The best rap music boasts a powerful beat and quality production, as well as powerful lyrics with meaningful meaning. Additionally, rappers can employ various sounds in their composition, even including recorded voices or noises into their pieces.
Rap artists support and celebrate a rich black tradition of pride, strength, and style while informing audiences of specific cultural barriers that restrict black communities.
Eminem – Not Afraid
Eminem stands as one of the greatest rappers ever with his hard beat, clever lyrics and unmistakable flow. This track featuring a choir depicts his struggle to leave drugs and violence behind; also paying homage to D12 member Proof who died just four months earlier.
This song’s lyrics are inspiring and memorable; their messages will remain with you long after listening to it. Rappers are some of the most powerful musicians of our time, creating an irreplaceable culture through hip hop music – from Compton where N.W.A first originated to Ludacris and Lil Wayne exploring Southern culture through hip hop – hip hop has an extensive history of telling important stories that often go unheard by mainstream media outlets.
Though most rap songs tend to be overproduced and overhyped, this classic East Coast hit stands out from the pack. Havoc’s straightforward but outstanding production and Prodigy’s powerful lyrics work together perfectly to capture the tension-filled streets of Queens. This gem remains one of the world’s most-recognized hip-hop tracks today.
Dr. Dre & Tupac – Not Afraid
Dr. Dre and Tupac rank among the greatest rappers of all time, and this song represents that fact perfectly. Dre is well known for his tough gangster image, and this track showcases it perfectly. Released as a response to Eazy-E’s Real Muthafukkin Gs diss track by Eazy-E, this response from Dre makes clear his unyielding approach toward life; Dre shows no fear to Eazy-E or anyone else; when combined with his membership of NWA you wonder why he wasn’t more well known or featured?
Jay-Z & Kanye West – The Blueprint 3
Jay-Z’s second Blueprint series album may not reach the same levels of his first, but it remains one of hip hop’s finest works. While not possessing the street cred of The Black Album or Kingdom Come, it was still an impressive effort from an established rap superstar such as Jay-Z who had been at this game for an extended period.
Empire State of Mind was the album’s signature song, an anthem featuring New York landmark name-dropping and featuring Alicia Keys on vocals as its lead anthem. Jay-Z later released a remix featuring Rihanna and Kanye West that brought even greater impact; additionally, this record catapulted Kanye West and Just Blaze into mainstream prominence, as both producers received production credit on multiple tracks.
Noted guest stars on The Blueprint 3 include Q-Tip, Slick Rick and Biz Markie – unlike his previous albums which often boasted only few features – yet this roster was already strong at that time and there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t top this record when released again in future releases.
Jay-Z & Kanye West – Hard Knock Life
Hip hop had an eventful 2018 year. Though Drake and Kendrick fell out of Pitchfork’s top ten year-end list, many other major artists still managed to produce some quality soundscapes.
At 38 minutes long (until 2017’s 4:44), Jay-Z’s 1998 classic Vol 2 – Hard Knock Life stands as his leanest offering to date (until 2017’s 4:44). Produced by Swizz Beatz (who later would tell VIBE that the “Money, Cash Hoes” synth riff actually looked like something from an early Japanese platformer), its opening bar features the chorus from It’s The Hard-Knock Life looped over drums and basslines – making an impactful statement about his leanest yet!
Although often overshadowed by more iconic Jay-Z classics like Reasonable Doubt or The Blueprint 3, this track represents the peak of New York MC Jay-Z’s late 90s commercial powers and marked its entrance into mainstream culture. Jay-Z used a sample from a Broadway musical for this gangsta anthem; bold but it worked. Lyrically it underscores his ambition in climbing corporate ladder – something which helped him amass over one billion dollars and become one of the richest rappers ever.
Lil Wayne & Drake – I Need A Doctor
Lil Wayne is an unpredictable one-in-a-lifetime talent whose greatest strength lies in providing his American audience with instantaneous gratification – as evidenced by God’s Plan, which remains one of his most enjoyable albums to date. At times however, Lil Wayne can also be relentless and violent, such as when he devastated Meek Mill on Back to Back.
Drake is an above-average rapper who creates pop-hop inspired tracks. He enjoys a large following, while maintaining relevance by constantly releasing songs targeted towards younger listeners. Unfortunately, many hardcore hip hop fans disapprove of his lyrics due to their lack of originality and authenticity.
Lil Wayne was once considered to be one of the greatest rappers ever, yet is no longer relevant in the industry. Though an exceptional rapper himself, Lil’ Kim may never match up with Lil’ Wayne’s originality or impactful style; therefore he must make necessary adjustments in his style in order to remain current – an intimidating task but I think one that should not be difficult at all!
Lil Wayne & Lil Uzi Vert – Not Afraid
Lil Baby has quickly established himself as one of the premier rappers in hip-hop. A young artist with an unrivalled flow and catchy lyrics, he stands out amongst his peers with unabashed braggadorism and fearless leadership qualities. On this track featuring Quavo and Offset as guest versers and an irresistibly catchy hook, all qualities which Lil Baby excels in are showcased brilliantly; no wonder why its popularity continues to climb!
Tupac was a remarkable figure in hip-hop history for years. His third album explored all the emotions that shape human experiences; tracks like “So Many Tears” and “Me Against The World” bear testimony to that. Tupac remains an influential presence within hip-hop culture today.
Lil Wayne found himself at a crossroads five years ago. After successfully settling his three-year lawsuit with Cash Money and being awarded sole ownership of Young Money imprint, he promised he’d release what would become Tha Carter V as his final album – it proved an outstanding record that did successfully bridge hip hop’s past with its next-gen future, however.
Havoc & Prodigy – Queens of the South
Queens-bred duo Prodigy and Illa Ghee were titans of hardcore hip-hop in the ’90s, making their sophomore album, The Infamous, one of the most important rap albums ever. Classic tracks such as “Shook Ones Pt. 2”, and Front Lines (Hell on Earth) can be found here, with R&B duo Nina Sky harmonizing between Prodigy and Illa Ghee while an Al Kooper sample anchors them all.
Mobb Deep enjoyed immense success with their debut album. They quickly followed it with 1996’s Hell on Earth and 1999’s Murder Muzik, creating one of hip-hop history’s greatest three album runs. Unfortunately, Prodigy passed away in 2017; however Havoc continues to keep Mobb Deep’s legacy alive by touring and recording new music.
Havoc and Prodigy’s tribute to Queensbridge housing projects sounds like a living organism; their hard boasts follow in the tradition of Big Daddy Kane and Marley Marl. A haunted piano sample sets off this classic tune; Havoc imagines himself in a hypothetical shootout while fretting that his gun jamming would endanger everyone around him; this track serves as a reminder that hip-hop can serve as an outlet for criminal thoughts without endangering real lives.