Top 10 Hip-Hop Love Songs

Welcome back guys to my YouTube channel! Oops! My bad, am used to YouTube and didn’t know what to say in the introduction. Anyways guys, thank you so much for visiting the blog once again. Our numbers last time around were insane. Thank you to everyone who shared the link and visited the site, y’all are the reason am back here.

So I was supposed to share this playlist in February but there is this frog called Procrastination that has been basically my pet. It got a fever and died and I really hope it doesn’t come back. Without wasting much of your precious time, let’s dive straight into the business of the day.

I was introduced to Hip Hop at a very young age, thanks to my brother, and the VCR in which we would record videos of songs and then replay them most of the time. Ja Rule, Tupac, and a lot of other artists were a part of the family. I sang the lyrics before I could understand their meaning. Imagine a six-year-old me singing “no matter what I do, all I think about is you…” 

So am going to try to do the impossible and rank some of the best love songs that I’ve heard from Hip-hop, from the Old-school to the New-school. I wanted to do a top 10 but it’s impossible, there a just a lot of songs that need to be mentioned. Therefore I’ll do a top 15, then also add a list of songs that could have easily made it to the top 15. As usual, I’ll also post my Hip-Hop Love Songs playlist plug below.

Drum roll please as we start the countdown! Please take note that I am professional when it comes to music but there is a “bias” that I operate with that makes this list to be perfect. So sit back, and get your headphones and speakers as we begin the list.

15- Fabolous – Into You

We all know this song, whether you are young or old. This is a song that has such a tender chorus done by Tamia/Ashanti (whichever version, it all hits the same spot). Although most would say the verses were not as good as the chorus but I feel as if they were balanced and complimented the chorus very well. 

14 – Kanye West – Bound 2

If it was up to me, this song would be number one. From the samples, Charlie Wilson’s vocals, and Kanye’s Message, the song is a masterpiece, chiseled with perfection, sewn with musicality. The choice of samples was amazing and well-rounded. The harmonies made the song to be warm and somehow remain full. Kanye West has a way of portraying love in a different kind of way that we are not used to. It’s like a different perspective of love writing. Listen to this song and tell me where it should rank in music generally. 

13- The Carters – 03′ Bonnie and Clyde

At first, I wanted to put the Tupac version of Bonnie and Clyde (Me and My Girlfriend) cause it seemed to have more conviction than this one. After listening to the songs back and forth, I decided to go with the Jay Z one because the Tupac one sounds like his girlfriend is literally a gun. The Jay Z and Beyoncé one is a better painting of love and the song was cooked with skill and has a very pleasant taste on the ears. 

12- Big Sean – Play No Games

This is definitely a slept-on song. Big Sean’s wordplay and rhymes are enticing to indulge in. Even the concept of video which was a homage to Martin and Gina’s relationship in the Martin sitcom helped Sean make the love part of the song so vivid. I’ll not talk about what Chris Brown and Ty Dolla Sign added to the song because I wouldn’t finish talking about the magic they orchestrated in the song. 

11-LL Cool J- Hush 

We can’t talk about Hip-hop and love and not talk about Ladies Love Cool James. If love and Hip-hop had a baby LL Cool J would probably be one of the pioneers of the baby. I’m sure when he started rapping about feelings and love people thought it was too soft for Hip-hop, cause his raps and lyrics are soo smooth. Hush may not be his most popular song on love but there is something special about this one. Maybe the fact that he was approaching the end of his career and rapping about how his raps and six-pack will fade but still be in love showed us love about the intangibles and minds connected like Siamese twins and all and that is a special kind of love. 

10- K. O – Skhanda Love 

Am really shocked that it felt wrong and weird for me to do a love playlist and not add this song! If Africa was in the spotlight (musically) back then as it is now on the world stage, this song could have a Grammy. OK am joking but this is a well-crafted song from one of Africa’s best Wordsmith, if not the world. A ride or die kind of love curated by the Skhanda Gawd and the beautiful Nandi Mngoma is a love to die for. The musicality alone in this song is enough to get you hooked and did I mention K. O’s wordplay on this song.  

9 Eve- Gangsta Loving 

I have a crush on Alicia Keys because of this song. The part where she says “I just wanna rock you, ALL Night Long,” she was addressing it to me. Eve was relentless with the pen when she wrote this song and we really found out that she’s a “big girl.” The girls really brought their A-game on this song and few rappers can go head to head with Eve. She is an Alpha on the mic and this song really deserves a spot on this list. 

