Monday 24 March 2014

Generic list post: 40 jams from 2004

2004 was an incredible 12 months for rap, but you wouldn't know it from the internet in 2014: the few rap blogs that did exist in 2004 didn't bother making year end lists, most rap message board threads and, indeed, rap message boards from '04 no longer exist, and all Google now throws up is a handful of the most basic ass 2004 song lists you'll ever see in your life.

Do we really want the rap nerds of 2024 judging us from Pitchfork 2004 staff lists or YahooAnswers pages which claim that My Band by D12, On Fire by Lloyd Banks, Roses by OutKast and the Dilated Peoples & KanYe West track were the year's best rap songs? Ya boy David RapS.O.S.A right hurr certainly doesn't, hence a best rap songs of 2004 post felt so necessary right now. Needless to say, this list is utterly subjective which is why you'll find no trace of some of the year's biggest singles like Breathe, Lean Back, Tipsy, Get Low, and Why?, and nothing from some of the year's most critical acclaimed albums like Madvilliany and Purple Haze.

T.I. - ASAP
AZ - Live Wire
Juvenile, Wacko & UTP - Nolia Clap remix
Lil' Wayne - BM J.R
Ghostface ft. Method Man, Streetlife & Trife - The Drummer
Mac Dre - Feelin' Myself
Cam'Ron - Shut The Fuck Up
The Diplomats - Crunk Muzik
Agallah - Gangster
Slim Thug - Like A Boss
Mike Jones ft. Slim Thug & Paul Wall - Still Tippin'
Too $hort - Burn Rubber
Z-Ro ft. Scarface - These N*ggaz
Trae - Same Thing, Different Day
The UN - Mind Blowin'
Crime Mob ft. Lil' Scrappy - Knuck If You Buck
Lil' Scrappy - No Problem
Twista ft. Jazzy Pha - Badunkadunk
Snoop ft. Pharrell - Drop It Like It's Hot
Nas - Thief's Theme
Cormega ft. Ghostface - Tony/Montana
The Jacka - Barney (More Crime)
Ludacris - The Potion
8Ball & MJG - Memphis City Blues
Turf Talk ft. San Quinn & Mac Dre - Hubba Rock
MF DOOM - Hoe Cakes
KanYe West ft. GLC & Consequence - Spaceship
Common ft. KanYe West - The Food
Consequence ft. KanYe West - Take It As A Loss
Devin The Dude - Briarpatch
Keak Da Sneak ft. E-40 - White Tee, Blue Jeans & Nikes
Sean Price - 60 Bar Dash
Suga Free ft. Morris Day - She Get What She Pay Foe
Big Noyd - Hoody Like That
Young Jeezy ft. Bun B & Slick Pulla - Trap Or Die
The Federation - Go Dumb
Lil' Wyte ft. DJ Paul - Bye 2 Da Bad Guy
50 Cent - Ski Mask Way
C-Loc & Max Minelli ft. Lil' Boosie - Throw It Up
Body Head Bangerz ft. Young Bleed & Lil' Boosie - I Smoke, I Drank

(Nolia Clap remix over Slow Motion 4 life for 2 crucial reasons: a beat which sounded like a Nappy Roots instrumental wasn't a fitting backdrop for the unofficial sequel to Back That Azz Up, and Twista's Badunkadunk was the best rap song about dem asses of 2004.)

27 comments:

Catfish said...

YoungBloodz version of "I Smoke I Drank" >>>

CrowleyHead said...

Not "I'm A Slumper"? Not "I'm Supposed To Die Tonight"?

yeldarb said...

fuck yea

i quite liked the dilated peoples + kanye song tho

(i'll get me coat)

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Oh dear, Bradley.

These are my choices and I'm stickin' to 'em, CH.

Rey is that you moonlighting as Catfish????????

Anonymous alias of someone important said...

Good list but fronting on "Lean Back" and "Get Low" is unacceptable.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

I like Get Low, just not as much as any of these songs.

As for Lean Back, I can't listen to Fat Joe as anything other than a DITC weed-carrier over Showbiz/Diamond D/Primo/Buckwild beats.

