The Hip-Hop Thread

[Magical_Retard]

the new kanye album is terrible absolutely terrible.

not that he was ever a great lyricist but at least he masked it with superb production but the new direction has terrible production, even worse lyrics, and that horrible t pain voice effect for the whole album.

[Diomedes]

that effect was first used by Cher

NPR said so today

[GeneralZOD]

the new kanye album is terrible absolutely terrible.

not that he was ever a great lyricist but at least he masked it with superb production but the new direction has terrible production, even worse lyrics, and that horrible t pain voice effect for the whole album.

Yeah, I feel that......

Kanye should leave the Hip Hop Vocoder stuff to T-Pain, Ron Browz, and to a lesser extent Lil Wayne.

Chris Breezy should leave it alone too...

[Magical_Retard]

they should all leave it alone.

it sucks and it does not make songs any better.

[hunt]

agreed...it's farging horrible.  one of the worst trends i've ever seen in hip hop.

[ice grillin you]

your life is played out like kwame and those fargin polka dots

[ice grillin you]

119.   We Had To Tear This Muthfarger Up – Ice Cube
   Production By: DJ Muggs
   1993
Coming in the shadows of the LA Riots Cube is at his all time angriest (and thats saying something) on this blistering response to the Rodney King verdict.  Credit Muggs for finding a bassline that is as angry as the emcee.  As powerful a rap song as theres ever been.

118a&b.   Wake Up/Wake Up Remix (Reprise In The Sunshine)
   Production By: SD50's & Brand Nubian (Respectively)
   1990
It's just impossible for me to separate these two versions of what might be the definitive politically charged socially conscious pro black hip-hop song.  Some might remember the video being banned by MTV for having a black guy in white face.  Whether you prefer the hyperkinetic SD50 version or the laid back 'Sunshine' remix the power of this song cannot be denied.

117.    Southern Comfort – Down South
   Production By: Shawn J. Period
   1994
Shawn J. Period who many will remember from the fabulous work he put in with numerous mid to late 90's underground artists (including his excellent Rawkus stuff) debuts on this album with the sonically beautiful "Southern Comfort".  A wonderful Roy Ayers foundation holds up an amazing Charlie Parker horn loop and both are made hip-hop by boomin drums.  It's jazz based rap production at its finest.

116.   Gots Like Come On Thru Remix – Buddha Monk
   Production By: Freundeskreis
     1998
Tremendous guitar sample – check
Thunderous drums – check
Wu-Affiliation – check
Osiris on the hook – check

115.    To Whom It May Concern – Black Sheep
   Production By: Mista Lawnge
   1991
Dres' blistering indictment of the record industry and all wack emcees over the ridiculous "Celestial Blues" bassline makes for one of raps best calling cards ever put down.  Dres' catalog may not be as extensive as some of the so called GOAT emcees but if theres five better than Dres at the top of his game I would love to know who they are.

114.    Fudge Pudge (Bob T Mix) – Organized Konfusion
   Production By: Organized Konfusion
   1992
The legendary Paul C (RIP) taught OK everything they know on the boards and it all pays off in what is as smooth a beat as youll ever hear.  A lot of people would say that about the original "Fudge Pudge" and also prefer it.  Not me.

113.   The Faces - Aceyalone
   Production By: Mumbles
   1998
Aceyalones sophomore opus "A Book of Human Language" is highly overrated by many and pales in comparison to his classic debut "All Balls Don't Bounce" but it does contain the best solo track of his career.  The soulful "The Faces" is songwriting at its best about the unfair advantage, or depending on your point of view, disadvantage of personal appearance.   The song keeps a perfect balance of being abstract and intelligent without losing any listenability as his songs sometimes do.

112.   Grand Verbalizer, What Time Is It? – X Clan
   Production By: X Clan
   1990
Not a lot of people know Brother J one of the greatest emcees of all time was almost the 5th member of A Tribe Called Quest.  However his militant angry pro black stance didn't quite fit in with the softer afro-centric vibe of the Native Tongue.  This was undoubtedly the right move as Tribe went on to be arguably rap's greatest group and Brother j hooked up with Sonny Carson's son Lumumba (Professor X) to form X-Clan who put out two classic albums including the all world "To The East Blackwards".  It is off that album which "Grand Verbalizer" comes and showcases Brother J's boomin voice, angry rhetoric and silky smooth flow.  Over the Average White Bands same simple "Schoolboy Crush" guitar loop used on Rakim's "Microphone Fiend" has anyone ever been so loud and smooth at the same time as Brother J?

111.   Me & The Biz – Master Ace
   Production By: Marley Marl
   1990
Over a super dope Marley Marl head nodder Master Ace does his best Master Ace and Biz Markie all in one.  And don't forget the classic video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdmlomEm92M .

110.    Nas Is Like - Nas
   Production By: DJ Premier
   1999
Nas' last collaboration with the legendary DJ Premier is not coincidentally also his last truly great song - "im like all races combined in one man....like the '99 summer jam...bulletproof hummer man...im like being locked down around new faces and none of em fam" – good stuff.

BTW for years the sample used on this song was impossible to find and Premier wouldn't talk.  But back in April it was finally revealed to be from a rare obscure Christian record called "Cantata Of New Life" by John Rudgren.  Only Primo could dig a beat off a 1972 Christian music record.

109.    Dayz Of Wayback – N.W.A.
   Production By: Doctor Dre
   1991
There are other NWA cuts that are more meaningful (farg The Police) more popular (Always Into Somethin) have better music (Express Yourself) or better rhymes (Parental Discretion Is Advised) but there are not many that are actually better songs.  This one is just about perfection.


108.    Loves Gonna Getcha – Boogie Down Productions
   Production By: KRS-1
   1990
Hip-Hops best "love" song and story telling at it's finest.  KRS-1's ode to the fast life leading to a faster ending paints a picture like few songs before it or since.  It also contains one of the best hip-hop quotables of all time: "now theres steak with the beans and rice"

107.   Stress Remix – Organized Konfusion & Large Professor
   Production By: Large Professor
   1994
A lot of golden age hip-hop heads can remember exactly where they were when they first heard this amazing remix mostly due to Large Professor ripping the track to shreds.  His production was well known but it had been over three years since Breakin Atoms and all we'd heard from Extra P was "Fakin The Funk" so when he lit fire to this track with lines like "so while I make a fat beat to eat.....some of my mans from john bound high is sleepin in the street" everyones jaws dropped.  I somewhat compare it first hearing Phife on Low End Theory.

106.    Machine Gun Funk – Biggie Smalls
   Production By: Easy Moe Bee
   1994
In the eyes of many people Biggie is the GOAT and I can't argue with anyone who thinks this way.  Thus you're not going to find to many beats that overshadow Frank White, however this is one of them.  Easy Moe Bee has put out some of the best beats in rap but he was never better than when working with Biggie.  The Black Heat sample here is super.  For the record and so we don't get it twisted Biggie comes insane on the song as well especially his second verse which is just a clinic on how to put together 16 bars.

105.   Excursions – A Tribe Called Quest
                Production By: Q-Tip
                1991
On their 1996 album "Stakes Is High" De La Soul begins the record with a skit that asks "Where were you when you first heard Criminal Minded?." This applies to Tribes "Low End Theory" as well but it also can be broken down even further to "Where were you when you first heard 'Back in the days when I was a teenager'?"  After having just come racing back from Funk-O-Mart, a legendary Philadelphia hip-hop spot, with the album I was in my basement when I put the record on and immediately called every friend I had and asked if they could believe how good this was.  That bassline, Tip's matured voice and holy shtein when those drums dropped.  It took you all of 15 seconds to realize where the album title came from.  What a sick song.

104.   Intro - Casual
   Production By: Domino
   1994
Coming in at under two minutes some might argue that this isn't technically a song but whatever it is it's phat as hell.  Basically it's the perfect pre cursor to what is going to follow on "Fear Itself", Casual's phenomenal debut album.  Casual puts forth a top 5 emceeing performance spitting the nastiest battle rhymes you'll ever hear over incredible crate digging beats from the hieroglyphics contingent and this opener represents its all.

[rjs246]

Link?

[ice grillin you]

coming soon

[GeneralZOD]

Igy,

   Got those two old schools for me chief?  Or do I have to check my other connects?

[BigEd76]

Dre's Detox album was delayed to early-mid '09 because he was working on Eminem's Relapse album instead

[Diomedes]

Because you gotta relapse before you land in detox?

[ice grillin you]

119-104

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=70Y5A24W


mc trouble - make you mine

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YPY3NNAM


raheem - dance floor

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PNF2WV2H

[hunt]

really on the black sheep's nutz, huh?  that album was good but no there's no way half the songs on the album make the top 150 rap songs of all time.

[ice grillin you]

my top 151 or your top 151?