Lamont’s Lists
June 2008
The Top 10 Hip Hop Songs For The Barack Obama Campaign Playlist
At the conclusion of Barack Obama’s speech on June 4th in Minneapolis, the night he clinched the Democratic party nomination for president, his organizers blasted Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” throughout the arena. It was a nice touch, a very powerful song, from a great American songwriter with boundless appeal among white, middle class voters. As a strategic choice that was a brilliant song to queue up, but I couldn’t help thinking: is this really the tune we need right now to fuel the 1st ever run by a black man for the white house? Absolutely not, we need a kick-ass hip hop track to get everyone appropriately fired up for this historic run. So, to make sure this does not happen again, I have compiled a playlist of the Top Hip Hop songs to support the Barack Obama general election campaign. Think back to that speech and imagine how great these tracks would have sounded. Feel free to hit me back with suggestions for additions to this list that you think would help to keep the fire burning. I will re-publish a new list later with the best of the new submissions. Until then, enjoy.
Lamont
1. Hate It Or Love It (The Game Ft. & 50 Cent) – “Hate it or love it, the underdog’s on top…”. From 30 points behind Hillary to a stunning upset victory. This one gives the finger to all the haters (that means you Bob Johnson) and let’s them know they will now have to endure years of jealousy.
2. How Ya Like Me Now (Kool Moe Dee) – Another scorchin’ rebuke to those who talked smack and said it couldn’t be done. How you like me now Andrew Young?
3. One Nation Under A Groove (Funkadelic) - No description necessary. He has to break this one out at the inaugural ball right? That would be just about the flyest thing ever done. Picture the whole country singing “…One Nation and we’re on the move…nothin’ can stop us now”. Damn that would be hot.
4. We Right Here (DMX) – A little something for McCain and the GOP to let them know they’ve got a street fight on their hands. DMX is the go guy for getting anyone hyped for a battle. ”Bring it! What!? We Right Here…We’re not goin’ anywhere…”.Yep, we’re ready, let’s do this.
5. If I Ruled The World (Nas) – Kurtis Blow did the original but I prefer Nas’s version with his more politically-minded and gangsta take on the utopian world he’d create; “political prisoners set free, stress free, no work release, purple M3’s and Jet Ski’s.” Imagine that. Barack can you make that happen?
6. Touch The Sky (Kanye West) – Kanye has an album’s worth of epic jams that could apply nicely to Barack’s improbable run for the white house. But this one, with its sweeping horns and celebratory feel is my top pick. Another great track to break out at that inaugural ball. I gotta figure out how I can get a ticket to that party so I can "Come up in the spot looking’ extra fly”.
7. Lost Ones (Lauryn Hill) – “Lost ones”, a seminal tale about karma striking back against those who behave badly, remains as one of the great lyrical performances in rap history. Recontextualized against this year’s democratic primary race, it makes for a nice stiff-arm from Barack to Hillary. Yo HRC: “You might win some but you just lost one”.
8. Number One Spot (Ludacris) – “Keep it goin’ it won’t stop / I’m comin’ for that #1 spot”. This one would be good to get Barack amped as he makes his way to the convention stage for his acceptance speech at the DNC in August or before his 1st debate with McCain.
9. Hypnotize (Notorious B.I.G.) – Think Biggie and Barack couldn’t possibly have anything in common? Think again. Both are gifted wordsmith’s who rose above humble beginnings based on the strength of their vision and magnetic charisma. Not since Biggie was in charge has anyone’s words had such power to “hypnotize” a generation.
10. Brothers Gonna Work It Out (Public Enemy) – P.E. was definitely ahead of its time with this monster cut from Fear of A Black Planet. When Chuck D called on brothers, from street corners to boardrooms, to come together with the line “United we stand, divided we fall, together we can stand tall” I wonder if he envisioned a world less than 20 years later when the fruits of our efforts would have the power to send one of our own to the white house.
