Runner-up was “Hypnotize,” with its throb-throb-windup-throb-style, but “Juicy” just rips off Mtume, so really “Hypnotize” did not have a chance. Do not forget to check out their track “Get Up” with the Coup for more bass-blasting action, a subwoofer test if there ever was one. Dead Prez certainly are not dead, but this is the best song they have ever made.
![newcleus jam on it sample newcleus jam on it sample](https://media2.ntslive.co.uk/resize/1600x1600/8c8d2ae3-ff15-4581-a430-84f951f603bc_1539302400.jpeg)
You know it from the Dave Chappelle show! And what a thunderous buzzzz it is, quaking and spinning about unexpectedly with bouncing rhythm. A perhaps unintentional production influence on: The bass rolls over the twin turrets of 808 stomps while Ace spits the proverbial fire, a rumbling, jagged trunk-banging anthem. This was back when everybody hated on 808s in NYC, but Masta Ace knew better. The bass hits immediately, a terse sample looped for a breakneck effect. Rakim’s best tracks often relied on distinctive basslines my other nominations included “Paid in Full” and “Microphone Fiend,” both of which have immediately recognizable bass melodies, but nothing matches the urgency and intensity of this track.
![newcleus jam on it sample newcleus jam on it sample](https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3689063724_10.jpg)
Finally, I think sampling is barely an issue here even one-track-jacks were permissible if the context changed in some way.ġ0. I tried to list songs with unique bass parts, parts that had a singular effect on the track and made the song, ultimately, what it was. When I was done, it ended up damn NY-centric anyway, but as far as I am concerned, this just leaves more space open for people to create their own top ten lists. This seemed preferable to any sort of geographic affirmative action, the kind of thing that ends up overloading mental circuits when all you want to do is list ten tracks anyway.
![newcleus jam on it sample newcleus jam on it sample](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-hks8QTzXl4TXHcMF-Kni1zw-t500x500.jpg)
While I do acknowledge many tracks from outside the usual New York “jazz-rap” early 90s canon, I attempted to let the importance of the bass part to the song predominate my decision-making. I decided, in keeping with the spirit of the original list, to avoid obscurantism. Therefore, to make things right, I have compiled a list of ten hip-hop basslines.Īt first, I thought this top ten would be simple, but as I dug in, I confronted more questions: should I follow the rap canon, follow the pop canon, or avoid canons completely and dig for the forgotten songs of bassline utopia? Considering the New York-centric focus of rap historicism, should I take special care to include work from Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis, Los Angeles, and the Bay? If a sample is a straight lift, not altering the original sample in any noticeable way – does the song deserve a spot on the list? For the genre that brought you the cliché “bass! How low can you go?” this was a vast oversight. Notably absent: all rap music, aside from a mid-90s Diamond D track featured at #50. Our top 50 basslines-list featured a few weeks back was, for all its impressive bass-thumping powers, slightly inadequate.