Grab your iPod and get ready to fill it with some hip-hop goodies. Hopefully, this list will bring back memories of your favorite rap songs and introduce you to a few new ones. Here's a countdown of 2008's Top 100 Rap Songs. Enjoy!
60. The Grouch - "Artsy"
While there's a new wave of abhorrence for ringtone rap and Auto-Tune, let's not forget the true enemy of humanity: overly artsy people. [Video]
59. N.E.R.D. - "Everyone Nose (All The Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)"
This hilarious paean to booger sugar had all the girls -- and some guys -- fiending for more N.E.R.D goodness. Oh yeah, that piano break is nasty. [Video]
58. Blu - "It's Okay" Pt.1
The sly wit and amazing insight of Blu's lyrics are in full display on "It's Okay," as the Cali MC recalls every single dumb activity from his teenage years. [Audio]
57. Ice Cube - "Gangsta Rap" Remix (Feat. Scarface & Nas)
Other rappers would be eager to bury their sordid past after becoming Hollywood bigwigs, but Ice Cube is not one to bite his tongue. Cube teams up with Nas and Scarface to defend hip-hop from its harshest critics. [Audio]
56. DJ Muggs & Planet Asia - "9MM"
Legendary producer DJ Muggs crafts an aesthetic of chaotic sonics, augmenting the concoction with horror-movie squeals and feverish drums. Planet Asia's acute lyricism is just icing on the cake. [Video]
55. The Roots - "Rising Down" (feat. Mos Def & Styles P)
© Def Jam
Racial profiling abounds, complacency rules, the world is going to hell in a basket, and these angry realists want you to give a sh*t? "Between the greenhouse gases and the earth spinning off its axis/got mother nature doing backflips."
54. Foxy Brown - "Too Real" (Feat. AZ)
© Koch
This AZ-assisted heater will make you forget all the misfires on the crappy Brooklyn's Don Diva. Both Crooklyn MCs hold their own on the lyrical end, but Statik Selektah's heartwarming concoction is a show-stealer.
53. Termanology - "How We Rock" (Feat. Bun B)
Boston's own Termy Montana teams up with Texas veteran Bun B for a Premo-produced banger. If you can’t feel this, check your pulse. [Video]
52. Jay Electronica - "Exhibit A (Transformations)"
Jay Electronica exhibits some lyrical ingenuity over this hard-hitting Just Blaze beat. [Audio]
51. Scarface - "Emeritus"
Scarface reminds us -- figuratively and literally -- that he's still in top form. "Emeritus" is a single from Face's album of the same title.
