The 50 Best New Orleans Rap Songs

Explore The Big Easy's rich musical history with bounce music classics and hits from No Limit and Cash Money.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

As the rebellious love child of old-school New York hip hop's rigid traditionalism and its own city's rich musical legacy, New Orleans' hip hop scene has always been one of the most fascinatingly distinctive. From the chant-heavy, repetitive bounce that ruled the area in the early '90s to its more streamlined and lyrical sibling that took over the national charts by the end of the decade, the city's scene(s) thrived on this unique push-and-pull relationship. In this time New Orleans' hip-hop circuit produced some of the genre's biggest stars and most unheralded talents. And much like the city itself, it has seen both its highs and very low lows, but it's still here, surviving.

In 2011, No Limit celebrates its 20th anniversary, Cash Money still rules the charts (albeit with a sound that has very little to do with the city that birthed it), and bounce sees its highest mainstream critical profile in years, with artists like Big Freedia becoming hipster darlings and David Simon's recently relaunched HBO series Treme taking a long-delayed interest in the genre. To celebrate that great legacy, Complex took a look back at The 50 Best New Orleans Rap Songs. The city's scene is so deep that 50 only scratches its surface, but the list offers a solid cross-section of the many styles and subscenes that the city has produced over the years, from major national hits to records that only impacted on the underground level.

Written By Andrew Noz (@Noz)

#50. Hot Boy Ronald "Walk Like Ronald" (2005) / Showboys "Drag Rap" (1986) / Cameron Paul "Brown Beats" (1987)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: DJ JMK

Album: Bounce Back/Buggs Can Can Triggerman Y2G's/Beats & Pieces

Label: King's/Profile/Mixx-It

Hot Boy Ronald "Walk Like Ronald"

The Showboys' "Drag Rap" may not technically be a New Orleans rap record—it was cut in Queens by childhood friends of Run DMC—but it's the most important rap record to hit New Orleans. It flopped in New York but caught on in Southern markets, particularly NOLA, where it became standard-issue sample fodder for aspiring producers and DJs and the subsequent backbone for the entire subgenre of bounce music.

Every last fragment of "Drag Rap" has found its way into various corners of New Orleans rap music—its rolling 808 drum sequences, the Dragnet theme, its xylophone sounds— which the Showboys themselves call "the bones"—its chants of "alright," its violent narrative, and even its interpolation of the Old Spice deodorant commercial theme. Listeners also adopted emcee Phil D.

Showboys member Triggerman's rap name was a shorthand title for the record, and thus the "Triggerman" break was born. "Triggerman" was quickly expanded by the addition of "Brown Beats," a similarly angular loop pulled from Bay Area producer Cameron Paul's Bits and Pieces breakbeat collection. This combination, in essence, formed the backbone for New Orleans bounce music.

Cash Money maestro Mannie Fresh once bragged that he'd "clock six figures/Off 'Brown Beats' and 'Triggers'," and he did. Other artists weren't quite as fortunate, often having to settle for the pride of local success over significant fame or financial gain. Nevertheless, the "Triggerman" legacy continues to dominate and Hot Boy Ronald's "Walk Like Ronald" is just one of the hundreds of local records to make use of this model.

#49. Baby Boy Da Prince "The Way I Live" (2006)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: D Weezy

Album: Across the Water

Label: Take Fo

A West Bank teen and little brother of one-time No Limit signee Choppa, Baby Boy Da Prince was launched into the surprisingly large lexicon of great NO one-hit wonders with "The Way I Live." Though the Boosie-assisted track was catchy enough to slip undetected amongst 2006's ringtone rap class, it also speaks to hometown pride, recalling the childlike synths of Ricky B's '90s bounce hit "Shake for Ya Motherfuckin Hood." Baby Boy's accompanying (and only) full-length Across the River flew under the radar for most, but it was a very dope and very New Orleans–sounding effort, throwing back to the late '90s heyday of Cash Money. It even included a semicover of his predecessor MC Thick's early tribute to their neighborhood, "Marrero."

#48. Warren Mayes "Get It Girl" (1989)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Warren Mayes

Album: "Get It Girl" Single

Label: Manicure

Bred in the Iberville projects, Warren Mayes was a fixture on the local rap scene for much of the '80s, rocking parties and records with a laid-back flow. "Get It Girl," his biggest hit, swiped its title and concept from a 2 Live Crew classic, but inverted their fast-paced booty shake to a distinctly NO swing. When the record gained traction locally, Atlantic Records picked it up in 1991, making him the first New Orleans rapper with a major deal. Though the track didn't exactly make Warren a national star, he would later ease into a mentor position in the New Orleans hip-hop community, working closely with Soulja Slim in the early part of his career. Like Slim, Warren's life ended on a tragic note—he was shot and killed after leaving a club in 1999.

