Jay-Z's "Empire State Of Mind" , featuring the vocal stylings of Alicia Keys is a big wet kiss shout out to New York City. Extolling all that is righteous about New York, Jay's occasionally clever punchlines save the track from itself when it threatens to go from anthemic to sappy. Seeing Jay-Z perform this song several times over the past few weeks got me to thinking about the many other rap songs that have been dedicated to rappers' love of the big city. Ever since the dawn of hip hop, MC's have felt the need to confess their love for the city that invented the art form. Jay-Z himself has dedicated a half-dozen or so songs and countless verses to his beloved Brooklyn. Verbally representing one's borough has become so ingrained in rap vernacular that we no longer even notice this peculiar form of civic pride. Why are all these rappers trying to one-up the next man on how oppressive and bleak their home towns are? Is this really something to be proud of? I...
Lamont’s Lists June 2009 What’s up peeps. Here is my attempt at capturing the 10 greatest lyrical performances of all time. This was really an impossible task. Clearly I have not heard every rap song ever recorded. So I am sure I have missed quite a few gems from lesser-known artists and from B-Sides material from some of my favorites MC’s. I also realize that this is a highly subjective exercise. What sounds fresh to one person may be absolutely grating to the next. But I am taking a stab nonetheless. Somebody has to do it, so why not me? There are a few important ground rules to note however: These are not the BEST SONGS ever made (that list would surely include “Nuthin’ But A G-Thang” and “Top Billin’) - These are just songs that contain the best lyrics These are SOLO PERFORMANCES – Group efforts and cameo appearances are excluded To avoid the “fallacy of recency” (I made that up). I have excluded songs that were released after 2006. Remember what constitutes great ...
"50 years down the line you can start this...'cause we'll be the old school artists. And even at that time, I'll say a rhyme, a brand new style...ruthless and wild." - KRS-One. I think it's cool that KRS-One, Boogie Down Productions' indomitable frontman, had the foresight to write that line way back in 1988 for his song I'm Still #1 . During a year that is still considered by many (myself included) to be hip hop's single greatest ever in terms of creative excellence, KRS asked everybody to just chill and enjoy the beautiful music. His message being: it's too soon for generational divides between old school and new. And now is not the time to get into premature squabbles about the best rappers, rap albums and rap songs. He was confident that he would still be around making hit records well into the future, so suggested we wait a few decades for history to play out before engaging in such discussions. Well here we are. It's 2023 and we ar...
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