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Hip hop beats2/12/2024 ![]() It wasn't a very likely song to define the sound of a generation-relative to Mustard's idol Lil Jon. But it's undeniable that Mustard, at the very least, popularized this sound, and it was amoral club anthem "Rack City" that proved prophetic. There's some controversy over exactly who originated the sound-there's some evidence producers in the Bay Area were working with a suspiciously similar thump in years previous, and producer Mike Free eventually sued Mustard, saying he'd created this record. But the consistency of his work served the purpose of making slight tinkering with the formula feel like a revelation every time, veering into R&B, interpolating house music, and upping the tempo on dance floors coast to coast. And none of Mustard's hits matched it for three years, even as he took over the rap game, until 2014's "Na Na " and "Don't Tell Em." Of course, the West Coast's club-rap takeover-which only now, in 2015, seems to be breaking slightly-suggested to many that Mustard was simply remaking the same beat over and over. When it dropped, few expected "Rack City" to take over the world. Listen to Complex's Greatest Hip-Hop Beats playlists here: YouTube/ Spotify/ Apple MusicĪlbum: Careless World: Rise of the Last King ![]() Without further ado, Complex presents the 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Beats of All Time. They've inspired, they've influenced, and they've been the impetus for a million neck-breaking nods. ![]() Ultimately, though, every production on this list is irrefutably essential to the advancement of the genre we hold so dear. As a result, a lot of classics were cut, and some of rap's best producers may not be fully represented. When dealing with 30-plus years of music, a hundred slots fill quickly. Ultimately, we drew up a perfect formula to determine an unassailable list of the best rap beats ever, full stop. Those factors and more were considered by Complex over a drawn-out process involving constant debate, strategically deployed rhetoric, diplomacy, and fist-throwing that went all the way to the top. It can be broken down even further: Is the bigger, more-popular song the better beat? Or is it the underground smash that influenced the mainstream? Is it the track that best epitomizes an era, or is it the one that pushed the edge? To qualify the best beats, do we look at production that stands out apart from the verses and the hook, or is it the beat that complements those components perfectly? How do you weigh those against, say, a lush vintage loop from the Hitmen or a crossover pop smash from Timbaland? Consider the clattering, found-sound effects of DJ Premier's best mid-'90s beats, or the raw, drum machine-oriented backdrops of '80s rap, designed to shock the system. For example: How do you rank the disco instrumentals of early hip-hop with the layered samples and filtered bass lines of golden-era New York rap? How do you rank Too $hort's trunk-rattling bass against Swizz Beatz's erratic Triton keyboard swipes? There are unlimited measuring sticks by which production can be compared. One of the biggest challenges in writing a list of the best beats of all time? The genre's soundscape is so wide-ranging and incredibly diverse that it creates some difficult calculation issues to work through. They're at the beginning and the end of the creative process that goes into each of these songs. They dictate the time-signature, the tempo, the tone of the lyrics. It's the cornerstone of every song, the foundation lyrics are built upon. It's arguably the most important element of hip-hop. The reason "beats" comes first? Production. Beats, Rhymes and Life: The name of the famous A Tribe Called Quest album.
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