Tragically taken from us in December 2012 at the age of just 19, Capital STEEZ’s gift for lyricism had marked him out – along with his Pro Era friend and collaborator, Joey Bada$$ – as one of hip-hop’s brightest prospects. Mack’s recent passing came as shocking and saddening news to the hip-hop community, but his 1994 song ‘Flava In Your Ear’ will live on – particularly in the form of its Biggie-featuring remix, where he dismissed those who dared threaten his position at the top in fine style: “ Take them rhymes back to the factory / I see, the gimmicks, the wack lyrics / The shit is depressing, pathetic, please forget it / You’re mad ’cause my style you’re admiring / Don’t be mad, UPS is hiring.” How many rapping delivery men are there out there today, we wonder?Ĭapital STEEZ on Joey Bada$$’s ‘Survival Tactics’ on Craig Mack’s ‘Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)’
You can’t compile a hip-hop-themed best-of list without including something off of Nas’ iconic ‘Illmatic’ album, so it’s handy that the Queensbridge rapper’s still-sensational ode to his home city featured a sublime guest feature from Brooklyn MC AZ.Īrguably his finest moment on the mic, the opening to AZ’s verse is so wonderfully verbose that it may take a few listens to properly bed in: “ Visualisin’ the realism of life in actuality / Fuck who’s the baddest, a person’s status depends on salary / And my mentality is money-orientated / I’m destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it“. The flow on the lines “ And I remember my memory’s no sharp / Butter knife, what a life, anyway / I’m building y’all a clock, stop, what am I, Hemingway?” is just simply sumptuous. Kanye’s performance on Estelle’s biggest-ever single may be something a surprise inclusion (and, we know, ‘American Boy’ isn’t technically a rap song…) – but how can you dismiss such formidable lines as “ He crazy, I know what you’re thinking / Ribena, I know what you’re drinking” and the iconic “ Dressed smart like a London bloke / Before he speak his suit bespoke“? You can’t, that’s how.Īndré 3000 on Frank Ocean’s ‘Pink Matter’įrank’s ‘Channel Orange’ is a masterpiece – and who’d have thought that he’d be able to top it with ‘Blonde’? – but he nearly had the show stolen on his 2012 debut studio solo album by André 3000 on ‘Pink Matter’. Dre’s production – which brilliantly sampled Joe Cocker’s ‘Woman to Woman’ – and his tone-setting verse celebrating California are an example of pure, unadulterated G-Funk – and it’s still an absolute banger today. Dre on 2Pac’s ‘California Love’ĭre welcomed us all to “ the wild wild west” in a Mad Max-inspired video that came at the height of Death Row Records’ success. “ Tell me who you’re loyal to / Do it start with your woman or your man? / Do it end with your family and friends? How you loyal to yourself in advance?” We pledged our loyalty to Bad Girl RiRi after this sumptuous vocal performance on the ‘DAMN.’ track – and going bar-for-bar with Kung Fu Kenny on one of his own songs is no mean feat, either.
Admit it: we’ve all tried (and failed) to do a rendition of Eminem’s tongue-twisting chorus at some point in our lives. It’s a perfect example of Em’s lyrical storytelling and humour, as well as Dre’s unrivalled skills in production and talent-spotting. Shortly after he signed to Interscope and released ‘ The Slim Shady LP’, Eminem came through for his mentor Dre to deliver one of the pair’s many golden collaborations. All together, now: “ Rawr! Rawr! Like a dungeon dragon!” One of hip-hop’s finest posse cuts, Busta dropped an A1 verse on the ‘Low End Theory’ track as he sent a powerful impact ( Boom! from the cannon) across the genre and beyond with his guest feature on ‘Scenario’. It still slays upon listening today, and has even been publicly covered by Adele.īusta Rhymes on A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘Scenario’ Nicki stood head and shoulders above Kanye, Jay-Z, Rick Ross AND Bon Iver with her scene-stealing verse on ‘Monster’.
0 kommentar(er)
