Smooth Criminal (Alien Ant Farm)
2001
Funk metal aimed at a Bad-era Jackson hit; he vetted the video himself and asked for scenes reshot.
★ 2.6
The Songs canon
Sourced and sung.
Every song chosen by hand, with the recording to play it.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Browse all 2,393 songs or filter by genre, subject, artist, and year.
Beer for My Horses
2003
Keith and Emerick took a line from a 1975 western, and Nelson topped the country chart at seventy.
★ 3.2
Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta
1992
Drums lifted from a 1973 Ripple record, a closing verse in a president's voice, and Office Space did the rest.
★ 5.3
Check Yo Self
1993 · From The Predator
Predator-era Cube with Das EFX in tow; the remix rode the Message beat to number one R&B.
★ 6.0
I Fought the Law
1966
Written by Sonny Curtis after he replaced Buddy Holly in the Crickets, then reborn as Bobby Fuller's number nine.
★ 6.5
Boyz N' Tha Hood (Eazy-E)Eazy-E
Boyz N' Tha Hood (Eazy-E)
1987
Ice Cube wrote it for a New York group who walked out; Dre pushed Eazy-E to rap it himself.
★ 6.7
Mack the KnifeBobby Darin
Mack the Knife
1959
Richard Wess's arrangement climbs a semitone verse after verse, and Darin rides the tension to his only number one.
★ 6.9
Hard Knock LifeJay-Z
Hard Knock Life
1998 · From Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life
The 45 King looped an Annie showtune, and Jay-Z cleared it with a letter he admitted was a lie.
★ 7.2
Smooth Criminal
1987 · From Bad
Jackson took the chorus line from a CPR dummy named Annie, and the anti-gravity lean later earned a patent.
★ 7.6
N.Y. State of Mind
1994 · From Illmatic
Premier built the beat on the spot; Nas nailed verse one in a take, muttering doubt into the intro.
★ 8.7
C.R.E.A.M.
1994 · From Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
RZA looped a lonely piano figure from the Charmels, and Inspectah Deck's second verse became hip hop scripture.
★ 8.9