Missy Elliott
A pure sound-and-swagger track built around a hypnotic, bindi-and-bhangra-inflected beat, where Missy Elliott spends most of the…
self-assertion dominance and rivalry sound over sense
Kendrick Lamar
HUMBLE. is a swaggering, almost gleeful takedown of fakery in the industry and in culture at large, delivered by a narrator who…
authenticity vs. artifice wealth and status misogynoir/beauty standards critique
Gang Starr
Full Clip is a boastful, aggressive posse-cut-style anthem in which Guru delivers a barrage of battle-rap threats, positioning…
braggadocio and dominance authenticity vs. imitation violence as metaphor for skill
Prince
A brash, funk-drenched self-coronation written for the Joker character in Tim Burton's Batman, "Partyman" turns egotism into…
self-proclaimed dominance hedonism and spectacle performance of villainy/showmanship
Missy Elliott's signature single is a maximalist celebration of sexual confidence and self-invention, built on a literal sonic…
sexual agency self-invention and reinvention female solidarity and hustle
A boastful street-level anthem built around the double meaning of 'work' as both hustle/grind and criminal labor, delivered with…
hustler ethic street surveillance and paranoia status and reputation
The Roots
An anthem of self-motivation built around a simple metaphor: inner drive as flame. John Legend's hook frames perseverance as an…
perseverance self-belief legacy and destiny
Dolly Parton
A direct plea from one woman to another, sung by a narrator who feels powerless against a rival's beauty and her partner's…
romantic insecurity female rivalry and solidarity powerlessness
Ice Cube
Ice Cube uses the media's stock accusation that gangsta rap 'causes' violence as a satirical device, exaggerating the charge…
media scapegoating and moral panic authenticity vs commercial gatekeeping black masculinity and self-reliance
Wu‐Tang Clan
The opening track of Enter the Wu-Tang stages hip-hop as martial arts combat, with each MC treating the microphone like a weapon…
martial arts mythology as metaphor for lyrical combat collective identity vs individual bravado urban violence and street survival
Interpol
A fractured, obsessive address to a woman who dominates the narrator's inner life, built from disjointed images of intimacy,…
obsessive desire emotional damage decay and aging
Dr. Dre
A West Coast victory-lap posse cut in which Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg reassert their partnership and their region's dominance,…
regional pride hedonism and ritual (weed, cars, drinking) reunion/partnership
Run-DMC
The title track of Run-DMC's landmark album is a boast-battle anthem built almost entirely from self-crowning imagery and…
braggadocio hip-hop supremacy battle rhetoric
Leonard Cohen
A meditation on grace and surrender disguised as a portrait of a woman by a river, Cohen's song moves from intimate seduction…
spiritual longing disguised as romance the sacred in the everyday trust and surrender