Top 25 Hip Hop Songs of 2008

Sean Deez checks in with his picks for song of the year. Where would Nas land? Any Jigga? Read after the jump…

25. “Emeritus” by Scarface
Album: Emeritus

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• What would this list be without the last track on what could be the last album from one of the last real legends in hip hop. This track does Face well, leaving on a ridiculously high note.

24. “Who? (Killed Hip Hop)” By Joe Budden

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• Some might put this higher. Sure, acknowledge it and give it a listen because it DOES deserve that much. It’s informative, vivid, and in most cases, accurate. Just pat your self on the back if you can give it frequent listens.

23. “Shake This” by Royce Da 5’9
Album: Street Hop

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• Barely made the 2008 deadline, but the Royce and Premier tag team never misses. This track is so jam packed with emotion and life that you feel Royce’s pain and success.

22. “Trap Door” by Jake One featuring MF Doom
Album: White Van Music

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• Jake claimed this was his favourite track on WVM. Rightfully so, it is because MF Doom goes off on it. Absolutely why it’s on here. This duo is great and always has been great…so…do an album guys.

21. “Say Goodnight” by Reks
Album: Grey Hairs

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• Reks has been in the game for a minute, hence the name of his album, but rarely has he ever been this angry, furious, and frustrated. The Premier backed beat only encourages any damage that Reks will want to do to sucker MC’s.

20. “Long Story Short” by Black Milk
Album: Tronic

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• Did this song blow anyone else away on first listen? The beat is magnificent and you could sense Black’s improvement on the mic immediately. It thumps and it knocks, all while giving you the autobiography of Curtis Cross.

19. “What It Stand For?” By EMC
Album: The Show

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• Nicolay gets an asterisk for this. This jam knocks heavy. Put the beat aside for a second though; these 4 cats, Puncline, Wordsworth, Masta Ace, and Stricklin, go a full 3 and a half minutes telling us what EMC stands for in the most stylistic, hardcore way possible.

18. “The Waitress” / “Yesterday” by Atmosphere
Album: When Life Gives You Lemons…

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• Both deserved a place on this list because of their place on the storybook that is Lemons. “The Waitress” tells the story of a waitress from the perspective of a homeless man outside of the restaurant. “Yesterday” is about as retrospective as any rapper can get, as Slug reflects on all of his mistakes and wrong doings. Ant hooks both of these up with some of the most fitting beats you’ll hear all year

17. “Put Ya Stamp On It” by Akrobatik featuring Talib Kweli
Album: Absolute Value

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• Dilla provides a banger and a half for Ak and Talib to go nuts on. Both emcees are perfect on it. Kweli may have delivered his best work of 2008 on this song and he certainly doesn’t get a beat like this to rock on. No one does.

16. “Hold On” by Johnson&Jonson
Album: Johnson&Jonson

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• Using a John Lennon sample to drive the chorus, Blu gets up close and personal. He divulges lyrics that could relate to a large number of people, and relate intimately. It’s another testament to his skill and another sack of bullets for his already jam packed stock of ammunition. This is arguably the best track on a very good album.

15. “Pressure” by Killer Mike featuring Ice Cube
Album: I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II

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• There was a few that could’ve been chosen, but this is selected due to a heavy third verse from Killer; he absolutely goes off. About as politically charged and aggressive as you can get, Killer doesn’t hold back and murders the beat, which could be existent and you probably wouldn’t care. Throw Ice Cube on the track and it’s a perfect match.

14. “The Perfect Plan” / “The Kramer” by Wale
Album: The Mixtape About Nothing

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• Wale’s two most impressive tracks come from his Seinfeld themed mixtape. “The Perfect Plan” is a 3 minute ride into the devious plots that artists may pull out in order to gain success. “The Kramer” is really dark and disturbing at first, trailing the Michael Richards “N Word Incident” and then developing a tremendous story of the Kramer within everyone. Let’s hope Wale sticks along the lines of these two tracks because this is him at his utmost best.

13. “Last of a Dying Breed” by Ludacris featuring Lil’ Wayne / “MVP” by Ludacris
Album: Theatre of the Mind

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• When Luda was good on TOTM he wasn’t good, he was great. Outshining Wayne on “Last of a Dying Breed” was step one, step two was meshing with DJ Premier on a long awaited collaboration for “MVP.” The former shows Luda at his hungriest and most ferocious. It’s classic Luda with a modern touch. Similarly on “MVP,” but he has 3 verses all to himself (a rarity on the album) to just talk his stuff. It’s smooth ish.

