Everyone loves top ten lists! Being a fan of rap, but not usually of mainstream stuff, I thought I might do my part for humanity and give you faithful readers a list of some great rap songs that, if not for your boy here, you might miss altogether. If you’re a true fan of hip-hop (not just garden variety shit), I’m sure there might be one or two on here that you’ve already heard, and if so, don’t give me too much shit about it. Hopefully there will still be a bunch that are new, and you’ll get some new stuff on your iPod. Here we go:

10. Cali To New York - Black Eyed Peas feat. De La Soul
Before the Black Eyed Peas got retarded (literally and figuratively), they were actually a great hip-hop group. This song has a great beat, and some great lyrics from the De La boys (”my career’s dirty compared to yours, you all washed up…”)

9. Feel The Music - Foreign Legion
This is a trio from San Francisco that consists of a weirdo DJ, a nerdy white rapper, and a former football linebacker-turned-rapper. It’s a great dance-rap background, with some funny lyrics, just a great summer driving song. Trust me, look it up.

8. Limit - Deichkind
The best (and probably only) German rap song you will ever hear. Weird ass Beastie Boys-esque beat, and the novelty of German rap with American slang phrases thrown in. It also has one of the weirdest and greatest videos EVER, check it out on youtube here. (You didn’t think I’d make it through the list without mentioning Germany, did you?)

7. When I Be on the Mic - Rakim
One half of the famous rap duo Erik B and Rakim, this song came out well after the peak of their popularity (like 12 years after), but it’s produced by the prolific DJ Premiere, and has just a great beat, with some sleek, steady rapping over it. A great song to have on your iPod.

6. A Day at The Races - Jurassic 5
This one may not be too obscure, but it certainly never got as much attention as it deserves. It’s got fucking Big Daddy Kane on it, for god sake! Just another showcase of Jurassic 5 taking an impossibly fast beat for a hip-hop song and making it work beautifully.

5. Witness - Roots Manuva
Far and away the best rapper from Britain, this is a great showcase of his talent. A fun, groovy song, with a HILARIOUS video to go along with it. In it, Roots goes back to his elementary school and competes against kids in hopes of capturing a field day trophy that eluded him as a child. Pure hilarity. Watch it on youtube here.

4. The Ass - Pharoahe Monch
Definitely NSFW, but a great song. Monch plays on the traditional “look how much I can disrespect women in 16 bars” hip-hop mentality, by giving us alternating verses by him talking about his sexual conquests, and a female rapper (Apani) talking about her complaints about the supposedly thuggish lovers she has comes across (pun intended). Just a great song.

3. Finger Paint - Zion I
If you don’t know Zion I, you really are not into progressive rap at all. This song is just great. When the beat drops in at around the 30 second mark, it’s amazing.

2. Alphabet Aerobics - Blackalicious
The beat starts slow and gets gradually faster and more intricate as MC Gift of Gab runs (literally) through the alphabet from A to Z while trying to keep up with the ever increasing speed of the beat. Probably the most original rap song of all time.

1. Respiration - Black Star feat. Common
One of the best rap songs ever. A gorgeous beat, and you got Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Common on the track. Are you kidding? Just amazing lyrically, musically, and with some of the best sonic architecture (by DJ Hi-Tek) you’re gonna hear in a rap song. There’s at least 40 words in this song you’re never going to hear in another rap song, and probably 10 where you’d have a hard time finding another rapper who even knew them. The video on youtube is here.

Enjoy them, and pass it along. Great music has to spread faster than bad music, right? It’s like an antibiotic for an infection. Britney has the number 1 song on iTunes, for fuck’s sake. Let me know what you think, what I left out, etc. (where is Dead Prez? for example) in the comments.

-Wonka