As one of the younger genres in music, hip-hop is still in a formative state. In the past 10 years, its identity has gone in more directions than MapQuest would care to count.
Some of these works are here because they are saturated with talent ““ refreshing production, lyrics so good you can’t help but smile and the most recent aspect upon which rappers are graded, swagger like no other.
Others are here purely out of respect for their remarkably good reception, no matter how little substance they may carry.
Either way, a lot has changed in hip-hop since the beginning of the century. Though ranking hip-hop is as personal a task as deciding on your next face tattoo, or which pair of Nikes to wear today, most would agree these belong near the top.
In the end though, take this list with a grain of salt ““ perhaps 10 ““ and use it as a launching pad into your own 2000s hip-hop retrospective.
10. 50 Cent ““ “In da Club” (2003)
9. Eminem ““ “The Real Slim
Shady” (2000)
8. Clipse ““ “Grindin'” (2002)
7. Talib Kweli ““ “Get By” (2003)
6. Notorious B.I.G. ““ “Hold Ya
Head” (2006), Tupac Shakur ““
“Thugz Mansion” (2002)
5. Nas ““ “One Mic” (2002)
4. Outkast ““ “B.O.B.” (2000)
3. Lil Wayne ““ “A Milli” (2008)
2. Jay-Z ““ “Empire State of Mind”
(2009)
1. Kanye West ““ “Jesus Walks”
(2004)