Top 10 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All Time

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's 1982 masterpiece ranked #188 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs. The first rap record in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, its vivid depiction of ghetto life redefined what hip hop could say.

Public Enemy's 1989 anthem ranked #2 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs. Featured in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, NME named it the greatest song of the 1980s — a rallying cry that still resonates decades later.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 debut single reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100, sampling Mtume's 'Juicy Fruit'. Rolling Stone called it one of the greatest debut singles in rap history — Biggie's autobiographical rise from poverty to fame.

Tupac's first single after release from prison in 1995 reached #1 on Billboard Hot 100. Featured in the iconic Coachella hologram tribute, it remains one of the best-selling rap singles ever — West Coast rap at its most triumphant.

Eminem's 2002 8 Mile soundtrack cut won the Academy Award for Best Original Song — the first rap song to win an Oscar. Certified 27x platinum in the US and #1 in 29 countries, it remains the definitive motivational rap anthem.

Jay-Z's 2003 Rick Rubin-produced banger won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2005. Rolling Stone ranked it #217 on the 500 Greatest Songs — widely considered Jay-Z's finest and most lyrically dense single.

Kanye West's 2005 Ray Charles-sampling juggernaut spent 10 consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard Hot 100. The track announced Kanye as the defining voice of mid-2000s rap and remains one of the highest-charting rap singles in chart history.

Kendrick Lamar's 2017 Grammy winner for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance became the most-streamed rap song of 2017 globally on Spotify. The Dave Meyers-directed video has 900M+ YouTube views — modern rap's most arresting visual statement.

Drake's 2018 #1 smash spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. He donated the entire $996,631.90 video budget to people in Miami. With 3.4 billion Spotify streams, it became one of the defining rap songs of the streaming era.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's 1982 masterpiece ranked #188 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs. The first rap record in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, its vivid depiction of ghetto life redefined what hip hop could say.

Public Enemy's 1989 anthem ranked #2 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs. Featured in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, NME named it the greatest song of the 1980s — a rallying cry that still resonates decades later.

The Notorious B.I.G.'s 1994 debut single reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100, sampling Mtume's 'Juicy Fruit'. Rolling Stone called it one of the greatest debut singles in rap history — Biggie's autobiographical rise from poverty to fame.

Tupac's first single after release from prison in 1995 reached #1 on Billboard Hot 100. Featured in the iconic Coachella hologram tribute, it remains one of the best-selling rap singles ever — West Coast rap at its most triumphant.

Eminem's 2002 8 Mile soundtrack cut won the Academy Award for Best Original Song — the first rap song to win an Oscar. Certified 27x platinum in the US and #1 in 29 countries, it remains the definitive motivational rap anthem.

Jay-Z's 2003 Rick Rubin-produced banger won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2005. Rolling Stone ranked it #217 on the 500 Greatest Songs — widely considered Jay-Z's finest and most lyrically dense single.

Kanye West's 2005 Ray Charles-sampling juggernaut spent 10 consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard Hot 100. The track announced Kanye as the defining voice of mid-2000s rap and remains one of the highest-charting rap singles in chart history.

Kendrick Lamar's 2017 Grammy winner for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance became the most-streamed rap song of 2017 globally on Spotify. The Dave Meyers-directed video has 900M+ YouTube views — modern rap's most arresting visual statement.

Drake's 2018 #1 smash spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. He donated the entire $996,631.90 video budget to people in Miami. With 3.4 billion Spotify streams, it became one of the defining rap songs of the streaming era.