by James Spiller

Created on: January 28, 2009

I will preface this article my stating that I love hip-hop music. No other genre of music can fill my heart with as much joy, trepidation, anger, love, passion, fear, and hope as hip-hop can. It inspires a wide range of emotions in me, and it makes me feel alive. I don't know what I would do without it in my life, and I realize how truly lucky I am that one day, long ago, someone decided to put poetry to music. If I didn't have some sort of access to the five songs I am about to list below, I think I would go insane. Thankfully, that is not the case and whenever I need them I can blast them at ear shattering levels. I can also share them with you, so that you can enjoy the beauty of these artistic masterpieces.

You may not have heard of some of the songs I am about to list. If that's the case, I encourage you to give them a listen. They are truly works of art. I have listed the songs in no particular order. They are like my children, and I could never rank them.

I Used To Love H.E.R.
Common
From the album "Resurrection"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y12YgEI FcAY

Though relatively simple, the beat fills the listener with warmth and nostalgia. The deep bassline reverberates in the mind while the subtle notes of the bell in the foreground makes you close your eyes and nod your head in approval.

Common, though a talentless musician in the grand scheme of things, somehow suspended his own shortcomings for this one song and dropped three beautiful verses that tell the story of a gorgeous girl, the love of his life. He chronicles their journey through life together, starting with their chance encounter at ten years old. He raps about how they grew up together, how they entered into adulthood together, and how she changed from being innocent, to being Afrocentric, to hanging out with gangsters. He then tells about how "The Man" got to her and corrupted her. How she became a product of commercialization and lost her morals. He ends the song with a surprising line, which blew my mind the first time I heard it. I wont spoil the surprise for you, so go have a listen!

Lyrics
A.L.
From the album "Lyricist Lounge Volume 1 (Disc2)

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea who A.L. is. I've never heard another song from him and I'm not sure he even has an album, but when I first heard this song, I had to sit down. Call it a one hit wonder if you will, but everything came together for this song, and I can say with full confidence that this is one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever created.

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