Showing posts with label rapper's delight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rapper's delight. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

The Top 100 Rap/Hip-Hop Songs of All Time

Rap/Hip-Hop:

Top 100 Songs

This list was created by aggregating more than 60 best-of lists focused on rap and hip-hop songs. Also factored in were awards received by the songs and the number of weeks the songs spent at #1 on the Billboard rap chart, R&B chart, and Hot 100.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

Spotify Podcast:

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcast episode The Birth of Hip-Hop: The 50th Anniversary which references songs on this list. It debuted August 11, 2023.

1. Eminem “Lose Yourself” (2002)
2. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five “The Message” (1982)
3. The Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight” (1979)
4. Dr. Dre with Snoop Doggy Dogg “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” (1992)
5. Public Enemy “Fight the Power” (1989)
6. 50 Cent “In Da Club” (2002)
7. Coolio with L.V. “Gangsta’s Paradise” (1995)
8. The Notorious B.I.G. “Juicy” (1994)
9. Wu-Tang Clan “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” (1994)
10. N.W.A. “Straight Outta Compton” (1989)

11. Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force “Planet Rock” (1982)
12. Eminem with Dido “Stan” (2000)
13. Ice Cube “It Was a Good Day” (1993)
14. Puff Daddy with Faith Evans & 112 “I’ll Be Missing You” (1997)
15. Tupac Shakur (2pac) with Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman “California Love” (1996)
16. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony “Tha Crossroads” (1996)
17. Geto Boys “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” (1991)
18. OutKast “Ms. Jackson” (2000)
19. Salt-N-Pepa “Push It” (1987)
20. 2pac “Dear Mama” (1993)

21. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)
22. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” (1992)
23. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz “Thrift Shop” (2012)
24. Mobb Deep “Shook Ones Part II” (1995)
25. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
26. Young M.C. “Bust a Move” (1989)
27. Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road” (2018)
28. Eminem with Rihanna “Love the Way You Lie” (2010)
29. M.C. Hammer “U Can’t Touch This” (1990)
30. N.W.A. “Fuck tha Police” (1989)

31. Nelly “Hot in Herre” (2002)
32. Jay-Z “99 Problems” (2004)
33. Kanye West with Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger” (2005)
34. Jay-Z with Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” (2009)
35. Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock “It Takes Two” (1988)
36. De La Soul “Me, Myself and I” (1989)
37. Jay-Z & Kanye West “Niggas in Paris” (2011)
38. Sir Mix-a-Lot “Baby Got Back” (1992)
39. Slick Rick “Children’s Story” (1989)
40. LL Cool J “Mama Said Knock You Out” (1991)

41. The Notorious B.I.G. “Hypnotize” (1997)
42. Flo Rida with T-Pain “Low” (2007)
43. Kendrick Lamar “Alright” (2015)
44. Cardi B “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” (2017)
45. Lil Wayne with Static Major “Lollipop” (2008)
46. Kanye West “Jesus Walks” (2004)
47. Kurtis Blow “The Breaks” (1980)
48. Snoop Dogg with Pharrell Williams “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (2004)
49. Naughty by Nature “O.P.P.” (1991)
50. Snoop Doggy Dogg “Gin & Juice” (1994)

51. Eric B. & Rakim “Paid in Full (Seven Minutes of Madness)” (1987)
52. Nas “NY State of Mind” (1994)
53. Kendrick Lamar “Humble” (2017)
54. Eminem “The Real Slim Shady” (2000)
55. Common “I Used to Love H.E.R.” (1994)
56. Tone Loc “Wild Thing” (1988)
57. Eminem “My Name Is” (1999)
58. Lil Wayne “A Milli” (2008)
59. Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth “See You Again” (2015)
60. LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” (1986)

61. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
62. Marley Marl “The Symphony” (1988)
63. House of Pain “Jump Around” (1992)
64. LL Cool J “I Need Love” (1987)
65. Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby” (1990)
66. Method Man & Mary J. Blige “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By” (1995)
67. Nate Dogg & Warren G “Regulate” (1994)
68. Arrested Development “Tennessee” (1992)
69. Digital Underground “The Humpty Dance” (1990)
70. Drake “Hotline Bling” (2015)

