1. Apache
Incredible Bongo Band (1973)
If hip hop has a Ground Zero, it occurred on August 11th, 1973, when a teenager named Clive Campbell played records at a back to school block party organised by his sister in their New York borough of the Bronx. Campbell, aka DJ Kool Herc, started playing two copies of the same disc back to back to create extended rhythm sections – the “breaks” that became the backbone of hip hop. Among the records he segued in his eclectic set was this funk-rock version of an old guitar instrumental, whose by-now instantly recognisable percussive sections are still used by rappers and producers. Word of Herc’s pyrotechnics spread like wildfire: the hip-hop aesthetic of sampling and looping was born. Hear also: Funky Drummer by James Brown
2. Rapper’s Delight
The Sugarhill Gang (1979)
The record that introduced the world to rap. While acts such as the Last Poets had been rhythmically preaching since the early 1970s and funk group the Fatback Band had already released a rudimentary rap number, it was New Jersey trio the Sugarhill Gang who blew up the new musical form. Produced by record label boss Sylvia Robinson, the upbeat jam proved irresistible, helped by a bassline copied from Chic’s disco smash Good Times. Hear also: King Tim III (Personality Jock) by Fatback Band
3. The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (1982)
From its famous opening lines – “It’s like a jungle sometimes” – this gritty portrait of ghetto life marked the moment hip hop discovered its social conscience. Grandmaster Flash, a fiercely inventive DJ, doesn’t actually appear on this record: it’s the rapper Melle Mel who delivers this righteous slice of realism over an atmospheric electro backdrop. Hear also: White Lines (Don’t Do It) by Grandmaster & Melle Mel
4. Rock Box
Run DMC (1984)
Hailing from Queens, in New York City, rappers Run DMC (plus DJ Jam Master Jay) pioneered a tougher, stripped-back style of hip hop, the group’s tracksuits and sneakers signalling their B-boy credentials. Their debut album – produced by Run’s brother Russell Simmons, who cofounded the influential Def Jam label – yielded this groundbreaking collision of rock guitars and thunderous beats. They would hone the formula on their 1986 global smash collaboration with Aerosmith, Walk This Way. Hear also: Rock the Bells by LL Cool J
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5. Rebel Without a Pause
Public Enemy (1987)
Taking their cue from spiritual forefathers such as Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy put politics front and centre of their identity. Led by the charismatic Chuck D, with manic sidekick Flavor Flav playing jester, their ethos of radical dissent and black liberation was underpinned by dense soundtracks from the Bomb Squad production team, epitomised by this thrilling manifesto, turbocharged by its squealing sax sample. Hear also: How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise? by Brother D with Collective Effort
6. Follow the Leader
Eric B & Rakim (1988)
Arguably the greatest MC to emerge from hip hop’s “golden age”, Rakim brought complex wordplay and poised delivery to his brand of ghetto metaphysics. The title track of the duo’s second album showcases Rakim in full flow, while DJ Eric B swaps their earlier funk beats for layered production, full of foreboding atmospherics. Peerless. Hear also: My Philosophy by Boogie Down Productions
7. Straight Outta Compton
NWA (1988)
There was nothing sunny about the Los Angeles group, full name Niggaz Wit Attitudes, whose unexpurgated accounts of street violence, drug use and casual misogyny popularised gangsta rap. The genre quickly grew numbingly brutal, but there’s no denying the exhilarating energy of numbers like this, the title track of their debut album. NWA’s influence was immense: Ice Cube became one of rap’s biggest stars, while Dr Dre moved from star-making producer to bona fide tycoon through his Beats headphones. Hear also: It Was a Good Day by Ice Cube
8. The Magic Number
De La Soul (1989)
Hailing from suburban Long Island, De La Soul released a seminal debut album, Three Feet High and Rising, whose daffy inventiveness was epitomised by this joyful anthem, with its playfully affirmative rhymes and cheeky sample from the children’s record Multiplication Rock. The trio introduced an Afrocentric positivity to the era, as part of the vibrant Native Tongues collective, which included equally inventive acts such as A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers and Queen Latifah. Hear also: Scenario by A Tribe Called Quest
9. Jazz Thing
Gang Starr (1990)
Comprised of the Boston-born MC Guru and the Houston native DJ Premier, Gang Starr were one of the smartest acts of the early 1990s, trading in sharply astute lyrics and, as here, imbuing their music with a jazz sensibility. An infectious groove from the soundtrack of the Spike Lee movie Mo’ Better Blues, it pays lyrical and sonic tribute to jazz’s rich heritage while adding to the new music’s broad palette. Guru, who died in 2010, would go further with his genre-defining Jazzmatazz solo albums. Hear also: Loungin’ by Guru
10. Gin and Juice
Snoop Dogg (1993)
A protege of Dr Dre – he first appeared on the former NWA man’s epoch-making solo album The Chronic – Snoop had a laid-back style that typified the west coast G-funk sound of the early 1990s. His laconic drawl practically exuding a fug of marijuana, Snoop created a streetwise but cartoonish persona, while low-slung beats matched his smooth stoner flow. Still going strong, he remains one of hip hop’s most idiosyncratic stars. Hear also: Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang by Dr Dre
11. Cream
Wu Tang Clan (1993)
