Urgent would probably be the most appropriate word to describe “Dreams,” a Kanye West-produced meditation off The Game’s revered debut The Documentary. And when you dig into the lyrics of the song, it becomes apparent why Game sounds like he is on his deathbed thinking about what he could have done differently.
A deep cut from Kanye West’s first studio album The College Dropout, “Never Let Me Down” is one of the most soulful and uplifting rap tracks that has ever been laid on wax.
Before turning into the definition of a cornball in the 2010s, Eminem was one of the most controversial musicians in the hip hop genre as a white kid from Detroit not afraid to challenge or diss any adversary. Most of this behavior was construed as a joke and was meant to be tongue in cheek.
As soon as Prodigy, one half of the iconic New York rap duo Mobb Deep, announced that “Shook Ones, Pt. II” was dedicated, “to all the killers and a hundred dollar billers,” it was apparent that listeners were in for one of the rawest displays of lyrical ability known to man.
The entire Pusha T/Clipse catalogue comprises three different types of songs: songs that talk about selling drugs, songs that talk about wealth or songs that talk about selling drugs AND wealth. Push chooses the last option for his best song throughout his nearly two decade long career, a cocky cocaine anthem with an equally bombastic Kanye instrumental backing.
Like an atomic bomb out of Brooklyn, Pro Era announced their arrival on the East Coast rap scene with a boom bap revival that very few originators of the style could replicate.
The juxtaposition between the silky-smooth nature of Madlib’s sample from The Manhattan’s 1973 classic “Wish That You Were Mine” and the gruff voice of Freddie Gibbs makes “Shame” a song that’s always ready to be put on repeat.
Why this track was called “Award Tour” is a mystery because A Tribe Called Quest did not win any award prior to the release of their third album Midnight Marauders. However, the award tour is warranted with a legendary cut like “Award Tour.”
It’s hard to define what exactly makes “Passin’ Me By” one of my favorite rap songs of all-time. There’s nothing out there like the second single from The Pharcyde, a group of alt-hip hop pioneers from South Central LA. It’s in a league of its own.
From the night that Tyler, The Creator’s IGOR hit streaming services on May 17, 2019, until the moment that I am writing this article, “NEW MAGIC WAND” has been perpetually running through my earbuds and my mind.
When we aren’t doing homework, working or spending time with friends; Americans love to sit down and relax to a nice tv show or movie. Due to COVID-19, now there’s more free time than ever to binge successfully.
I listen to a decent amount of rap spanning the last 30 years, ranging from the “Golden Era” where some of the best to ever do it forged the foundation of modern hip hop to the ever-changing scene of today’s rap music that pushes the boundaries of music like never before.
