Top 10 Hip Hop Songs of All Time

by Poseidon

As a lifelong student of both hip hop and literature, I am uniquely qualified to determine the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. My masters degree in poetry has allowed me to tap into both the most meaningful lyrics ever uttered in the genre and the most disgusting flows. As we all know, the two must meld to create superior music. Excellent lyrics without deft flow are worthless, as is a sick beat and sublime flow without top-notch penmanship. Since I was born in 1981, I have studied rap and hip hop since the style was created. I have heard 99.9% of all hip songs ever recorded (I am going to download Tupac's albums tonight), so this list is definitive. Following are the 10 greatest hip hop songs ever recorded:



01. Limp Bizkit - Nookie




Fred Durst is without a doubt the luminary of the genre. His magnum opus, Nookie, took lyricism to new heights:


i did it all for the nookie (come on) the nookie (come on)
so you can take that cookie and stick it up your (yeah)
stick it up your (yeah) stick it up your (yeah)
stick it up your

The song's musical side is just as innovative. Note how the beats explode from speakers as if created by a real band and not a drum-and-bass machine. Never has a rapper looked so stylish in a parka.


02. Bushwick Bill - Who's the Biggest




One of rap's most intense voices comes from one of its smallest frames. At just 4'8", Bushwick Bill speaks to some of the greatest prejudices in the world: midgets. Who's the Biggest sparkles lyrically:

There was three little piggies and they all went to the market
and two short motherfuckas, hahaha
Chopped them down, because, uh
One little short motherfucka was born into greatness
Has obtained greatness, because his name is uh
Bushwick, aka Chuck, four foot eight and straight don't give a fuck
I got the strength of six men
With the heart to run up on a muthafucka six ten
I swear, I knows no fear, this labels me a threat
Throats get cut, niggas chests get wet
Some people say I got a short complex, that ain't true
But I got a short fuse so what's next?

Officially named Dr. Wolfgang Vincent Gobin Bushwickin the Barbarian Mother Funky Stay High Dollar Billstir, Bushwick has never attained the prominence his excellence deserves. Luckily, essayists such as myself fully understand his brilliance.


03. Chicago Bears - Super Bowl Shuffle




Sometimes the greatest muse for an artist stems from a great accomplishment in another medium. The 1985 Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl behind one of the greatest defenses ever in the NFL and the created the third best hip hop song of all time to celebrate. In retrospect, the football title almost seems to exist solely for the purpose of creating the song. Thank goodness for hip-hop fans the New England Patriots played so terribly that year.


04. Mase - Feel So Good




Much like the Super Bowl for the 1985 Chicago Bears, Sean Puffy Combs served his main role not as an artist, but as the lead-in to Mase, one of rap's true gems. Mase is indeed a bad boy:

Ho's ride, get your nut 'till I can't get it up
I'm a big man, give this man room
I'd a hit everything, from Cancun to Grant's tomb
Why you standin' on the wall?
Hand on your balls
Lighting up drugs always fightin' in the club
I'm the reason they made the dress code
They figure I wouldn't wild when I'm in my french clothes
Dress as I suppose, from my neck to my toes
Neck full of gold, baguettes in my Rolls

But he feels so good.


05. Blondie - Rapture




Often billed as the first rap song ever, Blondie's Debbie Harry never sounded better than her rap session during Rapture. Perhaps also the first instance of the union between punk and hip hop, Harry seemed to have her finger on the pulse of a generation:

Don't strain your brain, paint a train
You'll be singin' in the rain
I said don't stop, do punk rock

Not only is this track in the Top 5 of hip hop's all time tracks, but it also ranks as the best Blondie song ever.


06. MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This




The true start to the glory years of hip hop, MC Hammer introduced the world to big pants, bigger beats, and the biggest anthems we have yet to discover in the genre. Though he produced a plethora of hits, none summarizes his amazing style more than U Can't Touch This. To this day, preteens roll around skating rinks to this song, a true benchmark to greatness.

07. Julia Nunes - Jesus Walks




Later covered by Kanye West, who expanded and commercialized the song, who also added the brilliant line:

I'm just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that's the way I need Jesus

West set back Christianity by at least a millennium, but Nunes sounds completely fresh. This primacy cuts to the heart of the tune. Although known primarily for playing the ukulele on youtube, Nunes' talent is large enough to garner her a spot in hip hop's hall of fame.

08. LL Cool J - Doin' It




Following the monumental success of Mama Said Knock You Out, many wondered if LL Cool J could top himself. Then he dropped Doin' It and we were all served. Perhaps the best flow of any song on the list, Ladies Love Cool James is a bona fide rap legend; this is his finest piece.

09. Linkin Park - In the End



The purest form of hip hop featured on the list, Linkin Park help define the genre. Their best song is a prototype for all artists who want to call themselves rappers. I'm not sure what's going on in the video, but this list is not the Top 10 Hip Hop Videos of all time. Probably underrated at number nine, Linkin Park are probably the best hip hop outfit currently active.


10. Fresh Prince - Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme




Though better known for later songs, such as Miami and Gettin Jiggy Wit It, Will Smith started as the Fresh Prince and produced his best song for the underground, cult phenomenon called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show featured Smith as a Philadelphia street thug who causes the hip-hop-ization of southern California, a trend which actually came to fruition in reality. The worth of that reverse-gentrification can be debated ad infinitum, but what cannot be disputed is the excellence of this song.