15 Great Rap Songs

Since there was some controversy here over the merits of hip-hop (aka rap), I thought I would throw in my two cents.

It’s not my favorite music. I’m more into jazz and classic soul (and lots of other music, as well), but it definitely has value. There are plenty of great rap tunes. So here’s a list of a few off the top of my head. Many of these are old. I’ll admit I prefer the old-school stuff. The older music was more fun or told a story or had a sense of humor. The newer stuff does that on occasion, but most of the time it’s lazy and tired. But then hip hop is getting rather long in the tooth. Musical styles tend to get tired after awhile. I suspect a new generation will find their own musical style since rap is almost their parent’s music now.

But I don’t think rap is all bad. In fact, you’d be amazed at how conservative some of it is. A lot of hip hop, believe it or not, is full of life lessons and morality. It’s not all about killing cops and prostitutes. Let’s look at some of rap’s highlights.

1. Beastie Boys — Intergalactic: Making an electronic hip hop jam that also parodies Japanese monster movies (in the video), this is a classic that I regularly like to bust out now and then. Just pure fun.

2. LL Cool J — Mama Said Knock You Out: Ladies Love Cool James did a lot of fun party songs before coming out with this song, which was meant to compete with all the gangsta rap that was taking over the charts. He showed he could do angry as well as the others. But LL Cool James is a very level-headed guy who’s very family oriented. This is a great workout song. I also like how he weaves some video game references in it.

3. Young MC — Bust A Move: Really fun song which tells nerds how to pick up girls.

4. Tone Loc — Wild Thing This was a huge hit in its day, an infectious party jam that has a nice sense of play to it. His other hit, “Funky Cold Medina” was also amusing.

5. Eric B and Rakim — Paid in Full: A song about how working for your money is a more righteous path than being a crook. It also mixes different styles and is the first song i know of to use the term “dead presidents.”

6. Tribe Called Quest — Scenario: Guest starring a very young Busta Rhymes, this is a fun one where a bunch of rappers free style off each other. The CD it comes from is full of good jams. These guys were great.

7. Grandmaster Flash — White Lines: A classic anti-drug song from one of the earliest hip hop stars. His other song “The Message” is another classic. The song is a little corny, but it’s oddly fun and amusing despite it’s theme.

8 . Public Enemy — Fight the Power: These guys were black militants. The song is very activist. But despite the part where they diss Elvis and John Wayne, I think it’s a great tune. Very catchy and I happen to agree with the basic premise. Don’t let the man hold you down. They did another one called “Burn, Hollywood, Burn” about the depiction of blacks in cinema.

9. Cypress Hill — Rock Superstar: This is a lot more current than the others, though it’s a few years old. It talks about how fame is a very short treadmill and it can be over fast. So don’t let it go to your head. A very smart tune.

10. Eminem — Lose Yourself: I know Eminem gets a lot of flack from conservatives for his dark humorous lyrics, but he’s one of the best rappers and an extremely clever lyricist. This song from his movie “8 Mile” shows just how clever his lyrics can be. It talks about how hard his character’s life is.

11. Will Smith — Summertime: Smith is a huge movie star, but he started out as a major crossover talent in music. He helped make rap acceptable to whites. He has written a lot of fun songs. This one is an early tune that captures the feelings of summer. A very nice one to relax to.

12. Queen Latifah — U.N.I.T.Y.: The Queen has since gone on to acting and singing, but this one delivers a beatdown to all the male rappers who use the “bitch” and “ho” slang in their songs. She tells them to knock it off.

13. US3 — Cantaloop: I love this one because it uses the excellent 60’s jazz number “Cantaloupe Island” by Puncho and his Latin Soul Brothers as its background. It’s a nice, easy tune to groove to.

14. Digital Underground — Humpty Dance: These guys (which included the late Tupac Shakur) only had a couple hits, this being the big one. But I find it pretty hilarious. The lead singer sang wearing Groucho Glasses.

15. Linkin Park — In the End: This is one of my favorite tunes by Linkin Park, from their debut album. They more or less dropped the rap part of the their songs on their latest CD, but this one is kind of an updated version of “Time” by Pink Floyd.

There are plenty more I could think of, but we could be here all day. What are some of your faves?