Keeping The Party Going (10 More Worth Noting)
· I Can (Nas) – A little sappy but it gets the kids involved
· Make It Rain (Fat Joe ft. Lil Wayne) – You know Barack & Michelle crank this one up at home
· Dirt Off Your Shoulders (Jay-Z) – B.O. has already adopted this one as shown in that YouTube video
· The Next Movement (The Roots) – Repin’ the changing of the guard for a new brand of leadership
· Hey Young World (Slick Rick) – It’s the voting power of this group that is going to win it for Barack
· The Boss (Rick Ross) – Picture Barack Big Pimpin’ in the Oval Office
· Bring ‘Em Out (T.I.) – More trash talk for the GOP
· 100 Miles And Runnin’ (NWA) – A fitting anthem from NWA
· B.O.B. (Outkast) – Dre and Big Boi dispensing rapid fire truisms for the today’s Iraq mess
· Family Affair (Mary J Blige) - Offering an opportunity for HRC to put aside the hate & join us
The Extended Playlist (10 More For the After Party)
· My Drink 'N My 2 Step (Cassidy) – The very 1st jam at the after-party
· Champion (Kanye West) – Another anthem from Kanye that could have been written for Barack
· Gz And Hustlas (Snoop Dogg) – Yep, this is for them too. We can’t forget that Barack reps all of us
· Outta Here (KRS One) – The great warning from KRS. I bet Billary never saw their demise coming
· Mosh (Eminem) – Serious venom from Eminem. This one should definitely help to Barrack the vote.
· Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J) – To blast in the car on his way to the McCain debate
· Chief Rocka (Lords Of The Underground) –”Boom shaka laka here comes the chief rocka;”…sweet
· I Got The Power (Chill Rob G) – This one is all about the song title
· Party Up (DMX) – Barack to congress…“Yall gon’ make me lose my mind up in here, up in here”
· We Takin’ Over (DJ Khaled) – Blast this one in your car on Nov 5th
June 2008
The Top 10 Hip Hop Songs For The Barack Obama Campaign Playlist
At the conclusion of Barack Obama’s speech on June 4th in Minneapolis, the night he clinched the Democratic party nomination for president, his organizers blasted Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” throughout the arena. It was a nice touch, a very powerful song, from a great American songwriter with boundless appeal among white, middle class voters. As a strategic choice that was a brilliant song to queue up, but I couldn’t help thinking: is this really the tune we need right now to fuel the 1st ever run by a black man for the white house? Absolutely not, we need a kick-ass hip hop track to get everyone appropriately fired up for this historic run. So, to make sure this does not happen again, I have compiled a playlist of the Top Hip Hop songs to support the Barack Obama general election campaign. Think back to that speech and imagine how great these tracks would have sounded. Feel free to hit me back with suggestions for additions to this list that you think would help to keep the fire burning. I will re-publish a new list later with the best of the new submissions. Until then, enjoy.
Lamont
1. Hate It Or Love It (The Game Ft. & 50 Cent) – “Hate it or love it, the underdog’s on top…”. From 30 points behind Hillary to a stunning upset victory. This one gives the finger to all the haters (that means you Bob Johnson) and let’s them know they will now have to endure years of jealousy.
2. How Ya Like Me Now (Kool Moe Dee) – Another scorchin’ rebuke to those who talked smack and said it couldn’t be done. How you like me now Andrew Young?
3. One Nation Under A Groove (Funkadelic) - No description necessary. He has to break this one out at the inaugural ball right? That would be just about the flyest thing ever done. Picture the whole country singing “…One Nation and we’re on the move…nothin’ can stop us now”. Damn that would be hot.
4. We Right Here (DMX) – A little something for McCain and the GOP to let them know they’ve got a street fight on their hands. DMX is the go guy for getting anyone hyped for a battle. ”Bring it! What!? We Right Here…We’re not goin’ anywhere…”.Yep, we’re ready, let’s do this.
5. If I Ruled The World (Nas) – Kurtis Blow did the original but I prefer Nas’s version with his more politically-minded and gangsta take on the utopian world he’d create; “political prisoners set free, stress free, no work release, purple M3’s and Jet Ski’s.” Imagine that. Barack can you make that happen?
