The Top 10
"Big Dogz"-Method Man/Redman-12
The month of the man turned into 2 months, November & December, both Meth and Red dropped their albums, Meth's got mixed reviews, not sure about Redman's yet. Anyhow, they both dropped, Month Of The Man (TM*) is over, finally. Didn't they first start those adds last October? First week in the top 10 for the meth/red combo.
"I Just Dont Give A Fuck (Aftermath Remix)"-Eminem-17
And into the top 10 this week pops this white guy Eminem. I know you've all heard of this guy, he's signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label. He's hit the countdown twice before with "Just The 2 Of Us" ande "Hi My Name Is," neither of which made the top 10 (peaking at 11 and 23, respectively, the latter was an album track however and can return). So this is Eminem's first trip to the top 10, will it be a successfull one? Only time will tell. First week for the new guy.
"One On One"-Kid Capri f/Ras Kass & Punchline-10
Another newbie, this one debuted last week with his half of this song, is Punchline. He appears here with the chart's most successful artist of 98 (and the artist the site is dedicated to), so that should help. Punch popped up on the Lyricist Lounge CD with his partner Wordsmith, as well as on Tribe and Black Star's albums. Now he's here with Ras, for once without Words. But dont worry, Punch & Words should both show up next on Dr. Dre's Chronic 2 project. Anyhow, 2nd week for Ras and Punch.
"The Grand Finale (Dogz 4 Life)"-DMX/Nas/Method Man/Ja-Rule-8
Up another spot this week, is maybe 4 of the hottest emcees in the game. Its Meth's second joint on the countdown, its DMX's second of three, JaRule's on maybe the hottest song in the country periond currently (that damn Jay Z song), and Nas has about 6 tracks just bubbling under the countdown. They all just, or are about to drop new albums. Meth dropped last month, DMX week from tomorrow, Nas mid-January, and Ja mid-February. 3 of them are on Def Jam, which put out the soundtrack and movie that this is from. Nas being the out one on Columbia Records. Third week for this all-star cast of emcees.
"Adrenaline"-The Roots-15
Moving along with, what the song is titled, The Roots jump a huge 9 spots into the top 10 at number six this week. These cats are so fuckin dope. They've hit number one 3 times. First in 94 with "Proceed," then in 96 with "Clones" and "Concerto Of The Desperado." This one's super-hot, so we maybe will see another number one out of these cats. Maybe they can get the recognition they deserve. For reals, these cats....dont sleep...The Roots are one of hip hop's dopest groups (along with OutKast and Tribe). This new album should be tha shit! This single is out on Vinyl with "You Dont See Us" as it's b-side. Go check shit it out. First week for the illadelph cats.
"Like They Used To Say"-Common-5
Com's latest doesn't move an inch, well maybe an inch, just not enough to move a spot in the top 30, (and really, isnt that what counts? =) Anyhow, Com's gonna show up on Rawkus' Soundbombing 2 Compilation, i think it'll be this song, maybe not. But that Medina Green song'll be on there too. DJ Babu is mixing it, should be dope. If it's as good as the original, it'll definitly be worth your $15. Anyhow, Com had a helluva year without dropping an album, how may cats can say that? Sixth week in the top 10 for the Big-Illinois.
"Dont Let It Go To Your Head"-Brand Nubian-4
After moving a lot last week, the Brand Nubies take a week to rest, staying put at number 4 this week. The Neptunes remix came out, it sucked. But the original is still very much in effect. Its tight. Go check shit out. BTW you'll notice a pattern about the top 5, fifth week for Puba, Sadat, Jamar, Almo, and whoever else was involved with this fuckin song.
"Changes"-2Pac-3
After a busy week, Pac kept his position on Billboard's R&B Album Charts, "Changes" is the number 43 song in America, as for the Billboard 200, it dropped one place, it's already sold enough copies to go platinum, and most of his fans have almost all of the songs already. Tupac's track-record as one of the financial leaders of hip hop is phenomenal, he's in at number three this week, his fourth week on the top 10.
"Ruff Ryders Anthem"-DMX-2
Well, his new album drops in a week, and this one is probably one of the nation's hottest hip hop songs. From east to west, everyone seems to be sayin "stop, drop, shut em down open up shop!" The remix is on DJ Clue's album dropping tomorrow, this may be an even bigger hit than his biggest to date, the last single "Hows It Goin Down." This is a much better song, i hope so. The video with the motorcycles and shit dont hurt. Seventh week for Dark Man X.
"Rosa Parks"-OutKast-1
The pattern i spoke about is that nothing in the top 5 moved. Not even one position. And at the top, OutKast continues its reign in it's third week at the top. Well, i guess they're keepin everybody to the back of the bus, cuz they sure rulin hip hop right now. Will it go down as one of hip hop's 98 classics? Only time will tell. DMX and 2Pac, my 2 favorite solo rappers couldn't even knock em off. Eleventh week in the top 10.
Wow, i betcha didnt expect the top 5 to not even change. I also bet you didnt expect The Roots to jump into number 6. Or Eminem to jump into the top 10. Bet you coulda guessed OutKast would stay at number one though, that didnt take much of a guess. Anyhow, DMX is really gaining on them believe it or not, so is 2Pac. There are about 20 songs that are all close together hoping to get into the top 30 soon. This week it showed with seven new tracks. Included in that bunch is big names like Redman & Method Man, Method Man & Street, Eminem, Xzibit w/Method Man & Jayo Felony, OutKast w/Slick Rick, Sauce Money w/Jay Z, Alkaholiks w/Xzibit, Heather B, and more. Anyway peep it next time to see what happens. Will Medina Green finally hit the top 10? Will DMX make it three songs in the top 10? Will anyone knock off OutKast? Will KRS-One and his huge NY crew of emcees make more noise? Only the future will tell..... Peace