- 9 minutes ago
The Sprite Living Tracklist is a collection of 50 songs that have influenced hip-hop and pop culture since the genre’s inception. It’s not meant to be a definitive best-of list, but rather a conversation starter that honors legends from across the decades. With that in mind, this panel of hip-hop experts was assembled to dig deep into the Living Tracklist and share their thoughts on the classics contained within.
Moderated by media icon Angie Martinez, aka “The Voice of New York,” the panel includes media powerhouse Speedy Morman; renowned podcast and radio host Scottie Beam; DJ, radio host, and cultural curator Nyla Simone; culture executive Josh Peas; famed journalist Frazier Tharpe; and Genius VP of Music & Content Rob Markman.
Together, these industry luminaries bounce around the Living Tracklist, debating questions like: Does “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five sound dated? Is The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” the greatest hip-hop song of all time? What does the future hold for the genre?
Moderated by media icon Angie Martinez, aka “The Voice of New York,” the panel includes media powerhouse Speedy Morman; renowned podcast and radio host Scottie Beam; DJ, radio host, and cultural curator Nyla Simone; culture executive Josh Peas; famed journalist Frazier Tharpe; and Genius VP of Music & Content Rob Markman.
Together, these industry luminaries bounce around the Living Tracklist, debating questions like: Does “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five sound dated? Is The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy” the greatest hip-hop song of all time? What does the future hold for the genre?
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00:00We sitting down at a table, we put six cameras, people get the lion, like, don't see the lion, and
00:04that's okay.
00:09Hey guys, it's Angie Martinez here with Genius, Sprite, and this very incredible, esteemed panel of industry voices for a
00:17very special roundtable discussion of For the Record.
00:21We're gonna share our takes on the Sprite Living track list.
00:24This is 50 songs that influenced hip-hop and culture since the genre's inception.
00:28A couple of thoughts. First of all, we're gonna, we're gonna agree to disagree, guys.
00:34We're gonna, it's gonna be, you know what I mean?
00:36What's up?
00:37We don't, oh.
00:38What's up, bro?
00:39It's already started. It's already started.
00:44And also, I just want to note that this, this is not a best-of list, so we don't need
00:50to go through the list and be like, well, this other song was better.
00:53This is more meant to, like, note the moments, the moments that kind of shaped and, and just defined different
01:02eras and different moments in hip-hop.
01:03Can we note this moment? I'm so honored to be sitting at this table with y'all.
01:07Oh, Speedy!
01:08And I'm next to you, so, like, I'm, you know, I'm gonna screenshot this. This is, this is an honor.
01:13This is an honor for real.
01:14It's a good, it's a good table. It's a good group of people.
01:17I think we should start with impact versus innovation.
01:22Oh.
01:22Huh?
01:23Oh.
01:23How's that for an opener?
01:25Let me define the two. Impact is how it changed the environment around hip-hop.
01:29I mean, there were definitely moments that, like, everything just changed from that moment on.
01:33And then innovation is how it's, like, constructed and then influenced the culture moving forward.
01:38So as we look at the list, we should start, I think we should start with Rapper's Delay.
01:43Oh, Lil Yachty's favorite.
01:45No, what happened? Wait, what happened and what prompted him to say this?
01:48A 40-year-old song that's in the news lately.
01:49Yeah, yeah, um, I think Yachty, you know.
01:52What did Yachty say, but what prompted it?
01:54When Yachty came out in the game, he was like, oh, big, Pac, overrated.
01:57And so I think it's kind of his thing.
01:59You think he's a little trolly?
02:00Yeah, so it wasn't that high.
02:01He has no perspective.
02:02To his defense, right, let's give him context, is that he was saying, look, like, it wasn't always the deepest
02:08lyrics.
02:09Like, even rappers back then, and he picked on...
02:11Well, that's not what it's known for.
02:12That's like when we talk about what the impact was.
02:15It wasn't known because it was the illest verses, the best bars of all time.
02:19It just sonically sounded so different and special in the moment, and it busted the genre open.
02:26It was like the first, we can get factual, but, you know, first top 40...
02:30Like, someone, like, pushing the mumble wave, not that he's doing that specifically, but if you're on that, then you
02:36should be able to relate to lyrics not being the front and foremost.
02:38And that was just the hook.
02:39That was just the hip, the hop, the hip.
02:41Like, they were actually...
02:42Grandmaster Kaz wrote part of that song.
02:44One of the best MCs to ever live, so...
02:47Yeah, yeah.
02:48And he got jacked for it.
02:49Got jacked for it.
02:50Also, very hip-hop.
02:51Yeah, very hip-hop.
02:52True, true hip-hop fashion.
02:53I don't know, the lyrics, when you listen to the song, the lyrics aren't the greatest hip-hop lyrics of
02:58that time.
03:00But, yeah, that's just him having a hot take.
03:02I think, you know, when you think about impact and innovation, that record is both of those things personified.
03:07I was a little kid.
03:08Yeah.
03:09And it was like, oh...
03:12The song sounded like nothing you had ever heard in your life.
03:15So right now, in 2026, it's easy to go, oh, the rap lyrics ain't all that.
03:19But in the moment, when something's coming alive, at a level that's bigger than...
03:25It's just...
03:26It's gonna go.
03:27This is beyond the block.
03:29This is beyond the neighborhood.
03:30This is beyond the Bronx.
03:31Beyond New York.
03:32This song is gonna be a global sensation.
03:36You kind of felt it because it hit like that.
03:37You can't front on that type of impact.
03:39Right.
03:40Because I would think that innovation, like, spearheads impact.
03:44So as far as, like, rappers are like, no, not lyrically, spirically, clirically, sure.
03:50Lyrically.
03:51But it did open the road and make a lot of room for those who were and wanted to be
03:58lyrical.
03:58Set the table.
03:59Huh?
04:00Set the table.
04:00Set the table for the people.
04:01You know what I'm saying?
04:02And I think that's worthy being on this list.
04:05But also for his day, it was lyrical.
04:07Like, you know, I think we'll talk about the list.
04:11Like, Rakim is on this list.
04:12And he changed the way that people rapped.
04:14It marked a shift in the complexity of the rhymes and internal rhyme structure.
04:18That innovation hadn't happened yet back then.
04:20The other real innovative thing about it is, you know, is that MCs, you know, it was like,
04:26hip-hop is a thing that we do in the park, at the park jam, in the parties.
