rap- hip hop songs
1st of tha month
1st Of Tha Month Bone Thugs-N-Harmony 1998 "E. 1999 Eternal" "Discovered"/Produced by Eazy E The first rap group to essentially harmonize the rap lyrics The defined the midwestern style Their flow was also the first to be based exclusively on complex rhythmic patterns The bass drum pattern is very similar to Nuthin But a G Thang but much slower
Brass Monkey
Beastie Boys 1986 "Licensed to Ill" New School/Second Wave "Discovered" Russell Simmons (Def Jam Records) This album produced by Rick Rubin Sample of the funk song Bring It Here by Wild Sugar Use of scratching Much deeper bass than previous examples There flow is heavily influenced by Run DMC Heavy in the sense that it is faster and more frenetic Heavy use of call and response and unison rapping
insane in the brain
Cypress Hill 1993 West Coast Rap "Black Sunday" Samples 9 songs most notably Life by Sly & the family Stone (main riff) Get Out of My Life, Woman by George Semper (drums) Say it Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud (vocals) NOTE: If you are noticing a huge similarity to House of Pain's Jump Around it is because DJ Muggs of CH produced it (although he did use completely different samples)
Nuthin' But a "G" Thang
Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Dogg 1992 "The Chronic" G-Funk Death Row Records Samples 5 songs Alternation between Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre Iconic bass drum pattern This song introduced G-Funk and SD to the world A much more 'funky' style from a musical point of view Very laid back
my name is
Eminem (Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers) 1999 "The Slim Shady LP" Hardcore Rap/Pop The song that changed rap and popular music and introduced us to Mr Mathers His style is an infusion of several styles His flow is unique in that he can literally do it all The bass line gives it a catchy feel Lyrics infuse images of misogyny and violence with anecdotes from his life but with a sense of humor Cameo by Dr Dre who produced Eminem Sampled the funk song I Got The...By Labi Siffre
The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five 1983 "Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five" Old School Rap Protest/social commentary Melle Mel is performing the rap Original composition (no overt sampling of other songs) Sporadic (open) rhythmic pattern leaving space for the lyrics Strong repeated bass line Synthesizer chord punctuations Simple rhyme scheme The 'chorus' lyric is delivered in a staggered/stuttered way to emphasize the commentary "Don't Push Me cuz' Im close to the edge, I'm trying not to lose my head" Powerful use of simile to portray the plight of living in the ghetto
hard knock (the ghetto anthem)
Jay-Z 1998 "Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life" East Coast Rap/Pop More freeform flow in that his lyrics often do not follow the rhythmic pulse. It is also very clipped and frenetic. His rhymes are extended in that his cadence will take two to three lines to occur Named after the main sample Hard knock Life from the musical Annie which gives it the Pop aspect
sound of da police
KRS-One 1993 New School/Second Wave "Return of the Boom Bap" Protest The lyrics refer to the police in places like Bronx, New York, which have a history of institutionalized racism, oppression and violence against the black community The reoccurring "whoop" simulating police sirens opens the song as part of the chorus Notice the way he manipulates and transforms words like "overseer" into "officer" as an inventive use of flow Samples 3 songs Sing a Simple Song by Sly &the Family Stone (drums) Inside Looking Out by Grand Funk Railroad (various) Necessary by BDP (vocals) Rhythmically there is the added bass hit on beat 1 and the back beat on the snare one 2 & 4
F*** the Police
N.W.A 1988 "Straight Outta Compton" Gangsta Rap/West Coast Bulk of rapping by Ice Cube and Eazy E Samples 8 songs most notably Funky Drummer and Funk President by James Brown (drum pattern) The Boogie Back by Roy Ayers Ubiquity (main riff) Get Me Back on Time, Engine 9 by Wilson Pickett (main riff) Intense bass Political/social commentary They lyrics garnered a warning from the FBI Song in three sections (based on the story of three members- Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy E-testifying in front of a judge-Dr Dre) Not the first instance of extreme vulgarity but the angry, violent sentiments had huge repercussions Refers to the constant ignored police brutality of black youths by the LAPD
hot in herre
