Guest post: My hip hop top 10


My hip hop top 10

Hip hop has been a genre I've been listening to for a long time. I got introduced to it by a friend around 92/93 who suggested to check out a couple of albums and I have been listening to it ever since, even making my own music for a while. I didn't spend enough time on it to really make any impact, but it was a fun creative outlet with the occasional performance. I'm still a creative mind, just in different ways.

I had been thinking about making a top 10 of my favorite songs for some time and finally decided to do one, and Chris has been so kind to host it on his blog (a way better fit than on my own film focused blog, My Filmviews). Picking these was a very tough task, some I knew immediately as they are firm favorites, but I might have picked a few others if I would make this list again next month. There are just too many great songs out there to narrow it down to just 10. Without further ado I present my choices:




Canibus - Poet Laureate II



From the moment Canibus burst on the rapscene he stood out (just check out "Beasts from the East", "Desperados" or the DJ Clue freestyle he did). His metaphors were on another level and people were awaiting for his guest appearances and eventually his first album. Although it disappointed and his beef with LL Cool J didn't help his career he kept making music. One of my favorite songs is the amazing Poet Laureate II, a masterpiece which is more than 7 minutes long without any hooks. He displays his knowledge about science, brags and keeps on going while the beats keep changing. Produced by Stoupe from Jedi Mind Tricks.



Dr.Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg - 187um



With the the song "Deep Cover" Dr.Dre introduced the world to Snoop Doggy Dogg. It was about the murder of an undercover cop and appeared on the soundtrack of the movie Deep Cover. A movie in which Laurence Fishburne played an undercover cop trying to uncover a drug ring. The song was shocking and the accompanying beat is one you won't forget anytime soon. The remix, 187um, became even more explicit and the beat even rawer.



The Notorious B.I.G. - Kick in the Door



If it was up to Diddy (still called Puff Daddy back then) this collaboration between The Notorious B.I.G. and DJ Premier would have never happened as he didn't like the beat. Luckily Premier didn't give up and this resulted in one of the best songs Biggie ever made. His flow is impeccable and the Screamin' Jay Hawkins sample of "I Put a Spell on You" is a great choice. Nas would later claim that this record was aimed at him.



Gravediggaz - Diary of a Madman



The Gravediggaz was a hip hop supergroup who's first album was labelled as horrorcore. With dark and gloomy production by both RZA and Prince Paul it was a nightmarish record, with one of the highlights being Diary of a Madman in which we witness them going to court and having to defend their actions. It sampled Johnny Mathis "Warm and Tender" and "No Love (But Your Love)"



Mobb Deep - G.O.D. Part 3



Another song with a movie connection although not as directly as 187um. The connection here is with the movie Scarface as it sampled Giorgio Moroder's "Tony's Theme". The song starts with a shocking murder after which the Scarface sample kicks in. Combined with the "Fool Yourself" beat sampled from Little Feat it's already enough to make this a personal favorite.



Royce Da 5'9" - It's the New!



Although most people will know him for his work with Eminem, he’s been making amazing music for years and is currently part of Slaughterhouse. This song appeared on one of his mixtapes and he sound hungry, vicious and puts so much energy in this song that you can’t help to be impressed by it.



Dr.Dre and Ice Cube - Natural Born Killaz



Although their collaborative album “Helter Skelter” never materialised, this song gives a taste of what it might have sounded like. Another haunting beat layered with screams on which both Dr.Dre and Ice Cube tell their violent stories. The original version of the record also included Sam Sneed (who had a succesfull single with “U Better Recognize” and produced this record as well), but it was decided to cut his performance, it can be found online though. The video was a mini movie. I still remember hearing about this song, but the CD wasn't available yet (and Youtube did not exist yet), so I downloaded the lyrics and read them a lot, imagining what the music would sound like. It didn't take too long before I could do so and it gave me chills.


Chino XL - Nahh!



I’m a big fan of lyricism, wordplay and metaphors and Chino XL is one of the best there is. Here he attacks your eardrum for 5 minutes straight. “The scene’s going to be grizzly…bear witness”



Joell Ortiz - I Go Off Freestyle



Another member of Slaughterhouse who attacks the beat and leaves it hardly breathing. This is how you brag and boast.



Dizzee Rascal - Fix up, Look Sharp



This UK MC has been around for years and one of his best tracks is this one, sampling Billy Squier’s “The Big Beat”. A sparse track, but it fits the lyrics perfectly.



Honorable mention: Joe Budden - Who Killed it



Yes, this is a 15 minute song, but this never gets boring. Joe Budden asks himselfs what changed hip hop and gives the listener a great history lesson on which events took place.



