Looking for the full list of the 100 greatest hip-hop songs of all time? Check it out right here.
Editor’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. Click to read the full list of voters.
What Makes a Great Hip-Hop Song?
An Introduction by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
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Notorious The Song
I was eight years old when “Rapper’s Delight” made its world premiere on Philadelphia radio. It happened at 8:24 p.m. on a Thursday, after a dinner of porgies, string beans and creamed corn. 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 . . .
I said a hip, hop, the hippy to the hippy/To the hip hip hop, you don’t stop. . . .
The next night, I was prepared, with a prehistoric tape recorder in hand and a black-and-white composition notebook. 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. “Rapper’s Delight” turned this future high school band geek into a superstar for the month of October 1979.
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.
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. (My father, unimpressed, told me, “There ain’t a living spinning other people’s music” – little did you know, Dad, little did you know.) There were so many times when a song premiere could stop you in your tracks, then become a subject of discussion for the next four hours: in the high school lunchroom when me and Black Thought heard “Wrath of Kane” for the first time, or my first listen to “Fight the Power” – it sounded like Pharoah Sanders and Rahsaan Roland Kirk had gotten into a knife fight.
Hip-hop gives listeners sets of rules that you follow like the law, only to see them change every five years. I’ve seen my reactions to hip-hop change from age nine (“What the hell was that?”) to age 14 (“That was incredible!”) to age 22 (“Wait . . . are they allowed to do that?”) to age 29 (“It was kinda different when I was a kid”) to now (“What the fuck was that?!“). I’ve seen Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” go from ruling the world to being a musical pariah to being an ironic statement in my DJ set that makes people smile.
The greatest hip-hop songs have the power to pull energy and excitement and anger and questions and self-doubt and raw emotion out of you. It could be a song that sets your neighborhood on fire (“Rebel Without a Pause”) or a song on your headphones that makes you rethink what hip-hop is (Ultramagnetic MCs’ “Ego Trippin’ ”). The common thread is change. The best hip-hop songs aren’t blueprints – they are calls to action, reminders that you can start a revolution in three minutes. Just keep that clock radio on.
'Lyrically, I'm supposed to represent,' The Notorious B.I.G. rapped more than 20 years ago on 'One More Chance (Stay With Me Remix),' a record that would become one of his signature tracks and confirm his coronation as the King of New York. Being a client and the player president is as distinguished a role as it gets, but the rotund Brooklyn rapper's reputation as one of the most skilled lyricists of his era and in the history of rap is the distinction that has kept his name alive 20 years after his murder on March 9, 1997.
Throughout Ready to Die, Biggie flexed his attributes as an MC, putting on exhibitions on tracks like 'Machine Gun Funk' and 'Unbelievable,' which complemented hit singles like 'Juicy' and 'Big Poppa,' solidifying his credibility as a hit-making rapper able to simultaneously dominate a cypher at will. He was so nice as a rapper that he could craft and construct songs and complete albums for other artists. As a result, The Notorious B.I.G. would stamp himself as the best to do it with his posthumously released sophomore album, Life After Death, which saw him pushing the limits of his talents, resulting in one of the greatest rap albums of all time.
With the 20th anniversary of the legend's death here, we decided to throw up some ice for the nicest MC and highlight 20 of the best couplets from The Notorious B.I.G's solo discography. Did your favorite Biggie lyrics make the cut? Find out below.
'It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine/Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine/Hangin' pictures on my wall/Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl'
The Notorious B.I.G. Always Brought His A-game
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Biggie Smalls always brought his A-game when joining forces with other artists. And, sometimes, that meant leaving them in a body bag. Big approached collaborations with the same grit and hilarity that graced his solo cuts. Here are 10 of Biggie's best collaborations.
'Runnin' (Dyin' to Live)' (with 2pac)
'Running (Dying to Live)' is a remake of a posse cut called 'Running From the Police,' which also features Pac and Big. Eminem reconstructs the track by incorporating a sample of Edgar Winter's 'Dying to Live,' as well as nuggets of Tupac and Biggie interviews. It won an ASCAP Soundtrack Song of the year award.
'Player's Anthem (Remix)' (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.)
Aside from storytelling and bragfests, party rap was B.I.G.'s bread and butter. In fact, the credits should on this song should've read 'Notorious B.I.G. ft. Junior M.A.F.I.A.'
'Victory' (with Busta Rhymes & Puff Daddy)
Equal parts paranoia and aggression, Biggie's verse on 'Victory' is one of the brightest spots on Diddy's No Way Out LP.
'Notorious Thugs' (with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
Who knew Biggie Smalls could rock propane-fueled, melody-driven floetry a la Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? Credit also goes to Bone (the only rap group to have shared mics with both Biggie and 'Pac in their lifetime) for setting the pace. Literally.
'Dead Wrong' (with Eminem)
On this posthumous collaboration, Frank White submits a gangsta recital about 'spreading blood like mustard.' For his part, Eminem matches Biggie's jaw-dropping rhymes with reckless references to cannibalism and exorcism.
5. 'Only You' (Bad Boy Remix) (with 112, Mase)
Whereas Big's debut single, 1992's 'Cruisin' failed to make an impression on the charts, his verse on 'Only You' helped push the 112 jam to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
'Real Love (Remix)'/'What's the 411' (w/ Mary J. Blige)
Biggie's exceptional performance on 'What's the 411' rivals his microscopic presence on 'Real Love,' but both are undeniable throwback classics.
The Notorious Big All Song List
'The What' (with Method Man)
'Flows just grow through me/ like trees to branches/Cliffs to avalanches/It's the praying mantis/Deep like the mind of Farrakhan A motherf****n rap phenomenon.'
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Songs By Biggie
Not to be outdone by the Wu-Tang's most flavorful MC, Biggie holds his weight with heavy punchlines too numerous to name. The lone collaboration on Ready to Die eventually became one of his best songs ever.
'Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)' (with Craig Mack, etc.)
Fresh off the critical praise of Ready to Die, Big Poppa delivers a lyrical smackdown within the first 20 seconds of this all-star remix ('N***as is mad I get more butt than ashtrays'). Ah, the good ol' days when Puffy's role was limited to dancing in videos.
'Brooklyn's Finest' (with Jay Z)
A collaboration is supposed to be a balanced showcase with all parties making meaty contributions, not an opportunity for one star to shine. That's what makes 'Brooklyn's Finest' such an epic collaboration.