Best List of Best Hip Hop Songs of 2008 (part 1)

By one of the best music blogs going Passon of the Weiss. Written by Jeff Weiss, a Los Angeles-based writer/journalist, Passion of the Weiss covers the gamut of quality Hip Hop as well as other genres. The site also has one of the best music blog rolls I’ve seen. So, if you ‘preciate good beats and the background behind them, keep Passion of the Weiss in your bookmarks.

The 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2008 (Part I)

Over the next two weeks, myself and a very talented cadre of contributors will be emulating the book above. Unlike said tome, it won’t cost money and you’ll get free MP3s–which, presumably, serve a tangible purpose. Now go cry into your near-beer, Phillip Ardagh, you lovable rogue.

50. Redman ft. Oh No-”Lay You Out” 

You couldn’t pay me to be a kid today: anaconda jeans in vogue, Myspace as courting ritual, “Lollipop” as teenage head-anthem. (Wherefore art thou Akinyele?) But no matter how much I love the themes to Magic Johnson’s Fast break and Marble Madness(word to Jones and Soderberg) the kids have us beat on video game soundtracks. Listening to Redman and Oh No’s  contribution to Street Fighter’s HD release on XBox and Playstation, makes me feel like a 8-bit octagenarian.  Four Hadoukens out of four.

49.  2ew Gunn Ciz ft. Nico the Beast, M.O.G., Reef Da Lost Cauze-”CrushRock”

“Icky Thump” re-purposed as the sound a corpse makes when it hits the floor. Rhythm J flips Jack White’s squealing guitar-as-bagpipe hiss and hands it to some of Philly’s finest, who summarily dismember it. Ciz, Reef, and M.O.G. hit Manny Pacquiao-hard, but Nico steals the show with 16 bars of name-dropping that fits nicely next to Elzhi’s “Colors” and Edan’s “Rock and Roll, ” as great “Labels” songs of recent vintage.