Saturday, February 6, 2016

Top 10 Rap Songs That Millennials Missed

If Hip-Hop were a neutron star that exploded into a supernova then these songs would be the classics sitting just beyond the the event horizon of the black hole that was formed. These are the songs that didn't get the radio play and/or weren't performed by the artists found on everybody's Top 5 so they fell by the wayside. I'm here to give these tracks the extra push they need to find a new generation of listeners. For the purpose of this list, the songs had to have been released prior to the year 2000.

(Links have been provided so that you can easily purchase any of the songs through Amazon.)



By far my favorite track on this list so why does it sit at number 10? Easy... you've most likely heard it before. Not many Hip-Hop songs center on emotions such as love and none other come close to expressing it in such a way as this song.



There was a time in Hip-Hop when people would deviate from the normal topics and delve into simple subjects. Like this song for example... just a fun and catchy tune about a guy who wishes he was taller.




This is one of those songs that got the radio play but got forgotten due to Breed not belonging to one of the popular rap labels of the time. You have to love that sample of More Bounce to the Ounce in there.



This song grabbed the attention of everybody at the moment due to its originality but quickly fell by the way side once mediocre tracks followed.




Another song that sits on the threshold because I'm sure most everybody has heard it in one form or another. I can't place it higher on the list for that reason but this list feels empty with out it.



Just a fun track that infuses a bit of funk and jazz into a perfect blend of awesomeness. A bit reminiscent of OutKast, no?



A simple track about a guy thinking back to his younger days. Most people look at samples as lazy ways to incorporate a beat. The brilliant part of this song is that the sample can be looked at as something that he used to listen to back in the day.



There have been a few remixes to this song so it shows that the great flow and melody of the track has been consumed and appreciated by some but not nearly enough. Most music from the West Coast came from Los Angeles so it was hard for guys like these and Pharcyde to reach the masses. Unfortunate because it feels as if people from other parts of California brought a bit more diversity and creativity to the scene.



One of the more obscure songs on this list due to appearing on the soundtrack to the Street Fighter movie. That soundtrack is laced with a bunch of tracks by other Hip-Hop artists including Ice Cube, Nas, and Public Enemy just to name a few. What makes this song so great is the bass heavy beat and a reference to Adamantium back in a time when reading comic books wasn't such a cool thing.




This track has the perfect blend of spoken word and jazz that just oozes into one of the easiest raps to sit back and listen to. Based on the number of YouTube hits it is easily the most overlooked Hip-Hop track of all time.


Runner-Ups

If you liked these then let me give you a few more to round out the list to make a CD to... oh wait... you guys don't use CDs anymore. Oh well, here's some more for you...











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