#47. Curren$y "King Kong" (2010)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Ski Beats

Album: Pilot Talk

Label: Blu Roc

As a former signee of both No Limit and Cash Money, Curren$y has certainly paid his dues in the annals of New Orleans hip hop. Though he was a clear talent, his presence at both labels teetered between uncomfortable and forgettable, and for a long time he seemed destined to become yet another of the many unfortunate label casualities that both camps were producing (word to T-Bo and All $tar, respectively). Until he took matters into his own hands. He went indie, relaxed his flow and embraced his love for agriculture, and the national cult success followed. "King Kong" is one of the many products of that freedom, and it might be his most perfect, with Ski's ominous synths providing an ideal backdrop for Spitta's laid-back, precise cadence.

#46. Tim Smooth "I Don't Give a Damn About Your Boyfriend" (1991)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: DJ Lil Daddy

Album: "I Gotsta' Have it" Single B-Side

Label: Yo!

Though he rose to prominence during the era of simpler bounce chants, Tim Smooth was a more traditional storyteller and lyricist in the New York vein. He honed his lyrics on the local battle scene and created one of the greatest "I'll Take Your Girl" rap songs of all time with "I Don't Give a Damn About Your Boyfriend." It was an underground hit throughout the South (Samples of Tim's "yaoe man" proved particularly prominent on the Memphis mixtape scene), and in 1994 Rap-A-Lot Records picked Smooth to reissue "Girlfriend" with an inferior alternate mix. It didn't stick, but Smooth moved into the position of hip-hop elder statesman in his hometown, continuing to produce minor hits and collaborating with a then up-and-comer named Mystikal.

#45. Jay Electronica "Exhibit C" (2009)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Just Blaze

Album: Exhibit C - EP

Label: Decon

Coming out of the same Magnolia projects that birthed Juvenile, eccentric traditionalist Jay Electronica took his style elsewhere early in his career. His music is dominated by traces of the locales where he honed his skills—Philly, Detroit, New York—but always kept one foot in his hometown, emotionally and thematically. The Just Blaze–produced "Exhibit C" tells the tale of this nomadism.

#44. L.O.G. "G's 'N Soldiers" (1996)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Elton Wicker Jr.

Album: G's 'N Soldiers

Label: Tombstone

At the height of West Coast dominance, L.O.G. cut this bold and very hard diss track declaring the superiority of NO hip-hop and culture to its California equivalent: "Y'all be having Gs/We be having soldiers."

#43. Ninja Crew "We Destroy" (1986)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Gregory Duvernay

Album: "We Destroy" Single

Label: 4-Sight

When local party-rocking trio the Ninja Crew signed to Miami's 4-Sight Records, they became the first New Orleans rappers to release a record. With its "Mary Had a Little Lamb" beatbox, "We Destroy" might not be the most representative of the then still-forming New Orleans sound—in fact it's close to indistinguishable from many bass records that the label was releasing at the time—but it was a launchpad for some of the scene's more relevant players. MC Gregory D would go on to link up with a young DJ named Mannie Fresh to form a duo and sign to RCA, DJ Baby T formed a similar group with an MC named Devious D, and MC Sporty T became a solo bounce star in his own right, crafting early classics like "Sporty Talkin Sporty." Sporty's story ended tragically when he was gunned down in a FEMA trailer in 2008.

#42. Mystikal "Shake Ya Ass" (2000)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: The Neptunes

Album: Let's Get Ready

Label: Jive

While "Shake Ya Ass" replaces the distinctly New Orleanian gumbo funk of Mystikal's early efforts with the Neptunes' digital plod, it's still one of the biggest national hits the city ever produced. It opens with the line "I came here with my dick in my hand," which is a pretty good summation of both Mystikal's rap style and attitude.

#41. Fiend "The Baddest M.F. Alive" (1995)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Precise

Album: Won't Be Denied

Label: Big Boy

Long-time No Limit soldier Fiend is one of the more underrated energy rappers, as displayed on his early hit and mission statement "Baddest M-F Alive." He wasn't yet rocking with the "Whomp Whomp" adlib that he rode to success with No Limit, but his potency was fully formed on the DJ Precise-produced classic. Today Fiend's career is experiencing an unexpected, but welcome, third act on the heels of Curren$y's stoner rap success.

