Curating Greatest Hits Albums For Rappers Who Really Need One

Greatest Hits albums are a relic of a bygone era. But we kind of miss them so we made a few for some of our favorite rappers.

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Complex Original

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Greatest hits albums are a relic of a bygone era. Back in the day, most major artists were expected to have a greatest hits album. Not just because they served as easy to digest intros to an artist with a large catalog, but because they were commercially viable too. Perfect example, The Eagle’s greatest hits compilation, Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), has sold 42 million copies in total, making it the second best selling album of all time behind only Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The trend extended to rap as well: 2Pac’s Greatest Hits is the sixth best selling rap album ever, having sold 10 million copies (it was a double album). But like all CD sales, greatest hits albums have lost their popularity—mostly because if you just want the big hits, you might as well download them.

Yet that overlooks the unique value of greatest hits albums. When you focus on someone’s Billboard hits, it offers a skewed view on their careers, often rendering some of their best songs as obsolete and some of their worst material as vital pieces in their catalog. But the good and bad are all part of the narrative and need to be accounted for. Take for example, Eminem’s 2005 compilation, Curtain Call: The Hits, which featured hits like "Shake That," "Just Lose It," and “My Name Is”—songs Em didn’t even perform when he played NYC last week. That’s why a greatest hits album can be more interesting than you might think: Comparing what gets left out and put in to create an incomplete portrait of an artist is a reflection on how Billboard hits can’t accurately represent an artist’s output, only their popularity.

In order to carry on tradition and get our imaginary A&R on, we decided to make some Spotify playlists of the greatest hits for some rappers who really need one. However, we tried to impose some strict rules on ourselves which go as follows:


  1. This is not a Best of compilation. We have enough Best of Lists for various artists on this list. It’s a hits compilation, so if a song is a hit we have to include it, even if we don’t really like it. And if a song is great but not a hit, then it can't make it.

  2. We tried to keep all the playlists at 13 tracks. Keyword: Tried.

  3. No guest features. Despite the fact that guest features are a huge part of rap music, we didn’t count them or else we’d never be able to stick to Rule 2.

  4. Albums are important. Each album in an artist's discography represents an era in their music. So it's imporant to try and touch on every album than it is to overload on one album. 

  5. When all else fails, forget the rules and just make some #NewRules. Hey it works for Jay Z!

Written by Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)

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T.I.

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Missing hits: "You Know What It Is," "Remember Me," 
Missing guest spots: Bone Crusher's "Never Scared," Destiny Child's "Soldier," Young Dro's "Shoulder Lean," Justin Timberlake's "My Love," R. Kelly's "I'm A Flirt," Drake's "Fancy," Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines."
Not on spotify: "Big Shit Poppin (Do It)"
Total number of Top 40 hits as lead artist: 16

T.I.'s greatest hits fits well enough within our critera that we don't even want to add another song. T.I. had not only had a great run, he's had a great commercial run. Most of his chart hits are legitimately dope songs, some of the best material he's made. Granted, like many rappers on this list, his mixtape run is cast aside, but with hits like these offering a look into the scope of Tip's talent, you're not as likely to miss them.

The only exception we're making here is "24s" which didn't even break Top 40, but was Tip's first hit and hinted at his growing appeal in the early 2000s. It certainly wasn't more successful than some of his later songs, but it made him big in the first place so it's hard to ignore.

Ludacris

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Missing hits: "Welcome To Atlanta," "Number One Spot," "One More Drink"
Missing guest spots: Missy Elliott's "One Minute Man," Missy Elliott's "Gossip Folks," Usher's "Yeah," Lil Jon's "Lovers and Friends," oh and Justin Bieber's "Baby"
Not on Spotify: "Area Codes," "Act A Fool"
Total number of Top 40 hits as lead artist: 21 

Luda's greatest hits expounds on his appeal in the early to mid 2000s. Though he never quite made a truly great album, Ludacris was simply a fun rapper who made great singles. In fact, with 21 Top 40 hits, he's got more hit singles than anyone else on this list.

Listening to these songs reminds us why we all liked Luda so much back in those days. However, his later records reveals why his brand simply wasn't made to last. Sure, he kept on making hits (he even won a Grammy!) but his later songs like "How Low" or "My Chick Bad" were some of his weakest material...but they were still some of his biggest hits.

