Tag: Outkast

Top 90 Hip Hop Songs of the 1990s: Nos. 30-21

We’re into the Top 30 of my personal top 90 hip hop singles of the 90s decades! If you’ve missed any of the entries covering numbers 90-31, you can peruse them by clicking the Music tab on the blog or simply scrolling through.

Let’s bring it:

30. “Big Poppa” by The Notorious B.I.G. (1995)

One of Biggie’s signature tunes from his Ready to Die debut album, this gave the brilliant rapper his most prominent nickname.

29. “Bring the Pain” by Method Man (1994)

One of the stars of Wu-Tang Clan, this was Meth’s first single from his acclaimed Tical album.

28. “Insane in the Brain” by Cypress Hill (1993)

Cops come and try to snatch Cypress Hill’s crops (likely marijuana) in the group’s best known hit.

27. “Fu-Gee-La” by Fugees (1996)

The lead single from Wyclef, Lauryn, and Pras’s landmark album The Score.

26. “The Choice Is Yours” by Black Sheep (1991)

Engine engine… number 9… Black Sheep had an amazingly catchy smash with this release.

25. “The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground (1990)

Digital Underground released their signature tune that memorably described lead rapper Shock G’s proclivity to do things at Burger King that didn’t involve typical menu ordering.

24. “Triumph” by Wu-Tang Clan (1997)

The RZA led hip hop super group showcased the talents of all its rappers on the first single off their Wu-Tang Forever album.

23. “Rosa Parks” by Outkast (1998)

The lead single off Aquemini offered one of the most commercial and catchy tracks from Andre 3000 and Big Boi.

22. “Can’t Truss It” by Public Enemy (1991)

Many PE fanatics might rank other songs higher, but this has always remained my personal favorite track from the iconic group.

21. “Deep Cover” by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg (1992)

The world got its first taste of the Dre/Snoop combo in this title song from a 1992 Laurence Fishburne crime thriller. Rap would never be the same.

And that’ll do it for now! We’ll enter the top 20 tomorrow…

 

Top 90 Hip Hop Songs of the 1990s: Nos. 40-31

We’ve reached the top 40 of my personal favorite 90 hip hop singles of the 1990s decade! If you missed my posts covering numbers 90-41, you can scroll through the blog or click the music tab to find them (and feel free to look back at my series on top 90 1990s R&B tracks while you’re at it)…

Let’s get rolling:

40. “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” by DMX (1998)

DMX had a signature hit from his debut album with this hard hitting anthem.

39. “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” by Digable Planets (1992)

This Grammy winning, jazz fused track gave Digable Planets a mainstream smash.

38. “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio (1995)

By far the greatest hip hop song that featured Michelle Pfeiffer in its video, Coolio scored his biggest success with this track from the Dangerous Minds soundtrack.

37. “Shook Ones (Part II)” by Mobb Deep (1994)

The lead single from the duo’s The Infamous album is a career highlight. The beat was later used in the climactic rap battle scene in Eminem’s 8 Mile movie.

36. “One More Chance” by The Notorious B.I.G. (1995)

The Biggie hit actually knocked Michael Jackson from the #1 singles chart. It features both Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige on backing vocals.

35. “I Get Around” by 2Pac (1993)

‘Pac had a playa’s anthem for the ages with assists from Shock G and Money-B from Digital Underground.

34. “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” by Ol Dirty Bastard (1995)

ODB had his greatest track with this entry from his debut solo album. Years later, it would play over the opening credits to Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up.

33. “Tennessee” by Arrested Development (1992)

The eclectic hip hop group had a classic here which crossed over to massive mainstream airplay.

32. “Elevators (Me & You)” by Outkast (1996)

Probably the best rap duo of all time, this is the Atlanta’s group’s first single off their second LP ATLiens.

31. “Gin and Juice” by Snoop Dogg (1994)

The Dogg’s second single from Doggystyle informed the universe that his mind was on his money and… you know the rest.

We’ll have a break in the action and resume my top 3rd of the list later this week. Until then!