Anthology of Hip-Hop & Rap Music

by Teresa Abney
Posted on December 5, 2022

Curation of the Anthology was headed by a committee including Rappers Chuck D and MC Lyte; writers and scholars Jeff Chang and Mark Anthony Neal; early Def Jam senior executives-turned-cultural-advisors Bill Adler and Bill Stephney; and Producers Questlove and 9th Wonder.

Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop & Rap. (2021). This release is a collaboration between the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and Smithsonian Folkways.

The set includes 130 tracks on 9 CDs and a 300-page book with original design by Cey Adams, artist and founding creative director of Def Jam Recordings, as well as essays by some of hip-hop’s leading writers and critics and never-before-seen photographs.

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The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap is a first-of-its-kind multimedia collection chronicling the growth of the music and culture from the parks of the Bronx to solidifying a reach that spans the globe.

Through the music, writing, and extensive liner notes, the Anthology reveals the many trends within this multifaceted genre, its social and political implications, and its influence on popular culture.

Track Listings

Disc #1

1	Fatback—King Tim III
2	Sugarhill Gang—Rapper’s Delight
3	The Sequence—Funk You Up
4	Kurtis Blow—The Breaks
5	Funky Four +1—That’s the Joint
6	Spoonie Gee Feat. the Sequence—Monster Jam
7	Treacherous Three—The Body Rock
8	Blondie—Rapture
9	The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash* on the Wheels of Steel*
10	Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force—Planet Rock

Disc #2

1	Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five—The Message
2	The Fearless Four—Rockin’ It
3	Cold Crush Brothers—Punk Rock Rap
4	Herbie Hancock—Rockit
5	Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force—Looking for the Perfect Beat
6	Run-DMC—It’s Like That
7	Whodini—Friends
8	Cold Crush Brothers—Fresh, Fly, Wild & Bold
9	T. La Rock—It’s Yours
10	The World’s Famous Supreme Team—Hey! DJ
11	Newcleus—Jam on It
12	UTFO—Roxanne, Roxanne

Disc #3

1	Roxanne Shanté—Roxanne’s Revenge
2	Fat Boys—Fat Boys
3	Doug E. Fresh & MC Ricky D—La Di Da Di
4	LL Cool J—I Can’t Live Without My Radio
5	Schoolly D—P.S.K. ‘What Does It Mean?’
6	Run-DMC Feat. Aerosmith—Walk This Way
7	Beastie Boys—Paul Revere
8	Ultramagnetic MCs—Ego Tripping
9	Ice-T—6 ‘N the Mornin’
10	Kool Moe Dee—How Ya Like Me Now
11	LL Cool J—I Need Love
12	Eric B Feat. Rakim—Eric B Is President
13	Mantronix—King of the Beats

Disc #4

1	Stetsasonic Feat. the Rev. Jesse Jackson & Olatunji—A.F.R.I.C.A
2	Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince—Parents Just Don’t Understand
3	Audio Two—Top Billin’
4	MC Lyte—Lyte As a Rock
5	Big Daddy Kane—Raw
6	Marley Marl Feat. Master Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, & Big Daddy Kane—The Symphony
7	MC Lyte—I Cram to Understand U (Sam)
8	Tone LC—Wild Thing
9	Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock—It Takes Two
10	Jungle Brothers—I’ll House You
11	N.W.A. —Fuck Tha Police
12	Public Enemy—Fight the Power
13	The Stop the Violence Movement—Self Destruction
14	Too Short—Life Is… Too Short
15	Slick Rick—Children’s Story
16	3rd Bass—The Gas Face

Disc #5

1	Queen Latifah Feat. Monie Love—Ladies First
2	Public Enemy—Bring the Noise
3	De la Soul—Me Myself and I
4	Biz Markie—Just a Friend
5	The D.O.C. —It’s Funky Enough
6	2 Live Crew—Me So Horny
7	Digital Underground—Humpty Dance
8	MC Hammer—U Can’t Touch This
9	Vanilla Ice—Ice Ice Baby
10	Brand Nubian—All for One
11	Geto Boys—Mind Playing Tricks on Me
12	A Tribe Called Quest—Scenario
13	Black Sheep—The Choice Is Yours
14	Salt-N-Pepa—Let’s Talk About Sex
15	Yo-Yo Feat. Ice-Cube—Can’t Play with My Yo-Yo
16	Naughty By Nature—O.P.P

