Da Brat "Chi Town" (2000)

Album: Unrestricted
Producer: Kanye West

With his larger-than-life personality and auteur ambitions, it's difficult to remember that Kanye's original skill as a producer was his ability to precisely locate the underlying emotional resonance in a beat. "Chi Town" is a perfect example, as the production complements the strange schizophrenia of feeling a wistful fondness for your hometown despite the prevalence of poverty, violence and addiction: "The crackhead demons in my daddy/And all he seem to dream about is bad-ass habits."