It's been a minute! I hope everyone enjoyed Memorial Day weekend, arguably the sixth best weekend of the year. I was fortunate enough to attend a wedding, where I had ample opportunity to pursue my favorite pastime: talking to older women and revealing my deepest secrets and insecurities within minutes of meeting them.
It was fun while it lasted, but all good things have a depressing downside. Instead of riding off into the sunset with a wife and a bunch of cans tied to my fender, I left the wedding on a Greyhound bus, alone except for the other nomads and itinerant workers unfortunate enough to travel on a public holiday. I needed a pick-me up, so I decided to scan my iTunes library and answer the question, "What are the greatest intro tracks in hip-hop history?"
You see, before ringtones blew up like crack in the '80s, there were things called albums, and often those albums had a track called "Intro." They were notable because they came first, but not in the same way as that dude in The Wood or those pieces of shit who write "First!" on internet message boards. Sometimes these involved inaudible and incomprehensible conversations about selling drugs and possibly murking a rival. Sometimes they featured a beat and maybe some talking. Sometimes there was a skit that would probably not even make the cut on "Wildin' Out."
But there were also intro tracks that were straight fire. A good intro can set the mood for an entire album, establish a running theme, or showcase a more raw, rugged type of flow that doesn't always find a place within a more formally composed song.
Of course, there are no hard and fast rules for what makes a great intro. But for me the best of the best generally include an element of autobiography, letting you know where an artist's been, where he's going, and what he's about. Many great intros also demonstrate an ability to drop in and out of a beat flawlessly, as if the artists is just talking to the audience rather than following the standard chorus-and-16-bars structure. As I mentioned before, skits are usually awful, and live footage can be ok but tends to just be confusing.
With that said, here is my working list of the Top 10 Intro Tracks In Hip-Hop. This is by no means a definitive list, but I think it's a good start. Check it out and holler with your picks.
10) Ludacris, Red Light District, "Intro" This beat is hard as hell, and Luda hops right into his fourth LP with straight-to-the-gut braggadocio. He seems almost angry as he states his claim to the industry crown, though this effect is slightly diminished by the fact that it's followed by "Number One Spot," perhaps the most inexplicably themed song in rap history (Austin Power's!?!?). Note: The beat is also used to good effect at the beginning of Juelz Santana's Back Like Cooked Crack 2 mixtape.
Best Line: "I'm over 10 million sold, every album is crack / And for now I'm bout to carry Def Jam on my back."
9) MURS, The End of the Beginning, "You And I" Over driving drums, Murs employs a relentless flow to outline the shifts in his career from green horn to industry vet. The track concisely articulates Murs' career trajectory and sets up his new stance, which in my mind is perfect fodder for an intro track. — Arnold T. Pants
Best Line: "Now when I came to the game I was wet behind the ears / All I had was some raps that I want y'all to hear / Straight low budget I was underground thuggin' it / You think I gave a fuck about a publicist."
8) Kano, Beats + Bars, "Fuck Intros" I'm fudging the rules a bit by bringing mixtapes into the proceedings, but whatever. Sometimes they have dope intros, too. If you haven't heard of Kano, do yourself a favor and ask somebody. (Actually, ask me, and hopefully I'll find the time to do the post I've been planning for a while but am too lazy to complete.) He is a lyrical powerhouse of the hard-spitting UK grime scene, and I haven't been as impressed with a rapper in a very long time. Forget about Dizzee Rascal; Kano is the truth.
Best Line: "I'm firm, you have to work hard to move me / I'm a young up-and-coming star like Rooney." (Wayne Rooney, that is. Get up on your Premiership soccer game up before fucking with Kano.)
7) Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle, "G Funk Intro" Ever the pimp, the Snoop D-O-double lets Lady of Rage do his introduction for him, though she actually just talks about herself in what sounds like a slightly more X-rated version of "Shoop." The Doggfather does enter the proceedings with some choice words though. G funk flavor to the fullest.
Best Line: "This is just a small introduction to the G Funk Era / Everyday of my life I take a glimpse in the mirror / And I see motherfuckers tryin to be like me / Every since I put it down with the D-R-E."
