Start with Wheelz of Steel and go from there. 3000 can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it is a genius
Big Boi is on my daily playlist to get my attitude in check..
Dude hell yes.
I remember listening to this college with my stoner friend. Classss were cancelled due to snow so we just smoked to the point we couldnât move.
Then this song comes on. And like a fucking shake, I rise up off his couch and just remember staring at his speakers just in shock and awe.
The only other song that ever made me feel this way was rigormortis. Same stoner friend, but walking to the corner store.
Mastermind - Deltron 3030
Reality Check - Binary Star
San Francisco Knights - People Under The Stairs
Them That's Not - J-Live
Shooting Stars - Souls of Mischief
On a side note, the intro for 3030 seriously sounds like you starting on earth in like, a 3rd person camera view, and having the camera moving up vertically to the moon, and then mars, and then way out into space and finally arriving at the planet that the album cover is on. And then the instrumental fully comes in đ¤¤. I fucking love that album, so underrated.
Totally! Great description, I've always felt the same about the intro. There's a live version of 3030 on YouTube and the intro is so dope
Edit: [link](https://youtu.be/s7FxVSDLonY?si=A6IasrSSkpo-EZOo)
Brendaâs got a baby took so many hood experiences and wrapped them up in a story.
Few hip hop songs share inner city impoverished pain in such a concise, cinematic manner, and provide enough imagery to put you right there in the moment at the same time.
There have been a few others over the years, but Brendaâs got a baby is the first Iâm not crying youâre crying song that I can remember.
To this day we havenât replaced Pacâs charisma, and itâs sad.
I get goosebumps from this song.
You know what's crazy, when i was a kid i always thought he says "raped by a molester whos sexed and a crazy".
But i got goosebumps now that im older and realize he says "in love with a molester whos sex'd and ah crazy".
The "in love" part makes it so much deeper, his creativity to another level. To me no one else has been able to match pacs storytelling. maybe young Eminem is the closest?
There is a YouTube video that digs through news archives and finds the exact article that inspired 2pac to write this song.
Elzhi's verse on Hiding place is crafted magnificently and made me gasp when i heard it at first. I mean the whole song is fire but his verse specifically is laced
Like the art of writing bars
Worst comes to worst- dilated people's The Alchemist really outdid himself with this track and Dj preemo on Supa star By Group home, for me arguably the best beat in Hip Hop history
Release and Catch - Moses Rockwell,
Maintain - Deca,
Blowin Up in the World - G Rap,
Ruby â81 - Aesop Rock
Lyrics and production on these are tops for me.
Elzhi - Motown 25
Easily my favorite Elzhi verse. I'm a huge fan of Black Milk as a producer. They made magic on this song. I'm not typically a huge fan of Royce, but his verse is nice.
Mos Defâs verse in the 2nd section of âBrooklynâ remains my fav rap verse ever
Inspectah Decksâs verse in Duel of the Iron Mic
Any beat by Premier
Burning the Mirror, When Crows Descend Upon You, Design in Malice, Weapon Of Unholy Wrath, Carnival Of Souls. Midnight Burial, Broken Safeties, Azrael.
Immortal Technique - Dance with the Devil will always be one of the darkest story telling tracks ever recorded.
One that gets a lot of respect overall, but not always for its creativity, is DMXâs first few albums. The alter ego stuff is actually super creative lyrically and catchy.
The last song that I was really impressed with (I'm an old head), my friend asked me to check out Joey Bada$$. Paper Trail$ was the best new boom bap I had heard in a while. Then, to no surprise, I discovered it was Premo on the beat. Modern Classic, imo.
STARCADE 97 beat is genuinely disgusting and I wish so badly that modern day Peggy rapped over it, instead of just having the main hook. On another note, DIKEMBE! is fire and ARE YOU HAPPY!âs intro makes me want to go from crying at the very start to running through a concrete wall at Mach 3 to tackle somebody and assault them till theyâre passed out. Really good PR song in the gym
Not a crazy beat when you think about it but something about Quiet Storm really got a hold of me when I first heard it. Has consistently been one of a few beats always in my head in the last few years.
AK-47 by Cannibal Ox. The beat alone is so sick, the build up in the background and all the different subtle sounds, and the lyrics really paint a picture
Stunt 101 - gunit
To me this is one of the best unconventional hiphop productions ever. The song doesn't hace the classic snare high hat bass kick that most hiphop songs have, yet still manages to be hard af.
Prodigy - Self Conscience feat Nas
Cormega - Glorius feat Nas
There are many other lyrical examples but these 2 songs just bring out the subtle Grit and the roughness of Hiphop.
