The 75 Greatest Rapper Hooks of All Time
The concept of a hook in a rap song has evolved over the decades. From starting out with DJ scratches (Nas’ “N.Y. State of Mind”) and crowd-hyping chants (Boogie Down Productions’ “South Bronx”) to now rappers fully singing…
The Top 30 Best Rappers of the 2000s
On August 3, 1995, the Source Awards held their annual event at the Paramount Theater in New York to celebrate the very best in hip hop culture.
The 29 Most Sampled Hip Hop Tracks of All Time
Ever since hip hop emerged as culture in the 1970s, the music has always been built around sampling other genres. Out necessity rather than desire, hip hop producers grabbed snippets and sounds from other records to create entirely…
Ranking Polo G’s First Week Album Sales
Over the past few years, Chicago rapper Polo G has emerged as one of rap’s biggest stars and one of the best rappers right now with a string of hit singles and platinum albums.
Every Major Moment in Tupac and Biggie’s Relationship History: A Complete Timeline
You can’t talk about hip hop history without talking about the East Coast-West Coast rivalry; and you can’t talk about that, without talking about Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G.
Ranking 2 Chainz’s First Week Album Sales
When 2 Chainz reemerged in the game under his new name in 2011, he went on one of the most legendary mixtape and features run in history.
Most Streamed Rap Albums
The music industry has certainly come a long way since the early ’80s where hip hop acts didn’t even have a chart for their own, instead having to compete with R&B and dance acts. But now, with hip…
Ranking 2Pac’s First Week Album Sales
It really is quite unbelievable that there was only a five year gap between 2Pac’s debut album and his first posthumous release .
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 2021
For our Best Rappers Alive series, we take a look at the top five best rappers, year by year – ranking them on projects dropped, guest verses and overall impact.
Ranking the Best Rappers in the Wu-Tang Clan
One of the toughest thing a rapper has to do is stand out in a crowd of thousands upon thousands of other incredibly talented rappers. Well, how do you think members of the Wu-Tang Clan feel – being…
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 2020
For our Best Rappers Alive series, we take a look at the top five best rappers, year by year – ranking them on projects dropped, guest verses and overall impact.
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 2019
For our Best Rappers Alive series, we take a look at the top five best rappers, year by year – ranking them on projects dropped, guest verses and overall impact.
50 Rappers and their First Number One Album
The highly-sought after Billboard number one album is a funny thing in hip hop. Some rappers come out hot straight through the gate, while others take their time building up to the top spot.
The 10 Greatest Eminem Guest Verses of All Time
When Eminem was in his prime, he was simply untouchable. His run from 1999 to 2003 was legendary, and it’s one of the greatest five-year runs for a rapper of all time.
The 15 Greatest Kanye West Guest Verses of All Time
While Kanye West has built an entire legacy of crafting some of the greatest hip hop albums of all time , and putting together entire bodies of work, the Chicago rapper-producer has made a name for himself over…
The 30 Greatest Rapper Five-Year Runs of All Time
For the longest time, hip hop has been viewed as a young man’s sport. Up until recently, with the likes of Nas and Jay-Z dropping classic albums 30 years into their recording career, it was rare to see…
The 15 Greatest Pusha T Guest Verses of All Time
It’s kinda crazy looking back in 2010, when the Clipse announced that they were going on hiatus and Pusha had signed to GOOD Music. There was a lot of talk going around about whether the younger Clipse brother…
The 15 Greatest Method Man Guest Verses of All Time
When you’re talking about ranking MCs based on factors like voice, charisma, flow and delivery, then Method Man deserves to be in the very top spots of the greatest rappers of all time.
Beats, Rhymes & Lists Presents: Our Top 30 Favourite Rappers of All Time
We have a lot of fun putting together rap lists. Like when we ranked our top 50 greatest rappers of all time . Or when we wrote about the 30 best rappers of the 2010s .
The 50 Best Hip Hop Album Outro Songs of All Time
Outro tracks on hip-hop albums may not always get the love and recognition they deserve, but they play a crucial role in the storytelling and creative expression that make the genre so unique.
Every Single Hip Hop Billboard Number One Album, Since 1986
Since hip hop’s origins in the 1970s across the Bronx boroughs, block parties and park jams, the culture has evolved to become one of the biggest music genres in the world.
Ranking the Top 10 Best Drake & Rick Ross Collaborations
When talking about Drake collaborations, there are a few rappers that come to mind. Of course, there’s Future, who the OVO head honcho collaborated with on a full album in 2015.
The 60 Greatest Three-Album Runs in Hip Hop History
Creating a great album is hard, but there have been countless rappers in history who have dropped great albums. Building up a body of work is the difficult part in the life of a hip hop artist.
The 80 Best Produced Hip Hop Albums of All Time
Over the decades, hip hop has seen its fair share of legendary producers ; from Dr. Dre to Marley Marl, RZA to Pete Rock, DJ Quik to Mannie Fresh.
Ranking the 25 Rappers on Kool Moe Dee’s Rap Report Card
When the legendary Kool Moe Dee released his sophomore album, How Ya Like Me Now , in 1987, he also included a rap report card which rated himself and 24 of his rhyming peers.
