Top 20 Best 2000s Rap Songs For Real Hip Hop Fans

We list some of the best 2000s rap songs you can add to your playlist. The 2000s era was mainly dominated by the party-oriented snap music of Atlanta, the crunk music of Memphis, Tennessee and the continuous free-flowing delivery and intricate metaphors of East-Coast hip-hop. Notably, the West coast wasn’t left far behind as artists like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and The Game held it down.

Top 20 Best 2000s Rap Songs

1. Kanye West – Through The Wire

On October 23, 2002, Kanye crashed his car and fractured his jaw. The “Through The Wire” title comes from the fact that Kanye recorded the original version while his mouth was still wired shut. The track samples Chaka Khan’s “Through The Fire”. The song was also nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, but lost to Jay-Z’s “99 Problems”. “Through the Wire” is regarded as one of the best 2000s rap songs to be released in that decade.

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2. 50 Cent – In da Club

“In Da Club” is a song released in 2003 by rapper 50 Cent. Produced by Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo, the track was created for Eminem’s group D-12 to rap over, with the intention of using it on the 8 Mile soundtrack. It never came together for D-12, but after 50 Cent signed with Dre’s Shady/Aftermath label, he was brought into the studio and offered the track. According to Elizondo, he spent an hour writing the lyrics and recorded most of his vocals that night.

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3. OutKast – Hey Ya!

Outkast is a rap duo who go by the names Big Boi and Andre 3000. In 2003, they made a double album, with each member contributing half. Big Boi’s album was called Speakerboxxx while Andre’s was The Love Below. “Hey Ya!” was Andre’s song, and the first single from the album. André said the following about the concept of this genre-bending song, “‘Hey Ya!’ is pretty much about the state of relationships in the 2000s. It’s about some people who stay together in relationships because of tradition, because somebody told them, “You guys are supposed to stay together.” But you pretty much end up being unhappy for the rest of your life.”

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4. JAY-Z – Izzo (H.O.V.A.)

As the first single from his classic The Blueprint album, “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” was Hov’s very first top-10 showing on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart. The line “H to the Izz-O, V to the Izz-A” is a slang method of spelling out H.O.V.A. It was a trizzend in the rizzap community to put “izz” in words. The song, produced by Kanye West, prominently features a sample of “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5, the second major hit in 2001 to sample that song (after “My Baby” by Lil’ Romeo).

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5. Eminem – Lose Yourself

“Lose Yourself” is the theme song from Eminem’s semi-biographical 2002 movie 8 Mile. Eminem is narrating the life of the film’s protagonist, Jimmy, up until the third verse, where Jimmy and Eminem’s journey converge. The movie is loosely based on Eminem’s life; he grew up in a poor Detroit neighborhood and followed his dream of rap stardom. “Lose Yourself” was a commercial success, becoming Eminem’s first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single and remaining there for twelve consecutive weeks. “Lose Yourself” also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making it the first hip hop song to receive the award, and also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance. In 2004, it was one of only three hip hop songs from the 21st century to be included on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, being the highest ranked at number 166. Rolling Stone also included it on its list of the Top 50 Hip Hop Songs of All Time.

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6. The Black Eyed Peas – Where Is The Love?

“Where Is the Love?” is a song by The Black Eyed Peas about police brutality, racism and terrorism. The song was released as the lead single from their third album, Elephunk. It was the band’s first song to feature Fergie as an official member of the group. It also became about the state of post 9/11 world, which all but calls for US withdrawal from Iraq. “Where Is the Love?” was a success on radio airplay charts and peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100,

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7. Dr. Dre – The Next Episode

“The Next Episode” was released as the third single from Dr. Dre’s 2001 and features his frequent Dogg Pound collaborators Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg and Kurupt. It is a sequel to Dre and Snoop’s famous single “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” from the former’s debut album, The Chronic. A previous Snoop Dogg/Dr. Dre collaboration was entitled “Tha Next Episode” and intended for inclusion on Snoop’s debut album Doggystyle in 1993 but was removed due to an uncleared sample. The beat for that version was later used on Warren G’s “Runnin’ Wit No Breaks.”

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8. Fort Minor – Remember The Name

Fort Minor is a side project of Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda. “Remember the Name” was the lead single from their album The Rising Tied. The song also served as a promo song for the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, as well as the promo song for the start of Wrestlemania 32.

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9. Akon – Smack That

“Smack That” is the first single of Akon’s second studio album, Konvicted. The song was released on September 26, 2006. This song is blatantly sexual, with Akon describing a girl who is attracted to him because of his wealth and fame. Knowing this, he considers taking her back to his place where he can engage her in a sexual act where she will be positioned in a way that she can look back and see him smacking her in the rear.

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10. T-Pain – Buy You A Drank ft. Yung Joc

“Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” is a song by T-Pain, released on February 20, 2007, as the lead single from his second studio album, Epiphany. His first album, released in 2005, made headlines for its use of Auto-Tune, which many thought would be a quickly passing fad. But by 2007, many rappers were experimenting with it, often with T-Pain’s help, and it became the hot new sound. With the tracks on Epiphany, he doubled down on Auto-Tune to make “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” which went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as did the album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.

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11. Snoop Dogg – Drop It Like It’s Hot

“Drop It Like It’s Hot” is a song by Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams. The phrase “Drop it like it’s hot” existed in hip-hop for many years before this song—but Snoop and Pharrell undoubtedly brought it to new heights when this became Snoop’s first ever #1 hit on Billboard. Everyone from Lil Flip to Positive K to Jay Z had used the phrase on songs before this came out, but it was made famous by a 17-year-old Lil Wayne when he uttered it on Juvenile’s 1999 smash “Back That Azz Up.”

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12. Soulja Boy – Crank That

“Crank That (Soulja Boy)” is regarded as one of the best 2000s rap songs. Soulja Boy had just turned 17 when the song topped the Hot 100 on September 15, 2007, making him the youngest solo artist to write, perform and produce a chart topper, a record previously held by Debbie Gibson with “Foolish Beat.” Serving as the first single from Soulja Boy’s 2007 debut album Souljaboytellem.com, the song quickly blew up and hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for seven weeks. “Crank That” went on to become one of the biggest hits from the snap genre and is still remembered as one of the most prominent dance songs of the 2000’s to this day. It was No. 21 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

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13. Lil Wayne – Lollipop

“Lollipop” was Lil Wayne’s breakout single, and is to date his only song to top the Billboard Hot 100. The song has since been certified 8x platinum as of September 25th, 2020. The song features R&B producer and songwriter Stephen “Static Major” Garrett, formerly of the group Playa, who died on February 25, 2008 at the age of 32 from a rare medical condition. Static was Aaliyah’s main lyricist. “Lollipop” was ranked at number five on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.

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14. The Game – Hate It Or Love It

“Hate It or Love It” sees Game and 50 Cent celebrating their rags-to-riches story over a sample of The Trammps‘ 1972 song, “Rubber Band.” This track was the third official single off Game’s 2005 debut album, and, along with “How We Do,” helped Game’s The Documentary go double platinum, reaching the number one spot on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts in May 2005. In an interview with Complex, Game talked about writing the record, “I was in the back of this Escalade and I was just writing [on my Sidekick]. I write songs backward, I start with the third verse. When you write songs from front to back, nine times out of ten times the third verse is the weakest. Why? Because you’re tired. So I start from the back. 50 wrote his verse and put it on the front.”

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15. Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz – Get Low

“Get Low” is the debut single by rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, featuring hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, released as a single in 2003. The is a song about going to a club, getting really drunk, and watching women dance suggestively for your delight. The rappers are enjoying their celebrity status in the club and are asking the girls to “get low” and shake their butts down to the dancefloor. The song’s inclusion in the game “Need for Speed: Underground” cemented this song as the unofficial theme of the tuner racing scene.

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16. Roy Jones Jr. – Can’t Be Touched

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdXSB4_VFI

Legendary-boxer-turned-rapper Roy Jones’ biggest hit, “Can’t Be Touched” reflects Jones’ skill in the ring. With 66 wins, 47 by KO, Jones is often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, and in this regard he considers himself untouchable.

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17. Chamillionaire – Ridin’

“Ridin’” is the hit lead single off of Cham’s 2005 debut album The Sound of Revenge. The song addresses police brutality in which police officers aggressively profile African-Americans trying to catch them breaking the law, whether or not they are suspected of criminal acts. “Ridin’” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two straight weeks and was certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.

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18. J-Kwon – Tipsy

“Tipsy” is the 2004 club banger which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, being held off the top spot by Usher’s summer hit, “Yeah!”. However, it did make #1 on the Rap charts. It was J-Kwon’s inaugural single (produced by the Trackboyz), and is pretty much considered a one-hit wonder. It’s very much known for its hook (along with its “grindability”).

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19. Rick Ross – Hustlin’

“Hustlin’“, is the debut single of Rick Ross which led to a bidding war and eventually landed him a huge record deal with Def Jam. It was produced by The Runners and was known for its bombastic production and extremely catchy hook. You could not go anywhere in Miami without hearing the song being played on every corner. This track revolutionized the southern hip-hop sound.

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20. Terror Squad – Lean Back

“Lean Back” is the Terror Squad collaboration between Fat Joe and Remy Ma over a Scott Storch production. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved gold status. In 2008, the song was ranked at number 55 on VH1’s “100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop”. The song was later remixed by Lil Jon and features verses from Eminem and Ma$e.

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Honorable mentions

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