Frequent is among the most famed MCs within the historical past of hip-hop, serving to to place Chicago on the map, because the East and West coasts had been nonetheless duking it out. Because the younger South Aspect rapper launched his stellar debut, Can I Borrow A Greenback?, in 1992, the person born Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn, has curated an immense discography of experimental, uplifting albums and a plethora of head-nodding, thought-provoking singles that makes the most effective Frequent songs important for hip-hop heads in all places.
Garnering crucial acclaim, Frequent has obtained an Emmy, a Grammy, and an Oscar for his songwriting acumen – a uncommon feat, and a testomony to his evolution as an artist. Although he has transitioned into changing into a profitable actor, activist, and creator, at his core, Frequent continues to be the exceptional lyricist from the Windy Metropolis.
Take heed to the most effective Frequent songs on Apple Music and Spotify.
20: One-9-9-9 (that includes Talib Kweli and Sadat X)
Off the Rawkus Data compilation Soundbombing II, “One-Nine-Nine-Nine” options an intro by Talib Kweli, a visitor verse by Sadat X, and soulful manufacturing from Hello-Tek. Throughout this time, Frequent was affiliated with the underground spirit of Rawkus. Of his many collaborations with Rawkus artists, “One-Nine-Nine-Nine” is crucial classic Frequent, with the MC exhibiting his chew on the mic: “Check it, it’s like I’m fightin’ for freedom/Writing for freedom/These record company ni__as, I don’t like when I see em/My ancestors, when I’m writin’ I see em and talk wit’ em/Hopin’ in the promised land I can walk wit’ em.”
19: Ghetto Goals (that includes Nas)
It took nearly 30 years for 2 of essentially the most heralded MCs, Frequent, and Nas, to get on a monitor collectively. The primary single off Frequent’s ninth album, The Dreamer/The Believer, “Ghetto Dreams” channels a 90s, boom-bap sound with No ID helming the scorching-hot manufacturing. Driving a pattern of The Fellows’ “Let’s Make It Last,” each lyricists replicate on rising up of their respective hoods and the way goals can come true even towards insurmountable odds. With out query, “Ghetto Dreams” is a legendary duet by two hip-hop titans.
18: Take It EZ
As the primary single from his debut album, Can I Borrow a Greenback?, “Take It EZ” was Frequent’s (then generally known as Frequent Sense) introduction to the world. He nearly single-handedly put Chicago on the map as an rising area for underground hip-hop. Produced by No ID, “Take It EZ” was a foreshadowing of the greatness that lay behind the most effective Frequent songs.
17: Common Thoughts Management (that includes Pharrell Williams)
Impressed by the traditional “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa, “Universal Mind Control” noticed the socially-minded MC discover his extra hedonistic facet. Produced by The Neptunes and that includes Pharrell Williams on the refrain, the monitor finds Frequent departing from the soul-sample affect of his earlier albums to a extra dance-driven sound that demonstrates his versatility. It turned his second highest-charting single within the US and peaked at No.62 on the Billboard Scorching 100.
16: Come Shut (that includes Mary J Blige)
Amid the boundary-pushing ethos of Frequent’s 2002 album, Electrical Circus, “Come Close” was the only real radio single. As unabashed rap-ballad and R&B crossover reduce that enlists the Queen Of Hip-Hop Soul, Mary J Blige, on the refrain, “Come Close” revealed Frequent’s delicate facet and even served as a wedding proposal to his then-girlfriend, Erykah Badu.
15: They Say (that includes Kanye West and John Legend)
A shocking quantity from BE, “They Say” is a jamming collaboration between Frequent, fellow Windy Metropolis native Kanye West and John Legend. A triumphant rejoinder to all of the haters, “They Say” is aspirational and inspirational. Of Frequent and Kanye’s many collaborations, the monitor captures the distinctive chemistry of two veterans who modified the sport.
14: Letter To The Free (that includes Bilal)
After penning the Oscar-winning monitor “Glory” for Ava DuVernay’s triumphant movie Selma, Frequent and the director teamed up as soon as once more on her highly effective documentary thirteenth, the place the MC delivered this passionate, politically charged tune for the soundtrack. Tackling the mass incarceration of African Individuals, Frequent continues the wealthy legacy of African-American protest music. Produced by Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper, with Bilal’s signature falsetto on the hook, “Letter To The Free” received Frequent an Emmy, making him the one hip-hop artist simply shy of coming into the EGOT Winners’ Circle.
13: The Bizness (De La Soul, that includes Frequent)
If the Native Tongues collective have musical descendants, Frequent could be amongst them. So when legendary group De La Soul tapped him for a visitor spot on “The Bizness,” it was a full-circle second. On “The Bizness,” the MCs take purpose at whack rappers and materialism in hip-hop and push the tradition ahead with their artistry. Showing on “The Bizness” with the De La Soul solidified Frequent as a pressure to be reckoned with.
12: Act Too (The Love Of My Life) (The Roots, that includes Frequent)
From The Roots’ seminal album Issues Fall Aside, “Act Too (The Love Of My Life),” sees Frequent decide up from the place he left off on his 1994 traditional, “I Used To Love HER.” Buying and selling bars with one other elite MC, Black Thought, Frequent ranges a critique on the sorry state of hip-hop, as soon as once more oversaturated with materialism and missing in creativity.