04:30We don't go to the studio and record raps.
04:32And there were a lot of MCs who were known for being live MCs who were against recording
04:37and didn't want to record.
04:39So this kind of opened the door for the music business to exist as it does even today.
04:44To put it in perspective, when you hear, so it was Grandmaster Kaz's lyrics, right, that Hank took.
04:51Hank, from what I understand, would even say, you know, I took the lyrics, but I didn't think it was
04:55a big deal.
04:56I didn't even know.
04:57So, like, they didn't even have a concept at the time what this could mean.
05:02It's just another, we own the block, we're making music, we're just doing stuff.
05:06There was no understanding of the grand culture that was being born.
05:10Like, so I think it just represents that moment of something that was like this, a little baby,
05:17and that it just was, like, shot out into the world in a mainstream kind of masterpiece way.
05:22Even the criticisms of it allow, then, these conversations that happen to say, hey, no, this is why it's really
05:27important.
05:28And for a younger generation who may not know or may not kind of have the whole perspective, so.
05:32Yeah.
05:32Dope combo.
05:33But let's talk about then how, if we talk about that opening up, what's, and you mentioned Rakim.
05:39There are a lot of songs, I think, that show the shift in this list of, like, how certain things
05:44start to matter.
05:45Grandmaster Flash, Furious 5, The Message, I think is the beginning of, like, just understanding that this music could be
05:52bigger than a party in the park.
05:55Like, all of a sudden, it's, like, socially conscious.
05:57Do you think that's the beginning of it?
05:58Yes, right?
05:58Yeah, or at least the one that, maybe there were other ones that I don't remember, but it's the one
06:02that stands out and really kind of marks, you know, don't push me.
06:06The Message?
06:06Yeah.
06:07Yeah.
06:07Because I'm close to the edge.
06:08I'm trying not to lose my head.
06:09You know, even when we connect it.
06:12You know.
06:13You know.
06:13You know, was it, but it, um, we talk so much about mental health now, how mental health is important,
06:19and particularly in hip-hop vulnerability, artists opening up.
06:23And that was really one of the first examples of it.
06:25I wonder how that song lands for you guys, because you only hear it so many years later.
06:30And, yes, it probably sounds dated and, like, whatever, but does it have any kind of sentimental, does it, what
06:36is it?
06:36I'll say the message, you know, when you think about that song and just what they're talking about, it personified
06:40what was going on in the ghetto at the moment.
06:42And what was going on in different neighborhoods and, like, being on the West Coast, you could still feel like,
06:46oh, I relate to that.
06:47So, the message was definitely, like, that first record.
06:50I was like, oh, shit, this is kind of crazy.
06:52It's kind of dope.
06:52Like, an older song that I went back to, I was like, this is still dope.
06:55Yeah.
06:55But we don't think that music still hits?
06:57Oh, no, for sure.
06:58I would put all these songs, like, in the same vein as, like, just the 70s and 60s that your
07:02parents would play.
07:02Like, I grew up in a very musical household, for sure.
07:05And, like, just hearing all these, like, you have to appreciate it.
07:08Like, I wouldn't even say dated sounds disrespectful almost, you know?
07:11Yeah.
07:11Like, it feels timeless.
07:13Yeah.
07:13Yeah.
07:14And some of the issues they talk about back then still rang true today.
07:17So, it's not really dated.
07:19You know what I'm saying?
07:19The message is, what, seven minutes long?
07:22I don't think it's dated at all.
07:23I just wonder, like, sonically, sometimes you hear something and it's not when you were, you know, it wasn't your
07:27time.
07:28So, your reference to it might, I'm just curious about what your reference is.
07:31No, not dated.
07:32And I feel like, you know, so many artists have, like, sampled it in their own way.
07:35Yeah.
07:35It still makes it new.
07:36That too, yeah.
07:36Yeah.
07:37Koyle Ray, I've been so recent, you know, the girls are playing this too.
07:40Oh, that's right.
07:40Girls are playing this too.
07:40So, the DNA.
07:41No, I just feel like when I listen to some of these records, to me, they're obviously sonically dated.
07:46Like, you can hear a disparity in, like, the song.
07:49That comes out to me.
07:50I'm about to die.
07:51Like, no.
07:52I'm just snout.
07:52Everybody's like, no, no.
07:54Listen, this is sonically dated.
07:55He just said, girls, let's play this too.
07:58Can I get my point off before y'all just jump on me?
08:01Like, damn.
08:01I'm just listening to what y'all are saying.
08:03But, like, I don't think, I think objectively, it's not, like, a bad thing to say when I listen to
08:08a song like The Message,
08:09and then I listen to a song that was produced in 2026, I hear a difference.
08:13Yeah, nobody's doing ha-ha-ha-ha-ha in 2026.
08:15Yeah, like, the beats are a lot simpler.
08:18Like, you can, I wish more people did that.
08:20You want people to show?
08:21I want more people to go.
08:21I'm curious, Chloe, to put one of those in there.
08:24I hear, like, I don't think there's anything wrong with saying that.
08:26I'm not saying the bars are dated, but when I hear the song, I'm like, oh, this is some shit,
08:30like.
08:30It was made at a time.
08:31Yeah, it was at a different era.
08:32Like, all hip-hop songs, you could tell, like, oh, this was an era they were using these type of
08:35machines or these type of things.
08:37That's what I mean when I say it sounds dated to me.
08:39Like, the words, okay, cool.
08:42Don't walk it back.
08:43Stand on it.
08:44No, the bar structure is different from today.
08:46Yeah.
08:46But when I hear a song like The Message, I'm like, oh, okay.
08:50Like, my pops was listening to this, you know?
08:52Like, my Uncle Rainey was listening to this.
08:53So you never drove around listening to The Message?
08:55First of all, I'm from New York.
08:56I don't drive.
08:58Never had, like.
08:59So I can't, I have never had the experience behind the wheel listening to The Message.
09:02Never.
09:02I want to talk about the 90s and New York hip-hop at that time.
09:06We have Shook Ones on the list.
09:07Mobb D.
09:08Queens.
09:08That's Queens right there.
09:09You got excited just now.
09:10You just, hello, welcome to the conversation.
09:13Hi, sweetie.
09:13I'm here.
09:14Hi, we have Big Papa, 1994, is on the list, too.
