Top 40 Greatest Slept-On Hip-Hop / Rap Songs (Eminem, Jay-Z)

Top 40 Greatest Slept-On Hip-Hop / Rap Songs

Definition of "Slept-On" (to me): Songs missed / forgotten / not-heard by most hip-hop fans.

Any list like this is subject to a lot of bias -- I am a true hip-hop head and the purpose of creating this torrent is to share some great hip-hop songs that I feel are often over-looked or have a small audience. While I know that including the likes of Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg may catch me flak, I feel that those songs are 'slept-on' in the sense that the artists better known (lesser quality) songs get a lot more play.

Your 'Thank you's' and comments are appreciate ;)

01. Eminem - Infinite (1996)
-- Almost unknown Eminem song, before 'Slim Shady'. True hip-hop, at its finest. 90's beat and sick lyricism, reminds me of Illmatic

02. The Last Emperor - Secret Wars (1998)
-- Amazing concept song, rappers vs. comic book characters

03. Big L - Put It On (1994)
-- L is just slept-on, period. One of his best tracks

04. Blackstar - Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Thieves In The Night (1998)
-- The Mos Def verse in this songs is one of the hardest hitting - ever

05. Crooklyn Dodgers '95 - Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers (1995)
-- Lesser known than its 1994 counterpart, the beat and verses are perfect, some real New York hip-hop

06. Pharoahe Monch - The Truth ft. Common & Talib Kweli (1999)
-- Sick collaboration between the three when they were at their best

07. Lupe Fiasco - The Coolest (2007)
-- Not a mainstream hit, the delivery from Lupe is one-of-a-kind

08. Slug - God's Bathroom Floor (2003)
-- "Made a date with divinity but she wouldn't let me fuck..."

09. Killah Priest - One Step ft. Tekitha & Hell (1998)
-- This oft-sampled beat was first used here, in the best version

10. Binary Star - Reality Check (1999)
-- Truly original lyricism - "Rodney King never felt the beat like this..."

11. Brother Ali - Uncle Sam Goddamn (1997)
-- Using music to actually say something, and sound so dope doing it

12. Funkdoobiest - Rock On (1995)
-- Simplistic beat works beautifully and the flow is so smooth

13. Zion I - Let It Flow (2003)
-- Production is unbelievable - The girl singing "floooooooow" in the background with the beat is haunting

14. Black Moon - I Gotcha' Opin (Remix) (1992)
-- Best known for "Who Got The Props", this was their dopest track

15. Cunninlynguists - Seasons ft. Masta Ace (RJD2) (2003)
-- From 'RJD2 is God' - Cool concept and lyrics + ill beat

16. CNN Capone N' Noreaga - Calm Down ft. Nas (1998)
-- "Music makes these thugs calm down..." Nas' verse is so sick

17. Souls of Mischief - 93 'Til Infinity (1993)
-- One of the best beats of the 90's

18. Jay-Z - Feelin' It (1996)
-- Hard to say a Jay song is slept on - Oft-overlooked from his best work, 'Reasonable Doubt'. So good I had to put it on the list

19. J-Live - Them That's Not (2001)
-- Masterful production, super tight lyrics

20. AZ - Rather Unique (1995)
-- That chill hip-hop - the beat, lyrics, AZ in general, IS rather unique

21. Masta Ace - Beautiful (1993)
-- One of the illest songs from one of BK's best

22. Smiff 'N' Wessun - Let's Get It On (1995)
-- From Boot Camp Cliq - the beat is haunting, and the two MC's going back and forth is entirely engrossing

23. Little Brother - Dreams (2007)
-- "Mama, I got dreams... but dreams don't keep the lights on..." One of the tightest hooks I've ever heard

24. Joell Ortiz - Hip-Hop (2007)
-- Hard to believe this guy hasn't blown up yet - "I ain't trying to bring New York back, I'm just a breathe of fresh air, that good ole' New York rap..."

25. Ariano - R.I.P To The Radio ft. Prime (2008)
-- I don't even know who this guy is, or how I heard this song - I'm just glad I did. Dope concept and execution

26. Immortal Technique - Bin Ladin ft. Mos Def & Eminem (2004)
-- Using hip-hop to speak the truth - Tech's lyrics are so sick and the chorus with Mos Def is unforgettable

27. Scientifik - Lawtown (1994)
-- Little known underground classic

28. Bun B - Pushin ft. Scarface and Young Jeezy (2005)
-- All three, especially 'Face and Jeezy get off hard on a sick beat and hook

29. Public Enemy - Shut Em' Down (Pete Rock Remix) (1991)
-- The original is legendary, the Pete Rock Remix should be

30. Cam'Ron - Killa Cam (2004)
-- Kanye killed it with this production. Lyrics aren't top-notch but Cam sounds so good flowing on the beat

31. XV - Fall Out The Sky (2009)
-- Production is top-notch. New artist, has a Lupe type flow and some good lyrics her.

32. Wordsworth - Shoulder (2004)
-- Boston-area rapper - the strings on this are crazy good

33. Paris - What Would You Do (2003)
-- The George W. Bush intro is so funny - priceless. Great beat, chorus and even better lyricism

34. 50 Cent - Power of the Dollar (1999)
-- This is 50 before 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'. Also check out 'Good Die Young' and 'Ghetto Qu'ran' from the same album.

35. Rakim - After You Die (2005)
-- Dre murdered the beat and the hook. Tight lyrics and concept.

36. The Roots - Guns are Drawn (2004)
-- Chorus on this one kills it. All-around really nice production

37. Eminem - Murder, Murder (1998)
-- From the 1998 'Slim Shady EP'. Never released.

38. Snoop Dogg - Imagine ft. Dr. Dre (2006)
-- One of the very best collaborations between the two. The piano and the beat are as good as it gets, and both Snoop and Dre spit high-quality verses.

39. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Take You There (9th Wonder Remix) (1999)
-- The 9th Wonder Remix is something special, one of his best productions.

40. Lord Finesse - Hip 2 Da Game (1996)
-- Best known as a producer, this is one Hip-Hop's gems

Please SEED. Thank you.

Also check my other torrents shortly for the releases of:

Top 1000 Greatest Hip-Hop & Rap Songs
Top 250 R & B Songs (1988-2009)