Young Jeezy

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Missing hits: N/A
Missing guest spots: Usher's "Love In This Club," Akon's "I'm So Paid," Kanye West's "Amazing," Rihanna's "Hard"
Total number of Top 40 hits as lead artist: 5

Seeing as how he started his run later than anyone else on this list, Jeezy's hits make you wonder what he's got left in the tank. He scored a number of big hits and made classic songs starting in 2005, but he hasn't had a Top 40 hit since 2010's "Lose My Mind." In that five year window, he made nine of the 13 songs listed, which means the last few songs are from the past few years, but they weren't even big hits to begin with. This shouldn't come as a surprise though: Most of Jeezy's fanbase is in the streets, not the charts. 

Cam'ron

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Missing hits: N/A
Missing guest spots: N/A
Not on Spotify: "Touch It or Not," "Wet Wipes"
Total number of Top 40 hits as lead artist: 2 

When you focus on someone like Cam, you can see why a greatest hits compilation is necessary even when you don't have that many chart hits. Cam hit his number in 2002 with a pair of songs, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma," which both went Top 5 on Billboard. Since then he hasn't made a smash hit but he kept making quality material like "Down and Out" and "Touch It or Not" (which sadly isn't on Spotify).

But none of that touches on his mixtape run as a member of Dipset. So his greatest hits are more like street anthems rather than Billboard bangers, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a great catalog. 

50 Cent

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Missing hits: "Best Friend," "Straight to the Bank," "Baby By Me"
Missing guest spots: Lil Kim's "Magic Stick," The Game's "How We Do," The Game's "Hate It Or Love It," Jeremih's "Down On Me," "You Don't Know," Eminem's "Crack A Bottle," all of the G-Unit hits.
Total number of Top 40 hits as lead artist: 16 

What goes up must come down. And by down we mean, way down and way faster than you think. 50 Cent may have completely owned the rap game for a few years but that's all it was: A few years. In his prime—from about 2003 to 2007—he unleashed a fury of hits—so many hits that his later catalog pales in comparison. He has the same problem as Cam and Lil Wayne however, his mixtape output isn't accounted for. Not only that, but his guest appearances—regulated mostly songs for his G-Unit cohorts—aren't part of this playlist either. However, everything from "Wanksta" to "Ayo Technology" is pretty excellent. But "Ayo Technology" came out in 2007...

Lil Wayne

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Missing hits: "Mrs. Officer," "Drop The World," "John."
Missing guest spots: B.G.'s "Bling Bling," Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up," Destiny Child's "Soldier," Fat Joe's "Make It Rain," Lloyd's "You," Playaz Circle's "Duffle Bag Boy," DJ Khaled's "We Taking Over," Game's "My Life," T-Pain's "Can't Believe It" and so many other guest spots.
Total number of Top 40 hits as lead artist: 19 

Lil Wayne has so many great mixtape cuts that you could make a list of just that (which our friends over at Pigeons & Planes actually did). However, none of those became Billboard hits, thus none of can make this playlist, which helps explain why this playlist does so little to explain Wayne's dominance or his appeal. Besides mixtapes, Wayne has made a career out of show stealing (and hit-making) guest appearances that also don't make our playlist.

It's generally accepted that Lil Wayne isn't the rapper he once was but that hasn't stopped his Billboard prowess. In fact, he's so popular that even a song like "How To Love," was a huge hit. He's won so much before that he can't lose now.

Kanye West

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Missing hits: "Slow Jamz," "Heard 'Em Say," "Diamonds From Sierra Leone," "Flashing Lights," "Monster," "Otis," "Mercy," "Clique"
Missing guest spots: Estelle's "American Boy," Jeezy's "Put On," TI's "Swagga Like Us," Keri Hilson's "Knocks You Down," Jay Z's "Run This Town," Drake's "Forever," Kid Cudi's "Erase Me," Katy Perry's "ET," Big Sean's "Marvin & Chardonnay"
Total number of Top 40 hits as lead artist: 19

Kanye's greatest hits album might as well be a double disk because even the songs we cut are major hits. We can't even find a spot for "Flashing Lights" without overwhelming the list with Graduation cuts. But it was a huge hit! 

Looking at this list proves that Kanye has one of the best rap catalogs ever. Not just because of sheer volume either, but also diversity. Kanye has made all kinds of hits, from dance pop like "Stronger" to the conscious raps of "All Falls Down" to the "only Kanye can make this" bombast of "All of The Lights," his songs evolved with—and pushed forward—every era it was apart of.

The interesting part is that besides the radio unfriendly "Black Skinheads," (Yeezus needs to be represented just because) "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is the only song in the playlist that didn't break Top 40 (it landed at No. 41). But it's totally his best song!

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