The 1990s was a defining decade for hip hop music. The growing popularity of the genre, along with the emergence of masterful producers and talented lyricists, led to some of the greatest rap songs and albums of all time.
Just think about how many great rappers debuted in that decade. From Wu-Tang Clan to Biggie, 2Pac to Nas, A Tribe Called Quest to OutKast, the ’90s was an extraordinary time for the culture. It’s no wonder why we had such a hard time putting together our list of the best rappers of the 1990s – there was so much dope talent floating around that decade.
Whether you were rapping along with MC Hammer or Naughty By Nature, bumping Tupac’s “California Love” in your car, or rocking out to Biggie Smalls on your Walkman, here are the 50 best hip hop songs of the ’90s.
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50. Digital Underground – “The Humpty Dance”
Released: January 20, 1990
Album: Sex Packets
Producer: Digital Underground
49. Onyx – “Slam”
Released: March 30, 1993
Album: Bacdafucup
Producer: Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay
48. Eric B & Rakim – “Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em”
Released: June 19, 1990
Album: Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em
Producer: Eric B & Rakim
47. O.C. – “Word…Life”
Released: October 18, 1994
Album: Word…Life
Producer: Buckwild
46. Black Star – “Definition”
Released: August 26, 1998
Album: Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
Producer: Hi-Tek
45. Wu-Tang Clan – “Triumph”
Released: February 11, 1997
Album: Wu-Tang Forever
Producer: RZA
44. Public Enemy – “Shut ‘Em Down (Pe-Te Rock Mixx)”
Released: January 3, 1992
Album: Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black
Producer: Pete Rock
43. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – “Tha Crossroads”
Released: April 30, 1996
Album: E. 1999 Eternal
Producer: U-Neek, Tony-C
42. UGK – “Murder”
Released: July 30, 1996
Album: Ridin’ Dirty
Producer: N.O. Joe, Pimp C
41. LL Cool J – “Mama Said Knock You Out”
Released: September 14, 1990
Album: Mama Said Knock You Out
Producer: Bobby “Bobcat” Erving, Marley Marl
40. Scarface – “I Seen a Man Die”
Released: September 27, 1994
Album: The Diary
Producer: N.O. Joe, Scarface, Mike Dean
39. MF Doom – “Doomsday”
Released: October 19, 1999
Album: Operation: Doomsday
Producer: MF Doom
38. Craig Mack – “Flava in Ya Ear”
Released: July 26, 1994
Album: Project Funk da World
Producer: Easy Mo Bee
37. Luniz – “I Got 5 on It”
Released: May 23, 1995
Album: Operation Stackola
Producer: Tone Capone
36. Warren G ft. Nate Dogg – “Regulate”
Released: April 28, 1994
Album: Regulate… G Funk Era
Producer: Warren G
35. Eminem – “My Name Is”
Released: January 25, 1999
Album: The Slim Shady LP
Producer: Dr. Dre
34. Souls of Mischief – “93 ’til Infinity”
Released: September 28, 1993
Album: 93 ’til Infinity
Producer: A-Plus
33. Wu-Tang Clan – “Protect Ya Neck”
Released: June 19, 1990
Album: Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em
Producer: Eric B., Rakim
32. KRS-One – “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know”
Released: August 28, 1995
Album: KRS-One
Producer: DJ Premier
31. Cypress Hill – “How I Could Just Kill a Man”
Released: July 11, 1991
Album: Cypress Hill
Producer: DJ Muggs
30. Raekwon – “Incarcerated Scarfaces”
Released: August 1, 1995
Album: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…
Producer: RZA
29. Jay-Z – “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)”
Released: September 29, 1998
Album: Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life
Producer: The 45 King
28. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Doggy – “Still D.R.E.”
Released: November 2, 1999
Album: 2001
Producer: Dr. Dre, Mel-Man
27. Snoop Dogg – “Gin & Juice”
Released: November 23, 1993
Album: Doggystyle
Producer: Dr. Dre
26. N.O.R.E. – “Superthug”
Released: September 21, 1998
Album: N.O.R.E.
Producer: The Neptunes
25. Salt-N-Pepa – “Shoop”
Released: September 21, 1993
Album: Very Necessary
Producer: Mark Sparks, Salt
24. Fugees – “Fu-Gee-La”
Released: May 11, 1993
Album: Bacdafucup
Producer: Chyskillz, Jam Master Jay
23. Juvenile ft. Mannie Fresh and Lil Wayne – “Back That Azz Up”
Released: June 11, 1999
Album: 400 Degreez
Producer: Mannie Fresh
22. Jeru the Damaja – “Come Clean”
Released: October 26, 1993
Album: The Sun Rises in the East
Producer: DJ Premier
21. Common – “I Used to Love H.E.R.”
Released: September 27, 1994
Album: Resurrection
Producer: No I.D.