09:19Queen Latifah was 89, ladies first, so that was a little bit earlier.
09:23Juicy's on that list also.
09:25Juicy is on the list.
09:26Big Pun, still not a player, is on the list.
09:29Scotty's favorite.
09:31What?
09:31Big Pun.
09:32Big Pun.
09:32You love Big Pun?
09:33Yeah, Big Pun was a great time.
09:34I do love Big Pun.
09:35How could you not?
09:36I mean, I grew up in the Bronx until I was 12, 13, so yes.
09:39Yes to Big Pun.
09:40Yes to Big Pun, for sure.
09:41What do we think is the epitome of that time, New York hip-hop?
09:45What time are we talking?
09:46Just 90s.
09:47Yeah.
09:4893, 94.
09:48Well, for me, I would have to go later, because I feel like Crush on You and Put Your Hands
09:53Where My Eyes Can See Are the first, like, music videos I remember.
09:56Yeah.
09:57Like, especially Busta, like, that hype video was, like, seared in my brain.
10:00And then the colors in Crush, you remember that?
10:02Yeah.
10:03Um, but then, like, if I'm just thinking, like, 90s epitome, definitely, um, The Shook
10:10Ones beat is just probably arguably one of the best rap beats of all time.
10:15All time.
10:16Yeah.
10:16Yeah.
10:16Although, like, it hurts my soul to say that it's Brooklyn, but, you know.
10:21That it came from Queens.
10:22I gotta give up.
10:22Listen, give us some love, man.
10:24Big Pun.
10:24No, but I think, um...
10:25Now is your time to talk your shit right now.
10:27Yeah, I just want to say...
10:28Talking about Mob D.
10:29I just want to say, um, first of all, rest in peace, Prodigy, but...
10:32For sure.
10:32Uh, when I think about, like, my own hip-hop discovery, like, discovering music on my own,
10:37when I heard The Shook Ones beat, I was like, damn, this is, like, fucking crazy.
10:42Those are some really talented brothers.
10:43Mob D. still put out a fire album last year, too.
10:46Oh, my God.
10:46Functionally with Prodigy, yeah.
10:47Oh, my God.
10:48So good.
10:48Rest in peace.
10:49But it was such an amazing time, because a song like Shook Ones, um, was a big hit out here,
10:56right?
10:57But it didn't give you necessarily big hit energy.
10:59It was the way that it hit people here.
11:01It was the angst that we were feeling in New York when we were that young, and what was
11:06going on in the streets, and socially, it wasn't the greatest conditions, and they put
11:11all that out there on the song, and at the same time, you have Big being very aspirational.
11:17You take a song like Juicy, like, Juicy is all aspiration, like, yo, yes, our situation
11:23is better, but I went from negative to positive, and it's all good.
11:25But, like, I think, honestly...
11:27I think Big was the shift, though.
11:29Right.
11:29I think it was the Big Puff, putting shiny beats and shiny stuff around it, that...
11:35Because Big was hardcore at the core.
11:38Like, when he...
11:38You know what I'm saying?
11:39They just...
11:40It's like shiny and up the nickel, and all of a sudden, it's Big and bright and pretty.
11:45But Big at his core, when he was talking about his lyrics, it was grimy, yeah.
11:49Yeah, and at that time, that's what hip-hop wanted.
11:52We wanted the grimiest, we wanted the most hard...
11:55Everybody wanted to be hard.
11:57I was walking around with a screw face for absolutely no reason.
12:00I was so mad at everybody.
12:03So being, like, crossover or pop or what...
12:06That was the thing.
12:07It was, like, being true.
12:08Keep it real.
12:09That was literally the theme.
12:10But, you know, I also think that was, in part, due to Snoop and Dre and The Chronicle
12:15and what was going on in the West Coast, because their music was hard as well.
12:18And it was street-oriented, but it was so musical.
12:21Melodic.
12:22You know, it was just so melodic.
12:23There was these big records that played really well in the club and on radio
12:27and kind of transcended just the headphones, right?
12:31And, yeah, for sure.
12:33So, you know, I think, yeah, especially, as you make a great point,
12:36like, Big found a way to blend it, because we never looked that big,
12:40even though he had these huge hit records.
12:42He was partying bullshit.
12:43Yeah, but we never looked at him as a seller.
12:45I wasn't like, oh, Big sold out.
12:46Like, there was a line where if you went too far, I was like, nah, dog.
12:49You watered down, you're selling out.
12:50Yeah, you're MC Hammer.
12:51Yeah.
12:51I was just about to ask, who would be, like, watered down?
12:54No, there was everybody.
12:55That was, like, calling people, like, you sold out.
12:58Like, you couldn't even do a commercial.
12:59You couldn't do a...
13:00No, there was a real thing.
13:02Oh, they didn't want to get no money.
13:03They didn't want nobody to get no money.
13:05Yeah.
13:05Yeah, MC Hammer took a lot of shots.
13:08Like, the things that MC Hammer did, like, I remember Hammer had a Super Bowl commercial.
13:12I believe he was the first rapper with a Super Bowl commercial.
13:13Like, the things that rappers would die for today, and it's really part of their business,
13:19MC Hammer got ridiculed for that stuff.
13:22For sure.
13:22You know, that's what you got for me in the first one.
13:23And he made fun music.
13:24Like, there was no reason that people beat him up so bad the way they did.
13:28It was just the culture at the time.
13:30But nobody beat him up.
13:32He was actually giving the beatings.
13:34You know what I mean.
13:35Yeah.
13:36Metaphorically.
13:37I do want to shout out, um, Unity.
13:40When I discovered that record.
13:41U-N-I-T-Y.
13:43Instinct leads me to another flow.
13:45Every time I hear a brother call a girl a bitch or a hoe.
13:48Trying to make a sister feel low.
13:50You know all of that gots to go.
13:52Now everybody knows there's exceptions to this rule.
13:55I don't be getting mad when we playing this cool.
13:57But don't you be calling me out my name.
14:00I bring crap to those who disrespect me like a dame.
14:02Queen is one of those ones.
14:04And I feel like the message still holds true to this day.
14:07You know, I love the video.
14:08And I love that she used other rappers in the video too.
14:10But Diggable Planets.
14:11Like, I love that they have a lane.
14:13You get Diggable Planets vibes.
14:15You know, I think so too.
