VH1's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Terrible, terrible list. I don't even know where to start. The top 10 is okay, but the rest just seemed like they were drawn randomly out of a hat.

 

100 Biz Markie - "Just A Friend"

99 Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft/ Ying Yang Twins - "Get Low"

98 Warren G ft. Nate Dogg - "Regulate"

97 Eve - "Who's that Girl"

96 DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - "Parents Just Don't Understand"

95 L'Trimm - "Cars With The Boom"

94 Master P ft. Sikk, Fiend, Mia-x and Mystical - "Make 'Em Say Ugh"

93 N.E.R.D. ft. Lee Harvey and Vida - "Lapdance"

92 Yo-Yo - "Can't Play with my Yo-Yo"

91 Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone - "Ridin'"

90 Pete Rock & CL Smooth - "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y)"

89 Cam'ron - "Oh Boy"

88 Jungle Brothers - "What U Waitin' 4"

87 Wyclef Jean ft. Refugee All Stars - "We Tryin' to Stay Alive"

86 Heavy D. and the Boyz - "Now That We Found Love"

85 Black Star - "Definition"

84 UTFO - "Roxanne Roxanne"

83 2 Live Crew - "Me So Horny"

82 Chubb Rock - "Treat 'Em Right"

81 PM Dawn - "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss"

80 Three 6 Mafia ft. Paula Campbell- "Hard Out Here For A Pimp"

79 DMX - "Ruff Ryders' Anthem (Stop Drop)"

78 Arrested Development - "Tennessee"

77 Cold Crush Brothers - "Cold Crush Bros. at the Dixie"

76 Big Punisher ft. Joe- "Still Not A Player"

75 Lil' Kim ft. Lil' Cease- "Crush on You"

74 EPMD - "You Gots To Chill"

73 Black Sheep - "The Choice Is Yours"

72 J.J. Fad - "Supersonic"

71 Whodini - "Freaks Come Out at Night"

70 3(rd) Bass - "Pop Goes the Weasel"

69 Common - "I Used to Love H.E.R."

68 T.I. - "What You Know"

67 Mase - "Feel So Good"

66 House Of Pain - "Jump Around"

65 Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three - "Love Rap"

64 The Roots - "What they Do"

63 Kid 'n Play - "Rollin' With Kid N Play"

62 Digable Planets - "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)"

61 Slick Rick - "Children's Story"

60 L.L. Cool J - "I Need Love"

59 Ol' Dirty Bastard - "Shimmy Shimmy Ya"

58 Ludacris ft. Shawna- "What's Your Fantasy"

57 Big Daddy Kane - "I Get the Job Done"

56 Busta Rhymes - "Woo-Ha! Got You All In Check"

55 Terror Squad ft/ Fat Joe and Remy - "Lean Back"

54 MC Lyte - "Cha Cha Cha"

53 Lox ft. DMX and Lil' Kim - "Money, Power, Respect"

52 Foxy Brown ft. Jay-Z - "I'll Be"

51 Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew - "The Show"

50 Lil' Wayne - "Tha Block Is Hot"

49 Boogie Down Productions - "My Philosophy"

48 Nas - "One Love"

47 Young MC - "Bust A Move"

46 De La Soul - "Me, Myself, And I"

45 Geto Boys - "Mind Playing Tricks On Me"

44 Method Man ft/ Mary J. Blige - "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need to Get By"

43 Game, The ft. 50 Cent - "Hate It or Love It"

42 Roxanne Shante - "Roxanne's Revenge"

41 Funky 4 + 1 - "That's the Joint"

40 Run-DMC - "It's Like That"

39 Tone-Loc - "Wild Thing"

38 Coolio - "Gangsta's Paradise"

37 Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock - "It Takes Two"

36 Nelly - "Hot In Herre"

35 Queen Latifah ft. Monie Love - "Ladies First"

34 Cypress Hill - "Insane In The Brain"

33 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - "Tha Crossroads"

32 Puff Daddy & The Family ft/ Notorious B.I.G., Lil' Kim and The Lox - "It's All About The Benjamins"

31 Kool Moe Dee - "How Ya Like Me Now"

30 Tribe Called Quest - "Check the Rhime"

29 Digital Underground - "The Humpty Dance"

28 Ice Cube - "It Was A Good Day"

27 Beastie Boys - "Hold it Now, Hit it"

26 MC Hammer - "U Can't Touch This"

25 Fugees - "Killing Me Softly"

24 Eric B and Rakim - "Paid in Full"

23 Outkast - "B.O.B."

22 Naughty By Nature - "OPP"

21 Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force- "Planet Rock"

