al ship's top 50 non-southern rap singles of the 00s -- which is your favorite?

i remember seeing "grindin" for the first time on rap city as well

also never knew that story about how remy got on "lean back" -- pretty cool

i would've left off "99 problems", "i just wanna love u" & "lose yourself"

it's impossible for me to vote for anything but "hey ma" in any poll

the one problem i have w/ "lean back" is i always felt like there should've been someone else on the third verse -- remy kills it so hard that it feels weird to go back to joe

u hating on "i just wanna love u"!?

ante up

not really, no -- i mean i like the song, but it's like one of those canon songs that i 'recognize' but it's not a real personal favorite of mine or anything (i actively dislike "lose yourself"; think "99 problems" is good but insanely overrated)

i still prefer "izzo"

xp to al of course

i kinda know what you mean about "lean back," but at the same time, c'mon, this verse:

Now we livin' better now,
Gucci sweater now,
In that G4 we fly through,
Heny wether now,
See niggas get tight, when you worth some millions.
That's why I sport the cincilla to hurt they feelin's.
Your can find Joe Crack at all type of ****,
Out at Vegas front roll out on all the fights and ****,
If I visited Compton, they'd prolly squeel.
Cause have the rappers there blow like derek foreal.
If you cross the line damn right, I'm gon' hurt you,
These faggot niggas even made gang signs commercials.
Even Lil' Bow Wow throwin' it up,
B2K crip walkin' like that's what's up.
Can't keep tellin' me about all this rucker,
Matter of fact, I don't wanna speak about the rucker,
Not even Pee-Wee Herman could imagine this,
My niggas didn't have to play to win the championship.

dude called lil bow wow a faggot on a #1 record

also kay slay's exasperated expression in the video when joe doesn't want to speak about the rucker is so classic, should be a gif

i actually always did love the non-mention mention of the rucker incident (is he referring to the jim jones thing or something else?) in the same way that jay's "you know who did what with you know who" really stings

what are other instances of rappers clowning bow wow for no reason on singles? feel like there's more besides 50 in "wanksta"

last thing about "lean back": sneaky great remix imo -- love mase's verse on that: "my necklace, two ex's and three benny booms"

fun fact: mr cheeks from the lost boyz real last name is ray cash.

fun fact: mr cheeks from the lost boyz real last name is ray cash.

double posted AND ballsed-up. fml.

voted da band as punishment.

that song is great!

i vote hot fire

i would've left off "99 problems", "i just wanna love u" & "lose yourself"

― gimme schefter (J0rdan S.), Friday, 3 December 2010 21:00 (1 hour ago)

yeah im w/ al, while i disagree w/ 'lose yourself' but understand why some might not like it, and prob wouldnt include '99 problems' over idk 'can u werk with that' hating on 'give it 2 me' is sacrilege -- track is sooo classic. also <3 fat joe's 3rd verse

i'm not hating on it!!! i like it & understand why it's revered & will play it from time to time

it's just so much better than "izzo" in every way imo

lol, I was so mad at the "Pump It Up" video for spoiling "The Ring" for me

also o_O that you hate "I'm A Jerk"! I had no idea!

I hated it myself until I heard it on a good sound system, at which point I was like, "oh I see, it's that BASS"

This list is so awesome. It was always gonna be though.

playing "You're A Jerk" on my good stereo right now because i don't think i ever have before; naw still think it's trash

aw

I seriously dig the bass in that song

of this list, almost all of it is undeniable but I might surprise myself by voting "Lean Back"...?

then again I spent like a month playing Tea Bag Boyz so maybe my judgment is suspect

i'd never heard "teach me how to jerk" -- very good joint

video reminds me that i'll never get tired of watching a bunch of dudes jerk (yes & no homo)

altho lol @ the one dude in audio push that looks like hurricane chris' slightly less alien brother

bunch of great stuff here

always perplexes me that Virginia is not considered the South

i could see the argument either way

then again I spent like a month playing Tea Bag Boyz so maybe my judgment is suspect

― Yeezy reupholstered my pussy (DJP), Friday, December 3, 2010 5:36 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

tbh i totally wish i had put Tea Bag Boyz on here

always perplexes me that Virginia is not considered the South

― goat, camel, horse, and water buffalo (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, December 3, 2010 5:40 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

as a region of america it totally is, but i just have a hard time thinking of virginia rap being any closer to southern rap than, say, chicago rap or st. louis rap

mmmmaaaann this is tough.

stuck between a bunch, might go with "what we do"

"tell me when to go" obv

28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)
28. Prodigy - “Keep It Thoro” (2000)

can't listen now, but i have no idea who or what this is:

46. Coo Coo Cal - "My Projects" (2001)

oh dude that song is sooooooooooo dope

would easily be in my top 10 here

voted ante up, but should have voted what we do

'lean back' is aging so incredibly well to me for some reason that i cant really explain. the beat is toweringly great

good call on 'bonnie and shyne,' did you know the track itself is a grace jones song?? & i prefer the Shyne version!! whoever's idea it was to include barrington levy over grace jones was a genius

i never liked 'breathe' all that much, beat seemed clunkily middlebrown 'lyrical platform' in a way where fab's best stuff sounds effortless to me

i know a lot of rap folks disagree w/ me though

i cant believe that it took reading your blurbs to realize that e.i. was supposed to be 'arribe'

voted 'is that yo chick'

jada and styles! i remember when westwood first got it, he had rahzel there and there was another dope version of someone on that beat and they just went crazy. i had a fucking ball sat next to my radio.

i actually always did love the non-mention mention of the rucker incident (is he referring to the jim jones thing or something else?) in the same way that jay's "you know who did what with you know who" really stings

― gimme schefter (J0rdan S.), Friday, December 3, 2010 4:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

missed this before but Joe's referring to Terror Squad's team beating Roc-A-Fella's at the Rucker

"holla back" and "so into you" are the best fab singles

several that i haven't heard yet and will check when all these deadlines are dealt with but these are the contenders at present

48. Lupe Fiasco - “Kick, Push” (2006)
31. Missy Elliott f/ Ludacris - “Gossip Folks” (2003)
30. E-40 f/ Keak Da Sneak - "Tell Me When To Go" (2006)
29. Busta Rhymes - “Break Ya Neck” (2001)
22. Memphis Bleek f/ Jay-Z and Missy Elliott - "Is That Your Chick?" (2000)
20. Nelly - "E.I." (2000)
18. Cam'ron f/ Juelz Santana - "Hey Ma" (2002)
17. Twista - "Overnight Celebrity" (2004)
11. The Clipse f/ Pharrell - "Grindin'" (2002)
9. Method Man & Redman - "Da Rockwilder" (2000)
8. Cam'ron f/ Juelz Santana - "Oh Boy" (2002)
5. Terror Squad f/ Fat Joe and Remy Ma - "Lean Back" (2004)
4. The Game f/ 50 Cent- "Hate It Or Love It" (2005)
3. Jay-Z - “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” (2000)
1. Missy Elliott - "Get Ur Freak On" (2001)

i think deej is right about "breathe" imo -- i mean i think it's still pretty good but it's not transcendent -- i'm not sure if fab works in that context -- his harder stuff is the best when it's cut through w/ some goofiness

i'd take "what we do" 100 times over

fabolous might be my least favourite rapper of any stature, like, ever

i find his robotic monotone completely unlistenable and awkward regardless of how good the actual words are

i agree that "Breathe" tends to be a little overrated but i don't feel like i'm overrating it relative to his R&B stuff, considering that he was on my rap/R&B crossover list 5 times. also "Holla Back" is so not remotely one of his best singles.

holla back is incredible u are crazy

rollin
gold two-seater
stash in the dash, hole through heaters

i would def take it over breathe

also it was his breakthrough!

otm obv

Ante Up ftw. But no excuse for me not to listen to the dozen or so I haven't heard before voting.

"Superwoman" and "Can't Deny It" both came before "Holla Back" and charted higher

'cant deny it' i forgot about yeah but im genuinely suprised to hear superwoman charted that high, i barely remember that shit

regardless, holla back is classic

it's OK, i just think it's one of those Neptunes tracks that got a little lost in the shuffle of their peak era glut

kind of surprised and maybe even disappointment at the lack of outcry about any notable omissions so far...anyone really care that I left out "Big Pimpin'" or "In Da Club" or "Work It" or "Country Grammar" or "The Real Slim Shady" or "Forgot About Dre" or "Drop It Like It's Hot" or "Roc The Mic" or whatever?

yeah "in da club", "big pimpin", and "country grammar" were the three i noticed were missing first. i knew you didn't like "country grammar" all the much. i have no idea what you have against "big pimpin" tho

"country grammar" & "big pimpin" would be in my top 20 singles of the whole decade

i don't really dislike most of those songs (have i ever even said anything bad about "country grammar"? i just like the other singles from that album more).