14:16You're like cool, like cool.
14:18Like hippie.
14:19Like hip-hop.
14:20Cool jazzy.
14:20You know, like jazzy vibes.
14:23I love it.
14:23Ladybug.
14:24Ladybug.
14:25That little verse hits so hard.
14:27It does.
14:29We always wanted to be her.
14:30It's just, yes, it's vibes.
14:32Vibes is an important part of the list.
14:35I think so too.
14:36But we can't talk about jazzy hip-hop without talking about A Tribe Called Quest.
14:42Oh, yes.
14:43Yes.
14:43She said please.
14:45Would you like the floor?
14:46Would you like the floor, Scotty?
14:48I have an affinity for Native Tongues as a whole.
14:52Right?
14:52You know, the collective.
14:53Yes.
14:53That is my jam.
14:55You know, all of that.
14:57They're not in there, but like, you know, I have always been into...
15:00Souls of Mischief is here.
15:01They're in there, but I don't think they're in the Native Tongue Collective.
15:05Oh, yeah, yeah.
15:05Yeah, they're not in one of those.
15:06Yeah.
15:07Yeah, but it's giving me...
15:07But it gives that.
15:08Black medallion, all of that.
15:09Brand Nubian, all of that.
15:11Yes.
15:12But it just was a...
15:13It's a beautiful thing.
15:15I just...
15:16I love their message.
15:17I could appreciate both sides of an experience being perceived differently, and I think that's
15:24what was happening with Native Tongues versus like, you know, NWA or anything like that.
15:30The experience were the same.
15:32The message is different because you have a different take on it, and I could appreciate
15:37both of them, and I do know, like, I just love that Black music and hip-hop just is not
15:42a monolith, so it's us telling different stories and how we felt through those stories.
15:48Although we share the same stories, we have different feelings.
15:50And so that's what I love the most about A Tribe Called Quest, especially also their
15:55use of jazz.
15:56I'm a big jazz girl.
15:58I love jazz.
15:59More jazz girl.
16:00I don't play about jazz.
16:03It's just...
16:04It's a perfect group.
16:05That's a perfect group.
16:06Perfect discography.
16:08Mm-hmm.
16:09I agree.
16:10Yeah.
16:10I agree.
16:11So I just wanted to make sure...
16:13And then...
16:13Even down to the last one.
16:14But also there's like...
16:15Like you look at Scenario, right?
16:17Mm-hmm.
16:18And what that did...
16:18That moment did for Busta.
16:20Mm-hmm.
16:20That's like an extension of Tribe's impact to me.
16:24It's like when you see a song like that and how Busta had that moment.
16:28So you're pointing, Busta's on this list with Wu-Ha, but you know, that was his coming
16:34out party.
16:34We knew him from Leaders of a New School, but Busta's verse on that was so standout, he
16:40became a totally new artist.
16:41We saw him in a different light.
16:42Watch as I combine all the juice from the mind.
16:45Heel up, wheel up, bring it back, come rewind.
16:47Powerful impact, boom!
16:49From the cannon, not bragging, trying to reap a mind.
16:51Just imagine, broke, can't you.
16:53There is necessary when digging into my library.
16:57Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.
16:59He did, I do, he's do like the one picked to toss her.
17:02Uh, uh, uh, all over the track, man.
17:04Uh, pardon me.
17:05Uh, as I come back...
17:06There was like a dictionary of standouts, like he would be like Busta like this.
17:11And I think that moment made the feature verse important.
17:15I think after that we started, because if you think about even going back to like maybe
17:19a Run DMC or whatever, it was about Run DMC or it was about an Eric B and Rakim album.
17:23It wasn't about who was featured on.
17:25Yeah.
17:25They didn't even really have features.
17:27There were like symphonies and group things, but the importance of the feature.
17:30I think started with that record.
17:32Wow.
17:33Yeah.
17:33Where you could like announce yourself.
17:34Yeah, yeah.
17:35And then you look for it.
17:37Oh no, I'm him.
17:38That was like...
17:39Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:40And then there was just a time when Busta, if Busta was on your record, it was like,
17:44oh, Busta's on it?
17:45And it was automatically you had to press play or you had to fast forward or skip to that
17:49track just to hear what Busta was.
17:50All the way up until like the 2000s with the Chris Brown record, like I feel like Busta's
17:54always a standout feature.
17:56And that's a good point because I think about like AZ on Nas' album or like even
18:00Lupe on Kanye's album, like that feature verse is important because it's like, all
18:04right, this is a guy I'm like introducing to the world, even if he isn't a part of my
18:07collective or my group.
18:09I think we got to talk about Funkify, Da Brat.
18:11I love that.
18:12I loved her energy.
18:13I loved her swag, but I don't know.
18:15That's just one of my favorites.
18:17You like Da Brat on there.
18:18Yeah.
18:19To go back to the Tribe thing, to another branch that's on here is Q-Tip as a solo artist
18:24and Vibrant Thing.
18:26Classic.
18:26I don't know.
18:27Vibrant Thing was like...
18:28This is my song.
18:29She's like literally hearing it in her head right now.
18:32Because, yeah.
18:33But Vibrant Thing to me doesn't fall under...
18:35What?
18:36When I think of a Tribe called Quest, I think of Vibrant Thing over here on the side.
18:41Yeah.
18:42Agreed.
18:42Still impactful and important, but it's not...
18:45I don't know.
18:45It's like a branch of that to me.
18:47It was a joint.
18:48Yeah.
18:48But it was different for them, for Tip, because he was...
18:51You know, I don't know.
18:52It was Hype Williams, big, shiny, produced video.
18:55It was in the clubs.
18:57It was not...
18:57It was jiggy.
18:58Yes.
18:59And it was not like what you would normally get from Tribe.
19:01It was a big moment and just a dope song.
19:03Yeah.
19:03But I think it speaks to his, you know, innovation was a word that you threw out earlier and his
19:08ability to also evolve because that was what, 99 maybe?
19:12Yeah, that was 99 versus 92 for a scenario.
19:16And the sound of hip-hop had changed just in those seven years.
19:20We knew that he was sort of a ladies' man, girls liked him.
19:23He had Bonita Applebaum, which was a big song in the 90s, sounded very different.
19:26So we knew he could appeal to women.
19:28And Viver Thing was just in a different way with a different sound and saying, yeah, no,
19:32Hype Williams is the guy.