#40. Mia X "Da Payback" (1993)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: J. Diamond Washington

Album: N/A

Label: Lamina

Prior to being crowned the first lady of No Limit, Mia X had a fledgling career on the bounce circuit. Her first 12", "Payback," was a loose response to DJ Jimi's "Suck a nigga dick for a pork chop" chant. As producer J. Diamond Washington rocks "Brown Beats" and bounces back and forth between James Brown's Black Caesar score and John Carpenter's Halloween (a Southern rap staple if there ever was one), Mama Mia runs down a list of demands from an explicitly feminist perspective. It was a particularly smart, agenda-driven, and perhaps even conscious record at a time when most of her peers were still just focused on developing catchy chants. Even at this early point in her career, it hints at her future as one of the greatest female MCs of all-time (and, for everywhere, but New Orleans, one of the most underappreciated).

#39. Big Tymers "Get Your Roll On" (2000))

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: I Got That Work

Label: Cash Money/Universal

Mannie and Baby might not be the most skilled rappers, but they have a strong chemistry and ease into Mannie's trunk-rattling production with an old-school swagger. Clown princes to a tee, their greatest talent lies in their humor though, using a choppy flow to emphasize punchline delivery on "Roll On": "Your wife is my ... baby mama." Between this and "#1 Stunna," they more than held their own.

#38. Lil Elt "Get the Gat" (1992)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: MC Dart & KLC

Album: Uptown

Label: Parkway Pumpin

When bounce music first hit New Orleans in the early '90s, the rest of the nation was fascinated by the rise of N.W.A and gangsta rap. NOLA was no exception, and it was only a matter of time before the sound of the city combined with the themes of the hip-hop nation. The fusion caught on like wildfire and eventually provided the blueprint for the late-century stars that came out of the Cash Money camp. Lil' Elt's "Get the Gat" is one of the stronger early gangsta bounce records, with Elt instructing every ward to reach for his weapon of choice over future No Limit producer KLC's melange of NWA vocals, Black Sheep's "Choice Is Yours" bassline, and Cameron Paul's formative bounce break, "Brown Beats." KLC's Parkway Pumpin imprint also dropped 3-9 Posse's similarly charged gangsta bounce classic "Ask Dem Hoes," as well as the earliest tapes from Magnolia (later Soulja) Slim.

#37. Ricky B "Y'all Holla" (1996)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mobo Joe

Album: Mobo Click

Label: Mobo

Bounce, like most New Orleans music, is an inter-referential musical gumbo, drawing heavily on the city's existing musical movements, particularly its brass bands. For "Y'all Holla," Ricky B, the man behind playful bounce classics "Who Got Dat Fire" and "Shake It Fo Yo Hood," snatched the opening tubas from Rebirth Brass Band's "Feel Like Funkin' It Up." The sample has long played a big part in bounce's sonic equation, appearing in a few prior songs like Da Sha Ra's "Bootin Up" and countless records since.

#36. Hot Boys "Tuesday & Thursday" (1999)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: Guerrilla Warfare

Label: Cash Money/Universal

The Hot Boys were New Orleans' ultimate super-group, a training ground for the city's rising generation of reality rappers. Juve played the sage old(er) head while BG, Wayne, and Turk duked it out in long-running strings of tag-team raps. "Tuesday & Thursday" is arguably their finest album track, offering constructive wisdom to D-boys everywhere.

#35. Mac "Slow Ya Roll" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: O'Dell

Album: Shell Shocked

Label: No Limit

As much as a No Limit affiliation did for artists commercially, the Tank had a tendency to flatten personalities. Distinctive local talents like Fiend, Magic, and Mia X were all shoehorned into the Beats by the Pound's singular aesthetic template, often at a slight expense to whatever sound they were developing before P came back to town. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of Mac. After outgrowing his roots in a Mannie Fresh–cosigned kiddie-rap project (then he was known as Lil Mac), Mac was evolving into something of a Southern Nas before he linked up with the label, running with the crew Psychoward and producing what would sonically be best described as backpack rap. When he landed on No Limit, the sound changed, but the talent transcended, as evidenced on "Slow Ya Roll."

#34. Da Entourage "Bunny Hop" (2001)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Gamebeno & Red Boy

Album: Entourage 2

Label: Red Boy/Universal

In the wake of the widespread success that fusionists Cash Money and No Limit saw in streamlining the bounce sound into something that was nationally marketable, the next logical step would be to see pure bounce music cross over. The industry had some small successes with tracks like Choppa's "Choppa Style" and "Bunny Hop," a breezy Curtis Mayfield-sampling dance rap that tore up Southern clubs in the early part of the century.

