Your favorite hip-hop song

Name your favorite hip-hop song and the reason why it's your favorite....

I'll start:

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

Why? For starters...goosebumps. The sounds on this track are so addictive, I get straight goosebumps whenever I hear it. The production is literally ear candy to me. If I could make love to a beat....lol. Seriously though, there's something about it that can center me after any day of craziness, sadness, happiness...basically any day. CL Smooth's rhymes and delivery still kill me. More goosebumps. Besides all that. I can whistle this beat with ease. And I continue to do so days after hearing it just once.

That is definitely one of the best songs ever made.

"The Formula" by The D.O.C.

It represents everything I like in a song. Great lyrics. Crack beat...it's just a classic front to back

For me it's a tie between The Message by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, and It Ain't Hard To Tell by Nas.

The first one is one of the greatest hip-hop stories ever told that helped pioneer reality rap, and the other is simply one of the most fantastic lyrical displays of all time.

I Phantom - Mr. Lif

Wow trying to just list one here I think is impossible at least for me..so I'm going to list 3 and these are the first 3 that came to mind for me!

In no particular order:

Run-D.M.C.-Sucker MC's-for me this song represents EVERYTHING that hip-hop has to offer..although Run and Dee aren't known as the greatest lyricists, right here they did something special...the lyrics are great and they just flow over this extra sparse beat with the perfectly timed hand claps and scratches, and drum boom-bap throughout the entire song. When I first heard this record it blew my mind and still does to this day as it's in constant rotation for me.



Wu-Tang Clan-Triumph- again another song that represents EVERYTHING hip-hop has to offer...9 emcees just KILLING shit back to back to back...etc, this song is lyrical crack and that beat by RZA combined with Dirt McGirt's interludes in between certain verses is just straight ridiculous....this song is just 6 non-stop minutes of hip-hop personified...with no chorus to slow anything down...you never get a chance to breath and recover, you've just got to hear this one out until it ends and your ears will thank you again and again...lol


LL Cool J-Rock The Bells- chock full of lyrics....and that bragging and arrogant style that NYC is famous for, Cool J and Rick Rubin just murdered this track....and although it doesn't get recognized for it, this song is a battle song, it's just not directed at anyone in particular but it's an attack on the entire music industry in general.....I mean he mentions Michael, Madonna and Prince by name in the song and lets them have it...lol...also that ridiculous beat produced entirely by Rick Rubin is just killer...the scratches...the go-go sounds he employed on it...the drums he used...the guitar riffs...this is when Rick was at his HIP-HOP creatively best....this song inspired an entire generation of emcees and also a world wide tour which is named after it....


So these are my first 3 that came to mind for me, with about 500 more to follow....lol

I can't even fathom picking one song but here's 3:

Rakim- Know The Ledge- Do you want to hear a perfect fucking hardcore street trk with ridiculous flow? This is the song. There is something about that beat and hook break down that just moves me like no other song. Rakim sounded so hungry and I like that Rakim betta than any of his other stuff.

DJ Quik- Tonite- Look here there are smooth songs that come a dime a dozen but then theres this one. One of the few perfect marriages of beat and subject matter. It puts me in a good mood everytime I hear it.

Too Short- The Ghetto- One of the first songs that I memorized on purpose and made almost everyone around listen to and damn near memorize themselves. One of the songs that truly spoke to me and at the time my situation. That bassline is amazing and Short kicked some of his best lyrics period.

The Message, TROY, and Triumph are some of the greatest songs ever made in any genre imo.

Pete Rock/CL Smooth "Troy"
Geto Boys "MInd Playing Tricks on me"


These are 2 that come to mind but this is virtually an impossible thing for me to pick.

KRob86 wrote:

Rakim- Know The Ledge- Do you want to hear a perfect fucking hardcore street trk with ridiculous flow? This is the song. There is something about that beat and hook break down that just moves me like no other song. Rakim sounded so hungry and I like that Rakim betta than any of his other stuff.

Love this song too, this along with Eric B. is President are in my Top 10.

hmm, i could never narrow it down to just one. just off the top of my head, a few of my fav's would be It's Funky Enough, C.R.E.A.M., I'm Bad, The Symphony, and Dear Mama

Tearz by the Wu.