random-ass songs i actually did agonize about cutting from the list: "Bad Boy 4 Life," "Lighters Up," "Song Cry," "Conceited," "Who We Be," "What Means The World To You," "Light Your Ass On Fire"

well no i just remember us all ranking nelly singles and it not being near the top of yours

all three of those songs are v impt to me xp

all three? you can't forget about "Batter Up"!

lol i was referring to the 3 i singled (tripled?) out before

haha

i just looked up my old ranking on the nelly singles poll thread and not only is "Country Grammar" fairly high at 6, but "E.I." being down at 10 shows how indecisively i've flip flopped about his stuff over the years

like i always knew "Air Force Ones" was gonna be somewhere on the list but for a while i really wasn't sure if the other Nelly on the list would be "E.I." or "Country Grammar" or "Hot In Herre"

i don't wanna sound demanding but sarge any chance of a zip of this too? i'd love to run through this on the way home for xmas but have no time now

i think you compensated for "bad boy 4 life" by putting "bad boy this, bad boy that" on the list

"what means the world to you" remix is one of the best songs ever

yeah i've been meaning to get on that -- i'll put it up by wednesday

no rush dogg thx

this list came close to being much heavier on Bad Boy -- "Special Delivery," "Whoa," "D.I.D.D.Y.," "Spit Yo Game"

just decided i've gotta do a Bad Boy 21st century poll

true

Jay-Z - "99 Problems" (2004)

99 probs, 100% geir rap sublimity

ANDELE ANDELE MAMI EE II EE II UH-OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

lol

http://bbcicecream.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/clipserickrubin_l.jpg

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

your ho chose i
i ain't gone lie
what i look like turnin down chocha

ok i just listened to nearly all of these, including a really surprising amount i'd never heard. i always knew i preferred southern rap but i didn't realise til now just how disproportionately i paid attention to it. new tracks to me that stood out - "get by", surprisingly (never considered myself a talib fan) - that amazing nina simone sample! coo coo cal's "my projects" is brilliantly ruff, too, and b rich's "whoa now" is terrific fun.

my vote has been narrowed down to "overnight celebrity" vs "lean back"...both seem to me to be particular peaks in the way the performers, arrangements and production trends come together.

off the top of my head, 3 songs i'd have loved to see -

remy ma - conceited (there's something about remy)
g-unit - poppin' them thangs
shawnna - shake dat shit/rpm
the lox - ryde or die bitch
dmx - who we be/trina moe/ruff ryders' anthem
lil' kim - how many licks?/thug luv/lighters up
twista ft. pitbull - hit the floor
mack 10 - nobody hoo banging style

i might give it to "lean back" just for that remy story - gulliest female rapper ever

"oh boy" doesn't really feel like a #1 choice on a decade-end list, but dammit it hasn't gotten enough love itt

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i'm just gonna declare "hey ma" the real winner

whaaaat only my vote for "lean back"

33. Jay-Z - "99 Problems" (2004) 3

kmt

off the top of my head, 3 songs i'd have loved to see -

remy ma - conceited (there's something about remy)
g-unit - poppin' them thangs
shawnna - shake dat shit/rpm
the lox - ryde or die bitch
dmx - who we be/trina moe/ruff ryders' anthem
lil' kim - how many licks?/thug luv/lighters up
twista ft. pitbull - hit the floor
mack 10 - nobody hoo banging style

― lex lex lex lex lex on the track BOW (lex pretend), Monday, December 13, 2010 3:36 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"Ruff Ryders Anthem" was 90s and "How Many Licks" had an R&B hook and would've been on the other list (although I never really considered it), and i love "RPM" but never really considered it a single. but good calls on "Conceited," "Lighters Up," "Who We Be" and "Hit The Floor," those were all on early drafts of the list.

i remember "hit the floor" getting lots of hype at the time but it seems to have been forgotten somewhat - that beat is insane tho

really? i went nuts about it but i never got the sense most people ever knew it existed. Pitbull/Collipark were such a lethal combo for a while there.

hmm maybe it just crossed over to a few of the nights i was going to in those days.

Pitbull/Collipark were such a lethal combo for a while there.

yessss, i miss that aesthetic so much - nothing beats pitbull going hard over a crunk beat, pref w/lil jon shouting in the background.

ship you might dig the new audio push single

the hook is kinda lame but the verses are great imo http://hulkshare.com/bzwgvqczu85g

haha cool, need to save that for later when i'm at a computer w/ speakers