The Hip Hop Playlist: Top 10 Edition
by matt at 6:02 am on January 28th, 2004 in EntertainmentAs a follow up to my top 10 MCs piece, I offer up the proof.
Right click, save as, act like you know.
Files removed due to space constraints.
At present I speak the new beginning when every other trend fell short
so who’ll be the shareholder of my kinda thoughts besides the studious
What makes Bahamadia a great MC? She kicks it like she has nothing to prove. Taking a path opposite from Lil Kim, Foxy Brown and others, she elevates above the fray. Where they try to prove that they are as tough as their male counterparts, Bahamadia plays a different game altogether. Her laid back, poetic style perfectly suits her thought provoking lines. What other rapper would whisper the chorus of a track?
Gang Starr w/Inspecta Deck - Above the Clouds
Heed the words; it’s like ghetto style proverbs
The righteous pay a sacrifice to get what they deserve
Cannot afford to be confined to a cell
Brainwaves swell, turnin a desert to a well
Both Guru and Deck kick confident, wise words on this scratched-up string-laden beat by DJ Premier. You get the feeling that you are listening to soldiers who have been through years of battles and made it through battered but determined.
While you kick those sellout flows
In hope to sell out shows
But get your spots taken easy as the wind blows
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if J-Live had sold out and started rapping about bling and bitches rather than kicking intelligent real life rhymes. He’s got the full package, voice, delivery, timing etc, and would skin just about any MC in the game. You have to admire someone who has stayed true to himself even when it meant less fame and fortune. But his reward is credibility: No one’s taking his spot, not with a wind and not with a hurricane.
Jeru The Damaja - How I’m Livin’
Now how you living? Like a turkey on Thanksgiving.
Me? I keep it tight and lock it down like a virgin’s pops.
From crack rocks to suburbian spots I’m hot.
Don’t forget or have you forgot that I’m a surgeon.
Unforgiving and unforgettable, Jeru is a master of unconventional delivery. His staccato flow is a perfect match for the layered images in his lines, and his distinctive baritone voice commands respect. Although he has suffered since becoming estranged from DJ Premier, his body of work is impressive.
Now let’s get it all in perspective
For all y’all enjoyment, a song y’all can step wit’
Y’all appointed me to bring rap justice
But I ain’t five-O, y’all know it’s Nas yo
Coming at the end of a silly feud with the Hova, Made You Look was a brilliant return to form from Nas. God’s Son was a solid album and proof that Nas should always be listed in the top flight of MCs.
But back to the problem, I gotta habit,
You can’t solve it, silly rabbit
The prescription is a hypertone that’s thorough when
I fiend for a microphone like herion
If you love hip hop, you know just what Rakim is saying. He’s has many hits over a long career, but this one says it all. Hip hop as a way of life, hip hop as religion, and hip hop as a drug. That’s about right.
You’re wack like Will Smith, your rhyme style is pansy
I fuckin murder your young style like JonBenet Ramsey
Now who the master to beg? Your demo gets passed on the reg’
You shouldn’t have been signed if you had a white cast on your leg
I’ve talked about this jam before, but X and Chino murder it and prove my point that they deserve to be mentioned with the best in the game.
I bomb atomically, Socrates’ philosophies
And hypothesis can’t define how I be droppin these
Mockeries, lyrically perform armed robbery
You had a Navy Green salamander fiend,
bitches never heard you scream
You two - faces, scum of the slum,
I got your whole body numb
Both Ghost and Deck kill shit on this Wu banger. Deck takes it deep and dark and Ghost kicks some signature stream-of-consciousness biz. It gets no better than this track.
I’ve beeeeen this way and I can’t stop (ah)
Hands on the ball and I won’t drop (no)
Half-assed rhymes that you can’t watch (no)
It ain’t cause I want to it’s cause I got-ta
No one works harder than Xzibit. Unfortunately he’s stuck behind a deep bench at Aftermath, and doesn’t get the beats or profile that he deserves.
Showin me that tan line and that tatoo
Playin Sade, “Sweetest Taboo”
Burnin candles, all my other plans got canceled
Man I smashed it like an Idaho potato
She call my at my J.O., �come now’, I can’t say no
Mos Def can flow with the best of them. I wish he would concentrate more on rhyming than acting, but it’s his life. He didn’t make my top 10 because of consistency issues, but Ms. Fat Booty is one of my favorite tracks ever.
I don’t know fear I pour beer on the curb,
Puff herb, drink liquor to get my swerve
Fuck what you heard ‘n what you said
The lead will put end to those who pretend to be my friend
The definition of grimey. Nine didn’t make my top 10 list, but that’s only because he disappeared after his second album. It’s a shame that he didn’t get the chance to record more, but rapping about the death penalty is tough stuff, and most don’t want to hear about it.
nick wrote:
now THAT’S what i’m talking about! great mp3 selection. although i disagree with the de la falling off remark in the last thread - i think their last album (AOI2) was among their best, proving that you can “grow up” with hiphop.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 7:08 am ¶
matt wrote:
i gave up after AOI 1. I’ll have to pick up 2.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 7:12 am ¶
tom wrote:
this one cat from pittsburgh that i know did a bunch of the beats on j live’s first album.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 7:29 am ¶
Eric wrote:
Hmmmm…I have to disagree. I can’t even get with your entire bottom row. Sorry. However, I can offer my top 11/10. I had a hard time eliminating one to justify the “only ten may rule” ethic. 11 moods - 11 mcs:
Nas
Jay-Z
Andre 3000
Common
Talib
Rakim
Guru
Black THought
Notorious BIG
Mos Def
Eminem
Of course, in no particular order as this is according to my varying mood.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 10:17 am ¶
matt wrote:
I’m down with Em. I didn’t add him because that was part of the original challenge, (put down the eminem cd).