20 Kanye West ft/ Jamie Foxx - "Gold Digger"

19 Ice T - "Colors"

18 50 Cent - "In Da Club"

17 Sir Mix-A-Lot - "Baby Got Back"

16 Missy Elliott - "Get Ur Freak On"

15 Eminem - "Stan"

14 Tupac - "I Get Around"

13 Wu-Tang Clan - "C.R.E.A.M."

12 L.L. Cool J - "I Can't Live Without My Radio"

11 Jay-Z - "Hard Knock Life"

10 Kurtis Blow - "The Breaks"

09 Salt-N-Pepa - "Push It"

08 Snoop Doggy Dogg - "Gin and Juice"

07 Notorious B.I.G. - "Juicy"

06 N.W.A. - "Straight Outta Compton"

05 Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - "The Message"

04 Run-DMC ft/ Aerosmith - "Walk This Way"

03 Dr. Dre - "Nuthin But A 'G' Thang"

02 Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight"

01 Public Enemy - "Fight The Power"

[Smartly Pretty 0]

"Stan" is top 10 material to me, but my hip hop knowledge is pretty limited. "One Love" being the Nas representation kinda sucks, because N.Y. State of Mind is way better.

[OldSchoolWrestling 0]

Roxanne's Revenge ranked higher than Roxanne, Roxanne? Blasphemy!!! And no Fat Boys????

[foleyfanforever88 0]

"Stan" is top 10 material to me, but my hip hop knowledge is pretty limited. "One Love" being the Nas representation kinda sucks, because N.Y. State of Mind is way better.

 

That was Billy Joel, not Nas. I get the two confused sometimes too.

 

Anyways, Regulate is probably my favorite hip-hop song of all time so I'm glad to see it made the list, though I think it should be a bit higher.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Notable classic singles that are missing at first glance:

 

"Hynpotize" Notorious BIG

"Dwyck" Gangstarr

"Mona Lisa" Slick Rick

"California Love" 2Pac

"Eric B. Is President" Eric B. & Rakim

"Bonita Applebum" Tribe Called Quest

"Slow Down" Brand Nubian

 

"One Love" being the Nas representation kinda sucks, because N.Y. State of Mind is way better.

 

"NY State of Mind" is his best work, but I'd also put "Ether", "The World Is Yours" and "If I Ruled the World" above "One Love."

[The Truthiness 0]

"I Gave You Power" is Nas's best work in my opinion.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

"BOB" for Outkast? Really? That's probably my least favorite song in their catalog. No "ATLiens", "Elevators", "Rosa Parks", "Ms. Jackson" or "Player's Ball"?

[Copper Feel 0]

"NY State of Mind" is his best work

 

Wrong. It's actually 'It Ain't Hard to Tell'.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I'm extremely suprised "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J didn't make the cut...

 

But then again did anyone expect this list to be awesome?

[Smartly Pretty 0]

All of Illmatic is so great that you could reasonably pick any 10 of them.

[Gary Floyd 0]

96 DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - "Parents Just Don't Understand"

Fuck that, it should be "Summertime."

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

This appears to have been compiled without any input from anybody who actually listens to/cares about hip hop. "T.R.O.Y" all the way back at 90? "Tha Block is Hot" as the lone Lil Wayne/Ca$h Money representative? No "Shook Ones"?!? What a weird list.

[Copper Feel 0]

50 Cent above all but 17 other... no actually, 50 Cent being on this list at all is by far its biggest atrocity.

 

02 Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight"

 

This is obviously a very important song and all, but to call it the second 'greatest hip hop song' of all time is mind-numbingly stupid.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

02 Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight"

 

This is obviously a very important song and all, but to call it the second 'greatest hip hop song' of all time is mind-numbingly stupid.

 

I'm fine with that being #2, it's just that "The Message" should have been #1.

 

I like Public Enemy and all, but "Fight The Power" doesn't really do it for me.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I'm extremely dissapointed that there is no Goodie Mob on the list.

 

And "I Used to Love H.E.R." should be top 20.

[RepoMan 0]

02 Sugarhill Gang - "Rapper's Delight"

 

This is obviously a very important song and all, but to call it the second 'greatest hip hop song' of all time is mind-numbingly stupid.

 

I'm fine with that being #2, it's just that "The Message" should have been #1.

 

I like Public Enemy and all, but "Fight The Power" doesn't really do it for me.

 

If you're only going to have one single by Public Enemy, it should have been 911's a Joke.

