![]() After attending a few rap events in the Bronx, the pair were inspired to create a rap song of their own. Why it’s influential: This is how the story goes: Blondie singer Debbie Harry and the band’s guitarist Chris Stein were friends with Fab 5 Freddy, who was a staple in the old school rap scene. With its funky electro sound, “Planet Rock” was closer to the sounds of Kraftwerk than spinning breakbeats. Why it’s influential: Using a Roland TR-808 (a staple drum machine in hip hop culture), Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force crafted a song so wildly different from anything else at the time. “Planet Rock”Īrtist: Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force “The Breaks” quickly sold over 500,000 copies, becoming the first rap song to be certified gold. Why it’s influential: A few months after he became the first rapper to sign to a major label (Mercury Records), Kurtis Blow followed up the success of “Christmas Rappin’” with an even bigger single. Using an interpolation of Chic’s “Good Times” and lyrics “borrowed” from Grandmaster Caz’s rhyme book (“Check it out, I’m the C-A-S-AN, the O-V-A and the rest is F-L-Y”), “Rapper’s Delight” became the first hip hop single to reach the Billboard Top 40, peaking at 36, as well charting in countries like Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, South Africa and the UK. Why it’s influential: It introduced hip hop to a mainstream audience. But now, it was officially on wax ready to be distributed to the rest of the world. Before “King Tim III (Personality Jock),” hop hop music primarily existed at park jams and block parties, with the odd live recording circulating around the country. Why it’s influential: People tend to forget that it was The Fatback Band who were the first to release a commercial hip hop song. From “Wild Thing” to “Juicy”, “Grindin’” to “I Don’t Like,” here are the 53 most influential hip hop songs of all time. Hip hop is a genre that continues to evolve and push boundaries, and the tracks on this list represent some of the most influential moments in that evolution. Each of these tracks not only revolutionized the genre in its own right but also inspired new generations of artists and shaped hip-hop culture as a whole. The list includes classic tracks like “The Breaks” by Kurtis Blow, “Sucker M.C.’s” by Run DMC, and “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang, as well as more contemporary hits like “Back That Azz Up” by Juvenile and “Versace” by Migos. We dug deep and listened to countless tracks to compile a list that truly represents the very best of hip-hop’s spirit of innovation and progression. To truly measure a rap song’s influence, we considered the trends it set off, the way it shifted how artists rapped, and how it changed production styles. Instead, this list focuses on the most influential hip-hop records, measured by their impact and importance to the culture. This is not a list of the best rap songs of all time, although many of these tracks would undoubtedly make that list as well.
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