#33. Bust Down "Nasty Bitch" (1991)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Ice Mike

Album: Nasty Bitch

Label: Effect

Another early New Orleans rapper whose memory has nearly been lost to history, Bust Down made a name for himself with this epic eight-minute tale about, well, a "nasty bitch" whose "pussy hole smelled like sour cream and onion." Produced by Ice Mike (one of the first New Orleans rappers and an important DJ in his own right), the track was Too $hort channeled through a proto-bounce vision. Bust signed to Luther Campbell's Effect Records. There Mike was replaced by none other than DJ Toomp. The debut album withered on the vine, but Bust will always have "Nasty Bitch" on his résumé, as well as the popular B-side "Putcha Balley's On" and its follow-up "Pissin Razor Blades," one of the many high points in STD-rap history.

#32. Soulja Slim "Love Me or Love Me Not" (2002)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Dani Kartel

Album: Years Later... A Few Months After

Label: Cut Throat Committy/Koch

In some ways the late Soulja Slim was ahead of his time, a prototype for many of today's remorseless goon-rap stars. Still, he also had a more reflective side, as demonstrated here. But don't let the track's sentimental musicality fool you into thinking he's a softy. At the end of the day, Slim would've still picked the streets over love.

#31. Partners-N-Crime "NO Block Party" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Precise

Album: Whatcha Wanna Do?

Label: Upper Level

In the canon of New Orleans standards, "Iko Iko" stands near the top. Originally penned by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford in 1953, the near-gibberish tale of Mardi Gras Indians spread like wildfire throughout popular music over the past 60 years. PNC, the group responsible for bounce anthems like "Pump Tha Party," reached back to "Iko Iko" with "NO Block Party," retrofitting its instantly recognizable melody to the sound and language ("hot girls sitting by the bayou") of the '90s. DJ Jubilee, another bounce favorite, also kicks in some of his trademark chants.

#30. Mystikal "Man Right Chea" (1997)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Craig B

Album: Unpredictable

Label: No Limit

Because of New Orleans hip-hop's tendency to wear its influences on its sleeve, it's usually (relatively) easy to follow its stylistic bloodlines from one artist to the next. The glaring exception, however, is Mystikal. There's seemingly no precedent in New Orleans hip hop—or anywhere else—for his rap style. His trademark scattershot rasp was seemingly born in a vacuum, concocted solely from the mind of the man himself, and the world is better off for it.

#29. Choppa "Choppa Style" (2001)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Full Pack Music

Album: Straight From the N.O.

Label: Take Fo/No Limit

First released on bounce indie favorite Take Fo' before Master P picked it up for a national release, Choppa's "Choppa Style" borrows pretty explicitly from Juvenile's "Back Dat Azz Up"—orchestral strings and recreated "Triggerman" bones. But that's the nature of bounce—styles are bitten and borrowed as it evolves at a slow pace.

#28. Tru "Swamp Nigga" (1997)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: KLC

Album: Tru to Da Game

Label: No Limit

Master P's success is a testament to the value of simplicity in hip-hop. Set to Beats by the Pound's menacing funk and bong-water bubbles, P bluntly breaks down the mind of a slightly paranoid criminal on this choice album cut from TRU's sprawling TRU 2 Da Game double disc.

#27. Magnolia Shorty "That's My Juvie" (2008)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: N/A

Album: N/A

Label: N/A

Getting her start with Cash Money in its early pre-Universal days, Magnolia Shorty was a staple on the bounce scene for much of the '90s, but it was the "Triggerman"-fueled "That's My Juvie," an ode to her hot boy, that would prove to be her biggest local hit. Sadly, it would also be her last, as she was murdered last year when she was just 28 years old.

#26. 504 Boyz "Wobble Wobble" (2000)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Carlos Stephens

Album: Good Fellas

Label: No Limit

As the No Limit roster expanded well beyond the core of the Miller-family-fueled Tru, another super-group was born—the 504 Boyz, which absorbed favorite souljas like Mystikal, Magic, and, later, even Curren$y into the fold. But "Wobble, Wobble" looked backwards, drawing on more traditional bounce elements to become a mega-hit for the crew.

#25. Hot Boys "We on Fire" (1997)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: Get It How You Live!!

