Series : Complex's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Beats Of All Time Part 5
Series : Complex's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Beats Of All Time Part 5
19. The Notorious B.I.G. "Who Shot Ya?" (1995)
If "Juicy" is the dream, then "Who Shot Ya?" is the nightmare. As Biggie told VIBEin 1996: "[We did that] Muthafuckin' song way before Tupac got shot. It was supposed to be the intro to that shit Keith Murray was doing on Mary J. Blige's joint. But Puff said it was too hard." The story behind this record was a rap soap opera unto itself which only became more complicated recently when Poke of Trackmasters claimed in an interview with Complex that he contributed to the beat but never got the proper credit. But regardless of whether it was made with Pac in mind, or whether Poke got screwed, none of that backstory detracts from the effectiveness of the chilling instrumental.
Sounding completely unlike anything else from New York at the time, the "Who Shot Ya?" beat is sparse and understated, conjuring images of backroom dice games and hushed orders to underlings. While the foundation of the track is basically keys and drums, it's the layered chants, ad-libs, and crooning that create the atmosphere of conspiracy that made this one of Biggie's finest moments.
18. Eric B. & Rakim "Paid In Full (Remix)" (1987)
This "def beat" loops the "Ashley's Roachclip" break and appropriates the bassline from "Don't Look Any Further" (a 1984 R&B hit from former Temptations member Dennis Edwards). In retrospect, the album version was an unusual song for 1987 in that it opens with Eric B. name-dropping the group's various representatives, features only a single verse from Rakim, and closes with some wonderfully off-kilter scratching. Thanks to the pioneering work of UK production outfit Coldcut, we also got the "Seven Minutes of Madness" remix, which added an amazing Ofra Haza vocal sample, as well as literally dozens of samples and breaks from TV shows, movies and other songs. The final result changed the way people looked at remixes forever.
17. Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg "Deep Cover" (1992)
"Deep Cover" is noteworthy for a couple of reasons: It was the world's first exposure to Snoop Doggy Dogg, and it was Dr. Dre's first post-N.W.A. output, offering a preview of the new sound he would unveil on The Chronic. Dre's winning formula, consisting of loud drums (courtesy of the classic Sly and The Family Stone "Sing A Sample Song" break), a sinister synth melody that made you feel like you were walking down a dark alleyway, and a creeping bassline marked the next evolution of the musical foundation he established with N.W.A. Once The Chronic and Doggystyle dropped, that sonic trifecta would become synonymous with West Coast rap.
16. MC Shan "The Bridge" (1986)
Originally appearing as the b-side to MC Shan's "Beat Biter" (which was aimed at LL Cool J), "The Bridge" went on to become the official anthem for Queens, and got caught in the crossfire of BDP's beef with Mr. Magic and set off the Bridge Wars. Sonically, it captured that gritty "project sound" that Marley Marl was developing at the time. "I had the drum sound of the week", he told ego trip in 1998. "It was funny because you could tell all of the records that I made in the same week back in the days. They all sounded the same: 'Eric B. Is President,' 'The Bridge,' 'Nobody Beats the Biz'...if I make three or four records with the same drum sounds, I thought one of them was gonna hit. I wasn’t expecting everything to hit!" That "Impeach The President" snare, when matched with the backwards horn hit from Magic Disco Machine's “Scratchin’,” is the sound of hardcore hip-hop incarnate.
15. Black Sheep "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" (1991)
The original album version of "The Choice Is Yours" was a good song, but the "Revisited" single mix added a whole new level of energy, both in terms of the beat and Dres's impassioned vocal performance. Taking two carefully selected grunts from "Sweet Linda Divine," drums from The New Birth and a brilliant stand-up bass loop courtesy of McCoy Tyner's "Impressions," the new additions to the Native Tongues crew knocked this one outta the park. One of the most enduring records in rap history, it left such an impression upon the mind of future ad executives that it was appropriated by Kia to hawk cars in 2010.
