The Ultimate 'Hip-Hop' Playlist

The Ultimate 'Hip-Hop' Playlist

MTV2's Hip Hop Squares brings together the industry's most acclaimed -- and beloved -- R&B stars to play a revamped version of the classic game show. So that certainly puts the pressure on Ms. Nix, the House DJ, to spin the freshest tracks at all times.

RELATED - Kat Graham Talks Hip Hop Squares

To ensure your summer parties thump with as much energy as Hip Hop Squares does, Ms. Nix compiled the Ultimate Backyard BBQ Playlist for TheInsider.com readers! "Music is such an essential element to the backyard barbecue, and these classic hip hop songs never fail to add a lil flava to any soundtrack," she tells me. So peep the list below and hit up iTunes!

Nuthin' But A G Thang - Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg
Funky/sexy/cool the way only Dre & Snoop can do it. The sample of Leon Haywood's I Want'a Do Something Freaky To You is perfection.

Unbelievable - The Notorious B.I.G.
"Biggie Smalls is the illest." That is all.

I Know You Got Soul - Eric B. & Rakim
Hip Hop, the early years. Quintessential.

Mellow My Man - The Roots
'Do You Want More?!!!??!' and particularly this song, changed the way I listen to music and forever influenced my taste.

Ms. Fat Booty - Mos Def
Clever storytelling, with plenty of opportunities to chime in on any of it's catchy, witty lines.

Award Tour - A Tribe Called Quest
Cue involuntary head nods. This is Hip Hop.

Around The Way Girl - LL Cool J
The first rap song I ever knew all the words to. My seventh grade crush wrote these lyrics out on loose leaf paper for me. I was the furthest thing from an "around the way girl," but that didn't faze me one bit!

Nas Is Like - Nas
Poetry. Beats and strings. Cutting and scratching. A thing of beauty.

Feelin' It - Jay-Z feat. Mecca
Classic Jay. Always appropriate.

Nuttin' But Love - Heavy D & The Boyz
I was a Heavy D fan before I even recognized that I was a fan of hip hop. Songs like this one are exactly why. His music is as solid, timeless, positive and fun to be around as he was.

Fu-Gee-La - The Fugees
"Ooh-la-la-la...is the way that we rock when we doing our thing..." Dare you not to sing along.

Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off) - Wu-Tang Clan
Never gets old. No matter how many times I play this, I feel like I always hear something I've never heard before.

Hip Hop Squares airs Tuesdays at 11 p.m. on MTV2.


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