Spearheaded by the MC and producer RZA, the Staten Island collective infused their raw urban diatribes with skewed martial-arts mythology to create a distinctive sound that – along with their fellow New York rapper Nas – helped forge the hard-core hip-hop movement. Comparatively restrained beside some of their harsher output, Cream – an acronym for Cash Rules Everything Around Me – nonetheless captures their bleakly revolutionary sound, as Method Man intones the chorus over melancholy beats. Hear also: NY State of Mind by Nas
12. Dear Mama
2Pac (1995)
Tupac Shakur’s fame was greater in death than in life, the California-based MC’s tragic end proving how gangsta rap’s gaudy glorification of violence grew poisonous in the 1990s. A gifted performer, Shakur showed his facility for observation and compassion in this downbeat account of his mother’s crack addiction. But his talent was overshadowed by convictions for gun and sex crimes and by his involvement in the feud between east- and west-coast rap crews, notably the New York rapper Biggie Smalls. Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1996; Smalls was shot dead in 1997. Hear also: California Love by 2Pac featuring Dr Dre
13. My Name Is
Eminem (1999)
White performers haven’t thrived in this quintessentially African-American art form: the Beastie Boys were notable for their eclectic sound rather than their authenticity, House of Pain were Irish-American one-hit wonders while Vanilla Ice was a byword for Caucasian naffness. The Detroit native Marshall Mathers bucked the trend, for any number of reasons. Boasting a grittier backstory than other white pretenders, he wrote transgressive, satirical lyrics, then fluently delivered them – in this case, as his troubled alter-ego Slim Shady – over the ubiquitous Dr Dre’s typically smart beats, powering him to global stardom. Hear also: So What’Cha Want by Beastie Boys
14. Get Ur Freak On
Missy Elliott (2001)
Even by the low standards of the music industry, hip hop has a deeply ingrained problem with sexism, not to say misogyny. While there were stellar women rappers from early on – Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte and Salt ‘n’ Pepa – their output was too often overlooked or sidelined. Not so with Missy Elliott, who struck gold in the late 1990s with her lethally intelligent rhymes and inventive beats – courtesy of her production partner Timbaland – while reclaiming derogatory terms to empowering effect. This Bhangra-tinged banger is just one of her many classics. Hear also: Doo Wop (That Thing) by Lauryn Hill
15. Takeover
Jay-Z (2001)
The rapper, record-label mogul and future Mr Beyoncé Knowles, Jay-Z sealed his status as hip-hop kingpin of the early noughties with his album The Blueprint. Among the cast of producers Jay-Z used during recording was a young Kanye West, with whom he wrote this merciless diss track, mocking fellow MCs Nas and Prodigy, while sampling the Doors along the way. Hardly edifying, but still fun. Hear also: ‘03 Bonnie & Clyde by Jay-Z featuring Beyoncé
16. All Caps
Madvillain (2004)
Amid the dispiriting excess of hip hop’s extended bling phase were artists who remained true to the music’s original spirit. Chief among these was the enigmatic MF Doom, noted for his complex, eccentric rhyming and comic-book-villain image, who collaborated with the underground producer Madlib on one legendary album, Madvillainy, including this captivating slice of alternative rap. Doom died in 2020, robbing the genre of a true maverick. Hear also: The Seed (2.0) by The Roots
17. Gold Digger
Kanye West (2005)
He’s now a preposterous embarrassment, known for his controversial outbursts, discontinued sneaker line and glitzy ex-wife, but Kanye West once brought an undeniable élan to his music. This R&B-style shouter, built around a Ray Charles sample and featuring a duet with the actor Jamie Foxx, bounces along with vim, underlining the mercurial talent that would later yield gobsmacking albums such as Yeezus. Typically, however, West is also griping about women wanting his money, foreshadowing the self-pitying messiah complex that was to come. Hear also: Hey Ya by Outkast
18. Super Bass
Nicki Minaj (2011)
The Trinidad-born star is dubbed the queen of rap, but her success rests on more than her rhyming skills. Combining an infuriatingly catchy chorus with electropop sensibility, this mammoth hit – and follow-ups such as Starships – spurred Minaj’s transformation from rapper with a rapid flow and a facility for switching accents to bona-fide pop-culture icon. Along with raunchier rappers like Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, she’s one of hip hop’s most distinctive stars. Hear also: WAP, by Cardi B with Megan Thee Stallion
19. Alright
Kendrick Lamar (2015)
One of the key artists in contemporary hip hop, Kendrick Lamar brings racial and social consciousness to his restrained yet powerful rhymes, while drawing on diverse influences. This jazz-seasoned track became an unofficial theme of the Black Lives Matter movement, testament to its cautiously optimistic refrain, sung by the song’s producer Pharrell Williams, another pivotal figure in the genre’s evolution. Hear also: This Is America by Childish Gambino
20. Old Town Road
Lil Nas X (2018)
To curmudgeonly critics raised on the glories of OG hip hop, the Auto-Tuned product of modern rap superstars such as Drake can sound soulless, while the sheer mass of output from subgenres such as trap and drill often appears bewildering and perplexing, despite its febrile creativity. So this quirky country-flavoured rap song might seem an odd inclusion. But by recycling an unlikely musical source, gaining traction on TikTok and coming out as gay when his song exploded in popularity, Lil Nas X proved that hip hop can be inclusive and inventive, surprising and exciting, even as it hits the half-century mark. Hear also: Truth Hurts by Lizzo