14. Juvenile f/ Mannie Fresh & Lil Wayne "Back That Azz Up" (1999)
Providing the important public service of providing theme music for strippers since the 2 Live Crew broke-up, Juve, Weezy, and Mannie Fresh combined minds over the timeless Brass Construction horn blast, stuttering drum machine, scratches, and wandering strings. Mannie urges the ladies to "beat the dick like a motherfuckin' drummer chick," while Wayne coined the immortal phrase, "Drop it like it's hot." Thanks to this inescapable track, the ladies still have ample opportunity to back that "thang" up at your local sports venue to this day.
13. 50 Cent "In Da Club" (2003)
Deceptively simple but unforgettable, this is a text-book example of the Dr. Dre hit-making formula—a head-nodding, minimalist beat peppered with flourishes of live guitar, keys, and bass (special mention to the mighty DJ Quik on percussion). In the Vitamin Water commercial 50 conducts a symphony orchestra as they play the beat—and it doesn't sound bad—but this one's more classic than classical. Dre's track was the soundtrack for 50's introduction to the mainstream. But more than his laid-back drawl, party chants, statements of intent to take over the rap game, and obligatory references to getting shot, it was the beat that made this a song even Oprah Winfrey could love. With the single selling 7 million copies and the video clocking in at over 128 million YouTube views, if you lived on the planet Earth in 2003, you knew this song by heart—like it or not.
12. Public Enemy "Rebel Without A Pause" (1987)
This landmark moment in hip-hop production was largely inspired by Eric B. and Rakim. After hearing the cutting-edge new sound of their competition, Chuck D and the Bomb Squad literally went back to the lab to create a song that would blow everyone else out of the water. Looping the abrasive noise from The JB's "The Grunt," they then instructed Flavor Flav to manually trigger the "Funky Drummer" loop for a full five minutes. Once Chuck laid down his incendiary verses and Terminator X added his own take on the "Transformer" scratch (which had originated from the Philly DJ scene), Public Enemy unleashed the first example of a revolutionary sound that lay ahead on It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back and took their rightful spot at the top of the hip-hop food chain.
11. Eazy-E "Boyz-N-The-Hood" (1986)
Based around the electro-tinged riff from Whodini's "I'm A Hoe," and a granite-tough guitar riff, Eazy-E's early solo effort was bolstered by a knocking Dr. Dre track, and some rhymes penned by Ice Cube—all f which established this diminutive character as a trash-talking Compton tough guy, surrounded by a manic selection of rap and comedy vocal scratches.
10. Puff Daddy f/ Lil' Kim, The Lox & The Notorious B.I.G. "It's All About The Benjamins (Remix)" (1997)
Biz Markie was once asked which song he would play someone who had never heard hip-hop before, a song that could sum up the music and the culture. His reply? "All About The Benjamins." It may have caused a few angry backpackers to spit out their guava juice in disgust, but it's a valid choice. Hip-hop started out as party music and this track captures the essence of a party to a T. D-Dot slowed down the start of Love Unlimited Orchestra's "I Did It For Love" and laced it with shuffling drums and backspins to create the catchiest head-nodder of the Bad Boy era. When the beat changes to the iconic Jackson 5 break for Biggie's verse, it marks a sign of respect to the park jam era—a nod that was clearly appreciated by original party rockers like the Biz. Even Big Pun had to give it up: on "The Dream Shatterer" he told rival MCs, "I'll even let you rhyme to the 'Benjamin' beat/But it won't matter, your dreams still gone shatter."
9. Nas "N.Y. State of Mind" (1994)
DJ Premier was at the top of his game when he handed Nas this formidable aural canvas, having just released Hard To Earn with GURU and handled beats for Jeru The Damaja's entire debut. Despite Primo's punishing schedule, "NY State of Mind" was one of his most powerful and evocative productions of the period. A menacing piano riff from Joe Chambers' "Mind Rain," claustrophobic guitar, and booming drums of death take the listener deep into the heart of a New York subway tunnel at 3 a.m. aka "the dungeons of rap."
