Earworm

Published on 29/09/2024.

Last night I was invited to a hip hop street party in my local neighbourhood. Those that know me will think this to be a little out of sorts for me, given my primary musical proclivities. I would say, however, that I enjoyed the sea-view soirée – if I can call it that – and it inspired me to think about all of my favourite hip hop songs. As such, I am dedicating this week’s list of suggested music listening to the beats and rhymes that most stand out to me.

Suggested Music Listening

Hey Now (Mean Muggin’) – Xzibit

First on my list is this more mainstream musical effort from Xzibit: Hey Now (Mean Muggin’). It reminds me of a time when I started driving and used to skip Wednesday afternoons games lessons. Instead of playing rugby or pursuing some off-site physical activity, I snuck off in my little blue Chevrolet and headed all the way to Wolverhampton in time to pick up my teenage sweetheart from her rather posh (for Wolves) all-girls school. How marvellous I thought I looked with my straightened fringe, black cardigan, dishevelled school tie, and purple aviator-style sunglasses, windows down and speakers turned to 11. I would say not marvellous enough not to warrant my then belle insisting Xzibit be silenced.

Of all the hip hop songs to which I listened at the time, this was probably the least applauded by my friends, but it is the one of which I have the fondest memories. I would attribute the songs longevity in my life to the amount of time spent watching Pimp My Ride and Cribs. Besides, it could not have been that unpopular, given that it managed to reach the third spot on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart.

Party Up (Up In Here) – DMX

Y’all gon’ make me lose my mind
(Up in here, up in here.)

I already knew a smidge about DMX before discovering Party Up (Up in Here) because I was fully lyrically familiar with X Gon’ Give It To Ya . The reason I chose this over the now Deadpool-associated classic, however, is because it became part of my pregame ritual to listen to it before American football games.

I had read online that a big NFL star of the time had the same practice, although his name now escapes me, so I naïvely believed that this alone would make me an excellent tight end for the Essex Blades. We want 4-4 for the season, so let that tell you all it needs to do about how much impact the song had.

How I Could Just Kill a Man – Cypress Hill

I think most casual Cypress Hill fans would associate the group with Insane in the Brain or stoner hits like I Wanna Get High or Hits from the Bong. Whilst they all make for a good listen, How I Could Just Kill a Man rang true with me the most for all of the time I spent playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The game was quite exceptional in that it featured bespoke radio stations with real-life, licenced music. That meant whether I was murdering rival gang members in hit-and-runs or escaping the police force I was stretching thinner by the day, I was tuned in either to Radio X or Radio Los Santos. That is where I discovered How I Could Just Kill a Man – an appropriate theme for the fictional rap sheet I was developing.

Purple Pills – D12

Ask any white male in their 40s or younger about hip hop and they will probably give you some convoluted rhetoric about Eminem. Now, whilst there is a lot of (deserved) love out there for songs such as The Real Slim Shady, Without Me, and Oscar-winning Lose Yourself, I do not feel enough credit is given to Purple Pills, an outing with hip hop supergroup D12. Admittedly on MTV, I was only able to catch the heavily edited, more family-friendly Purple Hills version, but once I discovered the original, I was hooked.

Purple Pills may seem like an anarchic, laissez-faire look at recreational drug use – because it is – but it still showcases Shady and the gang’s ability to churn out controversial smutty humour whilst displaying at least a little wit with words. When you combine all of that with typical Eminem instrumentation and a harmonica solo in the coda, it at least makes for five minutes of good fun.

I Ain’t No Joke – Eric B. and Rakim

We have tackled the ’90s; we have tackled the 2000s. Now it is time to go all the way back to 1987. The golden age of hip hop was a time of big gold chains, soulful backing tracks, and lyrics less on the nose than about how many cars or houses the MC owns. It was a time when Eric B. and Rakim were the crown princes on the scene.

I do not think younger fans of the genre will know much about this dynamic DJ and MC duo. In fact, I only know of it due to some serendipitous reference in a TV show. That should not be the case though, given the hip hop heights that albums like Paid in Full reached. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 61^st on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, seven places N.W.A.’s seminal album, Straight Outta Compton.

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About the Author

Lewis Brown

Lewis is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Earworm. His deep passion for music is what inspired him to create Earworm as a music magazine for lovers of all genres.

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