Label: Cash Money

Under Mannie's OG tutelage, the Hot Boys always loosely wore the influence of old-school call-and-response numbers. "We on Fire" transports the Bronx house party routine to the UPT, making the most out of a simple "What kinda nigga?" format.

#24. Soulja Slim "Soulja 4 Life" (2001)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: N/A

Album: The Streets Made Me

Label: No Limit

In a scene burdened by the loss of so many martyred talents, it was Soulja Slim's murder that may have hit fans the hardest. Slim served as the city's Tupac, a potent shit-talker who could also snap back to a stark emotional honesty and thoughtful sociopolitical commentary with ease. This is best evidenced on "Soulja 4 Life," Slim's chilling treatise on police racism and brutality.

#23. Big Freedia "Gin in My System" (2003)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: DJ Blaqnmild

Album: Queen Diva

Label: Money Rules

Cross-dressing has long been a part of New Orleans musical culture, and that legacy extends all the way into the hip-hop era. In fact it was noted R&B singer, entrepreneur, and cross-dresser Bobby Marchan who first put on early NO rappers like Warren Mayes and even had a hand in the early formation of Cash Money Records. Drag performance has seen a revival in the 21st century, as the bounce scene is partially ruled by cross-dressing acts like Big Freedia, Sissy Nobby and Katey Red.

Dubbed "sissy bounce" by the media, it's been a hot topic over the past few years, for better or worse. While it's nice to have national media finally paying attention to such an overlooked scene, the exclusive focus on the sissies reeks of tokenism and too often misrepresents the bounce community as a predominately or even exclusively gay one. Liberal critics also do disservice to the sissy artists themselves, framing their work as more of a curiosity or a victorious pride statement than a notable and populist musical movement.

In New Orleans the gender of the performers is more of a footnote and the music stands on its own. Freedia's "In My System" is the best example, an unforgettable high-energy bounce anthem about the power of hard liquor. The life of the hook, "I got that gin in my system/Somebody's gonna be my victim," has extended well beyond Freedia herself, with the likes of Lil Wayne and Lil Boosie interpolating it in recent years.

#22. Juvenile "400 Degreez" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: 400 Degreez

Label: Cash Money/Universal

While the rest of the world harps on the hits of crossover labels Cash Money and No Limit, many deep album cuts are held in equal esteem in New Orleans and throughout the South. The club classic "400 Degreez" is a great example of this. Opening on a hard vocoded chant of "400 De-gre-eez," the short track finds Juve at his most combustible, bragging about beating felony charges and how he eats, sleeps, shits, and talks rap.

#21. DJ Jubilee "Do the Jubilee All" (1993)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: E-Jay & Henry the Man

Album: DJ Jubilee & Take Fo' Family, The Jubilee All (Stop Pause)

Label: Take Fo

While some strains of bounce got increasingly violent and vulgar throughout the '90s, DJ Jubilee, a high school teacher took it in the opposite direction. He popularized a less vulgar, more youth-friendly take on bounce, and in the process he's coined a bevy of chant-specific dances to go along with it. His signature "Jubilee All" runs down just a few dozen of them.

#20. Master P f/ Mia X, Mystikal, Silkk the Shocker, & Kane & Abel "Hot Boys and Hot Girls" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Craig B

Album: MP da Last Don

Label: No Limit

There are very few rappers on earth who know how to start a rap song better than Mystikal. The fire on the last verse of "Make 'Em Say Uhh" becomes the spark on this fan-favorite posse cut from P's MP the Last Don, bragging of what he is (the buzz in the weed and the bubbles in your beer) and what he ain't (Dennis Rodman's hair). He sets the pace and concept for Mia, Silkk, and Kane & Abel to follow suit, each embodying different shows of power and menace. P, the gold on your teeth and the Nike's on your feet, bats cleanup and proves to be no slouch either.

#19. DJ Jimi f/ Juvenile "Bounce (For the Juvenile)" (1993)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Precise

Album: It's Jimi

Label: Soulin/Avenue

Though DJ Jimi's debut single "Where They At" stands as his biggest hit, its follow-up, "Bounce (For the Juvenile)" is notable for a few reasons. One, it gave the genre a formal name. It also proved that bounce could exist outside of "Triggerman," instead bringing the same "Ashley Roachclip" break that Eric B. & Rakim made popular. But more than any of that, it introduced the world to a teenage rapper who went by the name of Juvenile. Even at that young age, Juve's talent was blindingly apparent, and he outshined his mentor with a reggae-tinged flow.

