Fight the Power
1989 · From Fear of a Black Planet
Spike Lee asked for a defiant anthem, and the Bomb Squad answered with layered samples and Branford Marsalis's saxophone.
★ 9.0
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.
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
Nuthin' But a G Thang
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg
1992 · From The Chronic
Dre built G-funk on a Leon Haywood sample, handed Snoop the mic, and gangsta rap reached number two.
★ 8.9
Straight Outta Compton
1988 · From Straight Outta Compton
Dre and Yella built it in a Torrance studio on almost no money, and Compton stopped being invisible.
★ 8.8
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
Fuck tha PoliceNWA
Fuck tha Police
1988 · From Straight Outta Compton
Structured as a mock trial with Dre presiding, and it drew a warning letter from an FBI assistant director.
★ 8.6
Dear Mama
1995
Pizarro built it from a Joe Sample loop and the Spinners' Sadie, and the Library of Congress later archived it.
★ 8.5
Juicy
1994 · From Ready to Die
Poke and Combs looped Mtume's Juicy Fruit, and Wallace told the rags to riches story that hip hop kept retelling.
★ 8.5
California Love
1995
Roger Troutman's talk box over a Joe Cocker sample, and Shakur's first single after Death Row sprang him from prison.
★ 8.2
Mannish BoyMuddy Waters
Mannish Boy
1955 · From The Anthology: 1947-1972
Waters answered Bo Diddley's answer to his own song in 1955, holding one chord and a stop-time riff throughout.
★ 8.1
Shook Ones Part II
1995 · From The Infamous...
Havoc built the beat in his Queensbridge bedroom from a slowed Herbie Hancock piano figure and a Daly-Wilson drum break.
★ 8.1
99 ProblemsJay-Z
99 Problems
2004 · From The Black Album
Rick Rubin's first rap production in years, a Billy Squier drum break, and a second verse about a traffic stop.
★ 8.0
It Was A Good Day
1993 · From The Predator
DJ Pooh looped the Isley Brothers' Footsteps in the Dark, and Ice Cube spent four minutes on an uneventful day.
★ 7.9
The World Is Yours
1994 · From Illmatic
Ahmad Jamal's piano figure, a hook Pete Rock sang himself, and the most hopeful stretch of Illmatic.
★ 7.9
Still Dre
1999 · From 2001
Jay-Z wrote every line of it, Scott Storch played the piano figure, and Dre's seven-year album silence ended.
★ 7.8
Gin & JuiceSnoop Dogg
Gin & Juice
1993 · From Doggystyle
Dr. Dre produced it, George McCrae supplied the sample, and Snoop's unhurried drawl became the West Coast blueprint.
★ 7.8
Mama Said Knock You Out
1990 · From Mama Said Knock You Out
His grandmother told him to knock them out; Marley Marl looped Funky Drummer, and the Grammy followed.
★ 7.7
M.A.A.D City
2012 · From good kid, m.A.A.d city
Sounwave and THC build the first half, Terrace Martin the second, and MC Eiht walks in from Compton's own past.
★ 7.7
Hoochie Coochie Man
1954 · From The Anthology: 1947-1972
Dixon wrote it, Little Walter blew the harmonica, and that stop-time riff spread through blues and rock alike.
★ 7.7
Protect Ya Neck
1993 · From Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Eight MCs, a beat RZA scrapped and rebuilt, and a 12-inch the group pressed themselves before any label would.
★ 7.7
Big Poppa
1994 · From Ready to Die
Chucky Thompson built it on the Isley Brothers' Between the Sheets, and Biggie made charm sound entirely effortless.
★ 7.6
Bring the Noise
1987 · From It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
First released on the Less Than Zero soundtrack, it opens with Malcolm X and never stops arguing rap's case.
★ 7.6
Who Am I (What's My Name)
1993 · From Doggystyle
Dre stacked Atomic Dog over Parliament and Funkadelic, and Snoop's debut single walked straight into the top ten.
★ 7.6
The Next Episode
Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg
1999 · From 2001
Dre and Mel-Man built it on a David McCallum orchestral cut from 1967, arranged by Axelrod, and Nate Dogg closes.
★ 7.6
Hypnotize
1997 · From Life After Death
Herb Alpert's Rise looped into a strut, released five days before Wallace was killed, number one within weeks.
★ 7.6
Mystery Train
1955 · From The Sun Sessions
Two years after Junior Parker cut it at Sun, Moore's slapback guitar turned the same train into rockabilly.
★ 7.6
Money Trees
2012 · From good kid, m.A.A.d city
DJ Dahi slowed Beach House's guitar intro and ran it backwards, and Jay Rock's verse steals the whole record.
★ 7.6
Life's a Bitch
1994 · From Illmatic
AZ's first appearance on record, the only rapper Nas let onto Illmatic, and his father Olu Dara closing on trumpet.
★ 7.5
EtherNas
Ether
2001 · From Stillmatic
Ron Browz's beat, handed over before he knew its target, and a release date set on Jay-Z's birthday.
★ 7.5
Ain't Misbehavin'
1929
Waller sold every song in Hot Chocolates for five hundred dollars, then cut this one alone for Victor.
★ 7.5
Big Pimpin'
1999 · From Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter
Timbaland looped a flute from a 1957 Egyptian record, and Pimp C nearly turned the beat down for sounding pop.
★ 7.4
Swimming Pools (Drank)Kendrick Lamar
Swimming Pools (Drank)
2012 · From good kid, m.A.A.d city
T-Minus made the beat for Trey Songz, who passed; Lamar turned the rejected demo into a study of addiction.
★ 7.4
Keep Ya Head Up
1993
A Zapp groove under the Five Stairsteps hook, dedicated to Latasha Harlins, and rap's warmest tribute to Black women.
★ 7.4
It Ain't Hard To Tell
1994 · From Illmatic
Large Professor looped Human Nature into a hush, and Nas closed Illmatic with his most dazzling stretch of technique.
★ 7.3
Regulate
1994 · From Regulate...G Funk Era
Warren G looped four bars of Michael McDonald in a Long Beach bedroom, and Nate Dogg sang his half.
★ 7.3
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)Jay-Z
Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
2001 · From The Blueprint
A Jackson 5 chop, an arena chant, and Jay-Z's first solo top ten, courtesy of a young Kanye West.
★ 7.3
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
Dead Presidents IIJay-Z
Dead Presidents II
1996 · From Reasonable Doubt
Ski looped Lonnie Liston Smith under a Nas vocal, and Jay-Z made money sound like a weary confession.
★ 7.1
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
1967
James Jamerson's bass, cut in Chicago with Funk Brothers moonlighting for cash, and Wilson sounding weightless above it.
★ 7.1
Changes (2Pac)
1998
Recorded in 1992, shelved, then remixed after his death over Bruce Hornsby's piano; a posthumous Grammy nomination followed.
★ 7.1