Disc #6

1	Dr. Dre Feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg—Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang
2	Ice Cube—It Was a Good Day
3	Sir Mix-A-Lot—Baby Got Back
4	Arrested Development—Tennessee
5	Digable Planets—Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
6	House of Pain—Jump Around
7	Positive K—I Got a Man
8	Pete Rock & C. L. Smooth—They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)
9	Ugk—Pocket Full of Stones
10	Wu-Tang Clan—C.R.E.A.M
11	Cypress Hill—Insane in the Brain
12	The Pharcyde—Passin’ Me By
13	Eightball & MJG—Comin’ Out Hard
14	Common Sense—I Used to Love H.E.R
15	Da Brat—Funkdafied
16	Nas—N.Y. State of Mind
17	Craig Mack Feat. the Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes—Flava in Your Ear

Disc #7

1	Beastie Boys—Sabotage
2	The Notorious B.I.G.—Juicy
3	Gang Starr Feat. Nice & Smooth—Dwyck
4	Warren G Feat. Nate Dogg—Regulate
5	Snoop Doggy Dogg—Murder Was the Case
6	E-40 Feat. Suga T—Sprinkle Me
7	Goodie Mob—Cell Therapy
8	Coolio Feat. L.V. —Gangsta’s Paradise
9	2Pac—Dear Mama
10	Mobb Deep—Shook Ones, Part 2
11	Method Man Feat. Mary J. Blige—I’ll Be There for You / You’re All I Need to Get By
12	Foxy Brown Feat. Jay-Z—I’ll Be
13	Lil Kim Feat. Puff Daddy—No Time
14	Bone Thugs-N-Harmony—Tha Crossroads
15	Wu-Tang Clan Feat. Cappadonna—Triumph
16	Busta Rhymes—Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See
17	Master P Feat. Silkk the Shocker, Mia X, Fiend—Make ‘Em Say Uhh!

Disc #8

1	Missy Elliot—The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)
2	Lauryn Hill—Doo Wop (That Thing)
3	DMX—Ruff Ryders’ Anthem
4	The Roots—The Next Movement
5	Mos Def—Mathematics
6	BG—Bling Bling
7	Dead Prez—Hip Hop
8	Eminem Feat. Dido—Stan
9	Outkast—Ms. Jackson
10	Nelly—Country Grammar
11	Ludacris Feat. Pharrell—Southern Hospitality
12	Nas—One Mic
13	50 Cent—In Da Club
14	Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz Feat. Ying Yang Twins—Get Low

Disc #9

1	Talib Kweli—Black Girl Pain
2	Kanye West—Jesus Walks
3	Three 6 Mafia Feat. Young Buck, Eightball & MJG—Stay Fly
4	Rick Ross—Hustlin’
5	Lupe Fiasco Feat. Nikki Jean—Hip-Hop Saved My Life
6	Young Jezzy Feat. Nas—My President
7	David Banner Feat. Chris Brown & Yung Joc—Get Like Me
8	Lil Wayne Feat. Robin Thicke—Tie My Hands
9	Jay Electronica—Exhibit C
10	Nicki Minaj—Super Bass
11	MacKlemore & Ryan Lewis Feat. Wanz—Thrift Shop
12	J Cole Feat. TLC—Crooked Smile
13	Kanye West—Blood on the Leaves
14	Drake—Started from the Bottom

The set includes 130 tracks on 9 CDs and a 300-page book

Rapper Chuck D—Carlton D. Ridenhour

Autobiography of Mistachuck album (1996)

Public Enemy albums available on Amazon

MC Lyte

Lyte as a Rock album (1988)

MC Lyte’s Eyes On This album (1989)

The Very Best of MC Lyte (16 songs, 2001)

MC Lyte’s Badder than Before CD (2015)

The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop

The Motherlode highlights more than 100 women who have shaped the power, scope, and reach of rap music, including pioneers like Roxanne Shanté, game changers like Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott, and current reigning queens like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Lizzo—as well as everyone who came before, after, and in between.

VIBE Hip Hop Divas

The dramatic rise of women to the top of the hip hop industry has never been chronicled before. The revolution was decades in the making, with the female pioneers fighting for a place in the hip hop boy’s club, confronting sexist attitudes, and grabbing their piece of the commercial pie while taking hip hop to new creative heights.

The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop

Music History: The Rise of Rap and Hip-Hop Songs

Mary J. Blige: Music As Therapy

How Mickey Factz Made the First-Ever Hip-Hop Academy. Billboard Article.

Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop & Rap. (2021). Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and Smithsonian Folkways.

Who Are Your Favorite Hip-Hop Rappers & Singers? Comment Below.

Anthology of Hip-Hop & Rap Music

Curation of the Anthology was headed by a committee including Rappers Chuck D and MC Lyte; writers and scholars Jeff Chang and Mark Anthony Neal; early Def Jam senior executives-turned-cultural-advisors Bill Adler and Bill Stephney; and Producers Questlove and 9th Wonder. Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop & Rap. (2021). This release is a collaboration between the…