11: Testify
A gripping story of crime and betrayal, “Testify” shows Frequent’s dexterous storytelling abilities. Constructed round a genius vocal loop from Honey Cone’s “Innocent Til Proven Guilty” (courtesy of Kanye), “Testify” is a narrative of heartbreak and betrayal set to a 70s soul groove. Accompanied by a high-concept video starring Taraji. P Henson, the one was nominated for Greatest Rap Solo Efficiency on the forty eighth Grammy Awards.
10: Respiration (Black Star, that includes Frequent)
The Holy Trinity of the late 90s underground rap scene, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Frequent joined forces on this traditional from Mos Def And Talib Kweli Are Black Star. On the six-minute monitor, every MC takes a flip portray a vivid image of the cruel realities of city life, representing the top of high-level lyricism.
9 Go! (that includes John Mayer)
That includes percussion by Num Amuntehu and scratches by A-Trak, “Go!” explores Frequent’s sensual facet, making use of his narrative abilities to intimate entanglements. With Kanye on the boards and John Meyer on backing vocals, the monitor side-steps clichés and works simply as effectively if you happen to’re bumping it after hours or on a protracted drive.
8: Retrospect For Life (that includes Lauryn Hill)
In hip-hop’s testosterone-driven world, vulnerability shouldn’t be all the time a valued asset, however for Frequent it’s simply one other avenue to discover. There’s hardly a subject he received’t contact, from avenue hustling to gun violence and, on this case, abortion. Ever insightful and profound, Frequent will get introspective as he struggles with the ethical dilemma of an undesirable being pregnant. With Lauryn Hill on the hook, the sincere and uncooked feelings of this 1997 single nonetheless resonate.
7: Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip Hop) (Erykah Badu, that includes Frequent)
By 2002, Frequent and Erykah Badu had been a hip-hop energy couple, however their relationship went additional again, to when Badu jumped on his 1997 monitor “All Night Long.” The 2 would hyperlink up once more on this High 10 hit. Launched on the Brown Sugar soundtrack, “Love Of My Life” is one other love letter to hip-hop, one in all Frequent’s favourite lyrical themes; it earned him his first Grammy, for Greatest R&B Tune.
6: Resurrection
The title monitor to his breakout album, “Resurrection” marked the tip of Frequent Sense and the start of Frequent. “I stagger in the gatherin’ possessed by a patter-in/That be scatterin’/Over the global, my vocals be travelin’, unravelin’ my abdomen/It’s slime that’s babbling’ grammatics that are masculine,” he flows over a jazz instrumental. It not solely set the tone for the album, however set a brand new part of Frequent’s profession in movement.
5: The Folks (that includes Dwele)
Approaching the heels of the extensively acclaimed BE, Frequent got here again tougher than ever along with his beautiful monitor “The People,” the primary single from his sixth album, Discovering Perpetually. Frequent and Kanye’s chemistry is plain because the duo from Chicago cooked up one other gem. Kanye took the chance to pay tribute to the late, nice J Dilla, who had simply handed a 12 months earlier. For a rapper who prided himself on being a person of the folks, the one served as a reminder of Frequent’s true place in hip-hop.
4: The sixth Sense (that includes Bilal)
Opening the tune with Gil Scott-Heron’s well-known phrase “The revolution will not be televised,” Frequent asserts himself and his new musical path on “The Sixth Sense.” Masterfully produced by DJ Premier, and the one tune on Like Water For Chocolate not produced by a member of The Soulquarians, Frequent addresses a variety of matters, together with Afrocentricity, shifts in hip-hop tradition, and a plethora of social ills. Because the album’s first single, “The Sixth Sense” chronicled the continuous ascension of Frequent as among the best MCs within the sport.
3: The Nook (that includes Kanye West and The Final Poets)
If anybody thought that Frequent was a bit of too eclectic on Electrical Circus, Frequent introduced it again to the streets with “The Corner.” Kanye adroitly samples “You Make The Sun Shine” by The Temprees and “What It Is” by The Temptations for a hard-hitting monitor that appears like a Chicago winter on the South Aspect. The gritty sound and detailed narratives of “The Corner” marked a return to Frequent’s Resurrection days, one thing that hardcore Frequent followers had been eager for. With the addition of The Final Poets, Frequent pays tribute to the previous whereas embarking on a brand new future for hip-hop.
2: The Mild
With J Dilla on manufacturing, a chopped Bobby Caldwell pattern of “Open Your Eyes” was good for Frequent to create his largest hit as a lead artist. Passionately sharing his love for Erykah Badu, who additionally makes a cameo within the video, “The Light” encapsulates the whole lot The Soulquarians had been all about. With out compromising his creative integrity, “The Light” was Frequent’s first style of mainstream success and he achieved it by being his genuine self, rapping about love.
1: I Used To Love HER
Arguably among the best songs in hip-hop historical past, “I Used To Love HER” finds Frequent personifying hip-hop to be able to craft a tune to the music he as soon as liked, lamenting how the style turned too commercialized attributable to a mass inflow of mainstream rap within the 90s. Produced by No ID, utilizing a pattern of George Benson’s “The Changing World,” the sonic panorama was completely laid out for Frequent’s revolutionary storytelling. Greater than twenty years later, “I Used To Love HER” stays one essentially the most important moments in hip-hop: a traditional in each sense of the phrase.
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