#18. Lil Wayne "A Milli" (2008)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Bangladesh

Album: Tha Carter III

Label: Cash Money

Superficially "A Milli" has very little to do with the sonics of New Orleans hip-hop, but it's a cumulative showcase for one of its greatest talents. Wayne operates at the height of his lyrical prowess, and he was only able to achieve such heights by being a student of his hometown's rap scene. They said he was rapping like Big, Jay, Tupac, and Andre, but the show-offy verses are equally soaked in the styles of NO's finest—the presence of Juvenile, the passion of Slim, the swagger of B.G., and the elasticity of Mystikal. His coming-out party was a testament to all of their successes. And while New Orleans always recognized Wayne's talents, it wasn't until Tha Carter 3 that the rest of the world came around to his "Best Rapper Alive" Boasts.

#17. Juvenile, Wacko & Skip "Nolia Clap (Remix)" (2004)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: XL, Slice T & Juvenile

Album: The Beginning of the End

Label: Rap-A-Lot

Little more than a five-note bassline and sporadic "alright" samples from "Triggerman," this project pride banger has many different mixes, all featuring Juvenile's souljas-in-training. The video remix is the winner, held down by Wacko with his hyper-vulgar, orifice-obsessed verse: "They take dick in they ass, they take dick in the throat/They take dick in they ear, they take dick out they nose/They take a dick anywhere a dick can go." Wait—out they nose?

#16. Juvenile "Solja Rags" (1997)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: Solja Rags

Label: Cash Money

Before Juvenile broke nationally with the repetitive mumble-rap declaration of "Ha," he first tested the water with "Soulja Rags." In fact, playing to the recyclable economy of Cash Money Records, a big chunk of the song's lyrics found their way into "Ha." But Juve's character-driven writing was strong enough to justify reuse.

#15. C-Murder f/ Magic & Snoop Dogg "Down for My N's" (2000)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: KLC

Album: Trapped in Crime

Label: No Limit

Though No Limit's successes were undoubtedly fueled by Master P's impeccable business mind, the label's secret weapon on the musical side was Beats by the Pound. A team of mostly bounce-bred producers and musicians—KLC, Mo B. Dick, Craig B., C-Los, and O'Dell—they moved quickly and efficiently, churning out hundreds of beats for the label's assembly line, all the while perfecting their stripped-down but aggressive sound. C-Murder's "Down for My N's" might be their quintessential production, with its pure, unfiltered military stomp that's guaranteed to turn any club riotous.

#14. B.G. "Cash Money Is an Army" (1999)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: Chopper City in the Ghetto

Label: Cash Money

Unlike his more playful Cash Money peers, B.G. almost never seemed exactly happy. There was a darkness to his best records, and the shimmering synths of "Cash Money Is an Army" exaggerate that approach: "I got a path that you don't wanna cross/But if you do decide to cross, your weave'll get knocked off/I play raw/'Cause it's a dirty game, a dirty world."

#13. Master P f/ Pimp C & Silkk The Shocker "I Miss My Homies" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mo B. Dick

Album: Ghetto D

Label: No Limit

There are about a half-dozen tracks on Master P's breakout LP, Ghetto D, that are worthy of this list, but it's the emotional outpour that is "I Miss My Homies" that stands out best, borrowing its hook from the O'Jays' "Brandy" (by way of an old interlude performed by vastly underrated Rap-A-Lot signees OG Style).

#12. B.G. f/ Hot Boys & Big Tymers "Bling Bling" (1999)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: Chopper City in the Ghetto

Label: Cash Money/Universal

When B.G. and his Hot Boys brethren dropped "Bling Bling," the phrase completely permeated public consciousness almost immediately. It played out quickly, too. Today it mostly remains in the vocabulary of purposely goofy old people, but for a brief moment the Hot Boys truly did change language. And no amount of ironic reappropriation of the hook could make Turk's "Lil nigga 17, playing with six figures/Got so much ice you can skate on a nigga" verse sound anything less than incredible.

#11. Mystikal "Here I Go" (1995)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Precise

Album: Mind of Mystikal

Label: Jive

Mystikal is a madman by nature, bending rhythms to his will and croaking out threats in the process. With "Here I Go," Precise's stripped-down swamp funk is Mystikal's playground, and he bounces around in it, filling the empty space with growls of hearts that jump like bassline bumps and something about King George III.