19:33And he's from Queens also.
19:35Right.
19:35We're going to shoot this video together.
19:36Like, we're going to make the biggest record that we can.
19:39Yeah.
19:39I like that idea about artists who are able to evolve sonically over time.
19:45And, like, Busta, obviously, is somebody like you, to your point, like, we had him on
19:50Scenario, but also on the Chris Brown song.
19:53I was trying to see if there was anybody on the list who has moved through time.
19:57Snoop.
19:57Snoop over here.
19:58Snoop Dogg.
19:59Snoop might be the number one.
20:00Drop It Like It's Hot.
20:01And that's 04, so that's a whole 11 years after Doggy Style, where he was the biggest
20:09rapper.
20:09Was that his Viverant Thing moment?
20:11Well, Drop It Like It's Hot.
20:12You could say that.
20:13Because him linking with Pharrell didn't feel, like, expected.
20:16He had been having the Snoop run, or the Dr. Dre run, and then the Pharrell record came
20:20out of nowhere, and I was like, oh, shit.
20:22That beat hit, like, a nook.
20:23In my chest.
20:24And, actually, that was, like, the, I think I might have been, like, 13 when that song
20:28came out, and that was, like, one of the first songs that made me want to drive.
20:32Because, like, seniors, I would see seniors in high school, like, riding around bus, and
20:36I'm like, damn, like, I need to get that.
20:38I'm curious about your take on this, on West Coast's take, and Cypress Hill.
20:42Okay.
20:43Because, like you said, you grew up in the Bronx.
20:47Mm-hmm.
20:47So, big pun.
20:48Mm-hmm.
20:48It was a big deal.
20:49It was a big deal.
20:50Big deal.
20:50And when you're from New York, not strange to you that a Puerto Rican would be rapping.
20:54Uh-uh.
20:55Not strange at all.
20:56At all.
20:56But to the rest of the country, it was different.
20:59I always wondered that.
21:00Honestly, it wasn't that different, because, like, when you think about hip-hop culture at
21:04the time in L.A. and, like, the Latino culture and just what was going on, like, they were
21:07very much a part of it.
21:08Yeah.
21:08You had rappers around that time, Kid Frost.
21:11You had so many that were around.
21:13Mm-hmm.
21:13So, it just felt like it was just their time, and they were the best of it.
21:16Yeah.
21:16And just what they represented, like, it wasn't so different from what we were already seeing
21:20in our neighborhoods, how we were dressing, how we were acting, how we were talking.
21:23So, like, Cypress Hill was a group that we just listened to, just because they were, you
21:27know, representing the West.
21:28And also, the album was back, like, fire.
21:31Oh, yeah.
21:31Classic.
21:32And just, like, even...
21:32Did you not have a Cypress Hill?
21:34Did you not?
21:35I wasn't...
21:36I wasn't...
21:36Yeah.
21:37I was regional.
21:38You know what I'm saying?
21:39I was...
21:40I didn't start to get into L.A. music for real, like, West Coast music...
21:44Yeah.
21:45...until I got older.
21:46Until I went to college and got to see different parts.
21:49I didn't know much about Cypress Hill.
21:50And their lineage was just crazy, too, because you think about Soul Assassins and just, like,
21:54all the groups that kind of spawned out of that.
21:57This is a part of L.A. culture.
21:58Mr. Cartoon and his tattoo culture and being a part of that crew and, like, he's tattooed
22:02everybody.
22:02To me, I love...
22:03That's one of my favorite things about hip-hop.
22:04It's, like, to be introduced to areas that we...
22:07Like, even when Dre and Snoop and everybody came out, I was like, oh, that's what it's like
22:12over there?
22:13You know, from our little...
22:14We was...
22:14You know, we're in New York.
22:15We're very regional.
22:16We had our things.
22:17We liked our things.
22:18We didn't know.
22:19And then we see somebody doing something dope over there, and it really brought you into
22:22their world.
22:22And I think Cypress Hill did that, too.
22:24It just introduced you to different styles and different, I don't know, areas.
22:29Like you said.
22:30And they were, like...
22:30I mean, probably the second group, but, like, bridging that, like, rock kind of bridge.
22:34Like, they were going on tour with rock bands and being a part of, like, the Warped Tour
22:38and all that stuff.
22:39So, like, I'm glad they're on the list, because they're really impactful for, like, what hip-hop
22:42is now.
22:43I think this BG Bling Bling record...
22:46I was gonna say it.
22:47People still say it.
22:48Shot calling.
22:49It's in the dictionary.
22:50Yeah, I'm gonna say it's in the dictionary.
22:51It's in the dictionary.
22:53BG under it.
22:53Do people still say Bling Bling?
22:55No.
22:56Bling Bling.
22:57You don't say the second Bling.
22:59Y'all don't watch...
23:00Daddy, I ain't never heard you say Bling Bling.
23:02You would say the same thing, like, oh, you got that Bling on?
23:04I wouldn't say that, like, off the cuff, colloquially, but, like, it's in there.
23:08It's not a dead phrase.
23:11It's not a dead phrase.
23:12Listen.
23:13Nobody says Bling Bling.
23:13We sit down at the table, we put six cameras, people get to lying.
23:17Like, don't say Bling.
23:18And that's okay.
23:19I was referring to Real Housewives GIF that Nene says, bling, bling, bitches is mad.
23:25It's a big thing that people use.
23:27It's still being referenced.
23:28It's not dead.
23:29Yeah, it's not.
23:29Nobody said I got that Bling on.
23:31But I'm saying...
23:32You didn't say that today when you came in, really?
23:34I probably did.
23:35I don't know.
23:36But, like, it's not...
23:38I'm not saying it...
23:39But it's not dead.
23:40To say it's dead is crazy.
23:42It's definitely dead.
23:42But what are the two...
23:43It's not dead!
23:43What are the two things that you said that we're measuring it off of?
23:47The word is not the thing.
23:50The word...
23:51Slang changes.
23:52We don't use old slang.
23:54But the concept behind it.
23:56The idea of, like, jewelry is important.
23:59No, for sure.
24:00I'm not debating that.
24:01Stunt and lifestyle.
24:02Yes.
24:02Stunt and lifestyle.
24:03It's like, that represents that.
24:06Ooh.
24:06Yeah.
24:07Can we talk about the clips grinding?
