Pre-Music Housekeeping: Don't you love having a mix you can just put on, from anywhere, and drive to the grocery store, or to get gas, or on the way to a hike, and every song just feels good? That was the idea I had when we got our new car and realized the pretty decent stock sound system deserved a fresh new long play playlist to cruise around to. I didn't intend to make a hip hop heavy list when I started, but that's what we got, and I just might make a punk and rock and broader-themed companion playlist in time. For now, though, this is my latest playlist for long drives and fun with my wife, because these are all songs Val and I have vibed to at one point or another on a road trip and kicked the volume up a couple extra notches for.

REALLY, THIS IS ALL YOU NEED: Spotify | Apple Music

BUT FOR THOSE WHO WANT THE LINER NOTES…

Let's go back to the beginning: the night DJ iPhone put "Gangsters & Strippers" on after a sushi date. That song wasn't an accident, in hindsight. It was the beginning of the end for the old car. RIP - which is "ride in peace," in this scenario (obviously) - to our beloved 2017 Subaru Outback. She served us well.

That moment was also just one stop on a longer road, one that started well before the new car existed. We'd been deep into the habit of playing stuff around the house, while cooking, in whatever car we had, and that habit had slowly turned into a string of "hey, turn this up" conversations. This playlist opens with some of those turn-it-up songs, pulled straight from memory. The goal from track one, i.e. when I started this project about a month ago, was to hit that energy and hold it for the duration.

The duration's goal, originally/at the start, was a lot smaller than it ended up being. This started as "help me survive a two hour late night drive." Then it became "survive an out-and-back, four hours total." Then it got ambitious, and outgrew even that, to the point where it now covers almost two full versions of that original drive, with 111 tracks and a runtime past seven hours. I settled on that number because my wife and 3 others on this list at a minimum will be amused (you know who you are).

One more thing about how to use these notes since there are just too many songs to cover all of them: most of these sections aren't just built to survive a long highway stretch. They hold up just as well for a fifteen minute Turkey Hill run or a quick grocery store/state store/beer store loop. Pick a mood, not just a mileage. Honda should hire me for copywriting. Or, maybe Subaru? I don’t know. I’m not a car guy, but I am a car music guy, so let’s get into this.

So that's how you get from Short Dog straight into Clipse and Mobb Deep - "hot damn, ho, here we go again," Lil' Kim doing what Lil' Kim does - into some classic Slum Village, a Ghostface deep cut that somehow turned into a pop song, and more Bay Area because why not. Then we pause to mourn the fact that we will never see Kendrick's Paris set live (or on streaming again?!), and celebrate Baby Keem's solo run instead. This is how we warm up.

Too $hort - Gangsters & Strippers
E-40 - Yay Area
E-40 - Tell Me When to Go
Clipse - Grindin'
Mobb Deep - Quiet Storm Remix
Slum Village - Forth and Back
Method Man & Redman - Da Rockwilder
Ghostface Killah & U-God - Cherchez LaGhost
Mistah F.A.B. - Sideshow (Remix)
Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar - family ties
Baby Keem - Ca$ino

Dancehall and all tings reggae adjacent is part of my childhood. Well beyond subjecting my wife to Trojan Records documentaries and dub deep dives on YouTube (which she's loved, for the record), I had a weird obsession in the early 90s with a lot of contemporary dancehall, courtesy of a tape I got who knows where that put me in full-on collecting mode.

Val's entry point was Sean Paul. I won't get into his legitimacy as an artist here, but I will say both of his tracks in this stretch are legitimately amazing.

So we start on the Island of Britain, with Roots Manuva doing the pirate radio thing, before we cross over to Jamaica, hit some classics and anthems, and jump back and forth across eras and riddims from there.

Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope)
Beenie Man - King of the Dancehall
Sean Paul - Get Busy
Sean Paul - Temperature
Shabba Ranks - Ting-A-Ling
Cutty Ranks - Limb By Limb
Beenie Man - Slam
Buju Banton - Champion

There's an East Coast purist's angle here you can't deny. We exit reggae with some underground, updated BDP energy courtesy of Brooklyn scenesters Black Star, then backfill with how we got to that point in the 90s. It's a golden era for a reason.

It knocks coming out of the speakers too, with a DJ Premier vibe that honestly deserves its own playlist, plus some mixtape love in here (Ron G!).

We land on Pun, because that might be where the lyrical miracle stuff needed to peak, at least in the mainstream. Rest in peace to too many of these guys - Biggie, 2Pac, Big L, Pun himself - gone way before they should've been.