71. Run-D.M.C. “Sucker MC’s” (1984)
72. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Ray Dalton “Can’t Hold Us” (2011)
73. Drake “God’s Plan” (2018)
74. Roddy Ricch “The Box” (2019)
75. Cardi B with Megan Thee Stallion “WAP” (2020)
76. Tag Team “Whoomp! There It Is” (1993)
77. Boogie Down Productions “The Bridge Is Over” (1987)
78. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” (1983)
79. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince “Parents Just Don’t Understand” (1988)
80. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott “Work It” (2002)

81. Lauryn Hill “Doo Wop (That Thing)” (1998)
82. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince “Summertime” (1991)
83. Iggy Azalea with Charli XCX “Fancy” (2014)
84. Post Malone with 21 Savage “Rockstar” (2017)
85. Doug E. Fresh with Slick Rick “La Di Da Di” (1985)
86. Nas “The World Is Yours” (1994)
87. 2pac “Keep Ya Head Up” (1993)
88. Beastie Boys “You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party” (1986)
89. Kris Kross “Jump” (1992)
90. Kanye West with Daft Punk “Stronger” (2007)

91. Audio Two “Top Billin’” (1988)
92. Blackstreet with Dr. Dre & Queen Pen “No Diggity” (1996)
93. Chamillionaire with Krayzie Bone “Ridin’” (2006)
94. T.I. “What You Know” (2006)
95. Soulja Boy Tell’em “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” (2007)
96. Cypress Hill “How I Could Just Kill a Man” (1991)
97. Jay-Z with UGK “Big Pimpin’” (2000)
98. Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (2009)
99. Drake with Wizkid & Kyla “One Dance” (2016)
100. Nelly with Kelly Rowland “Dilemma” (2002)

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First posted 6/8/2011; last updated 8/22/2023.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry 10th Anniversary

image from

For ten years the National Recording Registry has made 25 annual selections of sound recordings which are at least a decade old and deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” The Library of Congress established the Registry through the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000. Click here to see a full list of all 350 recordings in the Registry through 2011.

Here are the 25 selections for the 2011 National Recording Registry in chronological order:

1. Edison Talking Doll cylinder (1888)
2. “Come Down Ma Evenin’ Star,” Lillian Russell (1912)
3. “Ten Cents a Dance” by Ruth Etting (1930)
4. Voices from the Days of Slavery by Various speakers (1932-1941 interviews; 2002 compilation)
5. “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” by Patsy Montana (1935)

I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart

6. “Fascinating Rhythm” by Sol Hoopii and his Novelty Five (1938)
7. “Artistry in Rhythm” by Stan Kenton & and his Orchestra (1943)

Artistry in Rhythm

8. Debut performance with the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein (Nov. 14, 1943)
9. International Sweethearts of Rhythm: Hottest Women’s Band of the 1940s (1944-1946)
10. The Indians for Indians Hour (March 25, 1947)
11. “Hula Medley” by Gabby Pahinui (1947)
12. “I Can Hear It Now” by Fred W. Friendly and Edward R. Murrow (1948)
13. “Let’s Go Out to the Programs” by The Dixie Hummingbirds (1953)
14. Also Sprach Zarathustra by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1954, 1958)
15. “Bo Diddley” and “I’m a Man” by Bo Diddley (1955)

Green Onions

16. “Green Onions” by Booker T. & the M.G.’s (1962)
17. Forever Changes Love (1967)

18. The Continental Harmony: Music of William Billings by Gregg Smith Singers (1969)
19. A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio (1970)
20. “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton (1971)

21. Mothership Connection by Parliament (1975)
22. Barton Hall concert by the Grateful Dead (May 8, 1977)
23. “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer (1977)

Rapper’s Delight

24. “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang (1979)
25. Purple Rain by Prince & the Revolution (1984)

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Sunday, September 16, 1979

The Sugarhill Gang released "Rapper's Delight"

Rapper’s Delight

Sugar Hill Gang

Writer(s): The Sugarhill Gang, Sylvia Robinson, Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, Grandmaster Caz (see lyrics here)

Released: September 16, 1979

First Charted: October 13, 1979

Peak: 36 US, 36 CB, 45 HR, 4 RB, 3 UK, 12 CN, 37 AU, 19 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.4 UK, 8.0 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 97.6 video, 133.97 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

The development of hip-hop culture dates back to the early ‘70s in the Bronx when DJs and MCs showcased the art form in night clubs and at house parties. NPR However, the movement didn’t hit the mainstream until 1979 when a New Jersey label called Sugar Hill Records introduced the Sugar Hill Gang and the group took “Rapper’s Delight” into the top 40, a first for rap music. FR