Big is good, but i still say overrated.
I like Black Thought, but top 20 not top 10 for me.
Talib is OK, great at times, but J-Live plays that game much better.
100% disagree with Common. He fell way off, and is now a cartoon of what he was/could have been.
I’m already on record about Jay-Z, and I haven’t heard anything to change my mind.
Andre? Nah.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 10:25 am ¶
evan wrote:
Good sampling of the styles from your choices. My fav. J-live song is “MCee” tho — peep the second verse:
Master of Ceremonies/
Making a Comeback, and/
Movin’ the Crowd with/
Mad Charisma!/
Most a y’all Cornballs/
Mingle at Concerts/
Makin’ the Claim but you know who is the/
(MCee!)
–and on and on. he puts an MC reference into each line. Brilliant.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 3:25 pm ¶
matt wrote:
Good point. That track is hot.
But Hova can rhyme necessary with necessary. That takes skillz yo.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 4:14 pm ¶
tom wrote:
ive always thought black thought was underrated but definitely not top 10 material. andre 3000 is a joker emcee, even on outkast’s good records. eminem is garbage. best white emcee ever: serch. best performance by a white emcee: “jump around” by everlast. i wonder who ghost wrote those lyrics? they were way too hot to have been written by him.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 6:21 pm ¶
evan wrote:
I don’t think any other white rapper can even hold a candle right now, compared to Aesop Rock. Listen to “Commencement At the Obedience Academy,” “Daylight,” “No Regrets,” or “Skip Town” name a few. I’ll stop now.
Notice I didn’t put anything from Bazooka Tooth up here. Definitely not feeling that album.
Posted 28 Jan 2004 at 6:29 pm ¶
tom wrote:
when im working at the record store, people arent allowed to put aesop rock records on.
Posted 29 Jan 2004 at 12:22 pm ¶
jenny wrote:
good list as always.
Posted 29 Jan 2004 at 5:43 pm ¶
billyfleetwood wrote:
Aceyalone…not saying best ever, but if you’re talking dope mc’s you gotta at least mention his name.
my top ten list.This list has been rewritten countless times since it’s inception back in 85. I disagree with the argument that you can’t pit old school vs. the present. Once you reach a certain level of greatness, you’re in the pantheon, and that’s that as far as I’m concerned.
1.Rakim-Can’t even argue this one. Some things just are.
2.KRS ONE-The Karl Malone of hip hop. Always delivered, even if he gave you plenty reasons to hate him.
3.Melle Mel-So far ahead of his time. No punchlines, no clever puns, straight street poetry. Raised the bar.
4.Nas-Yeah, he’s missed the mark a bunch of times. As far as I’m concerned, he makes the list on the strength of Illmatic alone. It’s Like Wilt Chamberlain droppin 100 pts in one game. You only gotta do it once, cause nobody else ever will…
5.Slick Rick-Name another MC who’s been around as long as he has without changing his style. It’s that nice.
6.Kool Keith-Single handedly paved the way for eclecticism in Hip Hop.
7.Run-DMC -I know, it’s two mc’s but name a better duo. The legend of RUN DMC often overshadows how much style they had on the mic.
9. Ice Cube-His contributions to NWA earn him a place among the most important lyricists ever, plus he could straight spit venom like nobody else.
10. Treach. Don’t front. The definition of the word “flow”
Posted 02 Feb 2004 at 3:46 pm ¶
Tushar wrote:
When I try to download the mp3s Download accelerator says that File Not Found. Even when I disable DAP and download through normal IE 6 it says file not found. Why does this happen. However an awesome collection
Posted 08 Aug 2004 at 12:06 pm ¶
matt wrote:
Files removed due to space constraints. Sorry.
Posted 08 Aug 2004 at 12:11 pm ¶
Stephen Niezgoda wrote:
Your list is pretty tight. Here’s mine, not in order:
Ghostface - never had a wack verse. ever.
Slick Rick - the original millionaire’s flow.
Biggie - no explanation necessary
Jay-Z - he’s the lyrical Tarantino. everything he steals comes out belonging to him.
Prodigy - it doesn’t even have to rhyme to sound ridiculous
Kool G Rap - see Biggie
Cam’ron - he’s an acquired taste, but check the syllables.
Raekwon - always on point. again check the syllables.
Tweedy Bird Loc - nobody gets ignant better.
Ice Cube - for his first 3 solo albums alone.
Runners up are (of course) Scarface, Too $hort, Richie Rich, Big Daddy, Rakim the God, some MF Doom, some MF Grimm, old Mr Cheeks, Styles P, Pharoahe Monch, MC Eiht, Illmatic Nas, Nice & Smooth, Tim Dog, Snoop, and PUN.
I’ve never been able to get into Common, Mos Def, or Xzibit after his first album. The first two need at least another Primo joint for me to care again, and Xzibit is just a west coast Canibus. Hot 16s only take you so far. Conversely, in the case of Aesop Rock a hot 16 or two would work wonders.
Posted 20 Dec 2004 at 12:48 pm ¶