8- Meek Mill – All Eyes on You 

Well, it’s too bad these guys broke up but the love they exhibited in this song was top-notch. Nicki’s delivery of the verse on this song needs to be exhibited in a museum because that was not just rhyme and rhythm, that was art! Chris Brown is really a pro when it comes to inserting feelings into a song, one of the best pilots to transport you to an enchanted place. 

7- 50 Cent- 21 questions

It’s amazing how a straight-up Gangsta, a person that sings lyrics like “Better watch how you talk when you talk about me ‘Cause I’ll come and take your life away, ” can be the same person that sings a love song with a deliberately flat and honest voice. That can only be the love effect on him that made him write in such a way that he is not used to. This song asks questions that can determine whether it’s true love or not, the ability to stick with a person in their best and in their worst. 

6- 2PAC – Do for Love 

2PAC has quite a handful of love songs in his catalog, and this one has to be the one that tops the pile. I think I have a soft spot for songs that have clean vocal samples from the 60s to the 80s. 2Pac turned Bobby Caldwell’s sample into a masterpiece and a song to remember. Also, the fact that this song was one of the first songs to be released post-humously adds a special attachment to this song. The song paints a toxic kind of relationship that is very difficult to leave and the original title of the song is “sucka for love.” 2Pac was saying that he was a slave for love for the things that he was doing because of it and am sure most of us can relate to this. It’s a great song overall and isn’t really explicit compared to the other 2Pac songs. 

5- Wale – Lotus Flower Bomb 

Talk about a rapper whose niche is solely focused on hip-hop love songs. Wale breathes love into all of his works and has mastered the art of making a Hip-hop love song. With the help of Miguel, they weave a web of feels, teaching us all the sounds of love. The balance between the vulnerability and machismo in this song is consummate from the beguiling raps from Wale that showers the lady with affection to the vowel groanings done by Miguel. Surely, this is a hybrid of love songs.

4- J Cole – Power Trip 

Would you believe me if I said this song is number 4? One of the most talented rappers of our time teams up with Miguel to give us a love anthem. What makes this song one of the best is that it is easy to remember and sing along to. It is effortlessly a hit song crafted to serenade our hearts with a symphony.

3- Ja Rule – Put It on Me

One thing about Ja Rule is that he has the right paraphernalia for a perfect love song. His gruff voice which is stern in its manner makes his words hold a compelling force that grabs our attention and that is what he did in this song. Ja Rule professes that he is nothing without his girl and wears his heart on the sleeve but still manages to portray his thug attitude in the song making this song a rare gem.

2- Kendrick Lamar – Love

The title of the song is the theme for this whole playlist. This song has the same concept as 50 Cent’s 21 questions which is a set of essential questions to his partner to solidify the most critical aspect of their relationship, which is love. The song has a smooth love mood that creates an intimate texture of the song. The harmonized voice in the background soothes the verses and chorus and adds color to the whole song.

1- Wale – The Matrimony

When I said Wale is all about these love songs I really meant it. While I was drafting the list, I came up with a handful of his songs that could have easily made it to the list. This song is seasoned with perfection and fondness with Usher being the cherry on top of the cake. It starts with a conversation with Jerry Seinfeld that sets the intent and warm aroma of the song. Once again the harmonizing voice beneath the song produces a visual shape of love. Wale takes about how unfit he is for his partner and how he has his faults but still he wants to spend “forever” with her. Surely we can all agree that this song is a work of art and love, and it deserves to be the creme da le creme of this playlist.

 

Gentle ladies and men, we have come to the end of our countdown, and am sorry if your favorite song wasn’t on this playlist but you can comment with the name of the song below and we will make a plan. As promised he is another list of other songs that can be interchanged or complement the other songs on the playlist down below.

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Drake – Hold On We’re going home
Fat Joe – I won’t tell
Common – The Light
Diddy – I need a girl pt2
Plies – Bust It Baby pt2
Kendrick Lamar – Poetic Justice
Nelly – Dilemma
Drake – Best I ever had
Nicki Minaj – Your Love
Busta Rhymes – I know what you want
Lil Wayne – How to Love
Nelly – My Place
Jadakiss – You make me wanna
J Cole – Wet Dreams
Wale – Bad

My playlist plug is attached to these words Press here