Fell in love with the beat when I first heard it, and I've yet to become so obssesed with another instrumental. Not to mention the stories where fire. Used to spin this on the daily a good 10+ times a day.

Triumph is mine. Every MC kills it and Deck's verse is also my favorite verse off all time. That shit gives me goosebumps.

Criminal Minded is probably my favorite song of all time.

'Can I Live' off Reasonable Doubt. My favorite song off my favorite album. Jay-Z at his finest, witty lyrics, metaphor galore and he was a hungry mc!!! Damn I miss that Jay.

Gotta cosign Kev on Quik's Tonite. Not my fav of all time but it's a bad ass story everyone can relate to.

I'll go with Nas- The World Is Yours simply because of the beats and the lyrics. This is one of many songs by Nas that captures his lyrical prowess. Tried to keep it simple with this one, although it's sort of tough having to pick just one song.

Wayne wrote:

I'll go with Nas- The World Is Yours simply because of the beats and the lyrics. This is one of many songs by Nas that captures his lyrical prowess. Tried to keep it simple with this one, although it's sort of tough having to pick just one song.

Yeah that's my 2nd fav Nas song behind It Ain't Hard To Tell. I have about 3-4 Nas songs in my Top 25.

I can't even decide. I'll say Above The Clouds cause it's the most played on my itunes.

KJ Styles wrote:

Wayne wrote:

I'll go with Nas- The World Is Yours simply because of the beats and the lyrics. This is one of many songs by Nas that captures his lyrical prowess. Tried to keep it simple with this one, although it's sort of tough having to pick just one song.

Yeah that's my 2nd fav Nas song behind It Ain't Hard To Tell. I have about 3-4 Nas songs in my Top 25.

I can't say i'm surprised by either of you.

Life's A Bitch>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Geto Boys "MInd Playing Tricks on me""

DAMN, you beat me to it. DATZ DA JAM!!!

Pudgee Tha Phat Bastard - On The Regular/On The Regular (Remix)

Nick Wiz laced both versions with some ill beats. Samples are from Dedato and Kool & The Gang

im going with the ''most played'' route,

Butter - ATCQ

now that i sit here listening to it, i can see why i love this song so much. for me it epitomizes hip hop, smooth and arrogant, talented dj on the decks with a quality mc just ripping up the verses one after the other. perfect simplicity at its finest and rawest.

Check The Technique - GangStarr

wow, now that i look at it, these two songs are pretty much one and the same... hmmmm, epiphany...

Like many others in this thread I find it impossible to decide on just one track. I'll try three though.

Outkast - Ain't No Thang

The track that introduced me to what would be my favorite hip-hop group. This track still bangs like it did back then, and both Andre and Big Boi showcase their skills, dropping some of their best lines. Never gets old for me.

GZA - Liquid Swords

The opener to my favorite hip-hop album. To be honest any track from the album could be here, I love them all pretty much equally. Can't beat that opener though. I actually just watched Shogun Assassin over the weekend. Love that shit.

Dalek - Speak Volumes

Perfect atmospheric hip hop in my opinion. Strong messages coupled with somber ambience. The first track I've heard that's not only angry about hip hop's death but pretty sad about it too.

Sinj wrote:

Check The Technique - GangStarr

Nice pick! That's waaaay up there for me too.

T. Myers wrote:

KJ Styles wrote:

Wayne wrote:

I'll go with Nas- The World Is Yours simply because of the beats and the lyrics. This is one of many songs by Nas that captures his lyrical prowess. Tried to keep it simple with this one, although it's sort of tough having to pick just one song.

Yeah that's my 2nd fav Nas song behind It Ain't Hard To Tell. I have about 3-4 Nas songs in my Top 25.

I can't say i'm surprised by either of you.

Life's A Bitch>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Life's A Bitch is dope but not the dopest by either Nas or AZ IMO.

Sinj wrote:

im going with the ''most played'' route,

Butter - ATCQ

now that i sit here listening to it, i can see why i love this song so much. for me it epitomizes hip hop, smooth and arrogant, talented dj on the decks with a quality mc just ripping up the verses one after the other. perfect simplicity at its finest and rawest.

LOVE that song!!!!! Phife fucking RIPPED IT (as he did with all his appearances on The Low End Theory) and it's reminiscent of how I was in HS.