12. “The Science” / “Can It Be” by Murs
Album: Murs for President

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• Lyrically, Murs For President was a peak for Murs. These two songs attest to it heavily. “The Science” is Mos Def’s “Mathematics,” but broken down scientifically instead of mathematically. “Can It Be” is all about the rise and fall and rise again of Murs. A personal story with a universal message; what Murs does best. Both songs are deserving of a spot on this list and both are truly unique and done in a fantastic fashion.

11. “Losing Out” by Black Milk featuring Royce Da 5’9
Album: Tronic

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• The beat hit hard. Black spits hard. Royce spits absolute fire. This shouldn’t need an explanation, in fact, get at me for not putting it higher. The way Royce rides this beat is scary-good because of how difficult of a beat it is to rhyme on. Black is very good on it. The best part is that you can hear the anger/cockiness in their voices due to the fact that when you don’t pay attention to Detroit, it is YOU who’s losing out.

10. “Rising Down” by The Roots featuring Mos Def and Styles P
Album: Rising Down

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• While “Get Busy” was undoubtedly the Posse Cut of the year, “Rising Down” is undeniably the better all around track. It doesn’t have as much of a Posse/Crew feel to it, but it certainly is a well thought out, well planned out collaboration. Each rapper gives a great verse from a different state of mind and a different location. You get the best of all worlds on this track and not only does the song hold a special aura, the song sets the tone for the entire Rising Down album. Brilliance.

9. “Guessing Game” / “Colors” by Elzhi
Album: The Preface

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• Two of the most creative tracks you’ll hear all year. Bar none. Hearing “Guessing Game” live was pretty much the icing on the cake as Elzhi gives the audience a chance to shout out the last part of each bar, while “Colors” had everyone shouting colors every few seconds. Only Elzhi could do this because only he has the lyrical capacity and mental capacity to execute these tracks in the most perfect manner. Throw on a Black Milk beat and it’s a wrap.

8. “Move” / “Renaissance Rap” by Q-Tip
Album: Renaissance

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• The Dilla produced “Move” is beautiful in just about every manner. Q-Tip takes the energy of the track and evolves it into a soulful, funk infused tale of groove. A little smack talk, a little talk for everyone and as always, strong lyricism from Tip makes this song undoubtedly strong. “Renaissance Rap” is attached to the former, and serves a great purpose as the calm after the storm. Tip seemingly slows things down only in theory, when in fact; he’s speed bursting his lyricism to a higher notch.

7. “The Upgrade” by J-Live featuring Posdnuos & Oddisee
Album: Then What Happened?

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• Throughout my top 10′s, one artist who has gotten a mention in almost every category has been J-live. He’s not going to be an exception here because this track is indeed one of the best all around tracks of 2008. It serves many purposes ranging from the traditional “featuring” track, to the stand out track, to the diamond in the rough, whatever. J Live delivers 2 great verses and Oddisee kicks his lyricism up a tad too. Pos is Pos; consistent and brilliant. With all of these verses, backed by a tremendous beat, it would be silly to not include it.

6. “Run” by Guilty Simpson featuring Black Milk & Sean Price
“The Matrix” by Black Milk featuring Pharaohe Monch, Sean Price & DJ Premier
Album: Ode to the Ghetto / Tronic

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• Both Black Milk productions, both Sean P features, both dope as hell. “Run” came out early 2008 and blew everyone away. The addictive head nodded of a beat, tagged by Guilty’s impressive verses and Sean P’s murderous lines made for an early favorite. “The Matrix” is a dream collaboration that became a reality. It lived up to the names on the title and it delivered in just about every way. The hardest part was deciding who to side with, Price or Monch? The most amazing part was the obvious chemistry between everyone involved.

5. “Motown 25″ by Elzhi featuring Royce Da 5’9
Album: The Preface

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• Royce is high and still shines. Elzhi delivers one of the best verses of the year. Black Milk dishes out a masterpiece of a beat. It’s one of the most complete tracks that Detroit has ever offered. Lyrically, it is a firing squad with El and Royce as the only shooters. The placements, the small subtle tweaks, and the obvious homage to Motown all make this track a gem.

