Lamont's Lists: The Top 50 Hip Hop Songs Of All Time (#s 20-11)

20. N.Y. State Of Mind - Nas (1994) - "Inhale deep like the words of my breath, I never sleep 'cause sleep is the cousin of death". An instant classic if there ever was one. Nas opened his soon-to-be iconic debut album Illmatic with N.Y. State Of Mind, serving up a steady stream of tee-shirt worthy lines like the one above that would catapult him to GOD MC for lifetime status. Beats and rhymes at their most beautiful, intricate and cinematic, this song will forever represent New York hip hop elevated to its highest possible level.

19. It's All About The Benjamins (Remix) - Puff Daddy (2002) - On a blistering posse cut full of heavy hitters, (including The Lox and Biggie) delivering one killer bar after another, it was a pint-sized Queen B ("Wanna bumble with the Bee, hah?...) who put the world on notice that she would, from that day forward, forever be able to hold her own with any dude who wanted to challenge her on the mic. 

18. C.R.E.A.M. - Wu Tang Clan (1993) - The term "gritty" gets thrown around too much, but never has it been more apt than on C.R.E.A.M. Wu Tang's debut album, 36 Chambers represented a bombastic masterclass from Rza on the art of controlled chaos. But its most memorable track relied mainly on sparse keys and somber vocals from Raekwon and Inspectah Deck. Then of course there was Method Man's indelible hook..."Cash rules everything around me...CREAM, get the money...dolla dolla bill y'all" which ensured that this would be a song the world would never forget.

17. Lose Yourself - Eminem (2002) - Discussing the greatness of Eminem (or lack thereof) is always a touchy subject. Either his technical brilliance as an MC is undeniable or he's insanely overrated, depending on which side you're on. But one thing we all can (or at least...should be able to) agree on are the stunning heights he achieved on his Academy Awarding winning anthem Lose Yourself. Those opening bars (rhyming "palms sweaty" with "mom's spaghetti"), the urgent, inspirational themes and the hungry, ever-escalating pace of his verses were truly astonishing. It still stands out as a performance on a level that few MCs have been able to achieve.

16. Sucker M.C.'s - Run-DMC (1984) - The day I first heard Sucker M.C.'s is the day I fell in love with hip hop. Sure, I liked rap before as much as the next kid, but THIS was something entirely different. Listening to it on my friend's boombox - with the stripped down, hard-driving drum pattern enlivened by Run and D's super-hero like bravado - I was instantly transfixed. At that moment I became a certified evangelist for these Kings from Queens and I knew right then and there that hip hop had a fan for life.

15. Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (1991) - Back in the late 80's it was easy not to take Jazz Jeff and the Fresh Prince seriously. They were defined by their bubbly, pop-rap hits, like Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble and Parents Just Don't Understand. Then came Summertime, with its mood enhancing vibe, and even the hardest hard rocks among us had to give them their props. To this day it remains as an essential playlist staple for any backyard cookout where family and old friends are involved. It's the sound of nostalgia, the sound of our youth and the official Black national anthem of summer itself. Will Smith went on to achieve incredible highs and lows in his career. But no matter what people say about him, good or bad, he will always have Summertime on his resume. And for that reason alone he should forever be celebrated for his contributions to the culture.

14. B.O.B. - Outkast (2000) - Speed kills. And at 155bpms on B.O.B. Outkast proved - with expertly crafted, furiously controlled disruption - that speed also thrills. I doubt there is another group on the planet that could combine a frantic electro beat, supersonic drums, tightly wound lyrics and most improbably...a gospel choir and make it work, other than Outkast. By the time said choir appeared on the track, more than 3 &1/2 minutes in, chanting "power music / electric revival" it was impossible for listeners not to be mesmerized (if not a little exhausted). To me this song most represents Outkast's legacy...their fearlessness, their free-spirts and their incredible appreciation for endless possibilities.

13. Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force (1982) - Upon release, Planet Rock lived up to its title, sounding like it was indeed dropped in from outer space. Afrika Bambaatta gets most of the credit for his fantastical imagination (and futuristic-sounding electronic vocoder). But much love should be given to 1) the the studio musicians who programmed the soon-to-be essential TR-808 drum machine, 2) Emcee G.L.O.B.E. who did the heavy lifting on the lyrics, and of course 3) Kraftwerk, whose sound the group emulated. Hip hop, and popular music in general, would never be the same again after we all got a load of Planet Rock, which gave birth to electro funk and a million other sub-genres. But nothing will ever compare to the feeling we got back in the summer of '82 when this amazing new sound blasted from boom boxes all over America.

12. 93 'Til Infinity - Souls Of Mischief (1993) - In the middle of Dr. Dre and NWA's rise to pop music dominance, another lesser-known west-coast group from the bay area was getting off on a whole different vibe. Down get me wrong, I loved F**k Wit Dre Day as much as the next man, but I also appreciated how '93 'Til Infinity - with its live bass, jazzy samples and breezy wordplay - provided a nice counter-weight to gangsta rap's bleak reality. 

11. Public Service Announcement - Jay-Z (2003) - If there has ever been a better opening to a rap song, I'd like to hear it. The tension that producer Just Blaze slowly builds with his ominous piano chords, before Jay launches in with "Allow me to reintroduce myself...my name is Hov!" is lightening in a bottle. Somehow it manages to sound newly electric every time I hear it. Once the beat drops, the GOAT rips off some of the most stunning bars of illustrious career, serving up an uncanny string of double entendres, obscure references and effortless boasts. I mean how good is "flier than a piece of paper bearing my name / I got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain"? An extraordinary beat maker and a preternaturally gifted rapper, both operating at God tier levels... That's Public Service Announcement. That's hip hop at its finest.

Check Back Later To See The Top 10 And Find Out Which Song Is #1