We're not talking "artists" but actual jams!

Here I go....

1. White Lines - Grand Master Flash

A socially conscious rap song that you could dance to. I love that they address the stiffer prison sentences for rock cocaine versus powder.

2. It's Like That - Run DMC

Hypnotizing hard base line accentuated by what could be the first "sexy" voice in rap.

3. California Love

Mixing the electronic voice of Roger with Joe Crocker's Woman to Woman? The opening reference to Elliot Ness and the film "The Untouchables" is too damn clever.

4. Bling Bling - B.G. & Cash Money Millionaires

Weezy coining this term which made its way into mainstream language is enough to place it in the top 5. The lyrics are insane!!! It's a fantastic collaboration of the Cash Money Crew: Weezy, Baby, Lil Turk, Juvenile and B.G but I have to say that vocally, B.G runs this song!

5. The Rain/Supa Fly - Missie Elliot

This may seem a surprise for the #5 slot but consider that Missy was breaking the mold here. She did and excellent sample of Tina Turner and maintained a rap edge without compromising herself and exploiting her sexuality (the anti-Kim, anti-foxy, anti-saltnpepa). There aren't a lot of lyrics as we see in most rap songs; pretty much she's singing about being supa dupa fly through the whole damn song but it works! In the end we believe she is supa fly!

Org Disclaimer

This list is subject to change as I grow older.

I need love - LL Cool J

that's it actually

whatta man-salt n pepa

hypnotize-notorious b.i.g.

lose yourself-eminem

the real slim shady-eminem

do wop, that thing-lauryn hill

Five Minutes Of Funk ~ Whodini

Rapper's Delight ~ Sugarhill Gang

30 Days ~ Run DMC

Request Line ~ Rock Master Scott and the Dynamic Three

The Breaks ~ Kurtis Blow

Rappers Delight - Sugarhill Gang

Friends - Whodini

5 Minutes of Funk - Whodini

Black Coffee - Heavy D

Gin and Juice - Snoop

MickyDolenz said:

Five Minutes Of Funk ~ Whodini

Rapper's Delight ~ Sugarhill Gang

30 Days ~ Run DMC

Request Line ~ Rock Master Scott and the Dynamic Three

The Breaks ~ Kurtis Blow

Oh yeah honorable mention on my list.

Gin & Juice

Lose Yourself

California Love

Work It

Up All Night

I gotta add:

Walk This Way

[Edited 1/21/11 10:43am]

Rock Box-Run-DMC

And we all thought the rappers with bands went out with Grandmaster Flash well with this song Jam Master Jay and Rick Rubin breathed new life into the concept

I'm Bad-LL Cool J

For years I didn't know that the opening to this song was The Theme From S.W.A.T. slowed down......

I'm Still Number 1-BDP

20 years down the line you can start this 'cause we'll be the old school artists/And even in that time I'll say a rhyme a brand new style at the same time/Runnin around makin money havin fun 'cause even then I'm still number ONE!!!!!

6 N The Mornin-Ice T

Schoolly D started the term of Gangsters Rapping with 1985's PSK and 2 years later Ice planted the west coast flag with the lines.... 6 in the mornin poilce at my door/Fresh Addidas sqeak across the bathroom floor......

Get At Me Dog-DMX

P-Diddy's suits shined and his videos were glit till then the man known to some as X came back and brought you back that ol New York rap that got you jacked while ya hands still clap....

I love Skee-Lo´s I Wish.

• The Message- Grand Master Flash
• White Lines- Grand Master Flash
• The King of Rock- Run DMC
• Rapper's Delight- Sugar Hill Gang
• Burn Hollywood Burn- Public Enemy

My top 5 of all time would not consist of singles, but of albums and would be strictly old school for me.

The Last Poets - On the subway
RUN DMC - Raising hel
Eric B & Rakim - Paid in full

Ice T - Original gangster

Beasty Boys - Licensed to ill

Tremolina said:

My top 5 of all time would not consist of singles, but of albums and would be strictly old school for me.

The Last Poets - On the subway
RUN DMC - Raising hel
Eric B & Rakim - Paid in full

Ice T - Original gangster

Beasty Boys - Licensed to ill

I started to list "Fear of a Black Planet"

^ That one is great too, but PE are not my favorites

Shit, it would take me hours of careful thought and analysis to really make my "Top 5".....so here's just 5 that instantly come to mind that I really, really dig.

Nasty Nas - "Halftime" (1992) - produced by The Large Professor

Released two years prior to his genre-defining debut "Illmatic", this cut, originally on the soundtrack to the movie "Zebrahead", this jam still rocks the fucking house and might well still be the best jam on his debut, although given the overall quality of that entire album it's a tough fuckin' call.

