50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop: Artist Top 10 Songs Lists

So legend has it that 50 years ago today (on Aug. 11, 1973) DJ Kool Herc played at a block party in the Bronx using two turntables to scratch over and loop records including James Brown and Aretha Franklin.  This is now largely recognized as the birth of hip-hop.  Now I am certainly not an expert or connoisseur of the genre, but having grown up in the 90s I was certainly influenced by what many consider the golden years of hip-hop, when it really became part of mainstream pop culture.  And when many people didn't recognize artists like Missy Elliot or Dr. Dre when they appeared at Super Bowl half time shows, it annoyed me.  Especially on such a big anniversary in music history, I feel that I have to give recognition to these excellent artists.  

Rap and hip-hop is the hardest to make a song list for because many artists become well known for collaborations and part of their legacy is rapping a verse (or more) with another singer/rapper.  Usually I don't count guest spots in my artist song lists so I tried to stick to my own rule here.  That means the best performances of the artist may not be in the list of their best releases.  I also don't usually consider cover songs.  However, I recognize hip-hop was built on covers and certainly heavily sampling previously recorded songs.  Nowadays it is considered an art and skill to make unique beats and rhythms, but at the same time sampled songs often still bring the biggest hits.  If a remake can become unique and special on its own, you'll see it below.  The following are my picks for best songs by hip-hop artists that I think are landmarks and will still listen to (in alphabetical order).  Feel free to let me know if you think I missed somebody or a song you love.

2Pac

1. California Love (f/ Roger Troutman & Dr. Dre)
2. Changes (f/ Talent)
3. Holler If Ya Hear Me
4. Last Wordz (f/ Ice Cube & Ice-T)
5. 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted (f/ Snoop Dogg)
6. Cant C Me
7. Keep Ya Head Up
8. If I Die 2Nite
9. Hail Mary
10. Hit ‘Em Up (f/ Outlawz)

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

1. Crossroads
2. 1st of Tha Month
3. Rebirth
4. Bone, Bone, Bone
5. Pump, Pump
6. Thug Stories
7. 9mm
8. Summerlove
9. Do It Again
10. Stand Not In Our Way

Busta Rhymes

1. Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See
2. Gimme Some More
3. Break Ya Neck
4. Dangerous
5. What’s It Gonna Be (f/ Janet Jackson)
6. I Know What You Want (f/ Flipmode Squad & Mariah Carey)
7. Who Hah!!! I Got You All In Check
8. Calm Down (f/ Eminem)
9. The Party Goin’ On Over Here
10. Make Noise (f/ Lenny Kravitz)

DMX

1. Ruff Ryders Anthem
2. Party Up (Up In Here)
3. What’s My Name?
4. X Gon’ Give It to Ya
5. Where the Hood At?
6. Grand Finale (f/ Ja Rule, Method Man, & Nas)
7. What These Bitches Want? (f/ Sisqo)
8. One More Road to Cross
9. Slippin’
10. Who We Be?

Dr. Dre

1. Still Dre (f/ Snoop Dogg)
2. Nothin’ But A G Thang (f/ Snoop Dogg)
3. Forgot About Dre (f/ Eminem)
4. The Next Episode (f/ Snoop Dogg)
5. F**k Wit Dre Day (f/ Snoop Dogg)
6. What’s the Difference (f/ Eminem & Xzibit)
7. Medicine Man (f/ Eminem, Candice Pillay, & Anderson. Paak)
8. Let’s Get High (f/ Hittman, Ms. Roq, & Korrupt)
9. Fallin’ Up
10. Black Privilege

Eminem

1. Without Me
2. The Real Slim Shady
3. The Way I Am
4. Role Model
5. Lose Yourself
6. Rap God
7. My Name Is
8. The Ringer
9. Greatest
10. Not Afraid

Eve

1. Love Is Blind
2. Let Me Blow Ya Mind (f/ Gwen Stefani)
3. Who’s That Girl
4. You Had Me You Lost Me
5. No No No (f/ Stephen & Damian Marley)
6. Gangsta Lovin’ (f/ Alicia Keys)
7. Scream Double R (f/ DMX)
8. Gotta Man
9. Maniac
10. Eve-Olution

Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five

1. The Message
2. The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
3. White Lines (long version)
4. It’s Nasty (Genius of Love)
5. Showdown
6. Girls Love the Way He Spins
7. What If (f/ KRS One)
8. We Speak Hip Hop (f/ Afasi, Kase. O, Maccho, Abass, and KRS One)
9. Here Comes My DJ (f/ DJ Kool and DJ Demo)
10. Freedom

Ja Rule

1. Always on Time (f/ Ashanti)
2. Let’s Ride
3. Holla Holla
4. Between Me & You (f/ Christina Milian)
5. It’s Murder (f/ DMX & Jay-Z)
6. Put It On Me (f/ Vita)
7. I’m Real (f/ Jennifer Lopez)
8. Livin’ It Up (f/ Case)
9. Love Me Hate Me
10. Never Had Time

Jay-Z

1. 99 Problems
2. Empire State of Mind (f/ Alicia Keys)
3. Big Pimpin’ (f/ UGK)
4. Can I Get A . . . (f/ Amil & Ja Rule)
5. Nig*a What, Nig*a Who (Originator 99) (f/ Big Jaz)
6. Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
7. Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
8. Money Cash Hoes (f/ DMX)
9. Ni**as in Paris (f/ Kanye West)
10. Is That Yo Bitch (f/ Missy Elliot & Timberland)

John Blake

1. Nina
2. Rock the Beat (f/ Greg Barbone)
3. 9 16s
4. That Nu
5. Incredible Hulk
6. Crimea River
7. Fire
8. Hama Hama Blake Blake
9. Bring the Ruckus (remix)
10. Let It Breathe

https://fakejohnblake.bandcamp.com/album/a-cavalcade-of-camaraderie

LL Cool J

1. Mama Said Knock You Out
2. Doin’ It
3. Mr. Good Bar
4. Going Back to Cali
5. I’m Bad
6. Hey Lover (f/ Boyz II Men)
7. Go Cut Creator Go
8. My Rhyme Ain’t Done
9. 4, 3, 2, 1 (f/ Method Man, Redman, & DMX)
10. Baby (f/ Richie Sambora)

Lauryn Hill

1. Killing Me Softly With His Song (original song by Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel, and Lori Lieberman; popularized by Roberta Flack)
2. Doo Wop (That Thing)
3. Ready or Not [Fugees]
4. Lost Ones
5. Everything Is Everything
6. Final Hour
7. Fue-Gee-La [Fugees]
8. Boof Baf [Fugees]
9. Some Seek Stardom [Fugees]
10. Freedom Time

Lil' Kim

1. Not Tonight (f/ Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliot, & Angie Martinez) (remix)
2. How Many Licks (f/ Sisqo)
3. No Matter What They Say
4. Thug Luv (f/ Twista)
5. Not Tonight
6. (When Kim Say) Can You Hear Me Now (f/ Missy Elliot)
7. Don’t Mess With Me
8. Magic Stick (w/ 50 Cent)
9. Get In Touch With Us (f/ Styles P)
10. Shut Up Bitch (f/ Money Mike)

Ludacris

1. Stand Up
2. What’s Your Fantasy (f/ Shawnna)
3. Move Bitch
4. Area Codes
5. Rollout (My Business)
6. Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)
7. Who Let These Hoes in My Room (f/ Snoop Dogg)
8. I Do It For Hip Hop (f/ Nas & Jay Z)
9. Get Back
10. Hip Hop Quotables

Mase

1. Feel So Good
2. Lookin’ At Me
3. Breathe, Stretch, Let It Go
4. What You Want (f/ Total)
5. Do You Wanna Get $ (f/ Puff Daddy)
6. N****s Wanna Act (f/ Busta Rhymes)
7. Welcome Back
8. Wasting My Time
9. Money Comes and Goes
10. All I Ever Wanted

Method Man

1. Judgement Day
2. Gravel Pit [Wu-Tang Clan]
3. Da Rockwilder (w/ Redman)
4. Method Man [Wu-Tang Clan]
5. I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need (f/ Mary J. Blige)
6. Blackout (w/ Redman)
7. Is It Me
8. Bang Zoom (f/ Hanz On, Street Life, Easy Get Rite)
9. Intelligent Meth (f/ Master Killa, Streetlife, and iNTell)
10. Episode 5 - Wild Cats (f/Redman, Streetlife, and Hanz On)





