5 Rappers Who Don’t Need a Greatest Hits (but have one anyway)
It happens to every head at some point. You’re casually browsing through the CD racks at the record store, just wasting time and suddenly you can’t believe your eyes. It can’t be! MC One-Hit and the Whatstheirnames have a greatest hits album?! The right move is to shake your head and pop it right back on the shelf, but sometimes curiosity (and masochism) get the best of you. We’ve all fallen victim in moments of weakness, to buying schlock like this:
Mack 10 Foe Life: The Best of Mack 10 (2007)
| 1. Foe Life | 10. Hoo Bangin’ |
| 2. Hate In Yo Eyes | 11. The Testimony |
| 3. Nothin’ But The Cavi Hit | 12. Hustle Game |
| 4. Like This | 13. The Letter |
| 5. From Tha Streetz | 14. My Chucks |
| 6. Only In California | 15. Tha Weekend |
| 7. Money’s Just A Touch Away | 16. W/S Foe Life |
| 8. On Them Thangs | 17. Get Yo Ride On |
| 9. Do The Damn Thing | 18. Mozi-Wozi |
Come on now—18 tracks? Really?! Even PE, Run-DMC and LL would have to push into filler territory for 18 hits! Foe Life and, to a (much) lesser extent, W/S Foe Life (with West side Connection) and Nuthin but the Cavi Hit made some noise, but the rest of these songs are known only by the hardcore fan and Mack 10’s mom.
Tag Team: The Best of Tag Team (2000)
| 1. Whoomp! (There It Is) [Remix 2000] | 11. Do Your Dance/Old School Flava on Your Dial |
| 2. Bring It On | 12. Funkey Situation/Back From Another Mission |
| 3. Wreck da Set | 13. What U Waitin’ 4 |
| 4. Just Call Me DC | 14. Let the Music Play/Drop the Funk Bomb |
| 5. Bobyahead! | 15. Booty Low/Tag Team Underground |
| 6. Drop ‘Em | 16. Oweeo |
| 7. It’s Somethin’ | 17. Side 2 Side/Somehouse Kickin’ It |
| 8. U Go Girl [Remix] | 18. Here It Is, Bam!! |
| 9. Free Style | 19. Whoomp! (There It Is) [House Mix] |
| 10. Throw Your Hands | 20. Whoomp, Si Lo Es |
STOP LAUGHING! No, really, stop. Some forward-thinking, enterprising soul said “You know what would really put Tag Team over the top? A poorly translated Spanish version of Whoomp There It Is.” And Whoomp, Si Lo Es was born. Now, I bet you feel really stupid.
Schoolly D: The Best of Schooly D (2003)
| 1. P.S.K. ‘What Does It Mean’ | 7. Parkside 5-2 |
| 2. Gucci Time | 8. B-Boy Rhyme and Riddle |
| 3. Put Your Filas On | 9. Smoke Some Kill |
| 4. Saturday Night | 10. Mr. Big D**k |
| 5. Dedication To All B-Boys | 11. Coqui 900 |
| 6. Fat Gold Chain | 12. Livin’ In The Jungle |
Okay, this one I actually do own. As a DJ, I’m a completist when it comes to an artist. But really, all Schoolly D needs is one of those “Five Best” CDs that Rhino puts out for 5.99. Yes, Schoolly will go down in history as the first rapper to cap somebody on wax, and PSK is a legitimate hip-hop classic—the beat has been sampled often, from Biggie to Case. The brother even produces tunes for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. But 12 tracks is overkill when your biggest song was last hitting in 1987.
Bizzy Bone: The Best of Bizzy Bone (2007)
| 1. Nobody Can Stop Me | 7. On The Freeway |
| 2. What Do We Say? | 8. Thugs Need Love Too |
| 3. Thugz Cry | 9. When I See |
| 4. Around The World | 10. Maybe You Can Hold Me |
| 5. Fried Day | 11. Don’t Ask Me Why |
| 6. One Time | 12. The Top |
Hell. Naw. I repeat: HELL to the NAW. Were the masses really clamoring for this? On a side note, why is it when I go to Best Buy or, until a few months ago, Circuit City (WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? excuse me for a minute…) is there always an ass-load of Bone Thugs n Harmony product? I mean damn near every album, new stuff, old stuff, what’s up on that? Is the Bone Thug Nation that strong in the M-I-Yayo? Or is Bizzy on a secret tour, driving around the nation making sure his CDs are on prominent display? You make the call.
Luniz: Luniz – Greatest Hits (2005)
| 1. Intro | 9. Killers on the Payroll |
| 2. So Much Drama | 10. Big Face Escalade |
| 3. Just Me and You | 11. Pimps, Players Hustlers |
| 4. Oakland Raiders | 12. Baby Momma |
| 5. Playa Hata | 13. Closer Than Close |
| 6. In My Nature | 14. Broke Hoes Is a No No |
| 7. Fuck You | 15. Mob |
| 8. I Got 5 on It | 16. Break Me Off |
Luniz is another group that have a few songs, and they get props for introducing the term “Playa Hata” (eventually shortened to just “hater”) to the world, but please check the track list. It’s not like they were running out of room. They could’ve included the Posse cut remix of I got 5 On It, featuring E-40, Digital Underground, Dru Down, and Richie Rich. I mean really, is Fuck You such a heartwarming hit that there would’ve been an uprising to cut it? I’m just saying, if you’re gonna do a greatest hits, do it right.
Honorable Mention
Biggie Smalls
Now the Notorious One is no laughing matter. But it aint too hard to round out the hits. Just buy his first two–excuse me, his ONLY two albums recorded before he died. Granted, there are some cameos and collabos floating around out there, plus the remixes that don’t stop. But take it from a GrownHead: Ready to Die and Life After Death are really all you need.
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