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CLASSIFICATIONS

The best West Coast Hip-Hop songs according to Rolling Stone

2Pac, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg are just three of the best known in a scene that is truly wide-ranging and encompasses a huge variety of artists and countless hits. Rolling Stone attempted to compile a list of the 100 greatest hip-hop hits that have been produced on the West Coast, and the task was certainly not easy.

To compile the list, the magazine used editors and a team of critics led by Bay Area writer and long-time RS contributor Mosi Reeves.

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In more than 40 years of music, the US West Coast scene has rocked the entire environment with a huge variety of music, not only in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, but also in Sacramento, Phoenix, Seattle and other cities in the region. 2Pac, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg are just three of the best known in a scene that is truly wide-ranging and encompasses a huge variety of artists and countless hits. Rolling Stone attempted to compile a list of the 100 greatest hip-hop hits that have been produced on the West Coast, and the task was certainly not easy. To compile the list, the magazine used editors and a team of critics led by Bay Area writer and long-time RS contributor Mosi Reeves.

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10) Ice-T - 6 In The Mornin'

As Rolling Stone well explains: "'6 in the Mornin' was the first track to really showcase the hard rhymes, evocative storytelling, and streetwise subject matter that Los Angeles would be known for. Ice-T produced a seven-minute story about one man's wanderings towards the law and himself". The author himself said: 'I didn't think it would be a lasting or influential record. For me it was just the life I was living'.

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9) Mac Dre - Feeling Myself

This peculiar and eccentric dance-centred artist's sound rejuvenated Bay Area hip-hop. Unfortunately, in the year of his death, he had not yet emerged as one of the genre's most important songwriters. "Feelin' Myself", produced by Sean T, didn't really rock until almost a year after its release, making Dre a rebel figure whose innovations surpassed him.

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8) Snoop Dogg - Gin and Juice

Festive song in full Snoop style, contained in the artist's debut album, 'Doggystyle'. More of a party boy than a real OG (original gangster), Dogg has suffered much criticism for his style and voice. In the video for the track, he gets his hair braided, climbs on the handlebars of a bicycle while producer/rapper Daz pedals and tries to calm down two girls who are fighting.

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7) Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day

'It Was a Good Day' marks Cube's moment of maximum relativity. It was in 1992, thus at the moment of the singer's greatest artistic capacity, who in this track simply does not play himself. In fact, it is a 'chilli' song, where he does not shoot anyone or fight, but just enjoys the mood. This is his most famous song, a smooth, summery groove centred on producer DJ Pooh's sample of the funk ballad 'Footsteps in the Dark' by the Isley Brothers.

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6) Too $hort - Blow the Whistle

"Blow the Whistle" has universal appeal, whether you are a hip-hop OG (original gangster), a big stepper or a bad feminist. It may not be his most famous song, but it is undoubtedly the Too $hort track that can easily be heard at the disco, the pub or the beach.

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5) Souls of Mischief - 93 'Til Infinity

"93 'Til Infinity" was the debut album by Souls of Mischief, produced by Souls rapper/producer A-Plus. The song gives the eponymous album its title. "93 'Til Infinity" may not have launched the Souls to the pinnacle of success, but it fuelled a cult following that still exists today, including an annual Hiero Day festival in Oakland. They are proof of how different the West Coast hip-hop 'microclimates' are.

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4) Makaveli feat. Outlawz - Hail Mary

On 13 September 1996, Tupac Shakur died of injuries sustained in a shooting on 7 September in Las Vegas. Two months later, 'The Don Killuminati (The 7 Day Theory)' was released. With this album, completed a few days before his death, 2Pac influenced many members of the rap scene of the time. Less blatantly, 'Hail Mary' highlights Pac's true legacy as a T.H.U.G. seeking freedom through unpredictable and 'crazy' behaviour.

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3) Kendrick Lamar feat. Mc Eiht - M.A.A.d City

Thanks also to the presence of Mc Eiht, "M.A.A.d City", which is the title track of the album, fully represents the handover from the old generation to the new. "M.A.A.d City" unfolds like a short film, with Lamar and Eiht filling the screen with small but important details. The most powerful, the hope that the next generation can dream bigger than the current one, coming out of the human sacrifice of Compton.

