by Christina Pomoni

Created on: April 15, 2008

It is not difficult to distinguish the classic among hundreds of hip hop songs. Having influenced a substantial audience globally with unique emcee storytelling skills, powerful lyrics, and socially conscious views, classic hip hop songs are anchored by good quality scratching and memorable, impressive hip hop rhythm.

To my view, the classic hip-hop songs (in alphabetical order) are:

Nas - One Mic from the album Stillmatic (2001)
Widely regarded as a creative and prominent storyteller, Nas uses complex lyrical schemes and multi-syllabic rhymes in One Mic. "Hoodrats, don't abortion your womb, we need more warriors soon, sip from the star sun and the moon in this life of police chases street sweepers and coppers stick-up kids with no conscience, leavin victims with doctors. If you really think you ready to die, with nines out this is what nas is bout, nigga the time is now!"

In the beginning of his career Nas performed in an angry, straightforward and clumsy way, expressing an anxiety in his storytelling. Gradually he became a remarkably talented rapper with a richer voice and a clearer hip hop technique. In Stillmatic, Nas' lyrics are socially conscious and describe real situations besides simply commemorating guns, and drugs, while reflecting the need to return to long-forgotten ideals and ambitions.

Run D.M.C. - It's Tricky from the album Raising Hell (1986)
Run D.M.C. are 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.

Slick Rick - Children's Story from the album The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988)
Children's Story is an all-time, forever classic hip-hop song, combining funk elements with beats, anchored by the unique emcee style of Slick Rick. The incessantly flawless stream of half-American, half-English accent and the creative way he puts together a story of a routine situation imitating the voices of a woman or a child makes him one of the a genius storytellers in the history of hip hop. Moreover, Slick Rick was one of the first to introduce graphics in his CD covers, using colorful backgrounds and lots of humor. Children's Story is the best song of the album but overall the album is must have.

The Notorious B.I.G. - Big Poppa from the album Ready To Die (1995)
The Brooklyn born Notorious BIG is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, not only for the music he produced but also for hi lifestyle. Sex, drugs and guns instead of rock roll made The Notorious BIG a huge idol for the obese African Americans of the 90s, who forgot about their appearance and focused on the rhyme and rhythm.
The extraordinary sweet rhyming ability of The Notorious Big anchored by melodic synthesizers, smooth trumpets, and soft strings made Big Poppa a Top Ten smash hit achieving platinum sales. Yet, the rapper had legal problems with police for drug and gun possession. The conditions of his murder have never been clarified.

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