"It's like that, you know it's like that, I got at him, now you'll never get the mic back. When I attack there ain't an army that can strike back, so I react never calmly on a hype track. I set it off with my own rhyme, cos I'm as ill as a convict who kills for phone time"

Snoop Doggy Dogg - "Murder Was The Case (DeathAftaVisualizingEternity)" (1993) - produced by Dr.Dre & Daz Dillinger

While everyone and their momma was jocking the (admittedly brilliant) "Gin & Juice", this is the joint that got the most spins for me and proved Snoop was more than just another smooth Cali cat with a dope flow. This brand of storytelling seems to be seriously lacking in modern hip-hop, but for me, it's cuts like this that define the "Golden Era" of hip-hop.

"Dear God, I wonder can ya save me

I can't die my Boo-Boo's bout to have my baby
I think it's too late for prayin, hold up
A voice spoke to me and it slowly started sayin
"Bring your lifestyle to me I'll make it better"
How long will I live?
"Eternal life and forever"
And will I be, the G that I was?
"I'll make your life better than you can imagine or even dreamed of
So relax your soul, let me take control
Close your eyes my son"
My eyes are closed"

Wu-Tang Clan - "Protect Ya Neck" (1993) - produced by The RZA

Simply put - there was posse cuts before "Protect Ya Neck", and then there was posse cuts after. The Wu took the artform to the next level. 8 of the 9 crew member spit on this one (where the fuck was Masta Killa that day?), and shit, it's hard to pick who killed the track the most. Even as I'm writing this I'm trying to figure out who to quote. But I'm gonna rock with the late, great, Ol' Dirty Bastard.

"First things first man you're fucking with the worst
I'll be sticking pins in your head like a fucking nurse
I'll attack any nigga who's slack in his mack
Come fully packed with a fat rugged stack
Shame on you when you stepped through to
The Ol Dirty Bastard straight from the Brooklyn Zoo
And I'll be damned if I let any man
Come to my center, you enter the winter
Straight up and down that shit packed jam
You can't slam, don't let me get fool on him man
The Ol Dirty Bastard is dirty and stinking
Ason, unique rolling with the night of the creeps
Niggaz be rolling with a stash
ain't saying cash, bite my style I'll bite your motherfucking ass!"

2Pac - "If I Die 2Nite" (1995) - produced by Easy Mo Bee

My favorite 'Pac jams change on a daily basis. But 1995's "Me Against The World" album always stands out to me as perhaps his most important album (although "The 7 Day Theory" remains my personal favorite) because it's the middle ground between the early, socio-political Tupac, and the thug lord he became following his shooting, his jailtime, and his signing to Death Row Records in 1996. He was hard, thuggish, poetic, introspective, reflective, underground and commercial all at the same time. And perhaps most tellingly, the paranoia that manifested itself so strongly in the last year of his life became obvious at this point. Tell me who else could drop a jam like AND one like "Dear Mama" on the same album? You know what my favorite part of the song is? The alliteration he displays right at the beginning. Don't underestimate Pac's complex understanding and ability to play with the English language as a creative artform.

"They say pussy and paper is poetry power and pistols
Plottin on murderin motherfuckers 'fore they get you
Picturin pitiful punk niggaz coppin pleas
Puffin weed as I position myself to clock G's
My enemies scatter in suicidal situations
Never to witness the wicked shit that they was facin
Pockets is packed with presidents, pursue your riches
Evadin the playa hatin tricks, while hittin switches
Bitches is bad-mouth, cause brawlin motherfuckers is bold
But y'all some hoes, the game should be sewed
I'm sick of psychotic society somebody save me
Addicted to drama so even mama couldn't raise me"

The Notorious BIG - "Gimme The Loot" (1994) - produced by Easy Mo Bee

One of the best things about this psychotic ode to robbery is that the listener is never quite sure if the two characters in the song are supposed to be two different people, or simply a schizophrenic Biggie Smalls having a conversation with himself.... both sides are on the same page, but the higher pitched voice is perhaps the more evil side. Either way, the song is pure genius. Although most people think of "Juicy" and "Big Poppa" when this album comes to mind, it's this jam and "Machine Gun Funk" that make the album for me.

"My man Inf left a Tec and a nine at my crib
Turned himself in, he had to do a bid
A one-to-three, he be home the end of '93
I'm ready to get this paper, G, you with me?"

Luchini

East 1999

Uzi (pinky ring)

Straight Out the Sewer

Dr Bombay

Those are the first that came to mind. I could probably choose a few different tracks but I don't usually care for singles in the first place

Tupac - Changes

Bone Thugs N Harmony - If I Could Teach The World

Tupac - Shed So Many Tears

Slick Rick - Hey Young World

Jay Z - Already Home

I don't know if these were "singles" but they are my top 5 rap "songs" of all fucking time.

WHAT!?! No Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice baby or MC Hammer -Here comes the hammer?

B.O.N.E. -Thuggish Ruggish Bone, 2 live crew -pop that coochie, Notorious BIG -One more chance?