24:09Yes.
24:09Let's do it.
24:10Funny, I asked Pharrell about that.
24:12I was like, yo, did you know, like, that is the song of the lunchtime?
24:15But he was like, nah, I didn't know that.
24:17I think he was lying.
24:17He don't know what a lunchtime was.
24:19Everybody knows, like, you know, that's one of the first beats you've learned how to make it.
24:23Absolutely.
24:24Yeah.
24:25And I guess we can include them in that conversation of longevity.
24:29Yes.
24:29Can I just say, black star definition on this list makes me so happy.
24:33Does it make you happy, too?
24:35It's like the spirit of hip-hop.
24:36It's like, it's a song that's not crossover.
24:39It's not, like, made for radio.
24:41I don't even know if it was a big hit.
24:43I don't even know.
24:44But it's just, it's so true and pure.
24:46And it's just the type of hip-hop I love.
24:49And it just sits in the pocket.
24:51And I think Most Def is probably one of the most underrated rappers of all time.
24:57And I got a list of underrated rappers.
25:00I have an underrated rapper list.
25:01We could do it.
25:01I would love to hear you.
25:02We're going to need a whole other round today.
25:04That was such an important song for the time, though, because I think it was a cleansing moment.
25:08This was, the deaths of Pac and Big really rattled us and shook us to our core.
25:14Because we never thought it can get that.
25:17You know, in hip-hop, like, we lost Scott LaRocque.
25:19And there were tragedies before in hip-hop.
25:22But these, at the time, were the two biggest stars.
25:25And we knew they were beefing.
25:27Like, when Pac got shot and he passed away a week later, I never thought he was going to die.
25:33Because I was like, oh, it's Pac.
25:34He always gets shot.
25:35He's going to walk out the hospital.
25:36Yeah, nobody thought he was going to die.
25:36Like, we just didn't think that it was possible, right?
25:39And then Most Def and Quality come after that and, you know, stop the violence in hip-hop.
25:45They shot Tupac and Biggie.
25:46It's kind of dangerous to be an emcee.
25:48And kind of sank to that moment.
25:49And then it was in the vein of KRS-One, because they sampled the KRS-One track, the P is
25:54Free.
25:55And KRS-One also always stopped the violence, self-destruction.
25:59Like, these were the type of records that we hadn't gotten in years.
26:02And it felt like they brought the shit back to that.
26:04Yeah, it felt nostalgic at the time, even when it was fresh.
26:07Yeah, it felt like it was nostalgic.
26:08It was important, though.
26:09It was something we needed.
26:10Yeah.
26:10You know?
26:10Yeah.
26:11The culture needed at the time.
26:12We talked earlier about, like, some of the classics and being introduced to the West Coast.
26:17We talked about Cypress Hill and stuff like that.
26:18But what about regionally impactful moments now?
26:24Yeah, what are you going to talk about?
26:25I mean, your girl Glorilla really reps.
26:28What do you mean by my girl?
26:29I'm just saying, you're a friend.
26:31I'm friends with a few people.
26:33Most importantly, I'm friends with y'all.
26:35This guy is a politician.
26:37This is a celebrity.
26:38And I'm glad to call you guys a friend, you know?
26:40I really am.
26:41I see where you are.
26:43No, I think, let's talk about Lotto.
26:45I think, you know, someone growing up from being on a TV show and then, like, becoming an actual mainstream
26:51superstar is crazy.
26:52Atlanta has had, you know, such a huge era in hip-hop, big moment running it.
26:59But Lotto's the first woman from Atlanta to do it, which I think is really cool.
27:04So, shout out to the A.
27:05We cannot, I mean, I don't know in recent times who has been more impactful in terms of repping Los
27:12Angeles than Nipsey Hussle.
27:14Absolutely.
27:15Yeah, like, I think about the Crenshawty and, like, first seeing that.
27:19And then seeing him, like, sell his mixtapes, like, on the corner.
27:22A hundred dollar mixtape.
27:22Yeah, even before that, like, seeing him hand-to-hand on Crenshaw and Slossing, having a shop, like, just building
27:28that Marathon brand.
27:29That's someone I really, like, seen from, like, starting to rap to becoming a rap star.
27:34And, you know, just who he became is, like, exactly who he always was.
27:38I actually ate that Marathon burger yesterday.
27:41That shit is delicious.
27:44Like Sam and the good people over there.
27:46But also, I think when we're talking about impact, and we're talking about all these moments, these songs and these
27:52moments, not just Nipsey's passing, but how Nipsey lived his life and what he taught us about business and about
27:58community.
27:59And I just think he was so impactful.
28:01I would say of the past five to ten years, maybe arguably one of the most impactful.
28:08Yeah.
28:08Would you agree?
28:09Jermaine Dupri did a sub stack, and the title, I clicked on it instantly.
28:13He said, Nipsey Hussle was the closest thing to Jesus that we've had in a long time.
28:16Oh, wow, that went crazy.
28:19Nipsey was the first person to tell me about Bitcoin.
28:21Right.
28:21Like, I remember buying it because of him, and, like, just how far ahead his mind was, and you see
28:26it now, like, his business is flourishing without him.
28:28Like, he had the plan, and now it's just the people around him, like, living the plan.
28:33Also, he bet on himself, which is what a lot of people in the industry don't, they get pushed out
28:38of doing that.
28:38And people miss that because he had went through, you know, he was signed to Cinematic.
28:43That's when I met him.
28:44I was working at XXL at the time.
28:45We had the freshman cover.
28:47And then he got Sony, a Sony deal.
28:49Like, that didn't work out.
28:50And then, you know, by the time we, the $100 mixtape was such a, I remember on the internet, there
28:56was a whole lot of, who does he think he is?
28:58Who's going to buy a $100 mixtape?
29:01And, man, he made it work because he had the fans.
29:03And then you look at somebody like, shout out to the Russell right now, who is doing his own kind
29:08of version of Proud to Pay.
29:09So you can see the influence.
29:12Even what Cole is doing.
29:13Cole started out selling his mixtape also, so we're not taking that away from Cole.
29:18But seeing Cole go city to city and touching the fans, it was like, man, that was the type of
29:22stuff that Nipsey also represented.
29:24That was Nipsey's spirit.
29:25And spirit in it.
29:26And we were robbed.
29:29Like, Nipsey should be here because I think he was just scratching the surface.
