“Bling Bling” spread New Orleans lingo across the world, and prefaced the ’00s ascent of Wayne, one of rap’s greatest talents.

Lil Wayne’s hook-“Every time I come around your city, bling bling”-is responsible for birthing one of the most iconic expressions of wealth in rap history. Thanks to the proliferation of bounce music and early successes from Juvenile and the Hot Boys, Cash Money Records was already a force in Southern hip-hop when this single from B.G.’s Chopper City in The Ghetto brought the Hot Boys-B.G., Lil Wayne, Juvenile, and Turk-and the Big Tymers-label boss Birdman and house producer Mannie Fresh-together to stunt over fast-paced synthetic horns about watches that cost as much as mansions. But in the summer of 1999, six rappers from New Orleans changed the way we’d talk about it forever. There are so, so many rap songs about jewelry: acquiring it, flexing with it, hoarding it, even beating people with it. Smooth player-pimp shit for the streets and clubs took hold in Atlanta and Memphis with groups like OutKast and 8Ball & MJG.Ĭash Money / Universal B.G.: “Bling Bling” (1999) In Houston and nearby Port Arthur, DJ Screw slowed rap to a syrupy crawl and UGK told introspective tales of street hustling.

Louisiana had bounce, its own take on bass-heavy dance music, as well as now-legendary labels Cash Money and No Limit, which nurtured local talents into national stars. In Florida, rap mixed with the pounding dancefloor rhythms of bass music. Of course, the South is more than one place, and its rap music is more than just one thing. But while the two coasts were battling for supremacy, the South was gearing up to sweep the competition. California threw its hat in the ring with hardcore gangsta rap before turning the BPM way down and the blunted grooves way up with G-funk. After giving birth to the genre two decades earlier, New York entered the ’90s with an emphasis on dusty sample-based beats and gritty realism. Hip Hop artists took their music from the underground and brought it to the rest of the world this year.īy the 1980s, hip hop was ready to explode onto the scene, and the 90s saw it dominate the globe.In the early 1990s, as hip-hop mutated and expanded, most ears were focused on the East and West Coasts. While DJs and MCs performed throughout the decade, most artists had to wait until 1979 to get their records released finally.ġ979 was a magical year for hip hop, and it all started with The Sugarhill Gang. So those were the best 70s hip hop songs. Top Hip Hop Songs Of The 70s, Final Thoughts This beat takes a backseat to strange and hypnotic synthesizer sounds and high-reverb vocals from Dr. The song features a subdued sample of “Ain’t No Stoppin Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead. By the 1980s, most rappers adopted their rhymes to slower BPM tracks. Love & Sister Love slowed the speed down. While most rappers were rapping over high BPM disco music, Dr. Released in 1979 by Heavenly Star Records, “Doctor Love & Sister Love Rap” features a slowed-down groove throughout its run time. “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang Top Hip Hop Songs Of The 70s, Final Thoughtsġ.When the Revolution Comes by The Last Poets “Rhapazooty in Blue” by Sicle Cell & Rhapazooty “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil-Scott Heron “We Rap More Mellow” by The Younger Generation “Lookin’ Good (Shake Your Body)” by Eddie Cheba “Rhymin’ and Rappin’” by Paulette & Tanya “Sweet Tee” Winley “Rapping and Rocking the House” by Funky Four Plus One More “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” by The Fatback Band ”Superrappin’” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Famous late 90s hip hop songs