 21st century rap. When I first heard this song I was 12 and living in the suburbs, and it blew my mind. Thus the power of regional rap; a song with the style of the community that birthed it gets piped across the country, giving everyone a chance to hear what they want to hear: something new.
69: "Black Mags" - The Cool Kids
Things change. Rap goes Pop. East vs. West becomes obsolete. Indie rap goes from intellectual and lush to sparse and to the point. The Cool Kids represent this change, with two MCs and an 808 they make a style of rap with a foot firmly in both the new and the old school. All it takes to be a gangster now is black and white film and a shitty bicycle. Yeah, things change.
70: "Wait (The Whisper Song)" - Ying Yang Twins
Chris Rock was right, I'm tired of defending this shit. Is it so wrong to have a song with the original skeet-skeeters whispering amorously about how good they are at sexing? It is? Well, we don't really care. Wait til you see my dick.
Monday, January 4, 2010
The 100 greatest Hip-Hop songs of the 2000's: 81-90
81: "Break Ya Neck" - Busta Rhymes
This was Busta's last explosive moment, his last song that oozed exuberance and frenetic energy. Over a rollicking Dr. Dre beat the madcap MC dizzies us with a gale-force attack of lyrical excellence from one of Hip-Hop's last elder statesmen.
82: "What Happened To That Boy" - Birdman feat. Clipse
The Neptunes sound is easily identifiable and was omnipresent during the 2000's. Yet every song had its own style, and here again Birdman and Clipse make the track their own. Over a New Wave synth and handclaps Clipse makes the track drip like syrup, all while imparting it with a venomous villainy.
83: "Drivin' Me Wild" - Common feat. Lily Allen
Rap in the 2000's definitely calmed down. Gone were the days of Puffy's shiny suits, the braggadocio of DMX's screaming. Displays of raw emotion had no place in the 2 cool 4 school mentality of 2000's Hip-Hop. Cool was all that mattered, and Common was definitely cool.
84: "Lose Control" - Missy Elliot feat. Ciara & Fat Man Scoop
Missy Elliot is a shining light in music, someone who never compromised or changed who she was just to be more commercially viable. On this self-produced track, Missy thumps and bumps her way into dance-rap ecstasy. Pure Missy.
85: "What's Your Fantasy" - Ludacris feat. Shawnna
World, meet Ludacris. The year was 2000, and labels were desperate for regional rap. It was hard to imagine upon first hearing this song that Luda would go on to be one of rap's biggest stars, but it was impossible to ignore the energy and humor he gave his flow.
86: "Go DJ" - Lil' Wayne
It was on the back of Mannie Fresh that the Cash Money Records empire was built. His sparse electronic beats provided a playground for the young southern MCs at the label. "Go DJ" was his last hurrah, his last hit with a developing Lil' Wayne. 2004's Tha Carter was almost exclusively produced by Mannie Fresh. By the time Tha Carter II was released a year later, he wasn't featured on the album at all.
87: "Swagga Like Us" - T.I. feat. Jay-Z, Kanye West & Lil' Wayne
It seems like a no brainer. Get Kanye West to craft a beat around one of the most electrifying songs of the decade, then get the four most popular MCs in the world to rap over it. It wasn't much of a gamble, but it still payed off big. When a pregnant M.I.A. joined the four on stage at the VMAs, it became clear what this was: a meeting of titans.
88: "Through the Wire" - Kanye West
Who would have thought that a car accident, Ensure, and Chaka Khan would be the perfect formula to launch the biggest new name in rap of the decade? Kanye West, apparently, who turned tragedy into triumph. Kanye's journey from backpack rap to stadium status begins here.
89: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" - Eve feat. Gwen Stefani
A leftover of the late nineties, this track has all the hallmarks of corporate rap. Beat by Dr. Dre and Scott Storch, Gwen on the hook, the lavish music video. But the song rides smooth and stays with you, the coolness reminding you where you are.
90: "Upgrade" - Lil' Wayne
Lil' Wayne is at his best when he's on the attack, and it's for this reason that Da Drought 3 is his most accomplished album. Over two discs Wayne tackles the biggest beats and makes them his, his freestyles outshining the originals in almost every instance. Over this Beyonce track and on the rest of the album Weezy makes his best case for being the best rapper alive.
This was Busta's last explosive moment, his last song that oozed exuberance and frenetic energy. Over a rollicking Dr. Dre beat the madcap MC dizzies us with a gale-force attack of lyrical excellence from one of Hip-Hop's last elder statesmen.
82: "What Happened To That Boy" - Birdman feat. Clipse
The Neptunes sound is easily identifiable and was omnipresent during the 2000's. Yet every song had its own style, and here again Birdman and Clipse make the track their own. Over a New Wave synth and handclaps Clipse makes the track drip like syrup, all while imparting it with a venomous villainy.
83: "Drivin' Me Wild" - Common feat. Lily Allen
Rap in the 2000's definitely calmed down. Gone were the days of Puffy's shiny suits, the braggadocio of DMX's screaming. Displays of raw emotion had no place in the 2 cool 4 school mentality of 2000's Hip-Hop. Cool was all that mattered, and Common was definitely cool.
84: "Lose Control" - Missy Elliot feat. Ciara & Fat Man Scoop
Missy Elliot is a shining light in music, someone who never compromised or changed who she was just to be more commercially viable. On this self-produced track, Missy thumps and bumps her way into dance-rap ecstasy. Pure Missy.
85: "What's Your Fantasy" - Ludacris feat. Shawnna
World, meet Ludacris. The year was 2000, and labels were desperate for regional rap. It was hard to imagine upon first hearing this song that Luda would go on to be one of rap's biggest stars, but it was impossible to ignore the energy and humor he gave his flow.
86: "Go DJ" - Lil' Wayne
It was on the back of Mannie Fresh that the Cash Money Records empire was built. His sparse electronic beats provided a playground for the young southern MCs at the label. "Go DJ" was his last hurrah, his last hit with a developing Lil' Wayne. 2004's Tha Carter was almost exclusively produced by Mannie Fresh. By the time Tha Carter II was released a year later, he wasn't featured on the album at all.
87: "Swagga Like Us" - T.I. feat. Jay-Z, Kanye West & Lil' Wayne
It seems like a no brainer. Get Kanye West to craft a beat around one of the most electrifying songs of the decade, then get the four most popular MCs in the world to rap over it. It wasn't much of a gamble, but it still payed off big. When a pregnant M.I.A. joined the four on stage at the VMAs, it became clear what this was: a meeting of titans.
88: "Through the Wire" - Kanye West
Who would have thought that a car accident, Ensure, and Chaka Khan would be the perfect formula to launch the biggest new name in rap of the decade? Kanye West, apparently, who turned tragedy into triumph. Kanye's journey from backpack rap to stadium status begins here.
89: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" - Eve feat. Gwen Stefani
A leftover of the late nineties, this track has all the hallmarks of corporate rap. Beat by Dr. Dre and Scott Storch, Gwen on the hook, the lavish music video. But the song rides smooth and stays with you, the coolness reminding you where you are.
90: "Upgrade" - Lil' Wayne
Lil' Wayne is at his best when he's on the attack, and it's for this reason that Da Drought 3 is his most accomplished album. Over two discs Wayne tackles the biggest beats and makes them his, his freestyles outshining the originals in almost every instance. Over this Beyonce track and on the rest of the album Weezy makes his best case for being the best rapper alive.
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