Nelly 2002 "Nellyville" Pop Rap The elongation of syllables indicative of Nelly's style Melodic/sing rap Samples Chuck Brown's Bustin Loose
big poppa
Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls, Big Poppa, Christopher Wallace) 1994 "Ready To Die" East Coast Rap Sample 3 songs most notably Between the Sheets by the Isley Brothers Although uncredited, Busta Rhymes raps on the track Notice the change in flow and lyrical delivery
rosa parks
Outkast 1998 "Aquemini" Crunk/Southern Hip Hop Samples 6 songs Alternation between Big Boi and Andre 300 (which have totally different styles of flow) Big Boi -more indicative of Gangsta rap but faster and more percussive Andre 3000 -has a more lyrical/rhythmic flow The chorus begins the song Has very little if anything to do with Rosa Parks The instrumental 'hambone' style is a 'shout out' to the South Very intense bass Scratching used as a transition element
what it is
Pharoahe Monch 2007 "Desire" Hip Hop, Indie/Underground Rap Extremely complex flow (like KRS One manipulates/transforms words and phrases to alter the meaning The intro bass drum rhythm simulates a heartbeat then is transformed to a bass line The drone-like quality of the organ creates an uneasiness This allows the breaks to be more intense and give a sense of relief to the ears and tensions The subtle and sporadic scratching creates randomness/chaos
fight the power
Public Enemy 1988 New School/Second Wave "Fear of a Black Planet"/"Do the Right Thing" (Film) Samples 19 songs most notably: Different Strokes by Syl Johnson (main riff) Funky Drummer by James Brown (drum pattern) Hot Pants Road by The J.B.'s (bass line) Political/social commentary 'Color' interjections by Flava Flav Chuck D lead rap Use of scratching
It's like that
Run-D.M.C. 1983 "Run-D.M.C." New School/ Second Wave "Discovered"/Produced by Russell Simmons (Def Jam Records) Simple drum pattern (drum machine-practically every available sound used) The 808 "tinny" handclap sound Synth chordal punctuations Interjection of other synthesized melodic lines Alternation of verse from Rev Run and D.M.C. Flow is typical of the dance style (more hippity hoppity as opposed to a natural flow)
walk this way
Run-D.M.C. 1986 "Raising Hell" Produced by Rick Rubin Rap Rock I would not even call it a cover as Aerosmith still performs on the track. It is simply a new edition of the song with rapping during the verses and the original chorus by Aerosmith Essentially the song is the same as from the original 1975 (technically you could claim that the way Steven Tyler delivered the verse lyrics in the original was a kind of rappin)
rapper's delight
Sugarhill Gang 1979 Old School Rap/ Disco Produced by Sylvia Robinson Full version Sample of the disco song Good Times by Chic The main bass riff and the rhythm from the bridge The full version contains several verses of rap from all four members
the ghetto
Too Short 1990 West Coast "Short Dog's In The House" Social Commentary Sample/quasi cover of The Ghetto by Donny Hathaway More melodic style delivery (akin to West Coast Hip Hop) This is the extended version which contains an excerpt from the famous 'Last Poets' speeches
keep ya head up
Tupac Shakur (2Pac) 1993 "Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..." West Coast/G-Funk Samples 3 songs Be Alright by Zapp (various) O-o-h Child by Five Stairsteps (chorus) Theme From Shaft by Isaac Hayes (various) Ostinato bass line drives the song The two-bar rhyming phrase is characterized by a strong bass drum hit on the downbeat (beat 1) of the first bar then the down beat is offset in the second bar (technically on the 'and' of 1) Tupac's lyrical flow illustrated wonderfully (fluid and almost melodic)
protect ya neck
Wu-Tang Clan 1993 "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" Hip Hop The song that introduced WTC to the world and was recorded with 4 of the original members plus 4 others Recorded before they had a record deal Samples 4 songs The bass line/drum pattern interweave This was the second version of the song that RZA completely rearranged and re dubbed with new drum tracks Intro (sounds of fighting) The karate chop sounds started this infatuation with Kung Fu films which would be adopted by groups like A Tribe Called Quest and The Fugees Wu-Intro: RZA and Method Man First verse: Inspectah Deck Second verse: Raekwon Third verse: Method Man Bridge: U-God Interlude: Method Man, Ol' Dirty Bastard and RZA Fourth verse: Ol' Dirty Bastard Fifth verse: Ghostface Killah Sixth verse: RZA Seventh verse: GZA (sounds of fighting) Outro: RZA, Method Man