Hip Hop Love Songs: A Valentine's Day Edition

Let me start by saying that it’s not often I get to write about what I love; so whenever the opportunity presents itself, I jump. Special thanks to Tony Hanes and Da Dome for allowing me to share part of my first love with the masses! With that being said, one of the best things about being a Gen X’er is that I got to experience hip-hop in its prime. There was nothing like rushing home after school to check out Fab 5 Freddy, Dre, and Ed Lover on “Yo! MTV Raps” or Chris Thomas, Prime, Joe Clair, Prince Dejour, and Big Lez on “Rap City.” If you’re under the age of about 37, you can’t really appreciate the dopeness of buying that Midnight Marauders, Ready to Die, or The Chronic tape (maybe CD) fresh off the press, hearing certain songs for the first time ever (cause they weren’t getting played on the radio), not realizing that 20 and 30 years later they would still get heavy rotation. Latifah, Method Man, RZA, and Andre Benjamin were solely rappers (none of whom you thought would ever be on TV, let alone movies), ODB literally pulled up in a limo to get food stamps, and screw the Grammys, cause the Source Awards was THE show to watch. To be young again…but I digress.

Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, I decided to share my list of all-time hip-hop love songs to help everybody get “in the mood for love.” I confess, there’s only a handful of new hip-hop artists that I listen to. Some of these teeter the line of true love, situationships, struggle love, and unrequited love. However, they all have their place in Muva’s Hall of Fame.

In no particular order: