VH1's "100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs" Was a Noble but Flawed Attempt

Caught VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs. (The channel has compiled similar lists for 80s songs, One Hit Wonders, and other categories.) I don’t know if there was an “expert” panel who made the selections and I’m not sure of the criteria VH1 used in choosing, but I have to say, this list wasn’t bad... On the other hand, it wasn't particularly good either... 

On the good side, I was glad to see there wasn’t an over-emphasis on recent songs and there was a good mix of cuts dating back to hip-hop’s early years in the late 70s.

By my count, 18 of the top 50 came from the first 10 years of hip-hop, or to be more accurate, the first ten years of “rap”. (The term "hip-hop" started off as a nonsense word many rappers used in their lyrics and didn't become the overarching preferred term for an entire genre of music until much later.) Twelve of the top 50 were from the last ten years, and the remainder fell somewhere in the middle, so there was a good cross section of songs from every era.

The biggest criticism would be that there were a lot of what I would call “marginal” songs that are severely lacking in various categories:

• Music
• Lyrics
• Creativity in the use of samples 
• The MC's flow and delivery 
• Significance or lasting impact

Some of the songs that really didn’t measure up:

• The Beastie Boys "Hold it Now Hit It" made the cut but not "Intergalactic" or even "Fight For Your Right".
• The Fugees' "Killing Me Softly" made it but does it even qualify as a hip-hop record? It’s pretty much just a remake of Roberta Flack’s Grammy-winning ballad.
• If you said LL Cool J could only have one song make the list, wouldn’t you have picked "Mama Said Knock You Out" or "I'm Bad" instead of "Can’t Live Without My Radio"?
• Sir Mixalot's novelty "Baby Got Back" ranked higher than Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock"... Insanity.

And here are a few more oversights:

• "Rapture" – Blondie
  The musically diverse band recorded this cut in 1980 and its rap break served as the first time Top 40 radio ever paid a single bit of attention to anything remotely resembling hip-hop.

• "Rock Box" – Run-DMC
• "King of Rock" – Run-DMC
• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
  The pioneering group made #3 with "The Message", but come on... nothing else by them? Not even "Freedom" or "White Lines"?
• No sign of anything by Kid Rock
• "The Adventures of Super Rhymes" – Jim Spicer
  One of rap’s most significant post "Rapper’s Delight" hits was a nearly 15-minute marathon of flawless rap flow, and, proving he was no flash in the pan, Spicer also had hits with "Money (Dollar Bill Y'all)" and "The Bubble Bunch".
• "What People Do For Money" – Divine Sounds
• "They Want EFX" – Das EFX
• "Rockin' It" - Fearless Four

• "The Real Slim Shady" – Eminem
  This was VH1’s biggest omission. Unique rap style, distinctive sound, impeccable flow, and one of hip-hop’s greatest records EVER.
• "Keep Ya Head Up" – 2 Pac
• "Ice Ice Baby" – Vanilla Ice
  Sure, it’s mocked today, but when it was first released, it was loved equally and played endlessly by kids, club deejays, and pop radio, leading to sales of well over 10 million copies.
• "Express Yourself" – N.W.A.
• "Doo Wop That Thing" – Lauryn Hill
• "Buffalo Gals" - Malcolm McLaren
• The Big Beat - Spoonie Gee

List of VH1's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs