Eazily I approach, the 100 GREATEST RAP (OR HIP HOP OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT) TRACKS OF THE GODS because I ain't no joke.

I love big pimpin so fucking much. I prob undervoted it. Could still rap that whole thing.

2001 > Chronic: challops I can get behind

76. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya [8 votes, 158 points, 1995]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ITLNzPoEqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC5gIBdfIQI

This is, like, legitimately great so far. Even the novelty songs are fairly undeniable.

Should I be waiting for the other shoe to drop?

2nd is the classic remix w/ mc eiht and e40 if you've never heard it

This recap may reflect the poll differently in a couple spots because I applied trad ILM poll tiebreakers.

100. Big L - Put It On [4 votes, 125 points, 1994]
98. Boogie Down Productions - The Bridge Is Over [5 votes, 125 points, 1986]
98. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Brooklyn Zoo [5 votes, 125 points, 1995]
97. Public Enemy - Night of the Living Baseheads [3 votes, 126 points, 1988]
96. Fat Lip - What's Up Fat Lip [5 votes, 126 points, 2000]
95. OutKast – Spottieottiedopalicious [4 votes, 1 #1 vote, 127 points, 1998]
94. T.I. - Rubberband Man [5 votes, 128 points, 2003]
93. Skee-Lo - I Wish [6 votes, 128 points, 1995]
92. EPMD - Strictly Business [4 votes, 133 points, 1988]
91. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - Tha Crossroads [5 votes, 1 #1 vote, 134 points, 1995]
90. EPMD - You Gots To Chill [4 votes, 139 points, 1988]
89. Jeru The Damaja - Come Clean [5 votes, 140 points, 1993]
88. De La Soul - Eye Know [5 votes, 142 points, 1989]
87. Ludacris - Southern Hospitality [6 votes, 143 points, 2000]
86. Smoothe da Hustler ft. Trigger tha Gambler - Broken Language [4 votes, 146 points, 1996]
85. Nas - The World Is Yours [5 votes, 146 points, 1994]
84. Naughty by Nature – O.P.P. [8 votes, 150 points, 1991]
83. Heltah Skeltah ft. OGC - Lefleuf Leflah Eskoshka [4 votes, 151 points, 1995]
82. The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight [4 votes, 1 #1 vote, 151 points, 1979]
81. Ice Cube - When Will They Shoot? [4 votes, 153 points, 1992]
80. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) [6 votes, 153 points, 1983]
79. Jay-Z ft. U.G.K. – Big Pimpin’ [5 votes, 154 points, 1999]
78. The Notorious B.I.G. - Party and Bullshit [5 votes, 156 points, 1993]
77. Dr. Dre - Still D.R.E. [6 votes, 156 points, 1999]
76. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya [8 votes, 158 points, 1995]

xpost Definitely think Chronic vs. 2001 is a closer call than most would admit.

loving the list so far even though only one song i've voted for has showed up -- guess i predicted the top 49

that is it for today. thx to grillz, johnny and spottie, and of course everyone for voting.

these are 25 great songs, even the one I think is overrated is great

I'm 3/100 so far. Expected such.

Three of mine have showed up - World Is Yours, Rapper's Delight, White Lines. I should've voted for Still Dre too. A lot of the others I don't actually know - Crossroads and SpottieOttie... my favourites so far.

Eye Know, I Wish and Shimmy Shimmy Ya are my three so far. Can't believe I didn't vote for O.P.P. (especially after seeing some of the lesser-liked stuff I actually included on my ballot).

lol I didn't vote in this either

definitely would have voted for these:

97. Public Enemy - Night of the Living Baseheads [3 votes, 126 points, 1988]
89. Jeru The Damaja - Come Clean [5 votes, 140 points, 1993]
84. Naughty by Nature – O.P.P. [8 votes, 150 points, 1991]
81. Ice Cube - When Will They Shoot? [4 votes, 153 points, 1992]

might have voted for these:

93. Skee-Lo - I Wish [6 votes, 128 points, 1995]
87. Ludacris - Southern Hospitality [6 votes, 143 points, 2000]
82. The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight [4 votes, 1 #1 vote, 151 points, 1979]
80. Grandmaster Flash & Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Don't Do It) [6 votes, 153 points, 1983]
76. Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya [8 votes, 158 points, 1995]

I've only got three so far as well, but my albums ballot was so thoroughly intertwined w/ what placed that I would prefer a surprising and random list of things I could just have easily voted for b/c they are great fucking tracks - so far, that seems to be the case.

"O.P.P." is the one i voted for. i don't remember making a deliberate decision not to vote for "Rapper's Delight," definitely would've included it if i'd thought to.

Voted Come Clean, Spottieottiedopalicious, and What's Up Fatlip?

Not mad at anything so far, really. Love a lot of it, esp When Will They Shoot, Broken Language and Eye Know. Heltah Skeltah's the only thing I haven't heard, and it sounds good (though if it's in there over I Got Cha Opin or Who Got Da Props I will be ril ril mad.)

