(From Totally Krossed Out album; 1992)
It wouldn't be January without at least one nostalgia list from ya host. In no particular order of preference, here's my top 50 Rap songs of 1992. This was the year where it became explicitly apparent that the 80s was over and things done changed. Are there glaring omissions from this list? Probably, but they definitely weren't recorded by Das EFX.
Mac Dre - All Damn Day
Ultramagnetic MC's - Poppa Large (East Coast mix)
Dr. Dre - Let Me Ride
Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day
Da Lench Mob ft. Ice Cube - All On My Nut Sac
UGK - Cocaine In The Back Of The Ride (O.G version)
EPMD ft. K. Solo & Redman - Head Banger
Redman - Tonight's Da Night
D.J Jimi ft. Juvenile - Bounce (For The Juvenile)
Grand Puba - 360 (What Goes Around)
Mary J. Blige ft. Grand Puba - What's The 411
Pete Rock & CL Smooth ft. Grand Puba - Skinz
Brand Nubian - Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down
DJ Quik - When You're A Gee
Gang Starr - B.Y.S
Tung Twista - Back 2 School
Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)
A Tribe Called Quest ft. Kid Hood & Leaders Of The New School - Scenario (remix)
Too $hort - Step Daddy
Pooh-Man - Funky As I Wanna Be (LP mix)
Percee P & Ekim - Lung Collapsing Lyrics
Compton's Most Wanted - Hood Took Me Under
Digable Planets - Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Boogie Down Productions - Duck Down
Above The Law ft. 2Pac & Money B - Call It What U Want
Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo - Ill Street Blues
Main Source ft. Neek - Fakin' The Funk
Nas - Halftime
Young Cellski - Streets Of Frisco
Pretty Tone Capone - Can't Talk Too Long On The Telephone
The Pharcyde - Officer
Little Shawn - Hickeys On Your Chest
Willie D - I'm Goin' Out Like A Soldier
Raheem - 5th Ward
Big Mello - Mac's Drive Lacs
Black Moon - Who Got The Props
Paris - Sleeping With The Enemy
Positive K - How The F**k Would You Know
Lil' Elt - Get The Gat
Zhigge - Rakin' In The Dough
Wu-Tang Clan - Protect Your Neck
Master P - Bloody Murder
EA-Ski - Mama Used To Say
Onyx - Throw Ya Gunz
Spice 1 - Welcome To The Ghetto
Lord Finesse ft. Big L - Yes You May (remix)
Showbiz & A.G - More Than One Way Out The Ghetto
Diamond D - Freestyle (Yo, That's That Shit)
Beastie Boys - So What'Cha Want
Filthy Phil - Deadgiveaway
The petition to get a mastered MP3 of the video mix of Royal Rock's Pure Pimp starts here.
Amazing year.
ReplyDeleteKiller year.
ReplyDeleteRedman's "cerebral palsy" line on Headbanger will always crack me up, without fail.
Always makes me think of Rachel from Grange Hill.
ReplyDeleteJust listened to that Das EFX album for the first time in 10+ years. Apart from some beats (I always liked the "If Only" beat) I agree with you. I do still have a soft spot for their non-album loosie "Hard Like A Criminal" though. I also dread revisiting that Fu Schnickens album somewhere later this year.
ReplyDeleteListened to Disco Rick's "Miami (Liberty City)" and Double XX Posse's "Not Gonna Be Able To Do It" today. I especially liked the former and I do have some warm memories for the latter based on this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW4-0RYsyZg&ab_channel=kousseye155
Best thing about Das EFX was the They Want EFX instrumental and the green m-65 jacket whatshisface is wearing in the video for that song.
ReplyDeleteDamn what a list, heavy ammunitions like Artifacts used to say. There's a couple artists here and there where I would have chosen a different song, but that's beside the point.
ReplyDeleteA couple runners up from my own collection:
Penthouse Player Clique: smooth west coast pimp shit on Ruthless, the LP is entirely produced by DJ Quik, with some awesome music videos: https://youtu.be/chNLvf4NbZI and https://youtu.be/FrC4CSdkLqA . I'd say this one is really missing.
Seagram - The Ville: https://youtu.be/gYVDa_OcJNo (Oakland through Rap-A-Lot, slightly prefer the second album but this one has still gotten a lot of play at home. Could also have chosen the title track with it's GM Flash sample: https://youtu.be/Qf7KGQR2AJ0)
A bit more random/obscure but stuff that I still enjoy:
Street Military - Another Hit: https://youtu.be/5YYqCwzfFqU
Point Blank - Aggravated ft Klondike Kat & Mr 3-2: https://youtu.be/RO0QByjvxP0
MC Breed - Dis Mode: https://youtu.be/eEUyUVmoDR0
92 was an amazing year and this list captures it well. It was like a transition year from faster funky drummer beats to the shout chorus rap of 93. But i still love the first 2 das efx albums!
ReplyDeletegreat list...
ReplyDeletecan't believe you left off "Ever So Clear"
RIP Bill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTn2fOAVHYM
I did think about summat from the Penthouse Players Clique album but couldn't find a place for it.
ReplyDeleteCypress Hill - Insane in the Brain single and the House of Pain LP were unavoidable in 1992. I took them to the school disco for the DJ to play lol Halftime also came in 1992 and got burn from the Zebrahead soundtrack and Jus Jeepin comp. Still best song Nas ever did imho.
ReplyDelete(I also can’t stand Das EFX so good looks on that omission)
Sorry Halftimes on there
ReplyDeleteEmbarrassed to admit that there's one House of Pain song I quite like 🤢
ReplyDeleteOfficer!
ReplyDeleteBold choice as I think it might be my least favorite track on Bizarre Ride.
Dope year, dope list.
Peace.
Little Shawn's Hickeys On Your Chest is what LL's 13 Shots To The Dome album should have sounded like imho.
ReplyDeleteMight've already seen this, but I randomly encountered the video clip for Lil' Elt's "Get The Gat" on YouTube today. As in, it's only dropped 4 days ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nfOwX2eVNI
ReplyDeleteMight've been the oldest song I've ever saw a video recorded for, comfortably beating CNN's "Bloody Money". Has to be some sort of a record. Are you familiar with any (official) videos which were recorded 30+ years after the fact?
Best I've got is 22 years: Nice & Smooth's No Delayin' dropped in 1989 and they didn't drop a video for it until 2011.
ReplyDelete