(copy and paste the list. . . . just the songs, not the descriptions . . . and italicize the ones you like!)
1) Pete Rock and CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You [T.R.O.Y.]
Insane horn riffs. Shimmering cymbals. Soulful samples. You just know its Pete Rocks unmistakable craftsmanship. On the other end, C.L. Smooth channels controlled emotion through the mic on this funeral favorite. Even though C.L. swears hes noddin off, sleep to a jazz tune, this is melancholy elegy at its finest.
2) 2 Pac "Dear Mama"
It was Tupac who made it cool for rappers to glorify moms in the 90s. Shakur's heart-wrenching lyrics make Dear Mama a sentimental hip-hop masterpiece, as he pats mama on the back for attempting to liberate him from street life.
3) LL Cool J - I Need Love
This 1987 smash, often heralded as the first hip-hop love song, is proof that Cool J has been swinging the "L" to the ladies for decades.
4) Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - "Tha Crossroads"
Following Eazy-E's demise in March of 1995, his disciples Bone Thugs-N-Harmony unleashed this moody masterpiece in honor of the late west coast vet and other fallen soldiers.
5) A Tribe Called Quest "Bonita Applebum"
"Bonita Applebum" finds ATCQ romanticizing a calm, thumping drumbeat. With his nasal flow and soothing delivery, Q-Tip spills poetic excerpts, masterfully pausing between lines for ardor.
6) De La Soul - "Eye Know"
This jazzyfied hip-hop crew was the first to rhyme about daisies and dames and make it sound, oh so sweeeet. De Las candy-coated musings over lush soulful samples (notably from Otis Redding's "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay") made it noble to declare sweet affection for that "special person."
7) Ghostface feat. Mary J. Blige "All That I Got Is You"
Turns out the man who once claimed to bite the nose off and swore that if you dont bring him the m****f**kin Cognac, hell kill you had a soft spot for something. Ditching the usual 32 bars strata for a long-running verse, Ghost drops genuinely emotional lyrics about crashing in a congested apartment with his mama, drinking sugar water, and plucking roaches out of cereal boxes. No hard-hitting drums, no anti-swine-eating vignettes. Just Mary J. Bliges tear-jerk crooning and Poppa Wus solemn words of wisdom at the end.
8) PM Dawn - "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"
Set atop a soundbed of Spandau Ballet's "True" and Eric B & Rakim's "Paid in Full," PM Dawn dreams up a world that is both reflective and sentimental. Ultimately, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is about releasing old attachments and reliving them in one's memory.
9) Jay-Z - "Song Cry"
Just when you thought Hov was all about money, cash, h*s (he actually is), he pulls out his storytelling hat and struts a classic rap love song. Although Jays defiant persona is alive here (instead of shedding the tears himself, he makes the song cry), hes sentimental enough to concede being called "ugly" by the gold-digging female in this story.
10) DJ Honda feat. Mos Def "Travellin Man"
Traveling all the way from Japan to the USA, DJ Honda dismantles a gritty sonic template and rebuilds it with funky jazz fragments. The result is a lush mix of harmonic samples and a cool street hip-hop drum track. Mos takes advantage of the shimmering production, seamlessly seesawing between rapping and singing about the journey that is life.
Honorable Mentions
(I'd like to add "Runaway Love" Ludacris feat. Mary J. Blige to the list of honorable mentions.)
1) Pete Rock and CL Smooth - They Reminisce Over You [T.R.O.Y.]
Insane horn riffs. Shimmering cymbals. Soulful samples. You just know its Pete Rocks unmistakable craftsmanship. On the other end, C.L. Smooth channels controlled emotion through the mic on this funeral favorite. Even though C.L. swears hes noddin off, sleep to a jazz tune, this is melancholy elegy at its finest.
2) 2 Pac "Dear Mama"
It was Tupac who made it cool for rappers to glorify moms in the 90s. Shakur's heart-wrenching lyrics make Dear Mama a sentimental hip-hop masterpiece, as he pats mama on the back for attempting to liberate him from street life.
3) LL Cool J - I Need Love
This 1987 smash, often heralded as the first hip-hop love song, is proof that Cool J has been swinging the "L" to the ladies for decades.
4) Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - "Tha Crossroads"
Following Eazy-E's demise in March of 1995, his disciples Bone Thugs-N-Harmony unleashed this moody masterpiece in honor of the late west coast vet and other fallen soldiers.
5) A Tribe Called Quest "Bonita Applebum"
"Bonita Applebum" finds ATCQ romanticizing a calm, thumping drumbeat. With his nasal flow and soothing delivery, Q-Tip spills poetic excerpts, masterfully pausing between lines for ardor.
6) De La Soul - "Eye Know"
This jazzyfied hip-hop crew was the first to rhyme about daisies and dames and make it sound, oh so sweeeet. De Las candy-coated musings over lush soulful samples (notably from Otis Redding's "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay") made it noble to declare sweet affection for that "special person."
7) Ghostface feat. Mary J. Blige "All That I Got Is You"
Turns out the man who once claimed to bite the nose off and swore that if you dont bring him the m****f**kin Cognac, hell kill you had a soft spot for something. Ditching the usual 32 bars strata for a long-running verse, Ghost drops genuinely emotional lyrics about crashing in a congested apartment with his mama, drinking sugar water, and plucking roaches out of cereal boxes. No hard-hitting drums, no anti-swine-eating vignettes. Just Mary J. Bliges tear-jerk crooning and Poppa Wus solemn words of wisdom at the end.
8) PM Dawn - "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss"
Set atop a soundbed of Spandau Ballet's "True" and Eric B & Rakim's "Paid in Full," PM Dawn dreams up a world that is both reflective and sentimental. Ultimately, "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is about releasing old attachments and reliving them in one's memory.
9) Jay-Z - "Song Cry"
Just when you thought Hov was all about money, cash, h*s (he actually is), he pulls out his storytelling hat and struts a classic rap love song. Although Jays defiant persona is alive here (instead of shedding the tears himself, he makes the song cry), hes sentimental enough to concede being called "ugly" by the gold-digging female in this story.
10) DJ Honda feat. Mos Def "Travellin Man"
Traveling all the way from Japan to the USA, DJ Honda dismantles a gritty sonic template and rebuilds it with funky jazz fragments. The result is a lush mix of harmonic samples and a cool street hip-hop drum track. Mos takes advantage of the shimmering production, seamlessly seesawing between rapping and singing about the journey that is life.
Honorable Mentions
- The Pharcyde - "Runnin'"
- Method Man & Mary J Blige - "You're All I Need (To Get By)"
- Will Smith - "Just the Two of Us"
- DMX - "Slippin'"
- Nas - "Dance"
(I'd like to add "Runaway Love" Ludacris feat. Mary J. Blige to the list of honorable mentions.)