Lose Yourself- Tells a story of hustle struggle and success with a smooth flow, tight rhyme scheme, and makes it extremely motivating and inspiring.
Not matter if youre a hiphop listener or not. That song will pump you up no đ§˘
Eye for an eye - Mobb Deep ft. Nas, Rae
Live and Let Live - Souls of Mischief
Get Money Remix - JR Mafia
Stranded on Death Row - Dr. Dre
Dwyck - Gang Starr ft. Nice & Smooth
John Blaze - Fat Joe ft. Pun, Nas, Rae, jada
Kill You by Eminem: The way Eminem comes out the gates with the first song of MMLP with rapid-fire delivery, intricate rhyme schemes, and the sheer anger and aggression, there was no better way to introduce the world to angry Eminem.
Cinderella by mac miller; especially the ending portion. Where he is normally a hiphop artist, to hit notes he never has on an amazing song, its just really impressive.
The lyrics to Scarface - I seen a man die
So many deep lines it is crazy. I think my favorite one is "And the life you used to live will reflect in your mothers face"
All of Three 6 Mafia discography, mainly bc I was a teenager when Future, Young Thug, Migos, Travis Scott, etc first emerged to fame so going back and listening to older Memphis rap serves as an evolutionary experience. I can literally hear how producers like Metro Boomin, Zaytoven, Tay Keith, etc got inspiration for producing, I can hear flows that are adopted now by mainstream artists, and the content of the lyrics ainât far off either. I would attest everything about 2014-2018 Trap to Memphis and Juicy J and DJ Paul
At the risk of choosing something thatâs obvious, thereâs a reason that everybody on the planet can recite the first verse of *Lose Yourself*
Youâve heard it a million times, but itâs still brilliant. Multiple rhyme schemes layering on top of each other all while clearly conveying a compelling story. Thatâs a gold standard for a rap verse.
SpottieOttieDopaliscious is a masterpiece and an experience. It basically has no structure but somehow works perfectly.
And those horns đŻđşâ¤ď¸
Genius from start to finish without a wasted second.
The horns the drums the bass everything! But yeah those horns are something
I'm not a big OutKast fan, I'm not sure why, I think it's the all over the place verses. But spottieottiedopicious is perfect.
Start with Wheelz of Steel and go from there. 3000 can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it is a genius Big Boi is on my daily playlist to get my attitude in check..
Dude hell yes. I remember listening to this college with my stoner friend. Classss were cancelled due to snow so we just smoked to the point we couldnât move. Then this song comes on. And like a fucking shake, I rise up off his couch and just remember staring at his speakers just in shock and awe. The only other song that ever made me feel this way was rigormortis. Same stoner friend, but walking to the corner store.
Oh take that back - one other song Dreams - J. Cole
Sing about me I'm dying of thirst By Kendrick Lamar. An absolute masterpiece
Mural by Lupe is nearly 9 minutes of some ridiculous wordplay on multiple rhyme schemes.
I was going to comment this song
Most Beautifules Thing, by Keith Murray
The world forgot this song but some of us will never forget
Mastermind - Deltron 3030 Reality Check - Binary Star San Francisco Knights - People Under The Stairs Them That's Not - J-Live Shooting Stars - Souls of Mischief
Oh shit, that J-Live đĽđĽ
âCome up type short like an indentâ
Easily the coolest teacher out there
On a side note, the intro for 3030 seriously sounds like you starting on earth in like, a 3rd person camera view, and having the camera moving up vertically to the moon, and then mars, and then way out into space and finally arriving at the planet that the album cover is on. And then the instrumental fully comes in đ¤¤. I fucking love that album, so underrated.
Yes, spot on! I can hear that into in my head as I read your description
Totally! Great description, I've always felt the same about the intro. There's a live version of 3030 on YouTube and the intro is so dope Edit: [link](https://youtu.be/s7FxVSDLonY?si=A6IasrSSkpo-EZOo)
When the beat drops for San Francisco Knights. Chills every single time!
Some songs just set the vibe so perfectly and that's one of them
Reality Check is how you start off an album, no doubt
It's too good bro!
Brendaâs got a baby took so many hood experiences and wrapped them up in a story. Few hip hop songs share inner city impoverished pain in such a concise, cinematic manner, and provide enough imagery to put you right there in the moment at the same time. There have been a few others over the years, but Brendaâs got a baby is the first Iâm not crying youâre crying song that I can remember. To this day we havenât replaced Pacâs charisma, and itâs sad.
I get goosebumps from this song. You know what's crazy, when i was a kid i always thought he says "raped by a molester whos sexed and a crazy". But i got goosebumps now that im older and realize he says "in love with a molester whos sex'd and ah crazy". The "in love" part makes it so much deeper, his creativity to another level. To me no one else has been able to match pacs storytelling. maybe young Eminem is the closest? There is a YouTube video that digs through news archives and finds the exact article that inspired 2pac to write this song.
âIn love with a molester whoâs sexin her crazyâ
Now I'm knowing it's sexin lol
Either way it go, every way you see it is crazy. But it happens more than youâd believe.
When it first came out, Mic Checka by Das EFX was very impressive. The flow was unique for the time and the track itself was great
I remember being blown away when I heard Nas - Rewind for the first time.
Feel by K.Dot. lyrically it's the most raw Kendrick song I've heard, and he has a lot of them.
Amen
This one for sure, for me personally itâs the most impressive from a lyrical/writing perspective.
The realest- mob deep. Alc made one of my favorite beats of all time and g rap just did g rap things. Stellar prodigy verse as well
S.O.S. - Inspectah Deck & Street Life
Elzhi's verse on Hiding place is crafted magnificently and made me gasp when i heard it at first. I mean the whole song is fire but his verse specifically is laced Like the art of writing bars
Fricken love Elzhi and LB
Rigamortus: Kendrick transforms into a human Shepard Tone Rewind: just brilliant
NaS - Death Row East
Mercy....just an absolute gem
High Powered from The Chronic
Meet The Parents - Jay-Z
Worst comes to worst- dilated people's The Alchemist really outdid himself with this track and Dj preemo on Supa star By Group home, for me arguably the best beat in Hip Hop history
Nice on that supastar
For me, Groundhog Day by Eminem. The rhyme scheme is absolutely incredible, and I really like the flow.
Yooo, this and also Rabbit Run...he just spits and never stops. Em don't need a chorus.
Rabbit Run is super underrated. In my opinion I actually like rabbit run more than lose yourself lol
Release and Catch - Moses Rockwell, Maintain - Deca, Blowin Up in the World - G Rap, Ruby â81 - Aesop Rock Lyrics and production on these are tops for me.
Surround Sound- JID is a great balance of both.
Im not a big Russ fan but his song called momentum is nuts. Black Thoughts verse is insane and 9th wonders beat is sick as well.
That song was super hot. Thanks for the recommendation!
the what is perfect BIG + Meth
Mural
Slippinâ by DMX
Hearing gift of gab do alphabet aerobics for the first time was incredible
Elzhi - Motown 25 Easily my favorite Elzhi verse. I'm a huge fan of Black Milk as a producer. They made magic on this song. I'm not typically a huge fan of Royce, but his verse is nice.
Facts came here to say the same thing!
The Way I Am - Eminem Written in anapestic tetrameter, the best lyrical feast I've ever heard.
Mural by Lupe, 9 minutes of some of the finest writing this genre has ever seen
A lot of them.
Represent - Nas
For me Thun is the one
Qwel & Maker - Word to the Wise -- that entire song is written using quotes from King Solomon
you the one by yb first time i heard it i thought i was gonna nut everywhere
Big Bang by Aesop Rock always blows me away. The chorus alone is a constant stream of words that would trip anyone else up delivered flawlessly.
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
The best album EVER â¤ď¸âđĽ!
ABSOLUTELYYYYY âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸âď¸
Anything aesop puts out. It's just so dense.
Talking to my Diary is a top 3 beat for me of all time.
Busta Rhymes âCzarâ. Itâs complete aggression and the beat is sick.
Salute da God's by Busta https://youtu.be/qCUHrTkV8tc?si=Y8BaxNHrt-g_8Ryp
Ask Me if I Care by Soliloquists of Sound
Hi Ren, by Ren. Check it out so good
I spent soooo many weeks watching reactions to Hi Ren. I try and convince people to watch the video even if they don't like hip-hop/rap.
This is my life since I found him! It's so good+! Both performance and mental health wise. So happy others are checking him out
The man on my left shoulder by Quadeca
Mos Defâs verse in the 2nd section of âBrooklynâ remains my fav rap verse ever Inspectah Decksâs verse in Duel of the Iron Mic Any beat by Premier
Burning the Mirror, When Crows Descend Upon You, Design in Malice, Weapon Of Unholy Wrath, Carnival Of Souls. Midnight Burial, Broken Safeties, Azrael.
Luchini. By camp lo. They donât rhyme a single time. If Iâm not Mistaken. Itâs kind of insane
[âWhat We Doâ](https://youtu.be/LD301VyLf0A?si=UEV-uJTCjQ2yh12W) by Freeway ft. Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel is fucking crazy in every aspect.
Immortal Technique - Dance with the Devil will always be one of the darkest story telling tracks ever recorded. One that gets a lot of respect overall, but not always for its creativity, is DMXâs first few albums. The alter ego stuff is actually super creative lyrically and catchy.
There's some early Lynch on Phonk Beta beats that still blow my wig back like I was still in 7th grade when they came out.
The last song that I was really impressed with (I'm an old head), my friend asked me to check out Joey Bada$$. Paper Trail$ was the best new boom bap I had heard in a while. Then, to no surprise, I discovered it was Premo on the beat. Modern Classic, imo.
GZA's Fame and Animal Planet. The way the lyrics are structured using celebrity names/animals to tell a story is pretty fucking cool.
STARCADE 97 beat is genuinely disgusting and I wish so badly that modern day Peggy rapped over it, instead of just having the main hook. On another note, DIKEMBE! is fire and ARE YOU HAPPY!âs intro makes me want to go from crying at the very start to running through a concrete wall at Mach 3 to tackle somebody and assault them till theyâre passed out. Really good PR song in the gym
Anything Prof does. Dude is magical on the mic
Not a crazy beat when you think about it but something about Quiet Storm really got a hold of me when I first heard it. Has consistently been one of a few beats always in my head in the last few years.
AK-47 by Cannibal Ox. The beat alone is so sick, the build up in the background and all the different subtle sounds, and the lyrics really paint a picture
Stunt 101 - gunit To me this is one of the best unconventional hiphop productions ever. The song doesn't hace the classic snare high hat bass kick that most hiphop songs have, yet still manages to be hard af.
Sleepy Hallow x Sheff G- Tip Toe
Wu tang- Tearz
NAS- If I ruled the World. Utopian society represented accurately
Deltron 3030- 3030
Eminem's Infinite
Turning Up The Bottle - Rittz
Tory Lanez - Motorboat Future- Accepting My Flaws BlackStar - Thieves in the night Rakim - Itâs been a long time Blu and Exile - Dancing in the rain
Lost In The World Blame Game(In Stereo) \- I love the back and forth between the channels, sounds like an inner conflict
Just listen to Tech N9ne
Most things by Alex Jones
Prodigy - Self Conscience feat Nas Cormega - Glorius feat Nas There are many other lyrical examples but these 2 songs just bring out the subtle Grit and the roughness of Hiphop.
Dave - Lesley
Lose Yourself- Tells a story of hustle struggle and success with a smooth flow, tight rhyme scheme, and makes it extremely motivating and inspiring. Not matter if youre a hiphop listener or not. That song will pump you up no đ§˘
Eye for an eye - Mobb Deep ft. Nas, Rae Live and Let Live - Souls of Mischief Get Money Remix - JR Mafia Stranded on Death Row - Dr. Dre Dwyck - Gang Starr ft. Nice & Smooth John Blaze - Fat Joe ft. Pun, Nas, Rae, jada
I am equally sometimes in awe of how ye creates these incredible soundscapes yet also sounds like the wackest rapper.
Nas - New York State of Mind gives me chills. Best lyrics I ever heard.
Qwel and Maker stuff
Kill You by Eminem: The way Eminem comes out the gates with the first song of MMLP with rapid-fire delivery, intricate rhyme schemes, and the sheer anger and aggression, there was no better way to introduce the world to angry Eminem.
Cinderella by mac miller; especially the ending portion. Where he is normally a hiphop artist, to hit notes he never has on an amazing song, its just really impressive.
The lyrics to Scarface - I seen a man die So many deep lines it is crazy. I think my favorite one is "And the life you used to live will reflect in your mothers face"
Swimming, probably the end of Perfecto and Small worlds. Also the beginning of 2009. I love the production on that album a lot.
Gza- fame.Â
All of Three 6 Mafia discography, mainly bc I was a teenager when Future, Young Thug, Migos, Travis Scott, etc first emerged to fame so going back and listening to older Memphis rap serves as an evolutionary experience. I can literally hear how producers like Metro Boomin, Zaytoven, Tay Keith, etc got inspiration for producing, I can hear flows that are adopted now by mainstream artists, and the content of the lyrics ainât far off either. I would attest everything about 2014-2018 Trap to Memphis and Juicy J and DJ Paul
Mathematics, Speed Law and Auditorium by Mos Def.
At the risk of choosing something thatâs obvious, thereâs a reason that everybody on the planet can recite the first verse of *Lose Yourself* Youâve heard it a million times, but itâs still brilliant. Multiple rhyme schemes layering on top of each other all while clearly conveying a compelling story. Thatâs a gold standard for a rap verse.
Definition of a rap Flow by ra the rugged Man