8. A Tribe Called Quest f/ Leaders of the New School "Scenario"/"Scenario (Remix)" (1992)
The Low End Theory set a new standard for hip-hop production, with both versions of "Scenario" being certified dope. The album version was driven by the crashing drums from Hendrix's "Little Miss Lover," while the legendary remix rode off of Kool & The Gang's "Soul Vibration" (first used by Marley Marl on LL Cool J's "Cheesy Rat Blues"). It's a close call deciding between this and "The Symphony" for Best Posse Cut of All Time, but there's no denying that this was the song that made the world realize that Busta Rhymes had out-gown his Leaders of The New School cohorts. The remix notably gave us the only official appearance of Kid Hood, who was murdered only days after recording his show-stopping verse. Both versions of "Scenario" stand tall as classics in their own right, offering two slices of energetic, uptempo Native Tongue music—a snap shot of cutting-edge hip-hop from 1992.
7. Audio Two "Top Billin'" (1987)
As is quite often the case, the unmistakable stuttering drum pattern that drives Milk D and his brother Gizmo's break-out hit was a studio accident, as Daddy-O from Stetsasonic tapped the wrong pad as he was programming the beat from The Honeydrippers' "Impeach The President" into his SP-12. Milk D spent the rest of his career riding off the success of this song, while it provided the beat for Mary J Blige's classic "Real Love" and 50 Cent's "I Get Money" among its many reincarnations. Since Milk D's father Nat Robinson owned the label that released the song, Milk is one of the very few '80s rappers who actually cashes a check every time someone samples this classic. Go Brooklyn indeed.
6. Eric B. & Rakim "Juice (Know The Ledge)" (1992)
Despite how the credits may read, this musical inferno was all the handiwork of Rakim, who looped Nat Adderley's "Rise, Sally, Rise" and played the drums live over the top. The horns and distinctive vocal note are taken from the one minute mark of "I Feel an Urge" by Syl Johnson, while flute and guitar riffs are dropped-in at various points to add an intense urgency to Rakim's lyrics of fury as he details the relentless pursuit of street credibility that mirrors the exploits of Tupac's "Bishop" character in Juice.
5. Wu-Tang Clan "C.R.E.A.M." (1993)
This is some vintage RZA work—cold weather music that's equal parts sparse and sorrowful. Grabbing the opening bars (and a vocal section from later in the song), The Abbott makes great use of the Isaac Hayes-produced "As Long as I've Got You" by the Charmels, allowing Raekwon and Inspektah Deck to deliver so many quotables that it's hard to keep up. This is one of the rare occasions where the acronym of a song title a) fits the sonic backdrop of the track, and b) actually makes any sense whatsoever.
4. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" (1992)
Large Professor may allege that he was the one who found the Tom Scott record that anchors this anthemic ode to family and lost friends, but nobody could have flipped it more perfectly than Pete Rock in his prime. Pete was the king of the horns in the '90s, and "T.R.O.Y." was his crowning achievement. Crisp, rolling snare hits provide added punch to the lush, melodic backdrop. Despite sounding more King Arthur than King Records, the song become hip hop's "Stairway To Heaven"-—in that it's inspired several awful cover versions yet still has the capacity to bring a tear to the eye of even the most stone-faced rap fans.
3. Mobb Deep "Shook Ones Pt. II" (1995)
New York hip-hop in the early '90s was a hot-bed of beat-digging culture, as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor and the D.I.T.C. crew attempted to outdo each other by flipping increasingly rare and obscure samples as those tried-and-true James Brown loops became increasingly difficult to clear. When Mobb Deep dropped their second album, Havoc (with some assistance from Q-Tip) established himself as an equally adept beat miner, as The Infamous established the new sound of hardcore QB rap. It wasn't until 2011 that the source of the loop was revealed to be the piano from Herbie Hancock's "Lucy," laced with a menacing bassline, distorted horns, and hard-as-nails drums to create what may be the hardest rap beat of all time. You know a beat has made an impact when cats are still freestyling over it more than a decade later.
2. Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Doggy Dogg "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang" (1992)
An argument could be made for this being the most well-known hip-hop track of the '90s, and there's a pretty good chance that even your grandmother knows the hook to this. Listening back to the Leon Haywood original, "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" reveals that Dre pillaged every inch for his version, ruthlessly snatching the main loop, key changes, and chorus (which he then replayed) —a testament to the strength of the Haywood's original composition. Snoop Dogg makes himself right at home immediately, effortlessly riding the track into submission with his laid-back delivery to claim it as his own, while the good Doctor proudly unleashes the super-slick sound nand mandatory "Funky Worm" synth that would change the sound of West Coast rap forever.
1. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five f/ Melle Mel & Duke Bootee "The Message" (1982)
Perhaps the most recognizable hip-hop record of all time, "The Message" offered a welcome change of pace from the brag rap and party chants of the era. In-house Sugarhill Records session player Duke Bootee (who later went on to produce "King Kut" and his own solo projects) had recorded an instrumental called "The Jungle," which he gave Melle Mel to rhyme over. The resulting electro-driven, claustrophobic track served as a stark contrast to the upbeat, live band of other Sugarhill releases, providing a fitting backdrop to Melle's dead-serious subject matter. The desolate feel of the track was so far ahead of the game that the subsequent passage of time has left it virtually unschathed, as demonstarted by Ice Cube jacking the track for his "Check Yo' Self" remix, while Puffy and Ma$e grabbed it for their hit collaboration "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." Countless production trends have come and gone since the "The Message" first hit the airwaves, yet it still stands strong as the definitive hip-hop anthem that will sound just as fresh in another 30 years.
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Sources : HIP HOP Conglomerate Logo | Original Article
19. The Notorious B.I.G. "Who Shot Ya?" (1995)
If "Juicy" is the dream, then "Who Shot Ya?" is the nightmare. As Biggie told VIBEin 1996: "[We did that] Muthafuckin' song way before Tupac got shot. It was supposed to be the intro to that shit Keith Murray was doing on Mary J. Blige's joint. But Puff said it was too hard." The story behind this record was a rap soap opera unto itself which only became more complicated recently when Poke of Trackmasters claimed in an interview with Complex that he contributed to the beat but never got the proper credit. But regardless of whether it was made with Pac in mind, or whether Poke got screwed, none of that backstory detracts from the effectiveness of the chilling instrumental.
Sounding completely unlike anything else from New York at the time, the "Who Shot Ya?" beat is sparse and understated, conjuring images of backroom dice games and hushed orders to underlings. While the foundation of the track is basically keys and drums, it's the layered chants, ad-libs, and crooning that create the atmosphere of conspiracy that made this one of Biggie's finest moments.
18. Eric B. & Rakim "Paid In Full (Remix)" (1987)
This "def beat" loops the "Ashley's Roachclip" break and appropriates the bassline from "Don't Look Any Further" (a 1984 R&B hit from former Temptations member Dennis Edwards). In retrospect, the album version was an unusual song for 1987 in that it opens with Eric B. name-dropping the group's various representatives, features only a single verse from Rakim, and closes with some wonderfully off-kilter scratching. Thanks to the pioneering work of UK production outfit Coldcut, we also got the "Seven Minutes of Madness" remix, which added an amazing Ofra Haza vocal sample, as well as literally dozens of samples and breaks from TV shows, movies and other songs. The final result changed the way people looked at remixes forever.
17. Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg "Deep Cover" (1992)
"Deep Cover" is noteworthy for a couple of reasons: It was the world's first exposure to Snoop Doggy Dogg, and it was Dr. Dre's first post-N.W.A. output, offering a preview of the new sound he would unveil on The Chronic. Dre's winning formula, consisting of loud drums (courtesy of the classic Sly and The Family Stone "Sing A Sample Song" break), a sinister synth melody that made you feel like you were walking down a dark alleyway, and a creeping bassline marked the next evolution of the musical foundation he established with N.W.A. Once The Chronic and Doggystyle dropped, that sonic trifecta would become synonymous with West Coast rap.
16. MC Shan "The Bridge" (1986)
Originally appearing as the b-side to MC Shan's "Beat Biter" (which was aimed at LL Cool J), "The Bridge" went on to become the official anthem for Queens, and got caught in the crossfire of BDP's beef with Mr. Magic and set off the Bridge Wars. Sonically, it captured that gritty "project sound" that Marley Marl was developing at the time. "I had the drum sound of the week", he told ego trip in 1998. "It was funny because you could tell all of the records that I made in the same week back in the days. They all sounded the same: 'Eric B. Is President,' 'The Bridge,' 'Nobody Beats the Biz'...if I make three or four records with the same drum sounds, I thought one of them was gonna hit. I wasn’t expecting everything to hit!" That "Impeach The President" snare, when matched with the backwards horn hit from Magic Disco Machine's “Scratchin’,” is the sound of hardcore hip-hop incarnate.
15. Black Sheep "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" (1991)
The original album version of "The Choice Is Yours" was a good song, but the "Revisited" single mix added a whole new level of energy, both in terms of the beat and Dres's impassioned vocal performance. Taking two carefully selected grunts from "Sweet Linda Divine," drums from The New Birth and a brilliant stand-up bass loop courtesy of McCoy Tyner's "Impressions," the new additions to the Native Tongues crew knocked this one outta the park. One of the most enduring records in rap history, it left such an impression upon the mind of future ad executives that it was appropriated by Kia to hawk cars in 2010.
14. Juvenile f/ Mannie Fresh & Lil Wayne "Back That Azz Up" (1999)
Providing the important public service of providing theme music for strippers since the 2 Live Crew broke-up, Juve, Weezy, and Mannie Fresh combined minds over the timeless Brass Construction horn blast, stuttering drum machine, scratches, and wandering strings. Mannie urges the ladies to "beat the dick like a motherfuckin' drummer chick," while Wayne coined the immortal phrase, "Drop it like it's hot." Thanks to this inescapable track, the ladies still have ample opportunity to back that "thang" up at your local sports venue to this day.
13. 50 Cent "In Da Club" (2003)
Deceptively simple but unforgettable, this is a text-book example of the Dr. Dre hit-making formula—a head-nodding, minimalist beat peppered with flourishes of live guitar, keys, and bass (special mention to the mighty DJ Quik on percussion). In the Vitamin Water commercial 50 conducts a symphony orchestra as they play the beat—and it doesn't sound bad—but this one's more classic than classical. Dre's track was the soundtrack for 50's introduction to the mainstream. But more than his laid-back drawl, party chants, statements of intent to take over the rap game, and obligatory references to getting shot, it was the beat that made this a song even Oprah Winfrey could love. With the single selling 7 million copies and the video clocking in at over 128 million YouTube views, if you lived on the planet Earth in 2003, you knew this song by heart—like it or not.
12. Public Enemy "Rebel Without A Pause" (1987)
This landmark moment in hip-hop production was largely inspired by Eric B. and Rakim. After hearing the cutting-edge new sound of their competition, Chuck D and the Bomb Squad literally went back to the lab to create a song that would blow everyone else out of the water. Looping the abrasive noise from The JB's "The Grunt," they then instructed Flavor Flav to manually trigger the "Funky Drummer" loop for a full five minutes. Once Chuck laid down his incendiary verses and Terminator X added his own take on the "Transformer" scratch (which had originated from the Philly DJ scene), Public Enemy unleashed the first example of a revolutionary sound that lay ahead on It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back and took their rightful spot at the top of the hip-hop food chain.
