VH1 Has Lost All Credibility In My Eyes

All this week VH1 is counting down the list of the 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Ever. While I applaud VH1's efforts to recognize hip hop and it's impact on society, I have to say this is one of the worst lists ever. If you are going to make a list like this you should at least try to get it right. VH1 gets it wrong on so many levels.

VH1 reveals 20 songs each night starting from 100 down to one. From the first 20 I new this list was going to be bogus. It's a joke for Chamillionaire's "Ridin'" (#91) and N.E.R.D.'s "Lapdance" (#93) to be on anybody's top 100. But, but wait it gets worse. Pete Rock and CL Smooth's "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" is number 90. What? One of the most influential and well crafted songs of all time is only number 90? That's easily a top 20 jam. Here's where the list loses all credebility. Cam'Ron's "Oh Boy" (#89), Three 6 Mafia's "Hard Out Here For a Pimp" (#80), J.J. Fad's "Supersonic" (#72), Mase's "Feel So Good" (#67), and Young MC's "Bust A Move" (#47) are all ahead of T.R.O.Y. That is blasphemous.

Any top 100 hip hop list without that song at least in the top 20 doesn't carry any weight in my opinion.

But that's not my only gripe. There are some glaring omissions on this so called 100 greatest list. Where's the Mobb Deep? "Shook Ones Part II". "Survival of the Fittest". Those are classics right there but they are nowhere to be found on VH1's list. "My Philosophy" (#49) is the only song by Boogie Down Productions on the list. KRS-One as a solo artist isn't even on there. What about "Criminal Minded", or "South Bronx"? These are songs that have shaped hip hop as we know it today. Without some of the classics of the past it's hard to put the bangers of today in their proper context.

Other than the obvious omissions, and the utter disrespect to "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", my biggest gripe with the list is the top 10.

1. Public Enemy "Fight The Power"


2. Sugarhill Gang "Rapper's Delight"


3. Dr. Dre "Nuthin But A 'G' Thang"


4. Run-DMC ft. Aerosmith "Walk This Way"


5. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five "The Message"


6. N.W.A. "Straight Outta Compton"


7. Notorious B.I.G. "Juicy"


8. Snoop Doggy Dogg "Gin and Juice"


9. Salt-N-Pepa "Push It"


10. Kurtis Blow "The Breaks"

That's a pretty good top 10 list but there are some changes I would make. First off "Walk This Way" is not even Run-DMC's best rock song, but it's #4 of all time? "Walk This Way" is so overrrated in the pantheon of music it's unbelievable. Just because it featured Aerosmith people get their panties in a bundle over it. In all honesty it shouldn't even be on this list. What about "Rock Box"? That song will always be in my top 10. It's hard. The rhymes are dope and that beat is menacing.

Also "Fight The Power" is a great song. One of Public Enemy's best. In fact for this to be their only song on the list shows you how much VH1 really pays attention to hip hop. For my taste give me "Rebel Without A Pause" from P.E. anyday. Lyrically that may be the best hip hop song of all time.

"Attitude - when I'm on fire

Juice on the loose - electric wire

Simple and plain - give me the lane

I'll throw it down your throat like Barkley

You see my car keys - you'll never get these

They belong to the 9-8 posse

You want some more son - you wanna get some

Bum rush the door of the store - pick up the album"

Those bars right there still gives me the chills. The beat is crazy and Flava Flav and Chuck D. are in perfect step with each other on this track. Plus "It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back" is one of the top 5 hip hop albums of all time. For not a single song off that album to be on VH1's list is once again proof the list is wack.

Let me know what you think.

It's Been A Long Time

I know. You don't have to tell me. I start this new blog devoted to the music I love and it takes me six months to post my second entry. But when it comes to good music there's no wrong time to blog, as long as you do it. So here goes.

The title of this blog reminds of one of my all time favorite songs, "I Know You Got Soul" by Eric B. and Rakim. It's easy to tell why this song is a classic. Right from the opening bars:

"It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you

Without a strong rhyme to step to,

Think of how many weak shows you slept through

Time's up, I'm sorry I kept you.."

That's just classic hip-hop right there. Rakim was the mic soloist and Eric B. was behind the boards. This was just one of the many dope singles on the group's 1987 debut, "Paid In Full".

The tracklisting is littered with classics like, "I Ain't No Joke", "My Melody", "Move The Crowd", "Paid In Full", and "Eric B. is President".

The late 80's is the golden era of hip-hop. Artists like Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, EPMD, and Eric B. and Rakim weren't all about the bling and the floss. These dudes knew how to tell a story. They knew how to deliver a message. Damn I miss the game.

Let me know what you think.

My First Entry

So I'm kind of new to this blogging thing but I felt I needed to start one. I've been sick the last week and half. Bored out of my mind. Trying to figure out a way to pass the time. I decided to organzie all of my music and got to thinking..."Man I have some classic cuts." So that's what this blog is about; the music that has influenced my life since I was born back in 1975. It's not just hip-hop. As a matter of fact you'd be surprised at some of the songs I'm rocking right now on my mp3 player. This blog will be a who's who of music. Everyone from the Wu-Tang Clan to Ashley Simpson to Leon Thomas will make an appearance.

I'm not sure what form the blog will take. maybe once a week, or 2-3 times a week or every day. I do know music has always been a big part of my life. It's how I define different periods in my life. From growing up in Philly with a mother and father who would always listen to the "greatest" oldies and soul cuts, to living in Winona, MN being exposed to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and other bands. This blog will not only break down some of the best songs in the history of music, it will also give you a glimpse at what makes me the person I am today.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

The Music Man