The trio of Master Gee, Wonder Mike and Big Bank Hank were unknown MCs recruited by Sugar Hill’s Sylvia Robinson. RS500 Sylvia had seen chart success – most notably with the 1957 song “Love Is Strange” (#11) and her own “Pillow Talk” (#3) in 1973. However, in 1979, the label she’d co-founded was on the verge of bankruptcy. When she saw a DJ talking to the crowd one night at a Harlem club, she thought it would be a great idea to make a rap record. Legend has it that Sylvia’s son Joey auditioned Henry Jackson (Big Bank Hank) outside a pizza joint and his friends asked if they could participate as well. TB It has also been said that they were recruited on a Friday and recorded “Rapper’s Delight” in just one take on the following Monday. NPR

The 12-inch version of “Rapper’s Delight” released in September 1979 ran 15 minutes long. A shorter version went to pop radio. NPR The song borrowed the rhythm track from Chic’s #1 hit “Good Times,” HT-594 itself a significant song in another important musical revolution of the ‘70s – disco. The practice of “borrowing” from another song became known as sampling and would become the basic approach for all raps songs to follow.

The song did not, however, deal with the heavier themes which would come to dominate rap music. While it sported the lyrical boastfulness which became typical for rap, DM “Delight” generated controversy because it was playful instead of reflective of the urban anger of other rap from the time. In addition, none of the three members had ever been a DJ or MC and two of them were from New Jersey. NPR

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First posted 10/13/2011; last updated 6/18/2023.

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Saturday, August 18, 1979

Chic hit #1 with “Good Times”

Good Times

Chic

Writer(s): Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers (see lyrics here)

Released: June 4, 1979

First Charted: June 16, 1979

Peak: 11 US, 11 CB, 2 HR, 3 RR, 26 AC, 16 RB, 5 UK, 2 CN, 48 AU (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 5.0 US, 0.2 UK, 5.2 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 36.60 video, 176.32 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Guitarist Nile Rodgers, bassist Bernard Edwards, and drummer Tony Thompson formed the Big Apple Band in 1972, renaming themselves Chic in 1977. They released their gold-selling self-titled debut that year and followed it with two top-5, platinum-selling albums before their popularity dipped as disco waned. However, those two albums each produced a #1 pop hit – “Le Freak” from 1978’s C’est Chic and “Good Times” from 1979’s Risqué. The latter was what Rodgers called “a Chic tribute to Kool & the Gang’s hit ‘Hollywood Swinging.’” MM

The song became the best-selling 45 RPM single in the history of Atlantic Records. WK Edwards’ distinctive bassline made it one of the most sampled and copied songs ever. SF Author Toby Creswell called it “the riff that kept on giving” TC and critic Dave Marsh said “Edwards was one of the half-dozen most inventive electric bassists ever.” DM

Queen’s 1980 chart-topping hit “Another One Bites the Dust” has been called a copy of “Good Times.” Edwards explained that John Deacon, Queen’s bassist, spent some time in the studio with them and he was O.K. with the band using Chic’s song as a template. What did frustrate him is that some people said Chic copied the song from Queen, even though Chic’s song came out a year earlier! FB

The Sugarhill Gang recreated the backing track of “Good Times” for their own 1979 single “Rapper’s Delight,” often hailed as the launch of the successful commercialization of rap music. Rodgers and Edwards threatened to sue, resulting in their names being added as co-writers. While Rodgers was initially upset with the song, he later called it “one of his favorite songs of all time.” WK

New York Rocker critic Barry Cooper said that “Good Times” had “broad appeal…[because] the lyrics were easy and catchy” and “the music: that bass line like a jungle drum, that handclap like a heartfelt lifeline, allowing everyone to pour out their troubles on the dance floor.” FB Lyrically, Rodgers said, “The country was in a recession…We wanted to emphasize the upbeat celebratory side.” MM He noted that “every lyric in the song was a throwback to depression-era songs,” TC specifically noting that he even ripped off lines from “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

Together or separately, Rodgers and Edwards had a hand in producing multiple #1’s for other artists in the 1970s and ‘80s including Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family,” Diana Ross’ “Upside Down,” David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” Duran Duran’s “The Reflex,” and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”

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First posted 10/8/2021; last updated 4/17/2024.

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