11. Eazy-E "Boyz-N-The-Hood" (1986)
Based around the electro-tinged riff from Whodini's "I'm A Hoe," and a granite-tough guitar riff, Eazy-E's early solo effort was bolstered by a knocking Dr. Dre track, and some rhymes penned by Ice Cube—all f which established this diminutive character as a trash-talking Compton tough guy, surrounded by a manic selection of rap and comedy vocal scratches.
10. Puff Daddy f/ Lil' Kim, The Lox & The Notorious B.I.G. "It's All About The Benjamins (Remix)" (1997)
Biz Markie was once asked which song he would play someone who had never heard hip-hop before, a song that could sum up the music and the culture. His reply? "All About The Benjamins." It may have caused a few angry backpackers to spit out their guava juice in disgust, but it's a valid choice. Hip-hop started out as party music and this track captures the essence of a party to a T. D-Dot slowed down the start of Love Unlimited Orchestra's "I Did It For Love" and laced it with shuffling drums and backspins to create the catchiest head-nodder of the Bad Boy era. When the beat changes to the iconic Jackson 5 break for Biggie's verse, it marks a sign of respect to the park jam era—a nod that was clearly appreciated by original party rockers like the Biz. Even Big Pun had to give it up: on "The Dream Shatterer" he told rival MCs, "I'll even let you rhyme to the 'Benjamin' beat/But it won't matter, your dreams still gone shatter."
9. Nas "N.Y. State of Mind" (1994)
DJ Premier was at the top of his game when he handed Nas this formidable aural canvas, having just released Hard To Earn with GURU and handled beats for Jeru The Damaja's entire debut. Despite Primo's punishing schedule, "NY State of Mind" was one of his most powerful and evocative productions of the period. A menacing piano riff from Joe Chambers' "Mind Rain," claustrophobic guitar, and booming drums of death take the listener deep into the heart of a New York subway tunnel at 3 a.m. aka "the dungeons of rap."
8. A Tribe Called Quest f/ Leaders of the New School "Scenario"/"Scenario (Remix)" (1992)
The Low End Theory set a new standard for hip-hop production, with both versions of "Scenario" being certified dope. The album version was driven by the crashing drums from Hendrix's "Little Miss Lover," while the legendary remix rode off of Kool & The Gang's "Soul Vibration" (first used by Marley Marl on LL Cool J's "Cheesy Rat Blues"). It's a close call deciding between this and "The Symphony" for Best Posse Cut of All Time, but there's no denying that this was the song that made the world realize that Busta Rhymes had out-gown his Leaders of The New School cohorts. The remix notably gave us the only official appearance of Kid Hood, who was murdered only days after recording his show-stopping verse. Both versions of "Scenario" stand tall as classics in their own right, offering two slices of energetic, uptempo Native Tongue music—a snap shot of cutting-edge hip-hop from 1992.
7. Audio Two "Top Billin'" (1987)
As is quite often the case, the unmistakable stuttering drum pattern that drives Milk D and his brother Gizmo's break-out hit was a studio accident, as Daddy-O from Stetsasonic tapped the wrong pad as he was programming the beat from The Honeydrippers' "Impeach The President" into his SP-12. Milk D spent the rest of his career riding off the success of this song, while it provided the beat for Mary J Blige's classic "Real Love" and 50 Cent's "I Get Money" among its many reincarnations. Since Milk D's father Nat Robinson owned the label that released the song, Milk is one of the very few '80s rappers who actually cashes a check every time someone samples this classic. Go Brooklyn indeed.
6. Eric B. & Rakim "Juice (Know The Ledge)" (1992)
Despite how the credits may read, this musical inferno was all the handiwork of Rakim, who looped Nat Adderley's "Rise, Sally, Rise" and played the drums live over the top. The horns and distinctive vocal note are taken from the one minute mark of "I Feel an Urge" by Syl Johnson, while flute and guitar riffs are dropped-in at various points to add an intense urgency to Rakim's lyrics of fury as he details the relentless pursuit of street credibility that mirrors the exploits of Tupac's "Bishop" character in Juice.
