The 50 Best Storytelling Rap Songs of All Time
It’s been an impressive journey from block parties and corner rap battles to mainstream multi-platinum hits, but hip-hop has always had a strong storytelling tradition at its core.
The 50 Best Hip Hop Songs of the 1990s
The 1990s was a golden era for hip hop, with the genre flourishing and diversifying, giving birth to an array of unforgettable tracks and albums.
35 Hip Hop Albums with the Most Stacked Guest Features
One of the most unique things about hip hop music is that emphasis that is put on feature appearances. Very rarely do you get artists in other genres cross collaborate as frequently as you do in hip hop.
The Best Hip Hop Remixes of All Time
Remix culture is in hip hop’s DNA. MCs spittin’ new verses, producers flippin’ beats – it’s about makin’ a track even hotter. Some remixes go down in history as straight-up better than the original. Now, Pete Rock might…
Ranking the 18 Best Drake Guest Verses of All Time
For all the talk from stuck-in-the-90s hip hop heads and rap traditionalists about Drake not being a lyricist, the Toronto superstar has become one of the preeminent scene-stealers of his generation.
Ranking the 15 DJ Premier Beats Made for Nas & Jay-Z
The legendary DJ Premier has worked with some of the greatest rappers of all time. Over the past three decades, he’s blessed artists from all different eras with some of their best beats ever.
Ranking the 10 Best Biggie Guest Verses of All Time
“I love it when you call me Big Poppa / The show stoppa, the rhyme droppa.” The late, great Notorious B.I.G. was only around for a few years and yet the impact he left was so enormous, we’re…
The 50 Best Hip Hop Sophomore Albums of All Time
Why do so many rappers fall down when it comes to their sophomore album? Well, like they say, you have your whole life to write your first album and only a year or two to create your second.
Ranking the 25 Best Guest Verses on Westside Gunn Albums
Conway said it best last year when he rapped: “They say West is the brains behind it and Benny is the star, but let’s not act like Machine ain’t the silliest with the bars.”
Ranking the 18 Best Andre 3000 Guest Verses of All Time
Hip hop has its fair share of GOAT feature rappers. Off the top of my head, there’s Busta Rhymes, the OG guest verse murderer, Nas, DMX, Jadakiss, Biggie, Method Man, just to name a few.
The 50 Best Hip Hop Songs of the 1980s
As the late ’70s gave birth to the iconic “Rapper’s Delight,” the 1980s transformed hip hop into a thriving genre that would forever alter the course of music history. This vibrant era laid the foundation for rap’s ongoing…
The Rappers with the Most #1 Hits on the Billboard Hot 100
There have been plenty of successful rappers throughout history – countless artists have notched up multiplatinum plaques, sold out worldwide tours and put out smash hits. But when it comes to the number one spot on the Billboard…
The 18 Best J. Cole Guest Verses of All Time
Every rap generation spawns its own feature verse killer. You had Busta Rhymes running rampant in the ’90s after bodying “Scenario”, you had Lil Wayne’s transformation into a certified superstar off of features alone, and of course, you…
Ranking Every Song on Pusha T’s ‘It’s Almost Dry’
Yes, it’s been over 3 weeks since Pusha T dropped his latest album and after many repeated listens, we can now safely say It’s Almost Dry is his best solo album to date.
Ranking the 22 Best Kendrick Lamar Guest Verses of All Time
Following a four-year hiatus since his last album, DAMN. dropped in 2017, Kendrick Lamar is officially on the comeback trail with his upcoming Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers scheduled for release on May 13.
Ranking the 10 Greatest Future Intro Tracks of All Time
When it comes to hard work and artistic output, few rappers can match the sheer productivity of Future.
The Best Rap Album Covers of All Time
Yo, album covers might be small on your phone, but that don’t mean they ain’t important. A dope cover is part of the whole vibe, the same as the beats and the lyrics. It can capture the energy…
Ranking Every Pusha T Album, From Worst to Best
We’re big fans of Pusha T here at Beats, Rhymes & lists, just in case you haven’t noticed that. Not only is he one of the greatest rappers of all time , he also happens to be our…
The 15 Best 50 Cent Hooks of All Time
50 Cent is straight up one of the greatest hook writers in hip hop history. It’s the main reason why his debut album (and subsequent releases) were such commercial successes.
Ranking the Top 10 Best Young Thug & Travis Scott Collaborations
When we think about some of the best unofficial duos in hip hop history, names like Nas and AZ, Raekwon and Ghost, Jay-Z and Kanye, and Drake and Lil Wayne usually pop up.
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…
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.
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 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…
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.
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…
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
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 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 .
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.
