Top 10 Rap Songs of the Past 30 Years

  We’ve sifted through thirty years of hip-hop history with a fine-toothed comb to locate the 10 best rap songs ever recorded. It was an impossible task, but here are our final choices:

10. “Gin And Juice” by Snoop Dogg (1993)
  As far as party anthems go, Snoop Dogg’s classic “Gin and Juice” is second-to-none. With a catchy sample from George McRae’s “I Get Lifted” and Dr. Dre on production, it’s no wonder that this tune has lost none of its playful appeal in the fifteen years since its release. Snoop’s trademark laid-back rapping style has never been sharper than it was on “Gin and Juice,” which means people will probably be “smokin’ endo, sippin’ on gin and juice” for many years to come.

9. “Fuck tha Police” by N.W.A. (1988)
  With now-legendary rappers like Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E and MC Ren as members, it was probably only a matter of time before 80s rap group N.W.A. brought their explicit, innovative gangsta rap to mainstream America. With “Fuck tha Police,” N.W.A. used rap as an artistic vehicle to vent their frustration at the institutionalized racism and police harassment that many young blacks have to deal with in America. While both the FBI and the Secret Service sent letters to N.W.A.’s record label condemning the song and nervous radio stations pulled it out of rotation, the controversy surrounding “Fuck tha Police” ultimately helped push sales of N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton album past the 3 million mark. Who said crime doesn’t pay?

8. “Insane in the Brain" by Cypress Hill (1993)
  It’s hard to imagine the rise of Latin rap without Cypress Hill, and it’s even harder to imagine the rise of mainstream diss tracks without “Insane in the Brain”. Originally conceived as a retaliation to rival rapper Chubb Rock after he allegedly mocked Cypress Hill on one of his albums, “Insane in the Brain” was unexpectedly selected to be a radio single by Cypress Hill’s record company. The song’s catchy beat and broad crossover appeal into pop radio helped propel Cypress Hill to international superstardom in the mid-1990s; smoking weed has been easier ever since.

7. “Lose Yourself” by Eminem (2002)
  At the zenith of his popularity in 2002, with his new album The Eminem Show having become a multi-platinum success and his semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile about to hit theatres, Eminem dropped the defining song of his career: “Lose Yourself”. Fueled by a complex yet catchy piano-based beat, uplifting lyrics and multi-syllabic rhymes, “Lose Yourself” went on to dominate the #1 spot of the American Billboard charts for 12 weeks. Even more impressively, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Unfortunately, Eminem hadn’t bothered to show up to the Academy Awards because he didn’t think a rap song could ever win there; maybe he should have heeded his own advice in “Lose Yourself”: “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow/This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo.”

6. "C.R.E.A.M." by Wu-Tang Clan (1994)
  With a RZA-produced beat that samples The Charmels’ “As Long As I’ve Got You,” the Wu-Tang Clan’s grimy street anthem “C.R.E.A.M.” (short for “Cash Rules Everything Around Me”) stands tall to this day as the Clan’s defining musical masterpiece. Inspectah Deck’s famous verse in the song, in which he deftly recalls his own life story, is so tightly-packed with meaning that its poetic qualifications would give William Wordsworth a run for his money. And money, of course, is what “C.R.E.A.M.” is all about: the desperate struggle to make it big in an impoverished neighbourhood where all the odds are stacked against you.

5. “California Love” by 2Pac (1996)
  No song better defines Tupac Shakur’s tragically short career than “California Love,” his Billboard chart-topping homage to Los Angeles and California, released at the height of the over-hyped East Coast/West Coast hip-hop feud. Originally produced by Dr. Dre as a future single for his upcoming second album (1999’s Chronic 2001), Death Row Records label head Suge Knight instead decided to use Tupac on the track and release it as a single celebrating Tupac’s imminent release from prison. Tupac and Dre are both at the top of their game on “California Love,” injecting contagious party lyrics into a catchy beat adapted from Joe Cocker’s “Woman To Woman”.

4. "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang (1979)
  “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang is the song that started it all, bringing hip-hop from the streets of New York City to the mainstream consciousness of America. While the song only climbed as high as #36 on the US Pop Chart, it nevertheless sold millions of copies around the world and paved the way for rap music’s acceptance as a legitimate art form. The reason why “Rapper’s Delight” is so enduring is because it’s an unmistakably old-school rap song, boasting a playful beat based on Chic’s “Good Times” and lyrics where the often-contrived angst and vitriol found in contemporary rap are totally absent. It’s too much fun not to like!

3. "Dance with the Devil" by Immortal Technique (2001)
  In spite of its seemingly straight-forward beat (a 44 Caliber-produced tune adapted from the 1970 movie Love Story) and standard lyrical delivery from Harlem rapper Immortal Technique, “Dance with the Devil” is a song that nobody forgets once they’ve heard it all the way through. In telling the story of a young aspiring gang-banger in the ghetto, Immortal Technique weaves a sordid tale of the gradual corruption of a young man willing to sell his soul to buy the American Dream. At its core, “Dance with the Devil” is a fairy tale for the hip-hop generation, with a shocking ending that embodies all the twisted moralizing qualities of the most proselytical Brothers Grimm story.

2. "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy (1989)
  "Fight the Power” is a fist-raising protest anthem from the olden days when mainstream hip-hop music was more concerned with social justice than cars, women and jewellery. Fueled by explosive production from The Bomb Squad (no pun intended), “Fight the Power” was the perfect outlet for lead rapper Chuck D and the rest of Public Enemy to air their grievances about racism and oppression in the United States. While initially dogged by controversy over anti-Semitic remarks from Public Enemy rapper Professor Griff, as well as allegations in the song that Elvis Presley was “a racist,” “Fight the Power” nevertheless went on to be Public Enemy’s biggest hit single, and remains the best political rap song ever recorded.

1. "Shook Ones Pt. II" by Mobb Deep (1995)
  New York rap duo Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt. II” is not only a fantastic song, but a musical landmark as well. Along with the Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep’s brand of gritty New York gangsta rap precipitated a major shift in hip-hop away from funky party beats and towards darker, more brooding soundscapes. Lyrically, “Shook Ones Pt. II” sees Mobb Depp members Havoc and Prodigy rapping about their violent lives as young gang members with a haunting sense of indifference, neither condemning gang life like many older socially-conscious rappers had, nor glorifying it like many contemporary rappers do. Mobb Deep not only rapped about life in Queensbridge, but successfully translated the feel of it into perceptible, atmospheric music. Rap hasn’t been the same since.

About the author:

  Curtis is a writer specializing in politics, popular media and the entertainment industry. Based out of Vancouver, Canada, he graduated from Kwantlen University College with an Arts degree in 2006 and is now a contributing editor at TrendPimp magazine. His online portfolio can be found at CurtisSpring.com.