5. Wu-Tang Clan "C.R.E.A.M." (1993)
This is some vintage RZA work—cold weather music that's equal parts sparse and sorrowful. Grabbing the opening bars (and a vocal section from later in the song), The Abbott makes great use of the Isaac Hayes-produced "As Long as I've Got You" by the Charmels, allowing Raekwon and Inspektah Deck to deliver so many quotables that it's hard to keep up. This is one of the rare occasions where the acronym of a song title a) fits the sonic backdrop of the track, and b) actually makes any sense whatsoever.
4. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" (1992)
Large Professor may allege that he was the one who found the Tom Scott record that anchors this anthemic ode to family and lost friends, but nobody could have flipped it more perfectly than Pete Rock in his prime. Pete was the king of the horns in the '90s, and "T.R.O.Y." was his crowning achievement. Crisp, rolling snare hits provide added punch to the lush, melodic backdrop. Despite sounding more King Arthur than King Records, the song become hip hop's "Stairway To Heaven"-—in that it's inspired several awful cover versions yet still has the capacity to bring a tear to the eye of even the most stone-faced rap fans.
3. Mobb Deep "Shook Ones Pt. II" (1995)
New York hip-hop in the early '90s was a hot-bed of beat-digging culture, as DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor and the D.I.T.C. crew attempted to outdo each other by flipping increasingly rare and obscure samples as those tried-and-true James Brown loops became increasingly difficult to clear. When Mobb Deep dropped their second album, Havoc (with some assistance from Q-Tip) established himself as an equally adept beat miner, as The Infamous established the new sound of hardcore QB rap. It wasn't until 2011 that the source of the loop was revealed to be the piano from Herbie Hancock's "Lucy," laced with a menacing bassline, distorted horns, and hard-as-nails drums to create what may be the hardest rap beat of all time. You know a beat has made an impact when cats are still freestyling over it more than a decade later.
2. Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Doggy Dogg "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang" (1992)
An argument could be made for this being the most well-known hip-hop track of the '90s, and there's a pretty good chance that even your grandmother knows the hook to this. Listening back to the Leon Haywood original, "I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You" reveals that Dre pillaged every inch for his version, ruthlessly snatching the main loop, key changes, and chorus (which he then replayed) —a testament to the strength of the Haywood's original composition. Snoop Dogg makes himself right at home immediately, effortlessly riding the track into submission with his laid-back delivery to claim it as his own, while the good Doctor proudly unleashes the super-slick sound nand mandatory "Funky Worm" synth that would change the sound of West Coast rap forever.
1. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five f/ Melle Mel & Duke Bootee "The Message" (1982)
Perhaps the most recognizable hip-hop record of all time, "The Message" offered a welcome change of pace from the brag rap and party chants of the era. In-house Sugarhill Records session player Duke Bootee (who later went on to produce "King Kut" and his own solo projects) had recorded an instrumental called "The Jungle," which he gave Melle Mel to rhyme over. The resulting electro-driven, claustrophobic track served as a stark contrast to the upbeat, live band of other Sugarhill releases, providing a fitting backdrop to Melle's dead-serious subject matter. The desolate feel of the track was so far ahead of the game that the subsequent passage of time has left it virtually unschathed, as demonstarted by Ice Cube jacking the track for his "Check Yo' Self" remix, while Puffy and Ma$e grabbed it for their hit collaboration "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." Countless production trends have come and gone since the "The Message" first hit the airwaves, yet it still stands strong as the definitive hip-hop anthem that will sound just as fresh in another 30 years.
Contact Complex TV
Website | Facebook | Google+ | Tumblr
Sources : HIP HOP Conglomerate Logo | Original Article
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