The Best Hip-Hop Songs Ever

Hip hop was born in the ghettos of Bronx, New York City in the 70s. Reflecting the despair of African Americans in the changing urban culture of the United States, hip hop soon became a means of expressing political views, opposition and controversy. Using low-cost equipment to assist the abundant creativity of emcees, hip hop created role models and over time it became significantly influential to a large audience around the world.

From a list of great hip hop songs, I chose those I believe are the best in regards to their popularity, and impact.

BEASTIE BOYS - FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT FROM THE ALBUM LICENSED TO ILL (1986)

The Brooklyn trio is the first successful and globally recognizable white hip hop group. With obvious punk-rock influences and their significant impact on the hip hop scene, Beastie Boys brought hip hop and alternative rock audience together.

Fight For Your Right is an angry manifesto of the suppression of human rights. At first sight, the song's lyrics do not convey any obvious message to Beastie Boys' audience, yet a closer look shows that the group is heavily concerned with hypocrisy, puberty, and social rights.

Reaching #7 on the Billboard 100 and being one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, Fight For Your Right is one of the most recognizable songs of Beastie Boys.

ERIC B. & RAKIM - PAID IN FULL FROM THE ALBUM PAID IN FULL (1987)

Eric B. & Rakim are considered to be one of the most influential groups in the history of hip hop. Rakim's revolutionary emcee style playing with the beat and ranging creatively from one verse to the other combined with Eric B.'s ingenious scratching made Paid In Full globally recognized as one of the hugely influential hip-hop songs ever.

Appreciated even by non hip-hop fans, who recognized the smooth rhyming style and the sophisticated verses of the group, Paid In Full reached #58 in the US Charts and #8 in the Top R&B Hip Hop Charts.

GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE - THE MESSAGE FROM THE ALBUM THE MESSAGE (1982)

An authentic classic released in a time when hip hop music had the power to influence a substantial audience in the United States and on the globe, The Message is one of the first hip-hop songs describing the ghetto life in Brooklyn.

The song's chorus "Don't push me 'cuz I'm close to the edge" has become one of the most recognizable choruses in hip-hop music history. A true black diamond, which reached #51 in the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #3 on the 100 Greatest Rap Songs, while describing the urban despair of African Americans in the 80s.

PUBLIC ENEMY - WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME FROM THE ALBUM FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET (1990)

Public Enemy, a highly-politicized hip-hop group, often regarded as the chaos theoreticians, who promoted racial and historical theories, expressed their interest in the concerns of the African Americans in the 80s, through their unique way of mapping the perplexity of the existing political landscape and forcing it to make sense.

Welcome to the Terrordrome reflects the need of the Black America for simple, drastic solutions, yet conveyed through bewildered, raged, and scary sounds. The song was released as a response to anti-Semitic accusations to one of the group members and is one of the angriest responses global music has ever seen.

Welcome to the Terrordrome was ranked #3 in Hot Rap Singles, #15 in Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, # 49 in Hot Dance Music/Club Play and #8 in Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales proving the grandiose, uniquely strong ability of Public Enemy to influence the masses.

RUN D.M.C. - IT'S TRICKY FROM THE ALBUM RAISING HELL (1986)

Run D.M.C. is the Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Nirvana of hip-hop. With their great impact on the development of hip hop in the 80s they turned hip-hop into mainstream music just like Louis Armstrong did for jazz, Benny Goodman for swing and Nirvana for alternative rock.

Ready for a breakthrough into the mainstream, Run D.M.C. launched their third album Raising Hell and hit a blockbuster by becoming the first hip hop group to go gold, platinum, and multi-platinum, and to appear on the Rolling Stone cover. It's Tricky was the smash hit of Raising Hell spitting quick-tongue remarks and screaming roaring threats.

SALT-N-PEPA - PUSH IT (SINGLE) (1988)

The Queen's trio, Salt - N - Pepa, came into the hip hop scene in 1985 and it is considered as one of the most successful female hip hop group ever.

Ranked #440 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #19 in the Billboard Hot 100, with over 13 million copies sold globally, Push It is one of the most recognizable hip hop songs ever. A huge mainstream success, regarded as promoting the development of hip hop in the 80s, Push It is Salt-N-Pepa's signature single.