The Pantheon of the Jig: Ranking and Honoring Hip-Hop's 7 Jiggiest Rappers

Platinum that, platinum this.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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What is the jig?

JIG IS LIFE. Jig is shimmying through errands and assorted other daily activities with glee adorned by various consumer excess, e.g., platinum grills, platinum whips, even if you ain't got no platinum hits. Importantly, jigginess requires a certain degree of cheesiness that puts white people at ease and thus allows them to fuck with you. (This is basically what Kanye is getting at whenever he complains about his having worn pink Polos and Louis Vutton backpacks in '03, when he was on his mainstream come-up.)

If you can't throw elbows and jerk your shoulders to it, the shit ain't jiggy, fam.

What the hell is a pantheon?

PER WIKIPEDIA, the Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by the homie Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus and rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian in the dayz of wayback. In 1998, Puffy commissioned the installation of an Alize fountain, probably. 

In short, a pantheon is a sanctuary dedicated to and inhabited by the gods.

In this case, the Pantheon of the Jig is a Mortal Kombat-style progression of commemorating the jiggiest rappers of all time. These are the seven most worthy competitors. 

8. Escobar

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Jiggy Hymns: "Firm Biz," "You Owe Me," "Braveheart Party"

Not to be confused with Nas or Godson or Nasir Jones or Your Old Droog, Escobar is Nas plus Puffy and Trackmasters, which, with their powers combined, form Jig Captain Planet. As a persona, Escobar was fleeting but unforgettable, signifying the most reviled stage of Nas' career. Nonetheless, “Firm Biz” is a jiggy deep cut that rather stands this cruel test we call time. Nas even ghostwrote on Big Willie Style, god bless him. Alas, not everyone is born to jig.

7. Jermaine Dupri

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Jiggy Hymns: "Where the Party At," "Money Ain't a Thing," "Going Home With Me"

Jermaine Dupri was born to jig. The So-So Def assembly of J.D., Jagged Edge, and Nelly for the "Where the Party At" remix is my favorite shit ever. Nelly lowkey kills that track, rapping-wise. Jermaine Dupri exported jigginesss to the South by way of Atlanta, paving the way for Ludacris and Chingy and all those cats. By 2002, J.D.'s prominent mentorship of Lil Bow Wow had undermined his credibility in proper rap circles, with Eminem, Dr. Dre, and even Timbaland dissing J.D. into oblivion on "Say What You Say" from The Eminem Show. Also, J.D.'s prominent mentorship of Lil Bow Wow was perhaps the jiggiest accomplishment of the 21st century.

6. Nelly

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Jiggy Hymns: "Hot in Herre," "Country Grammar," "Where the Party At (So-So Def Remix)," "St. Louie"

Midwest Jig Correspondent. Nelly’s catalog is richer and more nuanced than folks credit him, but he's jiggy nonetheless. "Hot in Herre" is "The Electric Slide" for a new generation. Songs like "#1," "Greed Hate Envy," and "Dilemma" don't really count, but Nelly's earliest singles are essentially Will Smith singles, but with twang. The St. Lunatics somehow remixed Beanie Sigel's "Roc the Mic" into a Midwest jig anthem. Nelly raps about "aim[ing] about mid-chest," however, so Roc-A-Fella let him bop and slide.

5. Timbaland

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Jiggy Hymns: "Party People," "Are You That Somebody?," "Get Ur Freak On," "She's a Bitch"

A post-jig producer, Timbaland is nonetheless a god among jiggy millennials such as myself. He's not as active a rapper as fellow jig producer Jermaine Dupri, yet his ad libs with Missy and Aaliyah and collaborations with Magoo vault him to this hallowed rung. Timbaland is additionally distinguished for being the first non-Bad Boy act to appropriate, refine, and master jigginess as craft. “Party People” f/ Magoo is the jig. Timbaland’s verse on “Are You That Somebody?” is jig extraordinaire.

4. Will Smith

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Jiggy Hymns: "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," "Wild Wild West," "Miami," "Will2K"

Took all the pop charm of LL Cool J and his own Fresh Prince persona and converted it to jig midichlorians—that’s word to Jar-Jar Binks. Beyond hip-hop culture, Will Smith reads as the definitive jig to Americans who only vaguely recall the Bad Boy era and who have only ever thought of Diddy as "Puff Daddy." Will Smith and his producers were clearly just aping Ma$e and Puffy and the Hitmen, hence all the smash Will Smith singles sounding like straight sample jacks with drums thrown in for the sake of plausible deniability. "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" still goes, however. I’m about to say a true thing. I’m about to say a true thing: Willennium is the most fun (in the McDonald's Playland sense) rap album of all time.

3. Puffy

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Jiggy Hymns: "Hold Me Down," "Mo' Money Mo' Problems," "Diddy," the entire No Way Out, and a cool third of The Saga Continues...

Chairman of the Jig. Not just because he and the Hitmen invented the jig, but also because Puff’s jiggy was so pervasive that he contaminated the goddamn L.O.X. with glitter and those notorious tracksuits made of perfume and aluminum. A man of exponentially jiggy pseudonyms—from Puff Daddy, to Puffy, to P. Diddy, to Diddy. Surprisingly, I can find no photos of Diddy wearing a zoot suit.

2. Ma$e

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Jiggy Hymns: "Been Around the World," the entire Harlem World, "Love Me," "Take Me There," "Welcome Back," "Breathe, Stretch, Shake"

Master of the Jig and Associated Ceremonies. From "Mo' Money Mo' Problems" and "Been Around the World" to his classic solo debut in 1997, Ma$e Harlem Shook his way to greatness. Harlem World is the formative album of any young man who's gone on to become a back-up dancer for Jennifer Lopez or Beyonce. He made it all seem so simple. Do Ma$e got the ladies?/Do Puff drive Mercedes?/Take hits from the '80s/But do it sound so crazy? From "Feel So Good," this is the jig mission statement, essentially. (Note, however, that Kool & the Gang's "Hollywood Swinging," which "Feel So Good" samples, was released in 1974.) Even "Welcome Back" was jiggy as if the shit weren't out of style by 2003. Bad Boy's jig is immortal. Remember Ma$e smirking on the golf course in that Chiquita yellow golf jacket? If that ain’t the jiggiest shit you ever seen.... Nonetheless, Ma$e is the G.O.A.T.

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