Top 25 Hip-Hop Songs of the 2000s: #1 50 Cent “In da Club”

Posted by Nathan S. on 12/22/09 | Filed under Top Stories, Features, Best of the 2000s, 50 Cent

With the number 3 pick of our "Top 25 of the 2000s" countdown, RefinedHype.com and DJBooth.net are proud to select...50 Cent's "In da Club"!

I've got no doubt that there will be more than couple of people who see 50 sitting at the number one slot and get angrier than Tiger Woods' wife at 2 a.m., and such controversy would be nothing new for Curtis Jackson. We'll address that later. More importantly, before "In da Club" there was no 50 Cent/50/Fiddy/Curtis Jackson. So although the fact that "In da Club" ran the number one spot on the charts for nine weeks and was nominated for two Grammys (ironically losing to "Lose Yourself"), chart performance isn't the real reason this song is number one. No, the real reason is deeper than that.

During the selection of "Through the Wire" as our number three pick I raised the idea of the What If principle (what if this song hadn't been made?) and said that "Through the Wire" was one of the biggest What Ifs in hip-hop history. Well, you're looking at perhaps the number one What If right now. If "In da Club" is never released, or flops, we're probably not talking about 50 right now. Instead the success of the single set of a chain reactions events that lead to 50 becoming of the most marketable rappers alive, hip-hop's biggest instigator and a man who made and destroyed more careers over the last decade than any other rapper alive (Ja Rule nods head in agreement). "In da Club" was catchy enough to reach the mainstream and hard enough to keep the respect of the streets, a formula 50 rode all the way to becoming one of the most powerful men in hip-hop. In other words, "In da Club" was the foundation he built his empire on.

When viewed in terms of the entire decade, I defy you to name a song that mattered more, that changed the landscape of the hip-hop game more, than "In da Club". Actually, I'm sure there are no shortage of folks out there who will do just that and name their own number one song. They'll rail again 50 having the top spot, fume and seethe at the selection, and frankly, I don't think he'd have it any other way.

For a complete list of the Top 25 picks so far click here.

Love this selection/hate this selection? Comment below, write about it on your blog or email me at nathan[@]refinedhype.com. Come on, don't be shy.

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Mr. Top Hat	Track that introduced Hip-Hop to India. The bassline is ___. There’s no question that this was one of the catchiest songs of this or ANY decade.
	Posted on Dec 22, 2009

The Insider	Great selection. This was the best pick for #1.
	Posted on Dec 22, 2009

NYsportsGUY	Can't argue with this. This song was changed every club, lounge, house party, and discman headphone when it came on
	Posted on Dec 23, 2009

Aussie_Pride	This had to be number 1 on the list. The fact that this track still gets mad spins in clubs shows how good of a track this really was
	Posted on Dec 23, 2009

enigmAtic And ecstAtic (joshL)

Gotta finish my list. sorry its late.

10.Jay-Z-Dirt Off Your Shoulder

His most memorable song of the decade. He also started a trend that even parents know. even Obama referenced the song. that was in 09'.

9. Kanye West-Jesus Walks

Kanye is all bout controversy and no Kanye song stirred up more contreversy and debate than this one. Remember him on the cover of Rolling Stone? sure ya do, you know exactly wat pic im talkin bout. this was also his most outside the box song and he has a lot of them. this one resulted in mass success.

8.Shakira,Wyclef Jean-Hips Dont Lie

read the stats and impact worldwide. #1 in over 50 countries. One of the biggets selling singles of all time. also, most played pop/hip hop song in one week in U.S. history.

7.T.I.-What You Know

I dont really know wat to say bout this song. it pretty much speaks for itself. if i remember right, Nathan S., said this will be the song that will be played years from now when showing someone who T.I. is. when they hear the song, they will be like, "oh, ok i know who your talkin bout."

6.Outkast-Ms. Jackson

Classic Outkast. this song is when they turned into national celebrities and where their major success began.

5.Beyonce-Single Ladie (Put A Ring On It)

From Obama doin the dance. then babies on youtube doin the dance. then my friends doin it at the club (yes some are guys). then the Ye incident. i guarantee she will be remembered by this song. not only is it a BETTER than Crazy In Love, but it is indeed the BIGGER hit too!

4.50 Cent-In Da Club

this is the song that started it all. like Nathan S., said, what if this song was never released? a lot would be different and have gone different in the 2000's. when this song came out, it was the ONLY thing that mattered in hip hop. thats right, the ONLY thing that mattered. prob the only time in hip hop history.

3.2Pac,Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls)-Runnin' (Dying To live)

Yes, they actually did record this song together. it happened in 94' i think. two of the best rappers ever on the same song at the top of their games? at least #3.

2.Usher,Lil Jon, Ludacris-Yeah

easily could of been #1. biggest club hit of 2000's, maybe in the history of hip hop. it dominated the charts, was played constantly on radio, and oh ya it was f*ckin good too. some of the most memorable lines from these 3 artists are on this song too. one last thing, this was the lead single to an album that went Diamond. 10,000,000 copies sold.

1.Eminem-The Real SLim Shady

Everyone not only knew who he was after this song, but everyone wanted to be him too. every white kid in America (ages 10-25) bleached their hair after this was released. lmfao. its his classic psychotic style and he does it to the max on here. biggest influential hip hop song of the 2000s right here.

Posted on Dec 24, 2009

d-mac

A little story about this track - when I was DJing at a local bar/club I would spin this track and obviously the place would go nuts. After the song was over people would expect me to spin it back again so I did. One night (about 3 weeks after this song hit the charts) I didnt want to play it 2x, so I put on another song. This guy came up to me and told me to play it again. When I refused he threatened to kill me, no joke. Needless to say, I spun it back and the crowd went nuts. Thats the appeal this track had. No other record comes close.

I think I once heard funk master flex spin it about 7 times in a row on hot97

Posted on Dec 24, 2009

enigmAtic And ecstAtic (joshL)	i agree. cant argue w/this. i never seen so many ppl go crazy over an unknown mainstream artist. i also never seen one hip hop song hit as hard as it did as quick as it did. its like the 1st time it was played on radio every person in America was listening and immediatley said "holy shit!"
	Posted on Dec 26, 2009