After my tape deck crapped out in 1997, I was stuck listening to either the radio or full albums in whatever order the artist intended. That all changed in 2001, when the new-fangled MP3 technology got combined with my new CD burner.
In addition to the occassional series of CDs I had burned in order to keep abreast of new music, I had created a bunch of genre-specific mixes that could be used both in the car and at the gym. This week we will take a look at the first disc covering the world of rap and hip hop music, both current at the time and spanning back to the 1980s. I now bring you Rap, volume 1.
Eve featuring Gwen Stefani – Let Me Blow Your Mind
The team-up won the first Grammy Award Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and took home the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.
iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 9/21/2012
2Pac – Keep Ya Head Up
The song, considered by many to be one of the deepest rap songs ever made, topped the U.S. Rap chart, the Hip Hop/R&B chart and the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
iTunes stats: 5 plays, most recently on 8/16/2011
Maestro – Table Dance
An ode to the black man having a good time at the local gentleman’s club.
iTunes stats: 3 plays, most recently on 9/1/2011
Cypress Hill – Insane In The Brain
The song, a diss song aimed at Chubb Rock, was a surprise crossover hit, reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
iTunes stats: Never played
Afroman – Because I Got High
Picked out of obscurity by Kevin Smith for inclusion on the Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back soundtrack
iTunes stats: 10 plays, most recently on 7/30/2012
NWA – Fuck Tha Police
Ranked #417 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, despite not having been released as a single.
iTunes stats: 6 plays, most recently on 10/23/2012
Warren G – Regulate
The breakout single for both Warren G and Nate Dogg, the track appears on both the soundtrack to the film Above the Rim and Warren G.’s debut album.
iTunes stats: 16 plays, most recently on 1/28/2013
Biz Markie – Just A Friend
Ranked 81st on VH1’s 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders in 2000, and later as number 100 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop in 2008.
iTunes stats: 7 plays, most recently on 4/1/2012