4. “2nd Time Around” by DJ Benzi featuring Wale & Brother Ali
Album: The New Deal

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• We talked so highly of Ali’s verse that Wale’s 2 verses went unmentioned. Our fault. His verses were great too, and that is precisely why this track is where it’s placed. 3 solid verses (with one ridiculously outstanding verse) and an addictive beat all make this track what it is. The varied topics tackled could take you anywhere. Pick your poison with this track because it has plenty to offer.

3. “N.I.G.G.E.R” by Nas
Album: Untitled

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• This was always the best track on Untitled and it was always Nas at his peak. He took the theme of his album and he made a song crafting it to the best of his ability. Even though the rest of the album wasn’t like this, this song provided a glimpse of what Untitled could’ve been with the right direction and without Nasir’s sudden urge to stir up shit. The track is great and it goes beyond the word and the campaign Nas held; instead, the song digs deep into Nas’ introspective book of rhymes and outputs everything that melted into his heart. This joint, produced by DJ Toomp, brings out the best in Nas and the album.

2. “I’m Innocent” / “Sweet Lord Intro” by Murs
Album: Murs for President / Sweet Lord

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• Murs has a knack for the first tracks on the album. Evidently, they are usually his best and with 9th Wonder. Both are constant rapping, no breaks of choruses or anything; just straight Murs and 9th Wonder. The wordplay is premium, the rhyming is never boring, the lyrics are intelligent and often humorous, and the beats are both 9th Wonder at his best and most addictive. “I’m Innocent” is 4 minutes of Murs talking about everything from the truly innocent being punished for no good reason to the guilty acting innocent, to the innocent always being guilty, to the not so fresh, to the haters, etc. All while he throws in some of his previous song titles to help compile an entire verse. The “Sweet Lord Intro” is just as light hearted and is placed here more because of how it wraps up 9th and Murs (as a duo) into one package. It’s playful and fun, while being at it’s most serious and professional pace.

1. “75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)” by The Roots
Album: Rising Down

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• There are soooooooo many things that make this track extra special. Take into consideration its placement. After “@ 15,” this profiles Black rapping at the age of 15. Fast forward to 2008, hence his reconstruction. Take into consideration the context. Don Imus, Oprah Winfrey, Russell Simmons, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, etc. All people involved with a huge “N Word” controversy that went down. This entire controversy involved everyone pointing the finger at Hip Hop- “Blame Hip Hop” they said. “Ban the Word” they said. Apparently, no one told Black Thought. Better yet, I think someone told Black Thought and he decided to make 75 bars of pure “f-youness” to everyone against hip hop. Take into consideration the genius video. Take into consideration the perfect composition of the live instruments and the placements of the horn and cymbal hits, the breaks, the pauses. Take into consideration the use of the “N word” and realize that Black knows that he’s saying it a lot. Take into consideration the song title, “Black’s Reconstruction” and the title of the album Rising Down, it is not so much about the artist any more is it? Black Thought and the Roots take the whole hip hop culture on their shoulders with this track and juggernaut through the angry mob into an exile of hip hop heaven.

Honorable Mentions

• “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Evidence featuring Phonte, Blu & will.i.am
• “Goatit” by Black Milk and Bishop Lamont featuring Elzhi & Phat Kat
• “Society is Brainwashed” by Ill Bill
• “That White” by Fat Joe
• “Cappucino” by The Knux
• “No Future” by 9th Wonder and Buckshot
• “Nina Sing” by Common Market
• “Let Us Live” by The Game featuring Chrisette Michelle
• “7 Pounds” by Gza
• “D.I.R.T” by Heltah Skeltah
• “Comfortable” by Lil’ Wayne featuring Babyface/ Dr. Carter by Lil’ Wayne
• “Life is Better” by Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
• “Get Busy” by The Roots featuring Dice Raw, Peedi Peedi, and DJ Jazzy Jeff
• “Forgot About Me” by Scarface featuring Lil’ Wayne and Bun B
• “To The Top” by Statik Selektah featuring Saigon, Cassidy, Termanology
• “Music and Liquor” by Wax & EOM
• “Sly Fox” by Nas
• “Best to Do It” by DJ K.O featuring Royce Da 5’9, Elzhi, and Supastition
• “The Unexpected” by DJ Babu featuring Sean Price and MF Doom
• “All in One (5 Mics)” by Reks featuring Lil’ Fame