Andrew Barber said...

almost got mad nick cannon "gigolo" wasn't on here until i realized it came out in october of 03

d said...

#teamjoeycrack

whoa, probably the first one of these where Ive heard all the songs. 2004 >>>>

Even in in my blandback phase I wasnt fucking with the Dilated & Kanye song. The terrible video was still in rotation when I moved out my aul pairs house and got satellite though, iirc they ruin/homage the Shake Your Rump video and ghost Eazy-E goes up an escalator to thugz mansion.




Kelvin Mack10zie said...

I'm more surprised you're not berating me for missing anything from P's Good Side, Bad Side album, Drew.

(I'd probably plump for Let 'Em Go with yung Curren$y over Them Jeans.)

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Yeah, that shit was all over MTV Base for fucking months.

Anonymous said...

Tipsy is too dope tho

Alex said...

You went with a song from the 718 album but nothing from Pretty Tony? 'Holla' alone is a top 10 Ghost song. If for some reason you insist on a song featuring Trife you could've gone with 'Biscuits'.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

List is 1 song per rapper, Holla leaked in 2003 (as did Run) and I'd take The Drummer (which was on a pretty great 4 track Ghostface EP 6 months before the 718 album) over everything else on Pretty Toney.

Alex said...

Fair enough... I'd take a bunch of songs from Pretty Toney over The Drummer but do you gawd.

Really wanted to mix things up with dark horses like Struggle or My Guitar (Beatles) but that was 2005 and 2003 respectively

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

You're gonna get your Wu stan card revoked preferring a bunch of Pretty Toney tracks to a song that reunited Ghost, Meth & Streetlife over a raw as fuck beat, Driz!

The Drummer was supposed to be on Pretty Toney but, y'know, label issues and all that.

H.L. said...

Pretty sure this is the 7th time you've posted Agallah's "Gangster" in some shape, form, or fashion. Good shit.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Probably more like the 17th time, tbh.

By hook or by crook that song is going to be recognised as a masterpiece before I retire from this shit.

Alex said...

What does preferring Cappadonna's Run to Ghost's do for my Wu Stan Card? I'm 10000% serious on that, Cappa's version >>>>

d said...

"that shit was all over MTV Base for fucking months" more like a year, I was seeing it late 05. smmfh england.

Pretty Toneys way better than it gets credit. I was gonna say Milk Em but thats '05 too.

Amor de Rey said...

Big Tuck - Tussle / Southside Da Realest

dead prez - Hell Yeah / Hell Yeah Remix feat Jay-Z

Mobb Deep - Twisted

Shyne - More or Less (Album Version)

MOP - Fire

DR Period - What's Ya Problem

Game - 100 Guns (New York Remix)

Chingy - Balla Baby

Trillville feat Pastor Troy - Get Some Drunk Yo System

Gucci Mane (Neva Again) - Black Tee (original)

Young Jeezy feat MC UGK - Over Here

Jim Jones - How G is This

Taj Mahal - Green Lantern Freestyle

Lil Flip feat Luda & Tity Boi - I Came To Bring the Pain

DJ Kay Slay - Who Gives a Fuck Where You From

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Driz, that either means you're the number one Wu fanboy on the planet or you're insane. Maybe both?

Donal, I can forgive MTV Base a multitude of sins due to their 1999 - 2002 golden-era where they played Bad Boy/Ca$h Money/Def Jam singles next to '90s classics and UK Garage hits.

Rey, thank fuck you've returned because I doubt there's anyone else out there on the internet to remind me of What's Your Problem. Genuine 4.8/5 song.

d said...

Dammit Rey, where ur blog at?

noz said...

WHY YOU STARIN AT MY CAR?!

noz said...

err 850

Daps said...

Briarpatch. What a tune.

Lil-Bucket said...

Because I have the time, and I know quality when I see it... I made a Spotify playlist of everything available on there.

http://open.spotify.com/user/lilbucket/playlist/79SeSowrSwt7IbG7R8saRZ

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Cheers, fella.