#10. UNLV "Drag 'Em in the River" (1996)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: Uptown 4 Life

Label: Cash Money

Before the Hot Boys era of Cash Money, Baby and Slim ruled the New Orleans underground with an entirely different roster of mostly bounce-leaning rappers like Kilo-G, PxMxWx, Mr. Ivan, and Lil Slim. Their biggest success in that era was gangsta rappers UNLV, who scored a Down South hit with the "Triggerman"-interpolating "Drag 'Em in the River." On it the trio—Tec-9, Lil Ya, Yella Boy—sent shots at another New Orleans rapper, Mystikal, who at the time was the face of Cash Money's biggest competition, Big Boy Records. The history books show which label won that battle, but one has to wonder if the story might've played out differently without the success of "Drag 'Em." UNLV was dropped from Cash Money on less than good terms and Yella Boy was murdered shortly thereafter, but the remaining group continued recording on the indie tip throughout the '00s.

#9. Silkk the Shocker f/ Mystikal "Ain't My Fault" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Craig B

Album: Charge It 2 Da Game

Label: No Limit

Yet another nod to NO's musical history, "It Ain't My Fault" is a riff on Smokey Johnson's 1965 instrumental standard of the same title. The original was a tightly wound workout of second-line percussion, and Silkk and Mystikal loosen it up rhythmically but intensify the sentiment with their brash and slippery flows. Rapping about dodging bananas in tailpipes is just so inherently Mystikalian. He was rap's Wile E. Coyote. Which means Silkk is playing his Road Runner here by default.

#8. Lil Wayne "Go DJ" (2004) / UNLV "Go DJ (2003)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh/Sinista

Album: Tha Carter/Keep It Gutta

Label: Cash Money/B Real

Lil Wayne "Go DJ"

For all their underground success, UNLV split unceremoniously before Cash Money signed the Universal deal that propelled the label to national fame. Years later the next generation of Cash Money would rub UNLV's faces in the split as Wayne swiped the hook and title for their then-bubbling underground hit "Go DJ." These types of homages are certainly not uncommon in their scene, but given the context it's hard to read it as anything but a slight. It's especially funny how Wayne managed to turn a purely positive party song—UNLV's version kindly suggests, "Don't you bring no weapons, knifes, and guns," and espouses the value of music as a universal peacemaker—into one about wielding army guns and cutting the heads off proverbial snakes. But both songs are classics in very different ways, UNLV's as an innocuous but incredibly effective party starter and Wayne's as a cutthroat lyrical display. (Adding insult to injury, Wayne would later also rap on the original "Go DJ" beat on his Dedication 2 tape. Leaving behind just residue and bones, indeed.)

#7. Juvenile f/ Soulja Slim "Slow Motion" (2003)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Dani Kartel

Album: Juve the Great

Label: Cash Money/Universal

Before he was shot and killed on the eve of Thanksgiving in 2003, Soulja Slim could've very well been on his way to being a legitimate mainstream rap star. After years of building a cult following, he had crafted "Slow Motion," a stripper's anthem made mournful by its haunting horn stabs. His death magnified that atmosphere when Juvenile added his own verses and tacked the track to his Juve the Great project in Slim's tribute. The gesture took the record and the deceased rapper to unforeseen heights—"Slow Motion" became the first New Orleans rap record to top the U.S. pop charts (and only, unless you count Lil Waynes "Lollipop," which you shouldn't because it's all sung through Autotune—it remains the only rap record from the city to do so to this day). Its success was a bittersweet eulogy for New Orleans' fallen rap hero.

#6. Gregory D & DJ Mannie Fresh "Buck Jump Time" (1989)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: D Rules the Nation

Label: Uzi

Before he provided the musical backbone to the Cash Money empire, Mannie Fresh was DJing for MC Gregory D, formerly of Ninja Crew. The duo had already released one LP of gimmicky bass rap, but it wasn't until "Buck Jump Time" that they really tapped into the main vein of New Orleans music. Mannie's synth bass, uptempo 808s, and short bursts of brass horns hold down Gregory as he endlessly shouts out specific NO wards and projects. Though the song predated the use of the "Triggerman" sample that would come to define New Orleans bounce, its pace and call-and-response elements undeniably laid the framework for the subgenre that was on the verge of being born.

#5. Tru f/ Mia X "I'm Bout It Bout It" (1995)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: K-Lou

Album: TRUE

Label: No Limit

Though No Limit Records came to fruition on the West Coast, first as a record store based in the Bay Area city of Richmond and then as a proper label, its New Orleans–born CEO Master P always left a part of his heart in the 3rd Ward. As he so passionately explains on the intro to "I'm Bout It," Percy could never fully turn his back on his town. Or a money-making opportunity. A defining moment for the label, "I'm Bout It" was P throwing down the gauntlet on the New Orleans hip-hop market, bringing the West Coast G-funk wheeze back home and introducing a bounce rapper named Mia X to the family.

