Top 10 Hip Hop Love Songs

The first thing that comes to people’s minds when they think of Hip Hop is hardcore rap, but hip hop does have a soft side to it as well. Some of the hardest rappers in hip hop hves made a love song or two. Hip hop comes in many different sub genres and when you add an r&b singer, who knows what the outcome of the song will be. TUD decided to give a look into the softer side of hip hop. Check out our top 10 hop hop loves songs below.

10-Jay-Z & Beyonce “03 Bonnie & Clyde“- Jay and Bey, now Hip-Hop’s power couple, teamed up for Jay’s Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse. This duet produced by Kanye West featured samples from Tupac and Prince. Released in 2002, the single hit number 4 on the U.S. Billboard hot 100, becoming Beyonce’s first top ten single as a solo artist.

9-A Tribe Called Quest- “Bonita Applebum”– The leading single off People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm album. The track was rumored to be about a girl the crew wen to high school with.

8-The Roots ft. Eve & Erykah Badu- “You Got Me”– Off the 1999 “Things Fall Apart” album, co- written by Jill Scott who recorded vocals for the chorus as well. The label wanted a big feature and being that Jill was not known at the time, Erykah Badu was called in to feature on the track.

7-Whodini- One Love– One of three singles released off the platinum 1986 “Back In Black” album. “One Love” had become a universal phrase and helped the group obtain a platinum plaque for this album. Even almost a decade later on Nas’ “One Love” the phrase was being used and had even become a way to greet someone or say goodbye.

6-OutKast- Ms Jackson– The second single off their 2000 release “Stankonia” album which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and sold over 500k its first week. The hit was rumored to be a response to Erykah Badu’s mother after Andre 3000 and Erykah broke up. The song is about what couples go through and the feelings a mother can have against their daughters ex-husband/boyfriend.

5-DMX ft. Faith Evans- How its Goin’ Down– The third single off DMX’s debut album “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot” . The single was a hit in my opinion because if you were from the hood and in love you could relate to the plot. How many of you had to steal your current love away from their girlfriend/boyfriend?

4-LL Cool J- I Need Love– The second single from LL’s second album “Bigger and Deffer.” “I need Love” was considered the first rap ballad hitting number 1 on the hot r&b/hip hop charts. It was also one of the first rap songs to see mainstream success in the UK. LL also won a Soul Train Music Award for the single.

3-Slick Rick Teenage Love– The first single off Slick Rick’s 1988 debut album “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick,” produced by the Bomb Squad. Taking the number 16 spot on Hot Black Singles and 8 on Hot rap singles, it was a hit and would be followed by a bigger hit “Children’s Story.”

2-The Fugees- Killing Me Softly– The original by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel is a track that had been covered by many artists. Roberta Flack had topped the pop charts and won a Grammy covering the track. The Fugees later released in 1996 off The Fugees multi-platinum, Grammy award winning album “The Score”. The cut had climbed to the number 2 spot on Us Airplay charts. Sampling A Tribe Called Quest Bonita AppleBum, Lauryn Hill singing the lead vocals secured her top spot in Hip hop.

1-Method Man & Mary J Blige- Your All I Need– Originally recorded by R&B/Soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell, this hip hop classic just may be the most memorable hip hop love song in history. It could also be argued the most successful rap/r&b duo to date. Method Man and Mary told the love story of many of us who come from the hood and the music video captured the story perfect. A Puff Daddy remix was later created which sampled a track from The Notorious BIG’s “Me & My Bitch” as well as a “Razor Sharp Mix” produced by the RZA.