6) Lil Wayne, Tha Carter II, "Fly In" "I come back like 32. I jump back like 33..." When it comes to flat-out flow, it makes sense that Lil Wayne takes the crown for blacking out on an insane introduction to an insane album. This is Tha Carter 2, peep it!
Best Line: "I'm craziest, it's obvious / Going against me is atheist." (Just listen to the track, the whole thing is crazy... craziest... no atheistic.)
5) Fallacy, Blackmarket Boy, "Blackmarket Boy" I'm gonna give this one the benefit of the doubt as an intro track since it's a title track that comes first. Serving to "Let you know who I am, where I'm from," Fallacy breaks down his history, his hustle, and his ends. My bro and I have family out in this part of London, so 'nuff respect goes out to the local lad.
Best Line: "Everyone on Tulse Hill saw the rap shit grow / Held up the name till they seen me blow"
4) DMX, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, "Intro" "Dog, I'm sayin! That's my mans an' them...Cuz what I'm doin...my mans an' them, is doin'...ya know?" I never really knew what DMX was on about at the beginning, but I knew it was tight. When the tribal drums slowly build to a crescendo and the trademark growl rumbles onto the track, it's game over. DMX comes out blazing on his first and best album. My boy Cheddar Ted claims they used to play this during lay-up lines at his basketball games, but he also claims to have taken "rhythm shots" from halfcourt when I know for a fact that he got that story from me. It is actually about a dude who went to my high school. At any rate, I agree that this is one of the great pump-up tracks of all time.
Best Line: "That ni**a DMX is a mutherfuckin' problem!"
3) Brother Ali, Shadows on the Sun, "Shadows on the Sun" Like Fallacy, Ali opens with a title track that says it all. With characteristic insight and bravado, the "modern urban Norman Rockwell" paints a vivid portrait of Minneapolis' underbelly. If you want a gold standard for someone who can rap personally, positively, and "consciously" while still sounding incredibly dope, Ali is your man. This track is one of the best hip-hop tracks of the millennium, hands down.
Best Line: "Shit, we don't have bar mitzvahs / We become men the first time our father hits us, and we don't open gifts up."
2) Nas, Stillmatic, "Stillmatic (Intro)" For an album lumbered with such high expectations, Stillmatic certainly got off to a promising start on the strength of this joint. With the "blood of a slave, heart of King" in his veins, Nas lets everyone know that his status in the game will never slip.
Best Line: "Ayo, the brother's stillmatic / I crawled up out of that grave, wipin' that dirt, cleanin' my shirt / They said I'd make another Illmatic, but it's always forward I'm moving / Never backwards, stupid, here's another classic."
1) Jay-Z, The Dynasty, "Intro" Harkening back to the flow and street swagger of his Reasonable Doubt days, Jay gets dark and moody on this journey into the mind of a hustler. Unfortunately, he "blew his wad" too early with this one because the rest of the album was pretty much wack, but the track is so evocative and atmospheric that it couldn't possibly be topped.
Best Line: "Never read the Koran or Islamic scriptures / Only psalms I read was on the arms of the ni**gas."
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Camron, "Intro" on Purple Haze and "Killa Cam" on Killa Season Cam might not make top 10 intros, but he's consistent. These both have a movie score feel to them, and hearing the "Killaaaaa" chant will always make me think of the "Killa Season" movie. Is that a good thing? Yesssir!
Best Line: "And the Porsche is peach, felt like Boston George / Left Boston Market, did deals on Boston Beach." (Killa Season)
Company Flow, Funcrusher Plus, "Bad Touch Example" This is sort of an intro. Again, the rules are blurring...it's dope though.
Best Line: "It's the baby-faced lieutenant with the luck like Luciano / Hardcore like Kool G Rap music made for concert piano."
Ghetto, 2000 and Life, "Intro" Another British MC from the Kano camp, this dude can spit so hard. There's something about these grime MCs... Anyways, he comes out the gate with some killer a capella bars and then takes the beat for a run around the pitch. Good stuff.
Best Line: "I'm live in the booth, no lies, just truth / 2000 and life, it's proof..."
As I said, I'm sure I'm overlooking some classics here. Hit up the comment board with your picks.
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