 

[BUTT 0]

I clicked on this thread expecting to see Byron the Bulb reppin' Weezy, and it delivered.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Wu-Tang making the Top 20 is a pleasant surprise but I'd have replaced C.R.E.A.M with Da Mysteries of Chessboxin'. I clicked on this thread hoping to see Nuthin But a G Thang near the top and am happy to see it there. Maybe my favorite hip-hop song ever.

 

Gold Digger even making that list is all kinds of wrong. And I love P.E but that's a shitty #1.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Top 10 is missing: I Used To Love HER, They Reminisce Over You, Tha Crossroads, NY State of Mind and It Was A Good Day.

 

And, seriously, out of Jay Z's entire catalogue the best they could do is Hard Knock Life?

[Copper Feel 0]

I'm fine with that being #2, it's just that "The Message" should have been #1.

 

Well, if the list was compiled entirely on a basis of which songs are most important then sure. There's been a lot of hip-hop since that is much better than both, obviously.

[mfn 0]

needs more Beastie Boys

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

What the fuck is "Hot in Here" doing in that list? I don't even hate Nelly, but thats one of his worst songs, atleast go with "Country Grammar" if they wanted Nelly on the list.

[Steviekick 0]

It seems like they were more interested in name dropping every rapper than putting together a quality list. As far as I'm concerned, "The Message" should have been number one.

[foleyfanforever88 0]

What the fuck is "Hot in Here" doing in that list? I don't even hate Nelly, but thats one of his worst songs, atleast go with "Country Grammar" if they wanted Nelly on the list.

 

Ride Wit Me > Country Grammar

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Fuck that, Country Grammar was my shit in Gr. 8.

[Dr. Zoidberg 0]

Ride Wit Me is NOT > Country Grammar

 

Out of all the Jay-Z songs, they should have picked "The Takeover" or "99 Problems," at least. "Hard Knock Life" is good, but not #11 good.

 

And I dig the Biggie choice. Woulda preferred "Hypnotize," "Going Back to Cali," or "Niggas Bleed," but it's a good song.

[MFer 0]

Let's face it, you're never gonna get a great (or even good) list on these things. First of all, doesn't VH1 intentionally include an artist or group only once or twice? Then, once you get past #30 or so, they pretty much mail it in and, like Cheech said, pretty much just pull these songs out of hat. Popularity, and to a lesser extent, importance, are the main factors which is how you end up with "In Da Club" over "Paid In Full" or something like that.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

There's a lot to complain about here, but it's all about subjectivity in the end. My biggest gripe is "Hard Knock Life" not just being #11, but even cracking this list. Please. I'm sure mainstream appeal played a part in the selections here (how could any list like this featuring Nelly and N*E*R*D not be), but that track isn't even the best thing off of that album.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Ride Wit Me is NOT > Country Grammar

 

Out of all the Jay-Z songs, they should have picked "The Takeover" or "99 Problems," at least. "Hard Knock Life" is good, but not #11 good.

 

And I dig the Biggie choice. Woulda preferred "Hypnotize," "Going Back to Cali," or "Niggas Bleed," but it's a good song.

 

Nigga please...

 

If they were going to pick any Jay Z songs, they should have "Can I Live" or "Dead Presidents".

 

As for Biggie any song off "Ready to Die" is better then the majority of "Life after Death"

 

I don't get why you guys would rank "Hypnotize" over "Juicy", even though "Juicy" was one of the weakest tracks on "Ready to Die". And "Going Back to Cali" is a balant rip off from the LL track so that shouldn't be there regardless. The best Biggie tracks, in my opinion are "Machine Gun Funk", "The What" feat. Method Man, and "Unbelievable".

 

[Dr. Zoidberg 0]

Ride Wit Me is NOT > Country Grammar

 

Out of all the Jay-Z songs, they should have picked "The Takeover" or "99 Problems," at least. "Hard Knock Life" is good, but not #11 good.

 

And I dig the Biggie choice. Woulda preferred "Hypnotize," "Going Back to Cali," or "Niggas Bleed," but it's a good song.

 

Nigga please...

 

If they were going to pick any Jay Z songs, they should have "Can I Live" or "Dead Presidents".

 

As for Biggie any song off "Ready to Die" is better then the majority of "Life after Death"

 

I don't get why you guys would rank "Hypnotize" over "Juicy", even though "Juicy" was one of the weakest tracks on "Ready to Die". And "Going Back to Cali" is a balant rip off from the LL track so that shouldn't be there regardless. The best Biggie tracks, in my opinion are "Machine Gun Funk", "The What" feat. Method Man, and "Unbelievable".

 

Shit, I forgot about Dead Presidents.