1. I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By(Puff Daddy Mix) – Method Man & Mary J. Blige – This duo was a marriage made in Heaven! This song is so money, and was a huge hit for both parties involved. It is a combination of a track off Method Man’s “Tical” album, called “All I Need,” and the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell hit, “You’re All I Need To Get By.” This song also was a Grammy winner for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Wu Tang wins again!
2. Get Money – Jr. Mafia ft. Notorious B.I.G. – Jr. Mafia was Biggie’s protégé’, a rap group that featured a young, hot female MC, by the name of Lil Kim. She eventually went solo and left Jr. Mafia in the dust. She was also Biggie’s infamous mistress, while he was married to R&B songstress, Faith Evans. This song was PURE GOLD when it was released. Definitely a club favorite! Still an anthem to this day.
3. Toss It Up – 2Pac – I picked this song, because it captures the essence of 2Pac, in all of his boisterous carelessness. It’s what sky-rocketed him to the top. He was bold and complex. This song showcases his gun-slinging lyricism.
4. Big Momma Thang – Lil Kim – This was Lil Kim’s club banger from her debut solo album. At this point, she and Jr. Mafia were still very much family, and they make a few guest spots on this album. I remember this being one of the songs that would bring everyone out to the dancefloor. Lil Kim brought a much needed femininity to hip-hop, even though she was very explicit at times.
5. Camay – Ghostface Killah – Another solo album from another Wu Tang member. Ghostface through time has come out on top, beating Method Man in being the most prolific member of the Wu. Ghost has nearly 10 solo albums and shows no signs of quitting. “Camay” is one of my Wu favorites. A relatively softer side of Wu. It has a great groove. I’m a HUGE fan!
6. What They Do – The Roots – Ahhh. . . the Roots. The group who introduced true musicianship to the hip hop game. The first real hip-hop band who bucked the trends and forged their own path, which has landed them in the lane of longevity. This particular song is a comment on how rappers were lacking creativity and innovation and how that led to cookie-cutter trends in their music videos. The video for this single is an awesome parody of the music video trends of the mid-90s.
7. Can’t Knock the Hustle – Jay-Z – In the era of classic albums, arose Jay-Z—the one and only. This was one of his biggest singles from his debut album, “Reasonable Doubt,” a recognized classic in the vein of Nas’s “Illmatic” and Biggie’s “Ready to Die.” This single features the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige. This was the beginning of probably the biggest rapper of all time. Jay is a monster, and I mean that in a positive way.
8. 2 of AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted – 2Pac ft. Snoop Dogg – By this point, 2Pac had joined Death Row Records, the infamous record company headed up by Suge Knight and Dr. Dre which featured prominent West Coast artists. The pairing of Snoop and 2Pac was great in that they are antithetical, style-wise. Snoop’s laidback flow playing off of 2Pac’s aggressively didactic flow made for a West Coast classic. “Ain’t nothin’ but a gangsta party!”
9. The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) – Missy Elliott – Meanwhile back in Virginia surfaced a quirky female MC, named Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott whose whole style defied the laws of gravity. Her pairing with super-producer, Timbaland, set a trend that changed the face of hip-hop to this day. They changed the whole sound with their anti-rhythmic beats. Changed the way people had to dance.
10. Step Into A World (Rapture’s Delight) – KRS-One – This is probably the hottest track KRS-One has ever laid down, as far as I’m concerned. Sampling the Blondie classic, KRS easily made one of his best classics to date. A dance-inducing field day that pays tribute to the original days of hip-hop.
11. Coolie High – Camp Lo – Bursting out of relative obscurity came another quirky act, hailing from the Bronx, NY, the home of hip-hop. This duo laced every track with enough 70s allusions to make you think you’d been transported back in time. It was never easy to make sense of their songs, but this first single and this first album is definitely considered a classic to this date. Smooth grooves and a plethora of Blaxpoitation imagery just work well together.
12. Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See – Busta Rhymes – When Leaders of the New School emerged in 1991, it was obvious who the star of the rap trio was. Busta Rhymes broke out and went solo in 1994. This single is from his 2nd album. Probably one of his biggest early hits. He’s one of the fortunate artists who still continues to churn out hits to this day. This is one of my personal favorites of his. A great party record, brimming with energy.
13. Who You Wit II – Jay-Z – From his 2nd CD, came this hot single from the self-proclaimed “God of Rap.” It showcases Jay’s boss-like confidence and arrogance that has made him who he is.
14. Triumph – Wu Tang Clan – My group reunited to release their 2nd studio album in 1997. This was their first single from that effort. A definite classic. Probably one of the most popular opening rap verses of any rap song ever. Inspectah Deck, one of the more underrated MCs in the group, sets off this track with “I bomb atomically/Socrates, philosophies and hypotheses. . .” Say this line around any hip-hop head and it’s bound to warrant a response. Personal story, I was watching this music video at a friend’s house in Richmond in 1997, when I got the news of Princess Di’s death.
15. Twinz (Deep Cover 98) - Big Pun – Another potential legend whose life ended too soon. Big Pun was discovered by rap veteran, Fat Joe (a rapper that I’ve never been a fan of). Pun, a whoppingly obese MC whose flow would make any hip-hop listener’s jaw drop. Before Big Pun, no Latino rapper had ever gone platinum. This song features Fat Joe, and is a remake of the Dre/Snoop duet, “Deep Cover,” that brought light to Snoop. This track contains one of the GREATEST word plays that any rapper has ever spit. A line that still sends chills up my spine, it’s so delicious. Big Pun, during his verse, when the beat drops out, spits: “Dead in the middle of Little Italy. . .” You’ll have to listen to the rest of the tongue twister. He was an AMAZING MC who passed after reaching over 600 lbs in the late 90s, a time when we were losing too many greats.
16. Make ‘Em Say Ugh – Master P – Oh boy. . . Master P who hails from New Orleans was the first rapper who put the Big Easy on the hip-hop map. However, his emergence signified, TO ME, when hip-hop began its denouement. I HATED his music when he first emerged and was only warmed up to it, while at a club. Still then, it was only the beat. Hip Hop had gained a Southern accent and it was devastating at the time. This was probably one of his biggest hits. It featured several of his No Limit recording artists, including the larger-than-life Mystikal whose rapid-fire delivery skyrocketed him to the forefront of this label. Today, I can appreciate some of P’s early singles, including this one.
17. Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) – Jay-Z – This song was pure Jay-Z genius. Whereas the hip-hop community understood his genius up to this point, this crossover chart-topper brought Jay-Z to the attention of the world. Who would’ve ever thought that an “Annie” sample would make for a hip-hop classic? Pure genius! This single came from Jay’s 3rd album (he put out 1 album per year since 1996 for 7 straight years—give or take a year).
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