6. Touch The Sky (Kanye West) – Kanye has an album’s worth of epic jams that could apply nicely to Barack’s improbable run for the white house. But this one, with its sweeping horns and celebratory feel is my top pick. Another great track to break out at that inaugural ball. I gotta figure out how I can get a ticket to that party so I can "Come up in the spot looking’ extra fly”.
7. Lost Ones (Lauryn Hill) – “Lost ones”, a seminal tale about karma striking back against those who behave badly, remains as one of the great lyrical performances in rap history. Recontextualized against this year’s democratic primary race, it makes for a nice stiff-arm from Barack to Hillary. Yo HRC: “You might win some but you just lost one”.
8. Number One Spot (Ludacris) – “Keep it goin’ it won’t stop / I’m comin’ for that #1 spot”. This one would be good to get Barack amped as he makes his way to the convention stage for his acceptance speech at the DNC in August or before his 1st debate with McCain.
9. Hypnotize (Notorious B.I.G.) – Think Biggie and Barack couldn’t possibly have anything in common? Think again. Both are gifted wordsmith’s who rose above humble beginnings based on the strength of their vision and magnetic charisma. Not since Biggie was in charge has anyone’s words had such power to “hypnotize” a generation.
10. Brothers Gonna Work It Out (Public Enemy) – P.E. was definitely ahead of its time with this monster cut from Fear of A Black Planet. When Chuck D called on brothers, from street corners to boardrooms, to come together with the line “United we stand, divided we fall, together we can stand tall” I wonder if he envisioned a world less than 20 years later when the fruits of our efforts would have the power to send one of our own to the white house.
Keeping The Party Going (10 More Worth Noting)
· I Can (Nas) – A little sappy but it gets the kids involved
· Make It Rain (Fat Joe ft. Lil Wayne) – You know Barack & Michelle crank this one up at home
· Dirt Off Your Shoulders (Jay-Z) – B.O. has already adopted this one as shown in that YouTube video
· The Next Movement (The Roots) – Repin’ the changing of the guard for a new brand of leadership
· Hey Young World (Slick Rick) – It’s the voting power of this group that is going to win it for Barack
· The Boss (Rick Ross) – Picture Barack Big Pimpin’ in the Oval Office
· Bring ‘Em Out (T.I.) – More trash talk for the GOP
· 100 Miles And Runnin’ (NWA) – A fitting anthem from NWA
· B.O.B. (Outkast) – Dre and Big Boi dispensing rapid fire truisms for the today’s Iraq mess
· Family Affair (Mary J Blige) - Offering an opportunity for HRC to put aside the hate & join us
The Extended Playlist (10 More For the After Party)
· My Drink 'N My 2 Step (Cassidy) – The very 1st jam at the after-party
· Champion (Kanye West) – Another anthem from Kanye that could have been written for Barack
· Gz And Hustlas (Snoop Dogg) – Yep, this is for them too. We can’t forget that Barack reps all of us
· Outta Here (KRS One) – The great warning from KRS. I bet Billary never saw their demise coming
· Mosh (Eminem) – Serious venom from Eminem. This one should definitely help to Barrack the vote.
· Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J) – To blast in the car on his way to the McCain debate
· Chief Rocka (Lords Of The Underground) –”Boom shaka laka here comes the chief rocka;”…sweet
· I Got The Power (Chill Rob G) – This one is all about the song title
· Party Up (DMX) – Barack to congress…“Yall gon’ make me lose my mind up in here, up in here”
· We Takin’ Over (DJ Khaled) – Blast this one in your car on Nov 5th
1 comment:
Ahh, L you did it again! Love the lists!
I'll offer: "Don't Touch Me" - Busta; "Blue Magic" - Jay-Z; "Top Billin'" - Audio Two
For the 1st couple: "By Your Side" - Sade
I'll stop here... we could go on forever with this one... nice post.
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