Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time

To make the list that pleases everyone is an impossible task, due to the staggering amount of hip hop albums and tracks that are in circulation. Hip hop is a genre of music that has been around for almost 40 years now, so the transformation of the style of music has been rapid and unpredictable. It is claimed that the beauty of hip hop lies in its simplicity and its rebelliousness, and it is also fair to say that this is a genre that is often misunderstood by most people due to its graphic lyrics.

The origins of hip hop started taking shape primarily amongst African Americans living in the Bronx, New York. Living in turbulent times surrounded by a lot of violence, gang wars, and poverty, they began expressing their thoughts and views via this medium of music. These are the songs that tell stories of the tough childhood these artists had to deal with, and how they managed to carve out successful and fruitful lives. The hip hop culture that was prevalent in those times lent its name to this musical genre, which gave a voice to the people that they were lacking before. Concepts of beatboxing, rapping, freestyling, scratching, DJing and looping all incorporated themselves in this unique genre, and helped form the basis.

Best Hip Hop Songs
As mentioned earlier, the list that you will see here may not be agreeable and to your liking, as it is merely a compilation of the author's choice. Each person derives their own meaning from music, and each is entitled to their own opinion.

• I Used to Love Her - Common Sense
• Stan - Eminem
• Rapper's Delight - Sugarhill Gang
• In Da Club - 50 Cent
• Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
• The World is Yours - Nas
• Fight the Power - Public Enemy
• Keep Ya Head Up - 2Pac
• Dead Presidents II - Jay-Z
• Mind Playin' Tricks on Me - Geto Boys
• It's Bigger Than Hip Hop - Dead Prez
• Slow Down - Brand Nubian
• Mathematics - Mos Def
• I Seen a Man Die - Scarface
• Regulate - Warren G
• Tha Crossroads - Bone Thugs N' Harmony
• Ms. Jackson - Outkast
• Jesus Walks - Kanye West
• Walk This Way - Run DMC and Aerosmith
• I Got it Made - Special Ed
• Reunion - Slum Village
• Why - Jadakiss
• Gin and Juice - Snoopdogg
• New York State of Mind - Nas
• Dreams - The Game
• To Know You - Gift of Gab
• All That I Got is You - Ghostface Killah
• You Got Me - The Roots
• Roses - Kanye West
• Teenage Love - Slick Rick
• One Love - Whodini
• I Need Love - LL Cool J
• With You - Chris Brown
• What Hurts the Most - Cascada
• Contagious - Avril Lavigne
• Teenage Love Affair - Alicia Keys
• Sunshine - Lil Flip
• Always on Time - Ja Rule
• Southside - Lloyd
• Bonnie and Clyde - Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles
• Rush - Rihanna
• I Wanna Love You - Akon
• SOS - Rihanna
• Beautiful -Snoop Dogg
• Diamonds From Sierra Leone - Kanye West
• Crazy in Love - Beyonce Knowles
• Kiss - Prince
• My Boo - Alicia Keys and Usher
• Beautiful Skin - Goodie Mob
• Valley of the Skinz - Trendz of Culture
• 'Till I Collapse - Eminem and Nate Dogg
• Baby By Me - 50 Cent
• Run This Town - Jay-Z
• Right Round - Flo Rida
• Hotel Room Service - Pitbull
• Spotlight - Gucci Mane
• Heavy - Gucci Mane
• Young Forever - Jay-Z
• Best I Ever Had - Drake
• Becky - Plies
• Heartless - Kanye West
• Beautiful - Eminem
• Face Drop - Sean Kingston
• I Wanna Rock - Snoop Dogg
• I Look Good - Chalie Boy
• Where is The Love - The Black Eyed Peas
• Remember the Name - Fort Minor
• My Humps - The Black Eyed Peas
• Hey Ya - Outkast
• Prom Queen - Lil Wayne

So, these were a few of the greatest hip hop songs ever. The range of emotions and moods that these songs cover is very vast, and the appreciation of each song really depends on the taste of the listener. These are some of the greatest hip hop artists of all time, and their popularity and standing in the hip hop industry is unmatched.