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It is almost an oxymoron - Popular Hip Hop. A purist knows that the best hip hop tracks were never really popular to begin with, while the modern urban music fan believes that album sales are the only tool to measure the success of a single.

The following list combines hip hop tracks that are not watered down while listing only those that made it to the charts - this way everybody wins.

FORGOT ABOUT DRE - DR. DRE AND EMINEM

Combining the street cred of Dr. Dre with the linguistically gifted Eminem in the hit single 'Forgot About Dre' brought hip hop back to a position of respectability. The production was a classic Dre cut, complete with dancing snares and a synth-filtered guitar pluck that almost busted every car stereo it pounded through. The track won a Grammy for best Rap Song by a Group or Duo as well as an MTV Award for Best Rap Video. Hip hop turned a page with this track, going from a genre hanging by a thinning thread back to a genre ensconced in high calibre lyrics and production reminiscent of the old days.

PROTECT YA NECK - WU TANG CLAN

This is the single that kicked off the Wu's freshman LP and introduced sudiences to what would become one of the most successful hip hop groups ever. Most impressively, the track reinvented the term "posse cut", reserved for tracks that feature more than one member of a crew grabbing the mic. Amazingly, Protect Ya Neck featured a staggering 8 members of Wu Tang Clan's crew, including the original foursome that started it all. It remains as one of the most respected hip hop tunes in history and has yet to be topped in the realm of posse cut ciphers.

DOWN WITH THE KING - RUN DMC

While this selection might not sit well with classic hip hop purists, Down With the King accomplished something that very few rap groups can claim - it introduced a new generation to one of hip hop's greatest treasures long after they had made their mark on the industry. This important characteristic, along with the cameo appearances by Pete Rock and CL Smooth, gave fans of hip hop a starting point where they could go back, dig in the crates and rediscover the classics years after the fact. The track was a statement - know your roots and pay respect before claiming to be down with hip hop.

SHOOK ONES PT. II - MOBB DEEP

From the LP 'The Infamous', one of the highest ranked hip hop albums ever by The Source Magazine, Shook Ones Pt. 2 has the honour of being one of the best produced singles in hip hop history. The bedtrack is a cinematic

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