Thoughts on the guest post, readers? As always, share your opinions in the comments below.

By the way, if you want to post a music guest post on my site yourself, feel free to contact me, and we'll sort something out. It doesn't HAVE to be as detailed as Nostra's above, and could just be the songs. My e-mail is on the blogger profile on the sidebar, top right

23 comments:

  1. Great selection of hip-hop artists here. From when hip-hop was really very good! I loved BIG back in the day. Now, I've sort of phased out of hip hop music. Though was recommended Macklemore and can't get enough of his album, The Heist.

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    1. Thanks a lot Jaina and it is a lot of older stuff. I do listen to newer music as well, although there is a lot less I really like. Haven't heard of Macklemore, but will check out his music.

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  2. @Jaina: I have never listened to hip hop myself, I'm glad you can appreciate what Nostra has put together here for the guest post.

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    1. The post has prompted me to go back and listen to some of the stuff from back when on spotify in terms of hip hop. Forgot how much I enjoyed some of it.

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    2. @Jaina: That's nice to hear, and spotify is so much fun! If you ever want to do a guest post of music, let me know

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  3. Interesting picks. Like Jaina, I'm also a big fan of Macklemore's new album.

    Nice to see Dizzee Rascal on here. Speaking of UK MCs, I'm still a big fan of Mike Skinner's first project The Streets, especially his first two albums.

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    1. Will check that album out.

      Yeah, I had to include Dizzee here. Nice to hear you mention The Streets, that first album was very good. Reminds me to dig that one up again, because I haven't listened to it in ages.

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  4. I'm not into hip hop music, Chris. So naturally I've never heard of any of this. I might have heard them in my Zumba class though.

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    1. I doubt most of these would be played there since most of them are not really mainstream songs. Thanks for commenting Ruth!

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  5. I love "Natural Born Killaz" That's one of my favorite Dr. Dre songs. I'm not much of a hip-hop fan but that was one of my jams back in the day. Plus, I still think Canibus won that battle against LL Cool J. LL Cool J is the hip-hop equivalence to Rod Stewart. An artist who betrayed his artistic integrity for trends and become a dinosaur.

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    1. Nice to hear you also love that song, it is amazing. I completely agree with you on Canibus. 2nd Round K.O. was amazing and to me finished LL "I'll even wait for the studio audience to applaud".

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  6. Great list, Nostra. Some of my old favorites in here. Like Void, I love that Dre/Cube track and the Gravediggaz one too.

    Incidentally, I've actually toyed with the idea of making a music post in the past, and was going to ask permission to guest post here, but I never followed through.

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  7. Thank you and happy to hear there are more bloggers who have similar taste in music!

    Well, here's your chance to do so...I'm expecting one now ;)

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    1. @Bonjour Tristesse: As Nostra said, here's your chance. I have quite a few things lined up for December I want to finish up, so that gives you plenty of time to figure something out, and I'll gladly post your guest post in January(or whenever you want in 2013). Look forward to it, could be any type of music you want to share.

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    2. Then I must come up with something. Maybe not for January, but I'll work on it and let you know.

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    3. @Bonjour Tristesse: Nice to mix up the music posts here on the blog, so it's not always my selections. Look forward to whatever you come up with.

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  8. Great list, Nostra! I saw some of my personal favorites like Dr.Dre, Ice Cube, BIG and Snoop in his early days. I would add 2pac and NWA, though :)

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    1. Nice to see you saw some of your favorites. Although I like some of 2Pac's songs I never was as crazy about his music as everyone seems to be.

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  9. I didn't know that you love Hip Hop music so much, Nostra. That's interesting. It's not my cup of tea, only some that I like. Nice to know this.

    Guest post about music? Sounds great. If I'm not overwhelmed with my own activities, I would totally do it!

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    1. Yeah, I keep my music and movies strictly seperated ;) Just kidding. I just don't blog about it, but really wanted to do this one for a long time.

      Interested to know what your choices would be Andina!

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    2. @Andina: I'll look forward to your music guest post then, take your time, there's no rush.

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  10. Good stuff here, Nostra. I'm a hip-hop fan but shocked that I haven't heard most of these. I did see Dizzee Rascal perform a few years back, and that was a fun show.

    I got into a lot of mid-90s stuff for a while. Nas' Illmatic and Outkast's ATLiens are flawless albums in my book. Also dug a lot of Gang Starr's output.

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  11. Thanks Eric. Hope you'll be able to enjoy these songs! Haven't seen Dizzee Rascal myself, but I like his sound.

    Yeah, my favorite albums are mostly from the nineties, so I agree with those choices!

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What do you think about the post? I look forward to hearing from you. Rest assured I will reply soon.

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