56. Biggie
55. Hope You Niggas Sleep
54. Playa Hater
53. Another
52. Last Day
51. Can I Get Witcha
50. Nasty Boy
49. B.I.G (Interlude)
48. Niggas
47. Dreams
46. Let Me Get Down
45. Miss U
44. If I Should Die Before I Wake
43. Would You Die for Me?
42. Long Kiss Goodnight
41. Rap Phenomenon
40. Somebody's Gotta Die
39. Dangerous MCs
38. Niggas Bleed
37. Me & My Bitch
36. You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)
35. Come On
34. What's Beef?
33. Respect
32. Things Done Changed
31. Kick in the Door
30. The World Is Filled...
29. Ready to Die
28. My Downfall
27. Friend of Mine
26. Fuck You Tonight
25. Everyday Struggle
24. One More Chance
23. I Love the Dough
22. Big Booty Hoes
21. Going Back to Cali
20. The What
19. I Love the Dough
18. Suicidal Thoughts
17. Notorious B.I.G.
16. Dead Wrong
15. Sky's the Limit
14. Ten Crack Commandments
13. Player's Anthem
12. One More Chance (Remix)
11. Hypnotize
10. Get Money
9. Warning
8. I Got a Story to Tell
7. Who Shot Ya?
6. Mo Money Mo Problems
5. Machine Gun Funk
4. Big Poppa
3. Gimme the Loot
2. Unbelievable
1. Juicy
Cord Jefferson is a writer-editor living in Brooklyn. His work has appeared in National Geographic, GOOD, The Root and on MTV.
"Ten Crack Commandments" should be 14 places higher.
That's what my friend Chris said. Couldn't do it. Maybe if it had been on 'Ready to Die'?
I know this might sound blasphemous, but I've come to like 'Life After Death' more. The rare double album that earns every minute. (Even stuff like 'Playa Hater.')
Things White People Like
This post of this blog?
*or*
Listicles, commentary, enumeration, disputing taste, culture wrapped in tidy packages, the sheen of history, intimidating black men (when they are dead).
popular music
Being called "Big Poppa."
party and bullshit?
a top-10 glaring omission, otherwise nice list.
YOU ARE SO RIGHT! I forgot the 'Who's the Man?' soundtrack! I'm sorry.
other than part and bullshit, and hittin' switches, that soundtrack was largely forgettable.
AGREE.
Party and Bullshit needs to be number one!
THE DEUCE DEUCE IN MY BUBBLE GOOSE.
Also Things Done Changed is probably top-15, but otherwise, sure.
"Brooklyn's Finest"?
Technically a Jay-Z song. But I'll agree that Biggie's verses on that track are indeed some of his best.
Extremely dubious placement of "Kick in the Door." Also, white people.
"Kick In The Door" is about 35 places too low. And "Warning" is top three. OH, UNIQUES!
Notorious Thugz? Or does it not qualify?
Seriously! I got a log in just for this. Okay, technically its a duet but we can't even talk about Biggie without including Notorious Thugs. I still listen to that shit on the way to work every day (well I did when I was employed).
Emphatically thirded.
I agree with the above sentiments re: Kick in the Door and Party & Bullshit but the glaringest (sick) of all errors is Big Poppa in the top 5. Big Poppa is easily Biggie's most harmful song. The premier of the Big Poppa video on MTV marks the exact millisecond that hip hop began to die. The best thing that can be said for Big Poppa is that The Roots' What They Do video and De La's Stakes Is High album probably wouldn't exist without it.
While the cultural forces that besieged hip-hop in the 90s are definitely worth talking about (and bemoaning), you can't really disqualify a Biggie song for being "harmful." As a glance through the list will quickly confirm, Biggie delighted in "harmful" themes. You might as well complain that a Sex Pistols song condones antisocial behavior, or that an AD/DC song is sexist.
Also, "harmful" or not, Big Poppa is a fucking good song.
PS: Apologies for all the scare quotes but I really, really shy away from the idea that a song can do harm. Hip-hop was certainly harmed, but that harm was done by a host of economic and social factors, not a song.
JUICY? No.
Juicy? Emphatic yes.
Dreams should be in the top 20 at least.