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2) N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton

This is the record that scared the white rock establishment and quite a few in the black music community into shaking in their boots, who called the group 'glorified gangbangers'. Co-produced by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella and inspired by Bomb Squad samples 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back', it was made immortal by a 2015 film.

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1) Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dog - Nuthin' But A "G" Thang

"Nuthin' but a G Thang" popularised what soon became known as "G-funk", and also helped to cement entrenched misogyny as a fundamental part of the hip hop that would develop from there on. This track also codified a sound that pervaded records like N.W.A.'s "efil4zaggaN" and DJ Quik Is the Name" and made it the default style of Los Angeles past and present.

Curiosities

24/04/2024

Songs that became hit long after their release

Sleeper Hit: this term refers to songs that achieved international fame long after their release as singles, months, years or even decades later.

There are many reasons why a song that initially went unnoticed can later become a hit: for example, the inclusion of the song on the soundtrack of a film or TV series, or the release of a remix of that single.

Here are some of the most famous cases of sleeper hits, songs that reached success late.

Rankings

23/04/2024

The best singers of all time: the updated 2023 rankings

In 2008, 'Rolling Stone' compiled a list of the 100 best singers of all time.

This ranking was compiled 15 years ago by 180 people, including several musicians (e.g. Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Justin Timberlake, George Michael, Keith Richards), journalists and music experts.

On 1 January 2023, however, 'Rolling Stone' published an update of the ranking that revolutionised the list, especially with regard to the Top Ten. As the well-known US magazine was keen to point out, this ranking does not only take into account technical and vocal abilities (it is not a list of the best voices of all time), but also the originality of the vocal timbre, the record catalogue, the writing ability and the musical legacy of the singers in question. Here are the top 20 positions.

Rankings

22/04/2024

Here are the most played songs at weddings: the ranking

What are the most listened to songs on the unforgettable wedding day? Spotify reveals the complete ranking of the most listened to songs in 2022.

There are almost 15 million playlists on the music streaming platform and many of them are dedicated to the wedding day itself: from the most romantic songs to those for going wild and dance.

To come up with this ranking, Spotify checked which songs are the most added on wedding-related thematic playlists: browse the photo gallery to find out which songs are the most played in the world

Curiosities

21/04/2024

Urban legends: singers supposedly dead and replaced by a lookalike

The world of music is full of legends, alleged secrets, anecdotes and little-known stories: some tales are true, others totally invented, the product of fantasy or some hypothesis that has never been verified.

These are urban legends, for which there is no certain source. Among the most interesting legends is the one about musicians and singers who may have died in the past and then been replaced by a double.

Proponents of this theory also cite evidence of, according to them, aesthetic differences or subliminal traces left behind in albums and songs: here are five of the most famous cases of singers who supposedly died and were replaced.

Rankings

20/04/2024

Musicians who have won the most Grammy Awards: the ranking

The Grammy Award is the most prestigious music award, as well as being one of the most important awards in the entertainment industry and is therefore generally regarded as the equivalent of the Oscars in the film world.

As with the Oscars, the choice of the winner is made by a vote of experts, namely the members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, an association of US artists and technicians involved in the music industry.

Find out who the most awarded musicians are: there are not only singers, but also record producers and conductors!

Curiosities

19/04/2024

Singers who won Oscars for best actor

In the history of music, there are many singers who have also tried their hand at acting, including in Hollywood major productions.

Many musicians have also been nominated for best actor (lead and supporting), such as Lady Gaga or Mary J. Blige, but few have then managed to win the coveted statuette for their acting skills by entering this special ranking.

Here are some singers who have won the Oscar for best actor, lead and supporting.

Curiosities

18/04/2024

Worth a fortune: the world's most valuable vinyls

LoveAntiques.com, the leading online antiques resale web platform, has created a ranking of the world's most valuable vinyls.

To make this list, LoveAntiques.com turned to the invaluable help of Phil Barton, one of the world's leading experts on rare vinyls and records.

What determines the value of the record is not the high number of copies sold, but the factor that drives up the price is errors, such as a misprint or a censored cover. Here are what vinyls are worth a fortune, according to Phil Barton and LoveAntiques.com.

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