Me likie 2 Pac - and NAS picks

I can go on and on but I dont have a top 5 rap singles

Angelic1302 said:

WHAT!?! No Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice baby or MC Hammer -Here comes the hammer?

B.O.N.E. -Thuggish Ruggish Bone, 2 live crew -pop that coochie, Notorious BIG -One more chance?

Me likie 2 Pac - and NAS picks

I can go on and on but I dont have a top 5 rap singles

I don't really dig much rap made after around 1986, because there is too much profanity. They didn't need to curse in the early stuff, so I don't know why it is there now. Also early rap was funk and disco based, so I like the music better and the songs were fun for the most part.

wow, how hard is THIS. (Dag this will probably change five minutes after i'm done, not sure if these are "JAMS" as much as they are either groundbreaking and/or just brilliant)

Rock Box - Run DMC (foreshadowed Rock/Rap fusion, much better than Walk This Way)

Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos - Public Enemy (i love me some PE!!) Still arguably the best example of sociopolitical commentary in hip hop and its ability to raise consciousness

Bad - LL Cool J - Stakes was high for L, on this album and he delivered with this one. Put it on at a party of old school head and watch cats recite it word for word

Perfect Beat - Afrika Bambaata - Wow, i'm trying to not be soooo old school but this is the perfect, dance, rap, electro hybrid.

Children's Story - Slick Rick - Classic Storytelling! Still has mad energy (no wonder the Peas sampled it)

*honorable mention (Protect Ya Neck - Wu Tang, Scenario ATCQ, etc. dag, dag)

[Edited 1/21/11 16:02pm]

i'm not that much of an expert on rap to be able to judge if these songs should be

considered 'real' rap. personally, i consider them such and thus my top five is:

01. gravediggaz - repentance day

02. mos def - ms fat booty

03. q-tip - vivrant thing

04. lion rock - straight at yer head

05. missy elliot - the rain

[Edited 1/21/11 16:12pm]

Good thread!

Vivrant Thang - Q Tip

Not Tonight Remix - Lil Kim, Angie Martinez, Da Brat, Left Eye

Hypnotize - B.I.G.

Electric Relaxation - A Tribe Called Quest

Missy Elliot - Gossip Folks

Honorable mentions:

Juvenile - I Like it Like That

Mack 10 feat T Boz - Tight 2 Def

Q Tip - Breathe and Stop

Missy - Work It

Outkast - Rosa Parks

Foxy - I'll be

badujunkie said:

Good thread!

Vivrant Thang - Q Tip

Not Tonight Remix - Lil Kim, Angie Martinez, Da Brat, Left Eye

Hypnotize - B.I.G.

Electric Relaxation - A Tribe Called Quest

Missy Elliot - Gossip Folks

1) California Love-2pac

2) mama said knock you out-L.L. Cool J.

3) Push It-Salt n' Pepa

4) Bust A Move-Young MC

5) Gangsta's Paradise-Coolio

these really aren't my top 5 of all time, but i like them a lot!

Probably (but I'm sure I'm forgetting something here)...

1.Ain't Nuthin' But A G Thang-Dr Dre

2.It Was A Good Day-Ice Cube

3.Regulate-Warren G

4.Summertime-DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince

5.Black & Yellow-Wiz Khalifa (I'm just crazy about that song right now)

• Rapper's Delight
• The New Rap Language
• Peter Piper
• I Cram to Understand U (Sam)
• Hobo Scratch

In no particular order

Squeeze the Trigger Ice-T

A rather underrated gem that I still like just as much as the day I first heard it. From one of my favorite albums of all time...I like the social commentary, the primitive beats and drum programming by Afrika Islam, the vocal delivery, the rage and anger, the way he gives a reflection of the zeitgeist of South Central LA in the late 80s, the Reagan era, violence, racism, there is a lot going on in this song and it covers probably a dozen interesting topics....I love this song! This deserves way more recognition. Too bad that people only see the caricature that Ice-T has become, not the great mind that shines from time to time.

Friends Whodini

Five Minutes of Funk Whodini

The Bridge Is Over Boogie Down Productions

Travelling Man Mos Def

I´m not really sure though....it is impossible to narrow it down to five.

[Edited 1/21/11 21:54pm]

KoolEaze said:

I´m not really sure though....it is impossible to narrow it down to five.

Yes!

I keep looking at other people's choices, thinking, "I forgot about that one!"

Fuck it...

6 N tha Mornin´ Ice-T

Pain Ice-T

The P is Free Boogie Down Productions

The R Eric B & Rakim

Left Me Lonely MC Shan

Beats and Rhymes UTFO

I miss the times when the Full Force Family was all over the place...UTFO, Full Force, Lisa Lisa&Cult Jam....this song here is one of my favorites by UTFO

I love how Melle Mel brags in this oldschool classic. He´s always had a massive ego but I like that.

The King Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five

Step Off Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five

Growing Up Whodini

I used to love H.E.R Common

[Edited 1/21/11 22:26pm]