My Lists of Favorite Hip Hop

 

This post has been residing in my head for awhile now as I concluded my best hip hop artist bracket (Congrats to 2Pac!) and celebrated the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.  And now I'm finally getting to it.  If you're like me, you like a good list, so I came up with my own lists of favorites.  I hope this encourages you to share your favorites, or create a killer playlist on Spotify.  Remember, these are lists of my favorites, not a judgement of what/who I think is the best.

Top 10 Favorite Hip Hop Artists

Those who know me well shouldn't be surprised at seeing Outkast at the top of this list.  They are my all time favorite and I think everything they touch is gold.  The rest of the list are artists that I listen to regularly and are my go-tos when I just need a good jam.  Obviously, I had to make some tough choices here and leave people off.  Honorable mentions go out to Run DMC, Heavy D, Arrested Development, and Kid n Play.

1. Outkast

2. 2Pac

3. Wu Tang Clan

4. LL Cool J

5. MC Hammer

6. Beastie Boys

7. Naughty by Nature

8. Warren G

9. Kris Kross

10. Wreckx-n-Effect

Top 10 Favorite Hip Hop Songs

This was probably the hardest list to narrow down to ten.  Clearly number one had to be an Outkast song and it doesn't get any better than SpottieOttieDopaliscious.  I could have had a list of just 10 Outkast songs and been satisfied with that, but I limited myself to one.  The rest of the songs could honestly be shuffled in any order, but I could listen to this playlist over and over again for hours.  Honorable mentions here include What's My Name by Snoop Dogg, C.R.E.A.M. by Wu Tang Clan, Ain't Gonna Hurt Nobody by Kid n Play, Everything's Gonna Be Alright by Father MC, and Down With the King by Run DMC.

1. SpottieOttieDopaliscious by Outkast

2. Regulate by Warren G

3. Mama Said Knock You Out by LL Cool J

4. Feel Me Flow by Naught by Nature

5. Turn This Mutha Out by MC Hammer

6. Sometimes I Rhyme Slow by Nice and Smooth

7. Ditty by Paperboy

8. The Choice is Yours by Black Sheep

9. Juicy by Notorious BIG

10. Scenario by A Tribe Called Quest

Top 10 Favorite Hip Hop Albums

Thinking about favorite albums is hard in the world of streaming music, but back in the 90s with my 6 disc CD changer, it was all about a good album.  Then came Napster and Limewire and disc burners and now Spotify and I had compilations of my favorite songs and have playlists for every mood.  But there are still certain albums that stand out in my history that I reminisce about and still love.  Once again, this list could have been dominated by Outkast albums, but I limited myself to one and settled on Aquemini because I don't think it gets as much love as it deserves.  I will also admit that when it comes to albums there is a very 90s lean because that is when I was a teenager with disposable income and bought a lot of albums.

1. Aquemini by Outkast

2. Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg

3. Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu Tang Clan

4. The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory by 2Pac

5. 2001 by Dr. Dre

6. Straight Outta Compton by NWA

7. Phrenology by The Roots

8. Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'em by MC Hammer

9. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill

10. Regulate... G Funk Era by Warren G

But I hope you enjoy these lists and please feel free to share your own, comment, and enjoy some good music.

Best Hip Hop Artist of All Time Bracket - Championship

 

And then there were two.  Two of America's most wanted... rappers.  See what I did there? Because the two rappers left had a song called, ok, well, IYKYK.  But peace out to Eminem and Jay-Z.  Both had great runs to make it this far.  Now we left with Snoop and 2Pac to battle it out for hip hop supremacy. They were both top seeds coming into the tournament so it should be no surprise that they are here now fighting for the championship.  Either would be a deserving winner.  I could go on and on about their accolades, but I won't.  I'll just stop here and say time to vote!

Best Hip Hop Artist of All Time Bracket - Final Four

 

The Final Four is set! There's not much to say about the matchups as the top seeds have dominated this bracket and this last round was more of the same.  In fact, none of the results were even that close.  I thought Biggie and Snoop would be more of a toss up, but Snoop advanced quite easily.  So now we are left with Jay-Z vs Snoop Dogg and 2Pac vs Eminem, all four heavyweights in their own right.  Even though Dr. Dre is not in the Final Four, his presence is all over this round as he brought Snoop and Eminem to the mainstream and produced one of 2Pac's biggest albums.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  And now it is time to vote!

Best Hip Hop Artist of All Time Bracket - Elite Eight

 

Well, this has been a bracket devoid of upsets, until now.  The first number 1 seed has fallen as Outkast loses by one vote to Missy Elliott.  And this is how you know that these brackets are not rigged because Outkast is my all time favorite and I can't even fathom how they would lose to anyone, let alone Missy Elliott.  That's not a knock on Missy, but rather a testament to how great how think Outkast is that I didn't think there was any question that they would easily win this bracket.  But, alas, here we are.  And with Outkast losing along with Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, and A Tribe Called Quest, we are left with all solo artists in the Elite Eight.  That's pretty surprising and sets up some fun rap battles.  With that, it's time to blast your favorite jams and cast your votes!

Best Hip Hop Artist Bracket - Sweet Sixteen

 

There were very nearly some huge upsets in the second round as Nas, LL Cool J, and Wu Tang Clan all snuck through by one vote.  But alas, there are no cinderellas as all four brackets feature the top four seeds.  This is the first time that has happened in any bracket I’ve made.  I don’t know if that’s a testament to my seeding or just a reflection of the greatness of those artists.  Either way, we have some heavyweight matchups moving forward and it’s a shame that some of these acts will have to lose in the next round.  So let’s take a look at the bracket and cast your votes.

Best Hip Hop Artist of All Time - Second Round

 

Round 1 is in the books and there were, surprisingly, very few close results.  Only two matchups were decided by two votes or less, with Cypress Hill edging by Kendrick Lamar and Beastie Boys coming back to sneak by DMX.  Also, there weren’t that many upsets as the higher seeds mostly held their own.  Warren G and MC Hammer advanced as 11 seeds, but they were the lowest seeds to move on.  The matchups get a little tougher in this round so we’ll see who comes out on top!

Best Hip Hop Artist of All Time - First Round

Fifty years ago, the genre of hip hop music was born.  You may have been seeing lots of tributes on various awards shows and news programs throughout the year.  And seeing as hip hop is one of my favorite music genres, I felt it was only fitting to do a tribute in my own way.  I know I usually reserve my brackets for March, but I felt this momentous anniversary deserved its own special bracket.  So I decided to create a bracket to find the greatest hip hop artist of all time.  I’ll admit, though, that this bracket is slightly skewed to my favorites from the 80s and 90s.  I did put in some of my usual data crunching, looking at top 100 hits and placement on other greatest artist lists, but I also made sure that some of my favorites made the cut.  

And now I’m giving you all the chance to vote for your favorites. From Sugarhill Gang to Run DMC to Jay-Z to Drake, I tried to at least represent all eras and both groups and solo artists.  I hope you all enjoy this special fall bracket madness and keep voting through to the end.  Without further adieu, here is the bracket and your chance to vote.