95. OutKast – Spottieottiedopalicious [4 votes, 1 #1 vote, 127 points, 1998]
89. Jeru The Damaja - Come Clean [5 votes, 140 points, 1993]
86. Smoothe da Hustler ft. Trigger tha Gambler - Broken Language [4 votes, 146 points, 1996]
83. Heltah Skeltah ft. OGC - Lefleuf Leflah Eskoshka [4 votes, 151 points, 1995]

Voted for these but thought I had 'Put It On' in my list too, whoops.

voted for

95. OutKast – Spottieottiedopalicious [4 votes, 1 #1 vote, 127 points, 1998]
94. T.I. - Rubberband Man [5 votes, 128 points, 2003]
91. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony - Tha Crossroads [5 votes, 1 #1 vote, 134 points, 1995]
90. EPMD - You Gots To Chill [4 votes, 139 points, 1988]
77. Dr. Dre - Still D.R.E. [6 votes, 156 points, 1999]

cool list

Look at that, three/four Spottieottiedopalicious voters in a row. I think that's bingo.

Nothing I voted made out although w one exception I didn't vote at all strategically

been good so far, ones I placed are

100. Boogie Down Productions - The Bridge Is Over [5 votes, 125 points, 1986] (#10 on my ballot)
96. Fat Lip - What's Up Fat Lip [5 votes, 126 points, 2000] (tie w/ #97) (#16 on my ballot)
93. Skee-Lo - I Wish [6 votes, 128 points, 1995] (tie w/ #94) (#47 on my ballot)
92. EPMD - Strictly Business [4 votes, 133 points, 1988] (#12 on my ballot)
84. Naughty by Nature - O.P.P. [8 votes, 150 points, 1991] (#45 on my ballot)

kinda suprised "you gots to chill" beat out "strictly business" maybe ppl got confused haw

Nothing I voted made out although w one exception I didn't vote at all strategically

― lebroner (D-40), Tuesday, 7 June 2011 20:37 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

made me lol

it is strange how Big Pimpin's cultural moment just totally passed me by - never heard it on the radio, never heard it at a party, never heard it in somebody else's car - it's like it only exists retroactively for me

how is that even possible

yeah thats crazy

'Shakey: the Martian Colony years'

I dunno, not a lot of Jay-Z fans in San Francisco, what can I say

I vivdly remember two conversations about that song from my childhood (one was an older kid explaining what BLADs were)

Bay Area has always struck me as remarkably insular when it comes to hip hop, even to this day

xp

Glad to see "When Will They Shoot" placed. that song is GOAT.

Big pimpin was huge. No way that bypassed the bay

I don't know. I missed it too. I was in SF in 2000, listening to the radio.

tbf radio WAS far more regional in 2000 than it is now

It could be me. I feel like I never really "got" Big Pimpin' anyway. I remember tons of Cash Money on the radio at that time.

I've always felt like when I turn on hip hop radio here I do not hear anything but west coast + southern stuff and that was true back then as well. I mean obviously I missed something but it's not like I made an effort to avoid it or anything, Jay-Z just didn't register - if anything was blasting through the neighborhood it was shit like 2Pac, Spice 1, Mac Dre, E-40, Too $hort, Luniz, Keak Da Sneak etc. plus maybe "Ugh (na na na na)" lol (PG OTM about the Bay always making time for Cash Money, plus dudes like T.I., David Banner)

now that I think of it maybe it's just a holdover of the 2Pac/Biggie beef

That def sounds right to me from what I remember. They shy away from East Coast stuff. I grew up in Cali and have lived in NYC for 9 years. It took me moving out here to start really digging into NYC rap.

Spotify playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/miketd/playlist/3Gre0dm7q3UC0vQfspoPRu

Never thought of big pimpin as nyc rap, it was all over mtv etc and was straight pop

plus its got ugk and timbo

I haven't watched MTV since Yo! MTV Raps went off the air. UGK didn't get the Bay Area exposure that the New Orleans/Cash Money stuff did, for some reason, I only found out about them years after the fact (lol Outkast namedropping)

Only one song for me so far: Still D.R.E.

xxpost Making a different point, guys. Settle down.

I'm not gonna argue that Big Pimpin is not a pop song (obviously it is) but in terms of radio programming and regional popularity in the Bay, the more I think about it I'm inclined to think that the Pac/Biggie murders really are the key thing... listening to/promoting east coast stuff seems border-line heretical around here. 2Pac is like a patron saint. Even years after the fact I can easily imagine how Bay Area stations wouldn't be super-keen on promoting one of Biggie's buddies, no matter how pop. Pac seems to have rather clearly lost the legacy sweepstakes for the rest of the country though - Biggie's revered as one of the greatest rappers of all-time, Pac is kind of a footnote, an also-ran. (I don't give a shit about either of them, tbh)

I don't think Pac is a footnote at all, given the ridiculous amount of posthumous stuff released (not to mention the "Tupac is still alive" stuff)

it's not like that posthumous stuff is doing his catalog any favors though. it's just cash-in shit.

who is it that actually cashed in btw? is it all suge? family? or?

pac was bigger in chicago than biggie

im not claiming to know what the bay was like fwiw -- i would just be genuinely surprised if big pimpin didnt have a pretty big profile & im not sure if shakey's detachment i.e. not watching MTV might be coloring his interpretation of the bay's bay-centric-ness

also virtually everyone ive talked to sees circa 2000 bay music as pretty much the worst era for bay rap

who is it that actually cashed in btw? is it all suge? family? or?

I don't really know ... would assume it's suge, dude has bills to pay