In no way form or fashion can words describe how I feel about the South. So when me and a friend of mine from New York was having a heated discussion in South Beach about the five best southern rap songs of all time. I really started to think about this subject very deeply. So after giving it some deep thought and winning the argument with my friend, here's what I came up with...
1. My Mind Playing Tricks On Me - This song by the Ghetto Boys from the 1991 album "We Can't Be Stopped" is number one on the list for one reason. The intro to the song alone makes this record stand out more so than anything. "I stand alone in my four cornered room staring at candles", this verse by Scarface, is one of the most powerful lyrics that I have ever heard. As this great song talks about how a person is losing his mind, paranoid, and think that he is going crazy, was a subject matter that was never heard of before from the South. The beat is so catchy and is by far one of the best rap songs period. With the combination of Willie D, Bushwick Bill, & Scarface forming the Ghetto Boys, this diverse group of MCs proved to the world that the South was a region to be reckoned with. This song sampled the 1974 hit by the late great Issac Hayes "Hung Up On My Bay" and is nothing but pure genius and a classic.
2. Me So Horny - This 1989 song by the Two Live Crew on the album "As Nasty As We Wanna Be" put Miami, as we know it on the map. This song is so catchy and unforgettable that there is no way that you could not listen to this record and get hypnotized by the music. This beat alone is enough to put you in a trance as it was a sample by the famous 70`s funk group Mass Production. With sure fire horns and a hard bass line made this song shoot straight to #1 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Tracks in 1989. And even though this record didn't get hardly any airplay on the radio, due to the controversial nature of explicit lyrics by Luther Cambell, Brother Marques, Fresh Kid Ice & DJ Mr. Mix, it still didn't stop the album from selling over 2,000,000 records across the country. Me So Horny was so controversial that record store owners in South Florida were banned from selling this record in their record stores. The lyrics me so horny was a sample from the 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket, and with combination of the two samples by Two Live Crew, that is what makes this record one of the best in this category.
3. Rosa Parks - There is no denying that this 1998 song by Outkast off of the album Aquemini was a game changer for not only the group, but for the South in general. With the combination of funk, soul, rock, poetry, jazz, blues, and spoken word, this song took Andre 3000 and Big Boi to another level. Mostly every fan and hip-hop artist recognizes this song as being nothing short of a classic. This beat and instrumentation combined with a flow so cold by Andre 3000 & Big Boi made this song one of the best that the south has ever produced. When you heard this song playing on the radio or in the club there was no way that you could not dance to it. The Source Magazine out of New York, known for it's bias views at the time against any hip hop music that wasn't from New York, even had to bow down and give this album a five mic rating. Enough said!
4. Back That Thang Up - This song is the 1999 hit single off of the album 400 Degreez by Juvenile. Do you remember what you were doing at that time when this song was being played in every nightclub, radio station and TV screen across America? This song was so infectious that every woman in America was backing that thang up in the streets and nightclubs across country. Known as the second single off of the 1998 release of 400 Degreez. This song by far was the one that catapulted Juvenile and Cash Money Records to hip hop stardom. The lyrical style of Juvenile mixed with the up tempo bounce sound, combined with heavy bass and horns, was something that no one has ever heard of in hip hop before that time. The production by DJ Mannie Fresh on this song alone shows and proves without a doubt that not only is this song a work of art. But if taking the country by storm was a crime, then this record would get life in prison. Saying that this record is a classic is an understatement.
5. Lollipop - How could we forget this 2008 classic off of Tha Carter three album by Lil Wayne & Static Major. Lollipop was a song that Static Major (Rest In Peace) had written for his own upcoming album featuring Lil Wayne, but decided at the last minute to give it to Lil Wayne, and the rest as we know it is history. Certified 5X Platinum by the RIAA, this song spent 5 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Non 100 Charts and was Lil Wayne`s biggest record of to date. Produced by Jim Jonsin and Deezle, Lollipop reached #1 on the 2008 issue of Notarized by BET. Static Major died 2 weeks before the song's release and never got to see the impact of one of the greatest rap and R&B records that was ever produced. It`s very seldom that you can hear a song only one time and be hooked. That was the effect Lollipop had on anybody who came within earshot of this song. The melody is so catchy and melodic that you knew that you were hearing something very special when you heard this song. No one can deny that Lollipop deserves to be on this list.
