68.
A Tribe Called Quest,
“Check the Rhime”
(1991) Q-Tip and Phife Dawg
reminisce about kicking
rhymes and practicing their
stage presence on Linden
Boulevard in Jamaica,
Queens. Both are on point all
the time, but Phife stands out
with his memorable verse.
69.
Jay-Z and the
Notorious B.I.G.,
“Brooklyn’s Finest”
(1996) A complementary and
competitive exchange from
two of hip-hop’s most skilled
lyricists, “Brooklyn’s Finest”
shows the then-rising Jay-Z
earning his spot next to a star.
70.
MF DOOM, “Doomsday”
(1999) After the death of his
brother DJ Subroc brought
their rap group, KMD, to a
tragic end, the rapper Zev
Love X rebuilt his image in
mourning and, in the process,
spawned a hooded supervillain.
He acknowledges his past
on the hook of this standout
from Operation: Doomsday
while laying waste toanything
in his path on the verses.
71.
50 Cent, “How to Rob”
(1999) Under the tutelage of
Jam Master Jay, 50 Cent was
poised to be the nextsensation
out of Queens. This stickup-
kid anthem is a hilarious ode
to robbing celebrities. 50’s
humorous name-dropping
reenergized the game.
72.
Eric B. & Rakim, “Juice
(Know the Ledge)”
(1992) One of the best story
raps from an MC, this was
one of the final highpoints for
a duo that reinvented hip-hop
over the course of four albums.
73.
Black Sheep,
“The Choice Is Yours
(Revisited)”
(1991) Hearing the nursery-
rhyme-esque lyrics “Engine
engine No. 9 / On the New
York transit line / If my train
falls off the track” signals
you to get in a crouched
position and be preparedto
spring up and shout, “Pick
it up,pickit up,pickit up!”
That’sthepowerofthis
trackeven 30 yearslater.
74.
PopSmoke,
“WelcometotheParty”
(2019)“Welcometothe
Party”wasproofthat Pop
Smoke’s grindwasstarting
topay
Brookl map.
75.
Salt-N-Pepa,
“Let’sTalkAboutSex”
(1991)Thetriodon’t
demonize sex, but they used
their platform to educate
and empower women—and
their legacy is better for it.
76.
N.O.R.E., “Superthug”
(1998) This single catapulted
the still-obscure Virginia
production duo of Pharrell
Williams and Chad Hugo
and created waves across
genres. Pharrell would go on
to lay his fingerprints across
some of pop’s biggest hits.
77.
Salt-N-Pepa, “Push It”
(1987) Salt-N-Pepa popped
rap’s macho bubblethe
moment they arrived. They
were fearless and feminine
as they delivered new
dance moves and endless
style possibilities with
skintight pants, bodysuits,
and lopsided haircuts.
78.
De La Soul,
“Buddy” Remix
(1989) The “Buddy”remix
and video are the centerpiece
of the Africa-medallion-
wearing consortium’s legacy.
79.
A Tribe Called Quest,
“Electric Relaxation”
(1993) A song that came
to epitomize the legendary
Queens crew. PhifeDawg
and Q-Tip’s laid-back
genius coasts over aperfect
Ronnie Foster sample.
80.
The Firm, “Phone Tap”
(1997) “Phone Tap” is mob
business. Sinister, tense, and
seriously paranoid—courtesy
of some of Dr. Dre’sfinest
production. It remains one
of the truest soundsof the
New York underbelly.81.
Ultramagnetic MCs,
“Ego Trippin’ ”
(1986) An uncredited
producer on Boogie Down
Productions’ Criminal
Minded and a direct influence
on the Bomb Squad’s Public
Enemy work, Ced-Gee
kept that same energy for
his own crew’s music.
82.
Jay-Z ft. Mary J
Blige, “Can’t Knock
the Hustle”
(1996) This is proto-bling-
era mafioso rap, the street
hustler graduated to big
boss, and a story told in a
private room while drinking
premium liquor as ’80s soul
plays in the background.
83.
Big Pun ft. Tony
Sunshine, “100%”
(2000) More than the
default soundtrack to the
annual Puerto Rican Day
Parade, this surfaced Pun’s
dexterity in pumping out
radio hits while channeling
the pulse of the streets.
84.
Wu-Tang Clan,
“Protect Ya Neck”
(1992) Labels didn’t believe a
rap group made of distinctive
solo acts could work. “Protect
Ya Neck” descended on
hip-hop like the swarm of
killer bees that Wu-Tang
likened themselvesto.
85.