Missy Elliot

1. Work It
2. Get Ur Freak On
3. The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
4. One Minute Man (f/ Ludacris)
5. She’s a Bitch
6. Lose Control (f/ Ciara & Fat Man Scoop)
7. Gossip Folks (f/ Ludacris)
8. We Run This
9. WTF (Where They From) (f/ Pharrell)
10. I’m Really Hot

Nicki Minaj

1. Right Thru Me
2. Super Bass
3. Starships
4. Barbie Dreams
5. Moment 4 Life (f/ Drake)
6. Check It Out (f/ Will.I.Am)
7. Anaconda
8. Pound the Alarm
9. Pills N Potions
10. Fly (f/ Rihanna)

Notorious B. I. G.

1. Hypnotize
2. Big Poppa
3. Notorious B.I.G. (f/ Puff Daddy & Lil Kim)
4. Juicy
5. Mo Money Mo Problems (f/ Puff Daddy & Mase)
6. Goin Back to Cali
7. Party and Bullshit
8. One More Chance/Stay With Me (Remix 2007)
9. Who Shot Ya
10. Spit Your Game (f/ Twista & Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)

Outkast

1. Ms. Jackson
2. Hey Ya!
3. So Fresh, So Clean
4. The Way You Move (f/ Sleepy Brown)
5. B.O.B (Bombs Over Baghdad)
6. GhettoMusick
7. Flip Flop Rock (f/ Killer Mike & Jay-Z)
8. Xplosion (f/ B-Real)
9. My Favorite Things
10. Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1)

Puff Daddy (a.k.a. P. Diddy)

1. I’ll Be Missing You (f/ Faith Evans & 112)

2. Victory 2004 (f/ Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, and Lloyd Banks)
3. It’s All About the Benjamins (f/ Notorious B.I.G, Lil’ Kim, & the Lox)
4. Bad Boy For Life (f/ Black Rob & Mark Curry)
5. Let’s Get It (f/ G. Dep & Black Rob)
6. Been Around the World (f/ Notorious B.I.G. & Mase)
7. Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down (f/ Mase)
8. I Need A Girl Pt. 2 (f/ Loon, Ginuwine, & Mario Winans)
9. Satisfy You (f/ R. Kelly)
10. I’ll Do This For You (f/ Kelly Price)

Queen Latifah

1. U.N.I.T.Y.
2. Ladies First (f/ Monie Love)
3. I Can’t Understand
4. No Work
5. Long Ass Week
6. It’s Alright (f/ Faith Evans)
7. Turn You On
8. Come Into My House
9. Champion
10. Coochie Bang . . .

Run-DMC

1. Walk This Way (f/ Aerosmith)

2. It’s Tricky
3. Rock Box
4. King of Rock
5. Mary Mary
6. Tougher Than Leather
7. Can You Rock It Like This
8. Peter Piper
9. It’s Like That
10. Hit It Run

Snoop Dogg

1. Gin and Juice
2. Who Am I (What’s My Name)?
3. Beautiful (f/ Pharrell & Uncle Charlie Wilson)
4. I Wanna F**k You (f/ Akon)
5. Murder Was the Case
6. Gz and Hustlas
7. 220 (f/ Goldie Loc)
8. Lodi Dodi
9. Still a G Thang
10. Drop It Like Its Hot (f/ Pharrell)

Tech N9ne

1. Worldwide Choppers
2. WHAT (We’re Hungry and Thirsty) (f/ Kim Dracula & HU$H)
3. Speedom (WWC 2, f/ Eminem & Krizz Kaliko)
4. Drill Sergeant
5. I Don’t Fit (f/ Suess Mace & King Iso)
6. Running Out of Time
7. F**k Food
8. So Dope (They Wanna) (f/ Wrekonize, Snow tha Product, & Twisted Insane)
9. Hit the Ground Runnin’ (f JL & King Iso)
10. Tech’s Mex