That cutoff means no Jay-Z or Eminem and virtually no Nas or Outkast, to pick a few examples, but with one exception a song recorded before the deadline but released afterwards I stuck to the deadline for all tracks. The song was surpassed by its own marketing. Unfortunately most of their catalog sounded dated within a decade of its release. I never understand artists trying to be less commercial. If you want to make less commercial music for artistic reasons, but deliberately flipping off your audience by creating less interesting content is insane. The DOC appears on this list three times from his incredible and somewhat overlooked debut album, after which a bad car accident wrecked his voice and ended his hip hop career. The whole disc stands up well against The Chronic and Doggystyle even though it came out three years earlier, with similarly funky beats, clever wordplay, and plenty of weapon-filled boasting. The talent involved was enormous, and yet their biggest hit was a straight-up soul remake of an adult contemporary classic. Lauryn Hill had her one amazing solo album before releasing Lauryn Hill: Unhinged, and Wyclef has had a strong solo career, but as the Fugees one plus one plus one Pras equaled something less than three. I have no problem with that, but just be what you are, right? You only say your name twelve times in every song you record. Dre would later mine for great profits. Discussing the plight of the black American underclass in rap lyrics without sounding trite is a major achievement when you consider how few other artists managed to pull it off. The fact that the samples all seem to be written in minor keys gives this song a sinister air that set it apart from most mainstream and alternative rap of the time. In the lyrics, the D. But both of their songs on this list would have fit in well with the rap scene of the late 1980s before everything shifted with the rise of the west coast. They chose controversial subjects, which sold records and frankly was an important addition to a scene that had grown somewhat stale due to the lack of regional diversity. I always loved that they named this EP release This is an EP Release. Cause you keep feeding me soup. How long you had that problem. I actually own a limited edition 12-inch of this track on clear green vinyl. The way his death was paired with Notorious B. Botha never recovered from getting the gas face from MC Serch. Love the Ice Cube cameo in the video. This one track from their debut album is transitional, resembling the more structured rap hits that probably influenced these guys but with hints at the explosion that their next album would cause in the genre. Dre featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg The consummate diss track, with a lowbrow comic video to match. But even better now is the shot at around the 3:52 mark of the video of the guy on his cell phone the size of a brick and the shape of a satellite phone. I guess that was cutting edge in 1993. They were, however, two-hit wonders, with this the funnier but less enduring of the two. Stick with the original rather than the Coldcut remix. Cause I rock shit like Ronnie Dio. There was no one like Rakim before he came along, and there has been no one like him since. They shied away from anything commercial on future albums, and what looked like a potential Hall of Fame career because of their willingness to ignore the norms of hip-hop lyrics ran off the rails after one album. Or to at least just make themselves more money? Kane found commercial success with the Smooth Operator persona, but his legacy should start with this track, one of the best straight-up bragging songs in hip-hop history. Smooth Dedicated to Trouble T-Roy, a member of Heavy D and the Boyz who died after falling from a balcony, the song is MC C. G-Funk before the term existed, and early evidence that Dr. Dre who produced the album was a force to be reckoned with beyond N. Twelve years after the accident that turned his powerful voice into a hoarse whisper, the D. Both guys were at the tops of their games — I like to think that the music pushed Rakim to deliver one of his two best performances — and it has proven both enduring and influential even as the artists themselves have faded from the scene. So what songs did I miss? But I look forward to your suggestions and comments. They sampled Gang Starr or Main Source on a track or two. Playa, yo list is ill, true that.. Im not a big Biggie fan but im sure one or two Biggies would have made a difference. The hood took me under, where it at? Oh man these bouyzz dezervez to be on this shit…ladies, gentleman and other.. Surprised not one GangStarr song on there. Come Clean- Jeru that damaja Great list. A few things: 1. Break the Grip of Shame? I was surprised to see Cool Like Dat as the only Diggable Planets mention on the list. Glad to see them there as I think they are one of the more overlooked contributors to Hip Hop. More than half of it is garbage… there were way too many songs that you forgot such as time for some action, fantastic voyage,shoop, unity, poetry which was the song that in my mind changed the hip hop scene at one time, they want efx, 93 til infinity, dwyck…. Overall a good list. No who do you take off?