Jay-Z ft. UGK,
“Big Pimpin’ ”
(1999) The ’90s ushered in
the rise of the South, which
demanded acknowledgment
of its contributions to hip-
hop. The Roc-A-Fella duo
of Dame Dash and Jay-Zextended an olive branch
to UGK, one of the fastest-
rising duos from Texas, to
collaborate on the biggest
single of Jay’s fourth album.
86.
Chinx ft. French
Montana,
“I’m a Coke Boy”
(2012) In homage to
underrated Queens rapper
Royal Flush, the pair flip
his “Worldwide” beat into
a boastful paean to dope
spots and strip joints.
87.
Eric B. & Rakim,
“I Ain’t No Joke”
(1987) There’s rap before
Rakim and hip-hopafter
him. The God MC’sinternal
rhyme schemes showed
new capabilities forlyricism,
and this single changed the
way rappers would rap.
88.
Nicki Minaj,
“Itty Bitty Piggy”
(2009) When NickiMinaj’s
rap reign started, New York
was “returning” with an
unlikely leader. In true NYC
theater-kid, golden-era-rap,
’80s-baby fashion, the MC
subverted a nurseryrhyme
into a bar-filled banger. This
marked the start ofNicki’s
decade of dominance.
89.
Fat Joe ft. Ashanti and
Ja Rule, “What’s Luv?”
(2002) “What’s Luv?” is as
much an Irv Gotti story as
anything—a testament to
the Queens label mogul’s
correct call that most 2000s
hip-hop hits were going to
need a winning combo of Fat
Joe, Ashanti, and Ja Rule.
90.
50 Cent, “Wanksta”
(2002) 50 Cent’s entry
into mainstream success
came with the release of
“Wanksta.” It also delivered
a new word to the hip-
hop-culture lexicon.
91.
Biz Markie,
“Nobody Beats the Biz”
(1988) This Marley Marl
production spurreda family
tree of samples thatreads
like a list of hip-hop’s greats.
92.
Run-D.M.C.,
“PeterPiper”
(1986)A JamMasterJay
masterclass,hip-hopas
theoriginatorsintended:
twodynamicMCsvolleying
likea tennismatchover
a classicbreakbeatasthe
DJcutsandmixesit up.
93.
BeastieBoys,“No
SleepTillBrooklyn”
(1986)A trioofwhitedudes
fromthethen-lesser-loved
boroughwithpunkintheirblood but a natural sensibility
for hip-hop. Inspired by
nights at the famed Flatiron
club Danceteria, this was
an early sign rap could
travel far but would always
come home to NYC.
94.
T La Rock, “It’s Yours”
(1984) The Def Jam origin
story. The Bronx rapper’s
sparse 808 kick caught talent
manager Russell Simmons’s
attention and inspired a
16-year-old LL Cool J to
send his demo to the address
he found on the LP sleeve.
95.
Method Man,
“Bring the Pain”
(1994) He’d broken out on
Wu-Tang Clan’s first album,
and this dark masterpiece
announced Method Man
as his own kind of star. The
beat was gutter enough
for the streets but hooky
enough for the radio.
96.
A$AP Ferg ft. A$AP
Rocky, “Shabba”
(2013) Though Rocky seemed
the likeliest member of the
hip-hop collective A$AP Mob
to succeed in the Harlem
set, this dancehall-nodding
single by his boisterous
consigliere proved so popular
it turned a mixtape drop
into an album release.
97.
A$AP Rocky, “Peso”
(2011) A$AP Rocky, a known
lover of Houston’s chopped-
and-screwed scene, used his
outside influences to create
“Peso.” While reppin’ Harlem,
he laid out what the A$AP
Mob was about: high-end
designers, smoking sections,
and getting to the money.
98.
Grandmaster Flash
& the Furious Five,
“New York New York”
(1983) Melle Mel and his
Sugar Hill cohort Duke
Bootee speak bluntly about
the criminality, poverty, and
sheer desperation of being
Black in the city in the 1980s.
99.
Whodini, “Friends”
(1984) If the instrumental for
“Friends” had come out today,
it wouldstillsoundlike it was
beamedinfromthefuture.
It tookthesyntheticsounds
of’80spopandreconfigured
themtora ttleyourbones.
100.
EPMD,“You
GotstoChill”
(1988)ErickandParrish
takethelaid-backcoolof
Rakimandmakeit sound
evenicieronthiscooler-
than-thouclassic.A timeless
singlethatcametoembody
hip-hop’s goldenage.Nicki
Minaj,
2008.PHOTOGRAPH: ANGELA BOATWRIGHT (MINAJ)
68 new york | september 14–27, 2020