#4. Juvenile "Back Dat Azz Up" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: 400 Degreez

Label: Cash Money

Where some hip-hop artists consider age a weakness, Mannie Fresh has always used it to his advantage. Already an New Orleans rap elder at the dawn of his crossover success, Mannie was able to use his cross-generational experience to balance traditional musicality and an old-school hip-hop sensibility with the current sound of New Orleans radio (which, at that moment, was on the verge of becoming the dominant national hip-hop sound). With "Back That Azz Up" Mannie Fresh recreates the "Triggerman" stabs and drum sequence from scratch and adds an air of nouveau riche sophistication to the bounce sound by way of dramatic synth strings. Repurposing the all-too-simple premise of a popular DJ Jubilee chant—"Back That Thang Up"—Juvenile puts on a clinic on high-level party rap presence. But it's a young star in the making, Lil Wayne, who steals the show with his closing "drop it like it's hot" chants. The track was an instant hit and catapulted Cash Money and all of its participants into the upper echelons of rap superstardom.

#3. Master P f/ Fiend, Mia X, Silkk the Shocker & Mystikal "Make Em Say Uhh" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: KLC

Album: Ghetto D

Label: No Limit

A roll-call posse cut for No Limit's very diverse roster, "Make 'Em Say Ugh" is a "soldiers don't die" battle-rap anthem for the ages, anchored by P's gutteral catch phrase, "ughhh." Though the hook solidified P's role as a Southern hero, the growl was anathema to a very vocal minority of up-north conservatives. The irony is that P actually swiped the line from an old-school Harlem record—Masterdon Committee's 1982 hit "Funk Box Party." Once again New Orleans rap proved more reverent (or at least aware) of hip-hop's early forefathers than most New York rappers ever did.

#2. Juvenile "Ha" (1998)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: Mannie Fresh

Album: 400 Degreez

Label: Cash Money/Universal

Rocking a completely distinctive, almost spoken-word style, Juvenile shocked the world with his breakout hit. It's a perfect and completely unique rap song from New Orleans' most accomplished ambassador. And while it wasn't the first New Orleans rap hit to cross over—Master P's No Limit family beat him to the punch—"Ha" and its jaw-dropping video clip provided many with the first unfiltered glance at the city's projects, culture, and musical style, almost completely unhinged from the expectations of traditional hip-hop. It also launched a string of Cash Money chart dominators that would remain for more than a decade to follow. (Though it's hard to imagine polished pop rappers like Drake and Nicki Minaj as even loose descendents of Juve's lo-fi and uncompromising rhymes.)

#1. TT Tucker & DJ Irv "Where Dey At" (1992) / DJ Jimi "Where Dey At" (1990)

Not Available Interstitial

Producer: DJ Irv / Derrick "Mellow Fellow" Ordogne & Dion Norman the Devious One

Album: N/A / Where They At

Label: Soulin / Sioul

DJ Jimi "Where They At"

The greatest New Orleans rap song is, in fact, two songs that are close to exactly same: TT Tucker & DJ Irv's "Where Dey At" and DJ Jimi's "Where They At." Doing little more than looping up "Drag Rap" and chanting "Where they at ho?" and other memorable vulgarities over it, the song(s) sparked a musical movement that still lives today. The story goes that TT Tucker and DJ Irv perfected and popularized the formula while working local clubs and with an out-the-trunk tape release. Then DJ Jimi polished it and took it throughout the South. Jimi's version became a staple on the Memphis scene that birthed Three 6 Mafia, and its influence over crunk-era Atlanta favorites like Lil Jon and the Ying Yang Twinz (who would repurpose Tucker's "Shake that ass Llke a salt shaker" chant) is undeniable.

Today their refrains may seem crude by traditional hip-hop standard—with repetitive lines like "Fuck David Duke!" and "Ride that dick a little harder / And a nigga might buy you a Starter!" respectively—but Tucker and Jimi connected deeply with local audiences and have had an immeasurable effect on New Orleans hip hop in the decades since. Hundreds, if not thousands, of bounce records that didn't make the cut here but are nonetheless huge hits borrowed their structure, and their cadences have been permanently burned into the brains and subsequently the flows of every rapper on this list that followed. No local rap scene owes as much to a pair of songs as New Orleans does to its two versions of "Where They At." It's hard to imagine many of today's biggest New Orleans rappers even existing without this original blueprint.

Latest in Music