The Best Rap Songs of 1996
The year was prolific enough that picking just the 50 best rap songs of 1996 feels like settling on a puny fraction.

Image via Complex Original

This is part of Complex's The 1996 Project: Looking Back at the Year Hip-Hop Embraced Success.
In 1996, a thousand flowers bloomed. All across the U.S., rap crews assembled, flourished, and vied for prominence at the center of hip-hop culture. 2Pac and Too $hort held it down for California. The Geto Boys and UGK repped Texas. Bone Thugs held it down for Cleveland. Do or Die and Common established Chicago's rep. OutKast broke out of Atlanta. No Limit put New Orleans on the map. Redman and the Fugees both repped Jersey. Tribe, Jeru, Busta, Jay Z, Nas, Akinyele, Mobb Deep, and CNN all repped New York.
No longer a provincial concern of just five boroughs, or a turf war between just two coasts, or a stalwart opponent of R&B, hip-hop hosted an unprecedented variety of styles, signatures, and influences. Rappers innovated like never before, with timeless results.
The year was prolific enough that picking just the 50 best rap songs of 1996 feels like settling on a puny fraction. So think of it this way: If we were to fill a modestly sized chest with music to cast down the Nile, these are the songs we'd most desperately want to preserve for later generations, and for our own sake. Here we present the 50 best rap songs of 1996.
50. Mad Skillz, "The Nod Factor"

49. Too $hort f/ Parliament-Funkadelic, "Gettin' It"

48. MC Lyte, "Cold Rock a Party"

47. Redman, "It's Like That (My Big Brother)"

46. B-Legit f/ Little Bruce & C-Bo, "Gotta Buy Your Dope From Us"

45. Common, "The Bitch in Yoo"

44. The Roots, "Clones"

43. Bush Babees f/ Mos Def, "The Love Song"

42. Royal Flush, "Worldwide"

41. O.G.C., "No Fear"

40. Large Professor, "I Juswanna Chill"

39. Dr. Octagon, "Blue Flowers"

38. Big Noyd f/ Prodigy, "Recognize and Realize"

37. Geto Boys, "The World Is a Ghetto"

36. Xzibit, "Paparazzi"

35. M.O.P., "Downtown Swinga '96"

34. Redman f/ Erick Sermon, "Whateva Man"

33. Makaveli f/ The Outlawz & Prince Ital Joe, "Hail Mary"

32. Tela f/ MJG & 8Ball, "Sho Nuff"

31. Nas, "Affirmative Action"

30. Jeru The Damaja, "Ya Playin' Yaself"

29. East Flatbush Project, "Tried By 12"

28. Makaveli, "Me and My Girlfriend"

27. Ghostface Killah f/ Mary J Blige & Popa Wu, "All That I Got Is You"

26. Crucial Conflict, "Hay"

25. The Roots, "What They Do"

24. Ras Kass, "Soul on Ice (Remix)"

23. Mobb Deep, "Front Lines (Hell on Earth)"

22. LL Cool J, "Doin It"

21. Camp Lo, "Luchini AKA This Is It"

20. Fugees, "Fu-Gee-La"

19. Lil' Kim f/ Puff Daddy, "No Time"

18. Master P f/ Mia X, "Bout It, Bout It II"

17. UGK, "Murder"

16. Akinyele f/ Kia Jefferies, "Put It in Your Mouth"

15. Do or Die f/ Twista & Johnny P., "Po Pimp"

14. Lost Boyz, "Renee"

13. Westside Connection, "Bow Down"

12. A Tribe Called Quest f/ Tammy Lucas, "1nce Again"

11. Capone-N-Noreaga, "L.A., L.A. (Kuwait Mix)"

10. Jay Z f/ Foxy Brown, "Ain't No N*gga"

9. 2Pac f/ K-Ci & Jojo, "How Do U Want It"

8. OutKast, "Elevators (Me & You)"

7. De La Soul, "Stakes Is High"

6. Busta Rhymes, "Woo-Hah!! (Got You All in Check)"

5. Fugees, "Ready or Not"

4. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, "Tha Crossroads"

3. Jay Z, "Dead Presidents II"

2. Nas f/ Lauryn Hill, "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)"

1. 2Pac f/ Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman, "California Love"