29:33Like, the fact that Victory Lap, classic album, where was the success of that album going to take him after
29:39that?
29:40Oof.
29:41That actually might scare a few people, actually.
29:43Yeah.
29:43But we needed it.
29:45No, we for sure needed it.
29:46It's going to scare the people that we need to be scared.
29:48Yeah, for sure.
29:49We needed that.
29:49That's exactly how I meant that.
29:50Rest in peace, Nipsey.
29:51So of all the songs on the list, what do you think?
29:54This is a tough question, but.
29:56The most impactful historically.
29:58If I had to pick one, I would go Cream.
30:02And I say Cream because when I've, like, traveled on tour and gone to different countries, even though I'm not
30:08rolling with anybody that's Wu-Tang related, just different rap artists, there will be people in the crowd going like
30:12this.
30:13And I'm just like, wow, really?
30:14Like, Wu-Tang is really international.
30:18Like, I'm shocked.
30:19You know, I'm in Brazil.
30:20They speak Portuguese.
30:21They're going like this.
30:22So I think, for me, I would be.
30:24You think globally?
30:25Like.
30:25Globally, Wu-Tang.
30:26Wu-Tang.
30:27Yeah.
30:27I think, for me, I would go with Big, Juicy.
30:31I feel like when you think about, like, the best rap song, like, that could very well be number one.
30:37And it's just one of those records that, like, everyone knows.
30:39Like, your mom, your sister.
30:41Right.
30:41Kids, everyone.
30:42And it's like, you could play any, you could put it in any setting and it'll work and make sense.
30:46And it speaks to the historic-ness of hip-hop.
30:51Just the song itself.
30:53Like, even, I don't know.
30:54It's like he made a song to be that.
30:56Yeah.
30:56And it doesn't sound dated.
30:58I think that's a record that still holds up today.
31:01Tell him it does.
31:01Tell him it does.
31:02Musically, I don't think that sounds dated.
31:03I think you could play that beat.
31:04That's a cookout classic.
31:05Yeah.
31:06You put that beat on now for a new rapper and they would make a song that isn't as good
31:11but could still fit in this time.
31:12For me, it's hard not to say, like, a rapper's delight because it is, like, one of, if not the
31:19first ever.
31:20But I want to just make an argument for Soulja Boy.
31:23I knew it.
31:24And say, crank that.
31:25If we're talking about.
31:26The most impactful historically.
31:27One of.
31:28Of all of hip-hop history.
31:29One of, yes.
31:29I think that really ushered in a new generation of music specifically, like, probably our era in terms of, like,
31:37marketing, you know, using the internet in a certain way.
31:39Yes, fair enough.
31:40The impact of his Soulja Boy style.
31:43I mean, he's a guy who doesn't get a lot of credit and people tend to try to laugh at
31:47him.
31:47But if we really talk about, like, impact, ringtones, like, Soulja Boy really was a very impactful person in hip
31:54-hop.
31:55I would say The Message.
31:58Because it opened the door.
31:59Well, we wouldn't have Native Tongues.
32:01We wouldn't have any of the rappers who speak truth to power if it wasn't for, actually, The Message.
32:09I think that The Message was the first time where you got to see, for me, I don't know, but
32:16where you got to see hip-hop artists reporting on what they're seeing and what they're living.
32:21So I think that really is very impactful, especially for the rest of this list.
32:27It opened the door for a lot of these artists to express themselves and talk about their experiences in their
32:34homes, outside, where mainstream wasn't doing that.
32:38News wasn't doing that.
32:40So we had to put it on wax.
32:42And I think that's The Message for me.
32:44Yeah.
32:44I'm going to go with Josh.
32:46I think Juicy for me.
32:48And, you know, it's hard not to say Rap is the light in The Message, like you said.
32:53But Juicy fits, like, right in that sweet spot that I don't think it sounds old.
32:58I don't think it sounds dated.
32:59It's like an entry point, I think, for all of us, no matter what generation you're from.
33:03It's hard to front on Juicy.
33:04And it tells the story of hip-hop.
33:07In the 70s and 80s, it was a fad, is what we were told.
33:10You're wasting your time.
33:11That's not real music.
33:12It's a fad.
33:13You know, even big.
33:14Remember rapping Duke to Hard to Hard?
33:16You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far.
33:18It was speaking exactly to that.
33:19It was like we weren't taken seriously as a genre, as a culture, even as a business.
33:25And now we're at this place where hip-hop drives just so much, generates so much revenue and creates generational
33:31wealth for our culture.
33:34So, yeah, Juicy.
33:35And if we're talking about the one song on this list that everyone at this table can rap bar for
33:39bar, it's that one.
33:41I haven't heard Nyla do it, so I can't.
33:45I would put money down if Nyla could do it.
33:48I can definitely do that.
33:49I just wanted to hear you rap.
33:50I can definitely do that.
33:50Just put a little pressure.
33:51And the rooms in Germany and Brazil, like you said, they could probably go legit bar for bar on that.
33:57Yeah, I agree.
33:58Okay, so let's talk about the future of hip-hop.
34:00What does that look like?
34:01Where do we want it to go?
34:03Where should it go?
34:04What does it look like?
34:05Like, this list in 20 years.
34:08I'll start that.
34:08I think we didn't shine any love to the ladies on this list on the bottom, specifically.
34:13Shout out to Glowrilla.
34:14Shout out to Lotto.
34:16Again, shout out to Glowrilla just because.
34:19I just think that...
34:20You want to do it one more time?
34:21Yeah, I mean, it's always shout out to Glowrilla.
34:23But I think, like, Cardi, Glow, Lotto really are carrying a torch right now.
34:27And then there's, like, a lot of women artists that I'm sure were inspired by them.
34:32You know, I don't know.
34:33I just think the future of hip-hop is largely women.
34:35I feel like people are so hard on Cardi.
34:37Like, she just takes bullets for it.
34:39Yeah.
34:39It's like, it's not easy to be in the forefront of anything these days.
34:45And she says her opinions.
34:47She makes her music.
34:48She lives her life out loud.
34:49It's not the same climate as some of these other, you know, Queen Latifah didn't have
34:53to deal with that.
34:53Some of the stuff that Cardi and some of the women have to deal with now in terms of just
34:57the way media treats women.
34:59And so, yeah, I just, I think, you know, they're like soldiers in a way right now.
