This is a top 50 list of songs that are my personal favorite hip-hop tracks of all-time, not what I think are the most influential or anything along those lines. Hopefully you guys will check out the tracks I post. I don't wanna spend all this time making a list for nothing.
50. David Banner - Cadillac on 22s - One of Banner's many tracks that use acoustic guitar to provide rhythm. In this track Banner pays homage to his native Jackson, Mississippi as well as addresses personal struggle involving racism in the south.
49. DJ Khaled - Grammy Family (Kanye West, Consequence, John Legend) - One of the best parts about this track is that Khaled doesn't shout a single word. Produced by Kanye West "Grammy Family" has a truly fascinating and unique hip-hop beat with great background vocals by Legend.
48. Jeru tha Damaja - Come Clean - Jeru is one of those hidden gems in East Coast hip-hop. Despite much collaboration with DJ Premier and Guru he has avoided mainstream success and is easily one of the most underrated artists from New York City. Come Clean is an example of why Jeru deserves your attention. "Leave your nines at home and bring your skills to the battle."
47. Mos Def - Know That - What's not to love about a Mos Def & Talib Kweli collab? Coincidentally this was the first time I've heard both Mos and Talib. This introduced me to the rest of the solo work by the two rappers.
46. Jay-Z - Dynasty Intro - Amazing production from Just Blaze and even better lyricism by Jigga. How can you go this hard on an intro track? First rapper to my knowledge to say "this is food for thought, you do the dishes".
45. Sean Price - Boom Bye Yeah - One of the best and most underrated to come out of Brooklyn, Sean Price has been the brokest rapper you know forever. Do the man a favor: listen to this track, buy the album then listen to it through. P has one of the best voices in hip-hop.
44. Scarface - Guess Who's Back - Guess who's bizzack?! Ahead of its time production by Kanye and Beanie Sigel and Jay-Z on the feature, this all-star line up delivers one of the freshest tracks to come out in 2002.
43. Nelly - St. Louie - Everybody from my generation remembers the incredible mainstream success of Nelly. Country Grammar was instant cop for me when I was 12, funny how my favorite track off the album was not one of the many singles. On this one Nelly describes life in St. Louis, Missouri.
42. Jaylib - The Red - This track comes from a Madlib and J Dilla collaboration. This version did not, however, make the album (the lyrics did, but the beat was switched). This one is much better than the original in my opinion.
41. DJ Khaled - I'm From the Ghetto (The Game, Jadakiss, Trick Daddy, Dre) - This will be the last Khaled track on the list, I promise. I can't deny my love for this song from the moment I heard it. Although it is a ghetto anthem, it is easily the most upbeat song to come out in a while. East, West and South collide on this track reminiscing about ghetto live on the three spheres. Disregard Khaled's ramblings.
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