20. OutKast – “SpottieOttieDopaliscious”
Released: September 29, 1998
Album: Aquemini
Producer: OutKast
19. Master P – “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!”
Released: January 13, 1998
Album: Ghetto D
Producer: KLC
18. The Pharycde – “Passin’ Me By”
Released: March 18, 1993
Album: Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
Producer: J-Swift
17. OutKast – “Elevators (Me & You)”
Released: July 9, 1996
Album: ATLiens
Producer: OutKast
16. Naughty by Nature – “O.P.P.”
Released: August 24, 1991
Album: Naughty by Nature
Producer: Naughty by Nature
15. Puff Daddy ft. Mase – “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down”
Released: February 11, 1997
Album: No Way Out
Producer: Carlos Broady, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Stevie J, Nashiem Myrick
14. 2Pac – “Dear Mama”
Released: February 21, 1995
Album: Me Against the World
Producer: Tony Pizarro, DF Master, Tee & Moses
13. A Tribe Called Quest ft. Leaders of the New School – “Scenario”
Released: March 13, 1992
Album: The Low End Theory
Producer: A Tribe Called Quest
12. Jay-Z – “Dead Presidents” / “Dead Presidents II”
Released: February 20, 1996
Album: Reasonable Doubt
Producer: Ski
11. DMX – “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem”
Released: May 5, 1998
Album: It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot
Producer: Swizz Beatz
10. Ice Cube – “It Was a Good Day”
Released: February 23, 1993
Album: The Predator
Producer: DJ Pooh
NWA’s lyrical guru took a break from his usual gang violence narratives for this fantasy tale of a perfect day in the hood. There are no drive-bys, no retaliation and no hassle from the cops. The irony of their absence made Ice Cube’s biggest hit also one of his most powerful.
9. Lauryn Hill – “Lost Ones”
Released: August 25, 1998
Album: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Producer: Lauryn Hill, Vada Nobles, Che Pope
Ms. Lauryn Hill came out of the Fugees and created a masterpiece. Though her story has been a bit convoluted since its release, the multi-grammy winning The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill remains a classic. On the single “Lost Ones” she drops a scathing diss-track aimed at former band member Wyclef Jean.
8. Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige – “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By”
Released: April 25, 1995
Album: Tical
Producer: RZA / Sean “Puffy” Combs, Trackmasters
Producer P. Diddy worked his magic on this Grammy-winning crossover hit. The track is still considered one of the greatest hip-hop love songs of all time. Queen Mary teamed up with Wu-Tang’s Method Man for this mashup of his song “All I Need” and a Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell classic.
7. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy”
Released: August 9, 1994
Album: Ready to Die
Producer: Poke, Sean “Puffy” Combs
Biggie’s first single from his debut album Ready to Die propelled him to superstar status. “Juicy” rides an old-school hip-hop beat and a classic funk bass line for a storytelling rap about Poppa’s own rise to fame and the birth of hip-hop itself, complete with shout-outs to pioneers like Salt N Pepa and the late great Heavy D.
6. Pete Rock & CL Smooth – “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”
Released: April 2, 1992
Album: Mecca and the Soul Brother
Producer: Pete Rock
With their debut album Mecca And The Soul Brother, Pete Rock & CL Smooth dropped an Afrocentric message of positivity at a time when violent gangsta rap was king. On the record’s classic single “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” the duo recalls childhood memories and shoutout to their lost friend Trouble T. Roy of Heavy D & The Boyz. Iconic, moving and absolutely one of the best 90s rap songs of all time.
5. Wu-Tang Clan – “C.R.E.A.M.”
Released: November 9, 1993
Album: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Producer: RZA
The game changed when Wu-Tang Clan dropped their debut album Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The record helped define the sound of the 90s. Its biggest hit stands to this day as a downbeat East Coast underground classic. Over 70s soul samples and a raw boom-bap beat the crew makes their priorities clear in this ode to the almighty dollar. You can’t talk about the top 90s rap songs with talking about “C.R.E.A.M.”
4. Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Doggy Dogg – “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang”
Released: November 19, 1992
Album: The Chronic
Producer: Dr. Dre
The impact that Dr. Dre’s debut solo album The Chronic and its lead-off single had on hip-hop is immeasurable. The song, in concert with its iconic Dre-directed house-party video, helped define the West Coast sound of the 90s and it turned a skinny rapper from the LBC into an international superstar.
3. Nas – “N.Y. State of Mind”
Released: April 19, 1994
Album: Illmatic
Producer: DJ Premier
“N.Y. State of Mind” is the second track and biggest hit from Nas’ now legendary debut album Illmatic. On the track the hip-hop icon paints a lyrical portrait of the city that never sleeps, over sparse piano chords, a rock & roll bass riff and a hard breakbeat rhythm. According to DJ Premier, the young Queensbridge prodigy rapped the first verse all in one take.
2. Geto Boys – “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”
Released: July 1, 1991
Album: We Can’t Be Stopped
Producer: Scarface
With the release of their third album We Can’t Be Stopped in 1991, Houston’s Geto Boys helped establish the South as a major force in hip-hop. The album’s huge crossover hit single “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” is an honest and emotionally complex soliloquy of a gangster worried about his own survival. Not only did Scarface produce this iconic track, he also penned most of the lyrics, drawing upon this life for the morbid tales and shocking twists.
1. Mobb Deep – “Shook Ones (Part II)”
Released: February 7, 1995
Album: The Infamous
Producer: Havoc
There will never be a sound more unsettling or iconic as the siren that kicks off “Shook Ones (Part II).” Though technically sequel to the original single, this classic stands on its own as a hip hop masterpiece. Still teenagers when they released their debut album The Infamous, Prodigy and Havoc drop killer freestyles over a dark and ominous downtempo boom-bap beat, haunting electric guitar arpeggios and a simple bass line on this genre-defining classic. Not only is this Mobb Deep anthem the best 90s rap song of all time, it’s one of the greatest hip hop tracks ever.
What the hell is this? No Tupac? Travis Scott is there! No Eminem! Poor poor ranking…horrible
Where is E 1999 Eternal?
HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY LEAVE “PUT IT ON” by BIG L OFF THIS LIST? HONESTLY….I Realize he only put out 1 Album because he was Murdered however that 1 Album is an Absolute Classic and In my honest Opinion influenced a Plethora of East Coast specifically New York Rappers to really UP THEIR GAME…..Take NAS for instance who after going to a BIG L show at the Apollo I believe said something to the effect of: If I have to go up Against this Guy I might as well quit now!