These sounds had incredible power if you grew up with hip-hop: There was the summer I spent trying to match the mix to “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” note for note, on two Fisher-Price turntables. Some of the most powerful hip-hop songs are tracks with elements so simple your brain would explode trying to explain their logic: Take the unstoppable two-note guitar stab in Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear.” (I hounded the producer, Easy Mo Bee, for 17 years for the secret behind it – then wanted to throw someone out the window when I heard how basic it was.) Or the huge sound of the Roland 909 on Schoolly D’s “PSK” – an echo that seemed like it came from a church cathedral eight city blocks wide. “Rapper’s Delight” turned this future high school band geek into a superstar for the month of October 1979. My boy Aantar became my agent that week, scheduling performances of the song in exchange for snacks or hand-holding with girls in gym class.
The next night, I was prepared, with a prehistoric tape recorder in hand and a black-and-white composition notebook. I said a hip, hop, the hippy to the hippy/To the hip hip hop, you don’t stop. . . . Me and my sister, Donn, were sneaking a listen of the local soul station while washing dishes when an army of percussion and a syncopated Latin piano line came out of my grandma’s JVC clock radio – what appeared to be Chic’s “Good Times.” How was I to know that my world would come crashing down in a matter of 5, 4, 3, 2 . . . on a Thursday, after a dinner of porgies, string beans and creamed corn. I was eight years old when “Rapper’s Delight” made its world premiere on Philadelphia radio.
#Best lyrical rap songs full
Click to read the full list of voters.Īn Introduction by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson You can check that out here.Looking for the full list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time? Check it out right here.Įditor’s note: To make this list, Rolling Stone asked 33 artists and experts – from Rick Rubin to Busta Rhymes – to choose their favorite hip-hop tracks, then crunched the numbers. Billboard’s Top 50 Love Songs of All Time isn’t an editorial list, but rather a roundup of songs with love (or some variation on the word) in the title that have performed the best on Billboard’s charts over the years. While the best rappers of all time is a subject for hot debate, there’s also a less contentious top 50 list you can turn your attention to. all appear on Billboard and Vibe’s recently unveiled list of the 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, which was born out of block parties in the Bronx back in 1973. Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Lil Kim, LL Cool J, Drake, 50 Cent and The Notorious B.I.G. To kick-off Valentine’s Day, check out the Best Hip-Hop Love Songs of All Time below.Įditor’s Note: A lot of these songs come from some of the greatest to ever pick up a mic. We’re also rounding up our top affectionate hip-hop cuts from classic ‘80s throwbacks to Y2K-era favorites to modern masterpieces.
If you’re a love hater, here’s a fact - Certified Lover Boy Drake was crowned Billboard’s Artist of the Decade in 2021.īut on this list, only one song from Drake’s love catalog will be mentioned. Rappers who can balance vulnerability with machismo are undeniable chart-toppers whether it comes to self-love, love for their homies or even love of riches.
It may seem corny to the average hip-hop head, but in an industry based on stealing the hearts of listeners, love is a universal language. Hip-hop – which believe it or not turns 50 this year - has always blossomed from love.
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