35:03But what does it look like the future then?
35:06I think more, more women, I think.
35:08People were, like, respecting women bars.
35:11And, you know, I think, honestly, the genre is skewing young and young and young.
35:16You know, every day we see, like, a new, like, 17-year-old kid from his mom's basement,
35:20like, cooking up an album that is, like, a new soundtrack.
35:23So, yeah, I think it skews younger and women, for sure.
35:28Personally, I think that hip-hop is going to go more underground.
35:31I think we're going to have a lot of sub-genres and niches.
35:34And I think we're kind of already there.
35:37I think that mainstream has been oversaturated, like, sound-wise and just production.
35:43So I see it going underground.
35:45I see collectives really being a thing.
35:47And I see, you know, they say, like, every 10 years the cycle changes.
35:52So I think the next cycle is going to be, like, the rebirth of the blog era.
35:57The future looks kind of dark.
35:58Yeah.
35:59It's a little dark right now.
36:00Okay, well, get it out.
36:01Speak on it.
36:02Like, you know, everyone's talking about, like, big three and everything.
36:05Like, there's no new star that feels like he's going to be the next Torchbearer.
36:10And I feel like it would be great if we had someone who came through, like, 98 DMX again
36:16to just, like, reset something with a whole new vibe that everyone corraled around.
36:20I want to counter that because I feel like there's artists that are happening and moments happening.
36:24Like, you look at someone like Don Toliver.
36:27Like, the year he's having so far and it's still early.
36:29Like, best album of the year.
36:29Best album of the year.
36:31He's kind of breaking out into his own.
36:32He came with a big cosign, but he's, like, becoming bigger than the cosign at this point.
36:38And, you know, I just think, you know, he kind of leans into the sub-genre thing you're
36:41saying.
36:42Like, he's hip-hop, but he's not, like, a lyricist, a spitter.
36:44But he makes rap.
36:46It leans into, like, R&B sometimes.
36:48He has a crazy voice.
36:49So, I don't know.
36:50I like what he's doing.
36:51I love what Dochi's doing.
36:53I don't know.
36:54I think we're going to have another big mainstream moment.
36:57I think we just need to kind of, like, purge and, like, salt the earth a little bit to grow
37:01some new things.
37:01For sure.
37:02Save it, please.
37:03But, yeah.
37:04She says save it.
37:05Save it, please.
37:05Yeah, yeah.
37:06No, I see us having another moment.
37:09Yeah, there's a lot of good stuff bubbling, but it's, like, I just, I'm getting impatient
37:13waiting for something to, like, come to a new career.
37:15You want a leader.
37:17Look, I think we just came off between 2024 and 2025 one of the biggest, most notable years
37:24in hip-hop.
37:25It was really a highlight, which we saw with the battle from those two guys.
37:31But, yeah, to Nala's point, like, you know, that was 10 years, 15 years in the making.
37:36That didn't just happen overnight.
37:38So, yeah, I think there are a lot of dope young artists.
37:41And I think the future is limitless.
37:42I think the creativity is limitless.
37:44But even for lists like these, like, I don't think the next generation has to be beholden
37:49to these rules that maybe were set.
37:52We try to act like there's boundaries in hip-hop, and I think we got to break that down.
37:57I think there needs to be a respect for what came before it and a foundation.
38:01And then you can springboard off a list like this and take it anywhere you want.
38:05You know what I'm saying?
38:06Like, you know, when you think about what Soulja Boy did with Crank Dad and hearing y'all
38:10talk about how impactful it was, and it was, right?
38:13And he added the internet, but even the dance, right?
38:15But growing up, like, I remember Kid and Play.
38:18And that was a...
38:19Who also had a Sprite commercial, like, very early on.
38:22Okay, Sprite.
38:23Sprite, be honest.
38:24Sprite, be honest.
38:25But that was a big thing for us.
38:27And when we were Soulja Boy, it's like, okay, dancing is back in the forefront, and he just
38:30added the internet twist to it and did it his way.
38:32So I think build on the foundation of things that are here on this list, and it's limitless.
38:36Like, do it your way.
38:38My last comment on it is 20 years, because they started 2008, 2009.
38:42Okay.
38:4320 years.
38:43And then also, I think because I feel like with Drake, Kendrick, and Cole, we see new heights
38:48in hip-hop, so we have expectations for these artists of Drake, Kendrick, and Cole in 2026,
38:54where we should be looking at them more like, oh, this is a Section 80.
38:57We can't expect them to be putting out crazy bodies of work, like a Baby King.
39:03Like, that's a well-polished album for him to be so early in his sophomore year project,
39:08but it's because he's next to a Kendrick.
39:10But there are artists who aren't standing next to somebody with that type of cosign who
39:13are still putting out quality work.
39:16Yeah.
39:16But everybody can't go either.
39:18Yeah, let's be real.
39:19For sure.
39:20For sure.
39:21Everybody can't go.
39:22But we could try.
39:23I could still name you, even if I'm not listening to them now, a lot of the artists that are
39:27in the blog area.
39:28Right, but there's still value in it, because like what Andrew's saying, even with Blackstar
39:31being on this list, right?
39:33Blackstar, most and quality weren't the most commercially successful at all.
39:37But it's like, oh, we could still respect it.
39:39There's still a fondness.
39:40There's still a memory.
39:41So that's the other thing, too.
39:42I think we have to stop measuring what's great in hip-hop by how successful it is.
39:47Yeah.
39:47Yeah, impact is on numbers.
39:49That's big.
39:49Yeah.
39:50But we can't measure it, but if you get that Sprite look, hey, we're here.
39:55Thank you guys for today.
39:56Thank you to the panel.
39:57I'm Angie Martinez, and this was a special For the Record with Genius and Sprite, and I hope
40:02you enjoyed it.
40:03Make sure you check out the Sprite Living Trackless link in the description, which is
40:07below, and keep the conversation going.
40:09Argue with your friends about it.
40:10Put it in the comments.
40:12And beyond this roundtable, keep it going, and keep repping the culture.
40:16Cheers.
40:17Cheers.
40:17Cheers.
40:17Cheers.
40:17Cheers.
40:18Cheers.
40:18Cheers.
40:18Cheers.
40:19Cheers.
40:19Cheers.
40:20Cheers.
40:21Cheers.
40:24Cheers.
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