

But the peak of The Hitmen’s output came with “All About the Benjamins,” helmed by Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, who slowed down a guitar lick from Love Unlimited’s “I Did It For Love” and made it the centerpiece atop whizzing percussion. Puff Daddy typically leaned on his production group The Hitmen to mine samples from ‘60s and ‘70s records and flip them into shiny bucolic fare ( Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems,” Puff Daddy’s “Been Around the World”). Puff Daddy and the Family, “All About the Benjamins,” produced by Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie With “Drop It like It’s Hot,” the Virginia duo provided a breathable landscape comprised of fingersnaps, mouth clicks and a Juno 106 synth that combined to form a beat that harnessed the pure keyboard sounds of the ’70s and surrounded it with highly experimental percussion that paid off.ħ. But their best instrumental slots in the latter. Since the beginning of their reign as two of rap’s greatest creative minds, the Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo proved to be masters of both minimalism ( Clipse’s “Grindin’”) and maximalism ( Gwen Stefani‘s colossal “Hollaback Girl”). Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell, “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” produced by The Neptunes Some have become outdated, but the one that still sounds the most like the year 3000 was given to Jay Z for his classic “N-a What, N-a Who?” With its strobe synths and stuttering drums, Timbo provides a sonic template with pockets of silence that Jay fills with a constantly shifting meter. Timbaland has always had a genius knack for crafting beats that sound like they’re from the future. Jay Z featuring Amil and Jaz-O, “N-a What, N-a Who?,” produced by Timbaland

That rat-a-tat snare breakdown is the probably most copied drum fill in recent memory.ĩ. Nothing more than a hypnotically repetitive patois vocal sample (from a ridiculously obscure Tribe Called Quest remix) over an 808 drum kit, it’s ridiculously simple, but you could freestyle over it endlessly. Perhaps the most influential beat of the 21st century, this Bangladesh banger single-handedly started a new wave of trap that took the early innovations of Atlanta cats like Shawty Redd and DJ Toomp to the future. Lil Wayne, “A Milli,” produced by Bangladesh Read on for our countdown of the top 10 hip-hop beats of all time.ġ0. Dre - who have minted the best beats in the genre’s history. Since hip-hop’s inception, producers spanning The Bomb Squad and J Dilla to Just Blaze and Kanye West have crafted instrumentals that have stood the test of time, but none more so than a handful of premier craftsmen - DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Dr. while Complex ranked "Shook Ones (Part II)" at #23 on their list of the 25 most violent rap songs of all time.See the All-Time Charts: Billboard 200 Albums | Billboard 200 Artists | Hot 100 Songs | Hot 100 ArtistsĬreating the perfect beat is a combined matter of timing, creative genius and just the right rapper to complement it. Rolling Stone magazine placed the song on its list of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time. In 2010 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 25 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s. An instrumental version of the song is played as the beat for the final battle of the film as well. It is the song being played in the opening scene when main character B-Rabbit, portrayed by rapper Eminem, is preparing for his battle. The song was featured in the 2002 film 8 Mile.

For its single remix, Mobb Deep recorded additional raps and also appeared in the music video. In 1997, the song was sampled by Mariah Carey in her single " The Roof (Back in Time)". The Herbie Hancock sample was slowed down and the pitch was altered to create the beat in the song. The drum break is sampled from "Dirty Feet" by Daly-Wilson Big Band. The song contains a pitched down sample of "Jessica" by Herbie Hancock and "Kitty with the Bent Frame" by Quincy Jones. The phrase "shook one" refers to someone who acts tough and hardcore but when faced with murder and crime, they are scared and run away. The narrative is told from the perspective of inner-city youths engaged in territorial warfare and struggling for financial gains. The original song is featured on the b-side of some releases of "Shook Ones, Part II" and was also included on the international version of the group's album Hell on Earth. The song is a sequel to the group's 1994 promotional single " Shook Ones", with similar lyrics, but less profanity. " Shook Ones (Part II)" is the lead single from Mobb Deep's 1995 album The Infamous.
