Spotify continues their CLASSICS series with a list of the 100 greatest Hip-Hop songs of the last decade.
Spotify are back with their CLASSICS series, highlighting the most iconic songs of the “Streaming Era”. Spotify define that as 2015 until now, the years in which platforms like Spotify have taken the world by storm as the primary source of music.
Now Spotify are looking at the ‘100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of the Streaming Era‘. It includes some of Hip-Hop’s – and pop culture at large – most influential records of all time, featuring artists like Kendrick Lamar, Future, Jay-Z, and Travis Scott.
Spotify write: “Hip-Hop has been the most influential genre in pop culture for decades, but it became the No.1 music genre in the U.S. in 2017, according to Nielsen. Hip-Hop’s commercial ascendance coincided with existential shifts for the genre. Rap transitioned to a more melodic format, occasionally making it hard to distinguish between hip-hop and R&B.
“Trap became the most popular sound in music, and its practitioner started releasing music at a relentless pace. but Hip-Hop remains as creatively inspired as ever, marked by the emergence of an exciting new generation who have already made their presence felt when it comes to the best Hip-Hop songs.”
We’re going to list Spotify’s top 10, you can head to their original list for the full 100.
Spotify’s Top 10 Modern Classic R&B Songs
10. Juice WRLD – “Lucid Dreams”
The Chicago rapper is magnetic over theNick Mira–produced track, which samples aStingguitar loop, as he lets out a torrent of feelings about a relationship gone bad. Initially garnering millions of streams as a self-released single in 2017, “Lucid Dreams” would experience an exponentially larger wave of success after Juice WRLD rereleased the single with major-label backing. It eventually became one of Spotify’s most-streamed songs, with over 2.5 billion plays.
Spotify Streams:2,528,373,906
Fun Fact:Sting, whose “Shape Of My Heart” is sampled in “Lucid Dreams,” has said Juice WRLD’s song is his favorite reworking.
9. Pop Smoke – “Dior”
Drill is typically known for its graphic depiction of street life, but “Dior,” aside from a few menacing bars, represented the more festive side of the music. Pop was tragically killed in a home invasion before he had a chance to live up to his full potential, but the Brooklynite posthumously became a legend. “Dior” became a hit in the wake of his untimely death and soundtracked the Black Lives Matter movement during widespread protests in the summer of 2020.
Spotify Streams:1,060,034,928
Fun Fact:“Dior” appears on Pop’sMeet the WooandMeet the Woo 2mixtapes.
8. Sheck Wes – “Mo Bamba”
Cacophony has never sounded this good.Travis ScottprotégéSheck Wesmade a name for himself when he released one of the most riotous songs in recent memory. “Mo Bamba” is unorthodox in a rap context and even more unconventional by pop standards. Sheck chants every line of the song over Take A Daytrip’s chords, which sound like the middle ground between harmony and dissonance. (Dance producerZeddand Fool’s Gold founderA-Trakonce debated the musical merits of the song in an epic Twitter thread.)
Spotify Streams:1,048,591,297
Fun Fact:The song is titled after Sheck’s childhood friend who was a center at the University of Texas at the time of its release.Mo Bambais now a six-year NBA pro who has played with the Orlando Magic, LA Lakers, and Philadelphia 76ers.
7. Travis Scott – “SICKO MODE”
Travis Scottfinally reached commercial success to match his cultural cachet with his third album,ASTROWORLD. The album’s centerpiece, “SICKO MODE,” is an unconventional hit—a three-part song with no chorus and two mood-changing beat switches. Travis typically uses melody or some kind of vocal effect on his songs, but here he employs a more traditional rap delivery over neck-snapping production.
Spotify Streams:2,117,746,870
Fun Fact:Drake isn’t listed as a featured artist, which means he wasn’t credited when the song reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100. A “SICKO MODE” credit would give Drake a total of 14 No.1 songs on the Hot 100—one more thanMichael Jackson.
6. Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert – “Bad and Boujee”
“Bad and Boujee” reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and on its way up dethronedEd Sheeran’sglobal smash “Shape of You.” That feat alone showcased the growing commercialization of street music and helped to further solidify Atlanta’s dominance in this era of rap. Adding to the record’s legacy, the music video attracted over a billion views and stampedRubi Roseasthevideo vixen of the moment.Donald Gloverunderscored the cultural impact of “Bad and Boujee,” a steamroller of a song in any context, when he thanked the group for releasing the song as he received a Golden Globe award for his showAtlantain 2017. Real recognizes real.
Spotify Streams:932,536,187
Fun Fact:“Bad and Boujee” was the first No.1 for both the 300 Entertainment and Quality Control Music labels.
5. Future – “March Madness”
After Future’s close collaboratorDJ ESCOwas jailed in Abu Dhabi while carrying a hard drive with hundreds of songs the pair had worked on, the two worried that years worth of work would be lost forever. But once Esco was released and the hard drive returned intact, the decision was made to take the best songs of the bunch and release it as56 Nights—a nod to the amount of time Esco spent in prison. “March Madness” was one of those songs they recovered, and even without its epic origin story, it still ranks as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of the streaming era.
Spotify Streams:167,771,580
Fun Fact: Tarantinomade this beat in 20 minutes while sitting in his sister’s Chicago kitchen. “March Madness” didn’t make the initial cut on56 Nights, but the song was so good that Future decided to throw it on the tracklist.
4. Lil Uzi Vert – “XO Tour Llif3”
On the surface,Lil Uzi Vert’s“XO Tour Llif3” might seem like an exuberant rap masterpiece armed with a sweeping hook purpose-built to sing along with. But lurking beneath that pop sheen is the rapper’s existential struggle to balance their rising fame and success with the stress of a fading relationship.
Spotify Streams:2,103,458,383
Fun Fact:ProducerTM88 told Complex that he lost a laptop full of beats after he found himself in the midst of a mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2017. He tried to remake some of those beats later, one of which would go on to become “XO Tour Llif3.”
3. Drake “God’s Plan”
The song is one of the better musical snapshots of Drake as an artist. Throughout the song, he seamlessly covers the spectrum between rapping and singing, sometimes offering both extremes in the span of a few lines. “God’s Plan” set the table for the release of the multiplatinumScorpion, which also featured No.1 hits “Nice For What” and “In My Feelings,” helping Drake reclaim his spot as the game’s top rapper and theMichael Jacksonof streaming.
Spotify Streams:2,511,743,548
Fun Fact:“God’s Plan” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks and was replaced by Drake’s “Nice For What.” Drake stayed at No.1 on the Hot 100 for 29 weeks in 2018. He broke the record for the most weeks at No.1 in a single year.Usherpreviously owned the record with 28 weeks at No.1.
2. Cardi B – “Bodak Yellow”
“Bodak” continued to build on a growing trend. The tried-and-true radio formula—the rap single with an R&B hook—was losing its effectiveness as streaming was becoming a mainstream medium. Songs likeMigos’s“Bad and Boujee” as well as “Bodak” signaled the arrival of a new formula: the streaming-friendly single with rap verses, hooks, and trap production as the foundation.
“Bodak” quickly became an anthem and unseatedTaylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The song set the table for Cardi to release her multiplatinum debut album,Invasion of Privacy, in 2018. The blockbuster album opened up the field for women and made it possible for artists likeMegan Thee Stallion,Doja Cat,Ice Spice,Latto, and more to enjoy commercial success simultaneously, ushering in a new golden age for female rappers.
Spotify Streams:890,123,178
Fun Fact:“Bodak Yellow” was the first song by a solo female rapper to reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 sinceMs. Lauryn Hill‘s“Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998. It’s also the first song by a female rapper to be certified diamond by the RIAA.
1. Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Public Enemy’sChuck Dfamously described hip-hop as the CNN of the ghetto, a vehicle rappers used to document their hardships and speak out against oppressive systems. But hip-hop had primarily become a form of escapism by the mid-2010s. The unprosecuted police killings of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice—in the span of four months in 2014—angered the Black community, but the fallout of those traumatic events went largely unaddressed in rap music.
Kendrick Lamar’sTo Pimp a Butterflywas one of the few albums of the time to respond to the social climate. The album’s fourth single, “Alright,” is a bit of a rap anomaly—a social commentary that doubles as a club banger. K. Dot weaves introspection into two stream-of-consciousness verses over perhaps the jazziest trap beat ever made.
Kendrick echoes his community’s sentiments on police brutality during the pre-chorus: “And we hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho,” he raps. But it’s the song’s refrain that gave people hope and helped elevate “Alright” into a modern-day civil rights anthem. The song became a staple during protests as the Black Lives Matter movement grew in influence—half a decade before artists released an influx of protest songs in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the civil unrest of 2020.
Spotify Streams:685,577,168
Fun Fact:“Alright” marked the second collaboration between Kendrick Lamar andPharrell Williams; they previously worked together ongood kid, m.A.A.d. city’s “good kid.”
Spotify’s CLASSICS program began in February with and continued with . Listen to Spotify’s 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of the Streaming Era in their playlist below.