Ranking Rick Ross’ First Week Album Sales
Rick Ross has quietly become one of the most consistent rappers in the game today, amassing a catalogue that few rappers could match.
The 50 Greatest Hip Hop Debut Albums of All Time
Hip-hop is a genre that is built on a foundation of innovation and creativity. And while many hip-hop legends have had long and fruitful careers, there’s something special about the debut album that holds a unique place in…
Profile: Wendy Day, Hip Hop’s Unsung Hero
Appearances can be deceiving. When you first Google up Wendy Day and you see a middle-aged white woman, who would fit in well working a normal 9-to-5 in an office somewhere, it’s hard for you to imagine how…
The 50 Greatest Title Tracks in Hip Hop History
What’s so special about a title track on a hip hop album? For the most part, rappers use title tracks as a way to represent an album’s core message
Song Battle Vol. 3: ‘Yeezus’ vs. ‘My Name Is My Name’
Welcome to volume three of the Song Battle series, where we take two classic hip hop albums and pit them against each other, song for song.
The 10 Greatest Hip Hop Songs About Hip Hop
Hip hop is a genre that celebrates not only the music itself but also the culture that surrounds it. And what better way to celebrate the culture than with a great hip hop song about hip hop?
The 50 Best Hip Hop Albums of the 1980s
When it comes to innovation and new styles of hip hop music, there isn’t a decade in history that can surpass the 1980s. It seemed like every other week there was a new classic being dropped.
The 50 Best Hip Hop Albums of the 1990s
The 1990s was the greatest decade in hip hop history, there’s no doubt about it. Wedged in between the innovative ’80s and the over-commercialised ’00s, the ’90s was the best of both worlds.
The 50 Best Hip Hop Albums of the 2000s
Coming out the transformative era that was the ’90s, hip hop flourished in the 2000s and quickly became, not only the dominant music genre of the decade, but also a cultural force.
The 50 Best Hip Hop Albums of the 2010s
The 2010s were a beautiful time for hip hop. Coming out the tumultuous 2000s , which saw the rise and (almost) fall of the music industry, hip hop was positioned to be the leading music genre across the…
12 Classic Hip Hop Albums with Only One Rap Guest Verse
One of the best things about hip hop music, versus other music genres, is the feature appearances on an album.
Ranking Lil Tecca’s First Week Album Sales
Ever since rising to mainstream fame with his 2019 hit single, “Ransom,” Queens-born rapper, Lil Tecca has continued to grow in commercial stature.
Ranking Big K.R.I.T.’s First Week Album Sales
When Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. made his entrance into the music industry, under the Def Jam umbrella, he was positioned to be the next big artist from the South.
Ranking Schoolboy Q’s First Week Album Sales
Schoolboy Q has low-key been one of the strongest selling rappers of the past few years. Here’s a fun fact, Q’s third album, Oxymoron , was the first Top Dawg release to top the charts. Kendrick’s good kid,…
Ranking the 20 Best Guest Verses on Kanye West Albums
Kanye has the incredible knack of coaxing out the best performances from his collaborators. He’s been doing it since The College Dropout days, all the way to Donda .
Top Five: The Best Rappers Alive of 1987
5. Big Daddy Kane Notable releases: “Raw” Key guest appearances: N/A Big Daddy Kane didn’t drop a project in 1987 but off the strength of his verses on “Raw” alone, it was enough to catapult him into the…
Ranking Wiz Khalifa’s First Week Album Sales
Ever since breaking into the rap game as part of Rostrum Records, Wiz Khalifa has been consistently prolific and a regular presence on the charts.
Ranking T.I.’s First Week Album Sales
The three kings of the mid-2000s Atlanta trap movement were Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy and T.I. Between these three rappers, they dropped numerous classics that helped shape what trap music is today.
Ranking Gucci Mane’s First Week Album Sales
Gucci Mane has never had a number one album or a platinum seller, but over the past decade he has become one of the most influential rappers in Atlanta .
The Top Five Best Hip Hop Songs Each Year, Since 1985
It’s hard enough trying to write a list about the greatest hip hop producers of all time or the greatest rappers of all time , but the best songs? That’s almost impossible.
The 25 Greatest Business Moves in Hip Hop History
Hip hop has always had a special relationship with commercialism, especially compared to other music genres. Oftentimes, the culture celebrates the business moves, just as much as the music itself.
The Top 30 Best Rappers of the 2010s
When we dropped our list for the 50 greatest rappers of all time , there was a lot of feedback about the younger generation being squeezed off the list.
Ranking Eminem’s Best-Selling Albums of All Time
As one of the best-selling artists in music history, Eminem has dropped over 10 number one albums , most of which have platinum or multi-platinum.
Ranking Tupac Shakur’s Best-Selling Albums of All Time
Tupac Shakur wasn’t in the rap game for very long; he made his come up with Digital Underground in early ’90s, and his musical peak probably 3-4 years at the most.
Ranking Wale’s First Week Album Sales
Over the past decade, Wale has amassed one of the best but underrated catalogues in the rap game. The man barely has any misses, even with the albums that didn’t sell that well.