1. My Mind Playing Tricks On Me - This song by the Ghetto Boys from the 1991 album "We Can't Be Stopped" is number one on the list for one reason. The intro to the song alone makes this record stand out more so than anything. "I stand alone in my four cornered room staring at candles", this verse by Scarface, is one of the most powerful lyrics that I have ever heard. As this great song talks about how a person is losing his mind, paranoid, and think that he is going crazy, was a subject matter that was never heard of before from the South. The beat is so catchy and is by far one of the best rap songs period. With the combination of Willie D, Bushwick Bill, & Scarface forming the Ghetto Boys, this diverse group of MCs proved to the world that the South was a region to be reckoned with. This song sampled the 1974 hit by the late great Issac Hayes "Hung Up On My Bay" and is nothing but pure genius and a classic.
2. Me So Horny - This 1989 song by the Two Live Crew on the album "As Nasty As We Wanna Be" put Miami, as we know it on the map. This song is so catchy and unforgettable that there is no way that you could not listen to this record and get hypnotized by the music. This beat alone is enough to put you in a trance as it was a sample by the famous 70`s funk group Mass Production. With sure fire horns and a hard bass line made this song shoot straight to #1 on the US Billboard Hot Rap Tracks in 1989. And even though this record didn't get hardly any airplay on the radio, due to the controversial nature of explicit lyrics by Luther Cambell, Brother Marques, Fresh Kid Ice & DJ Mr. Mix, it still didn't stop the album from selling over 2,000,000 records across the country. Me So Horny was so controversial that record store owners in South Florida were banned from selling this record in their record stores. The lyrics me so horny was a sample from the 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket, and with combination of the two samples by Two Live Crew, that is what makes this record one of the best in this category.
3. Rosa Parks - There is no denying that this 1998 song by Outkast off of the album Aquemini was a game changer for not only the group, but for the South in general. With the combination of funk, soul, rock, poetry, jazz, blues, and spoken word, this song took Andre 3000 and Big Boi to another level. Mostly every fan and hip-hop artist recognizes this song as being nothing short of a classic. This beat and instrumentation combined with a flow so cold by Andre 3000 & Big Boi made this song one of the best that the south has ever produced. When you heard this song playing on the radio or in the club there was no way that you could not dance to it. The Source Magazine out of New York, known for it's bias views at the time against any hip hop music that wasn't from New York, even had to bow down and give this album a five mic rating. Enough said!
4. Back That Thang Up - This song is the 1999 hit single off of the album 400 Degreez by Juvenile. Do you remember what you were doing at that time when this song was being played in every nightclub, radio station and TV screen across America? This song was so infectious that every woman in America was backing that thang up in the streets and nightclubs across country. Known as the second single off of the 1998 release of 400 Degreez. This song by far was the one that catapulted Juvenile and Cash Money Records to hip hop stardom. The lyrical style of Juvenile mixed with the up tempo bounce sound, combined with heavy bass and horns, was something that no one has ever heard of in hip hop before that time. The production by DJ Mannie Fresh on this song alone shows and proves without a doubt that not only is this song a work of art. But if taking the country by storm was a crime, then this record would get life in prison. Saying that this record is a classic is an understatement.
5. Lollipop - How could we forget this 2008 classic off of Tha Carter three album by Lil Wayne & Static Major. Lollipop was a song that Static Major (Rest In Peace) had written for his own upcoming album featuring Lil Wayne, but decided at the last minute to give it to Lil Wayne, and the rest as we know it is history. Certified 5X Platinum by the RIAA, this song spent 5 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard Non 100 Charts and was Lil Wayne`s biggest record of to date. Produced by Jim Jonsin and Deezle, Lollipop reached #1 on the 2008 issue of Notarized by BET. Static Major died 2 weeks before the song's release and never got to see the impact of one of the greatest rap and R&B records that was ever produced. It`s very seldom that you can hear a song only one time and be hooked. That was the effect Lollipop had on anybody who came within earshot of this song. The melody is so catchy and melodic that you knew that you were hearing something very special when you heard this song. No one can deny that Lollipop deserves to be on this list.
Whether you agree with my picks for the top five best southern rap songs of all time or not, there is no disputing that the artist on this list are some of the best that the South has produced.
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