The popularity of music genres has seen shifts over the decades. Old numbers and artistes tend to be forgotten in the euphoria of what’s new, hot, classy and trendy.
But when the hype has all died down and the shine of the new had worn off, one tends to wonder where else to look for a breath of fresh air.
That’s the case when it comes to rap music which hogged the limelight in the 1980s and 1990s.
Forgotten once upon a time, they are making a comeback with a vengeance and have found a place in the hearts of music buffers, especially those from the younger generation
This breed of music aficionados are extending a new lease of life to what’s today fondly known as old school rap songs. Though they are more like period pieces, there’s something in them that appeals to the old and young.
So, if you’ve been bitten by the old school rap song bug and are looking forward to compiling your top old school rap songs list here are some ideas to get you started.
You’re welcome to check out these top old school rap songs of the 80's and top old school rap songs of the 90's for leisure listening pleasure.
Produced by DJ Pooh, and released in 1992, It Was a Good Day was from the album Predator produced under the Priority label.
Ice Cube's ear-pleasing baritone has undertones of doom and despair as the message seems to be whether a good day of twenty-four hours will repeat or end in the near future.
The lyrics recall the good old times: It's a number from the The Great Adventures of Slick Rick album released in 1988
According to the Courier Journal,it's one of the most sampled rap numbers of all time.
Produced by Rick Rubin and the Beastie Boys, Paul Revere was released in 1986.
In 1986 it touched the 34th position in the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
At the time of writing, the music video has recorded over 4.45 million views over YouTube.
The number is from the We Can't Be Stopped album, recorded in 1990 and released in 1991. It was produced by Scarface.
In the 1991 US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, it touched the 23rd position.
The song opens with simple repetitive lyrics It's just me myself and I .
It's one of the fine examples of the group's number which seamlessly blends humour and social commentary into rap music.
Released in 1989, it's from the album 3 Feet High and Rising.
It was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance
This song is from the album Paid In Full released in 1987.
It's the debut single released by the rap duo.
It should be mentioned that it's an interpolation of Over Like a Fat Rat by Fonda Rae, as far as the bassline is concerned.
Released in 1988 under the First Priority Music label, the song is from the album What More Can I Say? For your information, the album's A-side contains the number Make It Funky.
The song made it to the lists of 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download.
It was ranked 43rd in Rolling Stone's 50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All-Time back in 2012.
This 1994 song is the third single from the album Illmatic
Music critics hail it as one of the greatest rap songs ever recorded.
It grabbed the seventh spot in About.com's greatest rap song of all time. Back in 1994, t ranked 13th on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
This number was nominated for the Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Song. Released in 1994 it's from the album Ready to Die.
Released in 1988, it's from the album Eazy-Duz-It.
The song is from the 1992 Dead Serious album.
This number is from the 1985 album UTFO.
UTFO, hailing from Brooklyn, New York,
was active from 1983 to 1992.
From the Fear of a Black Planet album released in 1990, this number stirred up a controversy especially in relation to the experience of the black community.
This 1988 song is from the album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
This song is from the Born to Mack album
released in 1987.
The East Bay rapper used to sell his music tapes from the trunk of his car before building up one of America's top music brands.
Too $hort in an interview with The Fader said, "The voice that you hear me rap on the record, I rap that voice on stage too."
Do not be content with listening to these top old school rap songs of all time via streaming video.
You would also want to listen to them when you’re not connected to the Internet in your favorite media player, whether software or hardware.
To do so, you would have to download them for offline viewing. If you’re viewing via a smartphone, it will allow you to save precious data usage especially if you’re on a limited or basic Internet plan.
To view the best old school rap songs offline, you would need a versatile tool that could download these videos directly from YouTube and convert them into a universal video format playable in most hardware and software media players.
One recommended program through which you can do it is the DVDFab YouTube Video Downloader.
It’s a fast and reliable program which will help you compile your old school rap songs list quickly.
It’s part of the DVDFab software suite. On launching it, go to the Utilities menu to start the YouTube downloader module and enter the link of your preferred YouTube Video.
Once the video is downloaded, you can bring it to DVDFab Video Converter module where you could quickly and easily convert it to other formats and proceed to play them with your favorite media player.
Try DVDFab Youtube Video Downloader today and watch your collection of your best old school rap songs steadily grow over the days.