Black Star - Definition
Black Star - Re: Definition
Nas - Nas Is Like
Jeru the Damaja - Come Clean (E New Y Radio)
The Notorious B.I.G. - Unbelievable (2007 Remaster)
Big L - Deadly Combination (feat. 2Pac)
D.I.T.C. - Ebonics (feat. Big L) [Premo Mix]
Gang Starr - Full Clip
Pete Rock - Tru Master (with Inspectah Deck & Kurupt)
Tony Touch - The Abduction (feat. Wu-Tang Clan)
The Beatnuts - Off the Books (feat. Big Punisher & Cuban Linx)
Big Punisher - Still Not a Player (feat. Joe) [Radio Version]

"Boricua, Morena" is eternal, right? By the time N.O.R.E. got his hands on it, the Puerto Rican invasion was so underway it wasn't even funny. This bridge between New York rap, PR heritage, and the new genre that exploded seemingly out of nowhere into one of the neighborhoods I lived in in the early 2000s - that reggae-dance-meets-hip-hop-meets-club sound - it sounds so good turned up loud.

N.O.R.E. - Oye Mi Canto (feat. Daddy Yankee, Niña Sky, Gem Star & Big Mato)
Daddy Yankee - Lo Que Pasó, Pasó
Don Omar - Dale Don Dale
Bad Bunny - Tití Me Preguntó

After Sir Too $hort, the era of rap I would have bet money my wife would least become such a hardcore fan of is the early-to-mid 2000s stuff. Dipset, and all of Harlem with it, is her thing. Yes, she appreciates my love for Ghost, and being proper Philly means Freeway gets an automatic pride pass, but Cam'ron taking over the Roc is a sonic truth she's embraced way beyond expectation, and I am so here for it.

When these songs were hits, I used to fight loving them. Lyrically, sure, they leave a lot to be wanted - or, more realistically, a lot you wish they didn't have to say out loud so bluntly, but oh well (ask Val about her favorite chicken sandwich line). Those beats are infectious and perfect in ways I'm delighted to see have stood the test of time.

And Erick Sermon closes this stretch out with "React," which might be the cleverest joke in the whole bunch - a song that pokes fun at not knowing what the sampled voice is even saying, sitting right next to a run of songs where the sampled words were the verses. It's a rejection of the bit, in a very post-Missy, can't-help-but-sing-along way.

Jim Jones - Crunk Muzik (feat. Cam'ron & Juelz Santana)
The Diplomats - Dipset Anthem
The LOX - Money, Power & Respect (feat. DMX & Lil' Kim)
Jadakiss - We Gonna Make It (feat. Styles P)
Juelz Santana - Oh Yes
Cam'ron - Hey Ma (feat. Juelz Santana, Freekey Zeekey & Toya)
Fabolous - Return of the Hustle (feat. Swizz Beatz)
Ghostface Killah - Be Easy (feat. Trife da God)
Freeway - What We Do (feat. JAY-Z & Beanie Sigel)
Beanie Sigel & Freeway - Roc the Mic
Erick Sermon - React

Hits are weird. In the moment, a lot of these songs got overplayed. But in looking back, they got overplayed because they're magic. From Fat Joe leaning back, to that "Made You Look" gunshot over the Incredible Bongo Band sample. Plus "Ante Up" survives in modern sports culture to this day (and the best verses are still on the remix, for the record).

Wife also gets some fan service here, with Busta and Missy getting extra treatment, before we head south. Partly so she can always have "Kryptonite" stuck in her head, and partly for the synths, the subs, and the moods - the post-G-funk national interpretation starting to creep in that'll come full circle by the end.

Terror Squad - Lean Back (feat. Fat Joe & Remy Ma)
Nas - Made You Look
M.O.P. - Ante Up Remix (feat. Busta Rhymes)
Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says
De La Soul - I.C. Y'all (feat. Busta Rhymes)
Busta Rhymes - Touch It
Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On
Missy Elliott - Work It
Pharrell Williams & Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot
JAY-Z - Dirt Off Your Shoulder
T.I. - Bring Em Out
Slim Thug featuring T.I. & Bun B - 3 Kings
Pimp C - Pourin Up (feat. Bun B & Mike Jones)
Killer Mike - Kryptonite (feat. Big Boi)
UGK - Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)
Rick Ross - Hustlin'

Now, I'm not saying this next part is for me, but I'm also saying you can't just go wall to wall, bangers and hits and anthems, without some reflection. So this next bit gets into the post-lyrical-miracle energy where even if we didn’t keep “real g's move in silence like lasagna" we made sure the extremely moody (and moodier) sounds getting the hood treatment.

Yeah, RTJ knows how to do post-PE sonic punishment like few else. And yes, they do, because Wu perfected the chorusless posse cut back when Griselda were kids, and the Madlib, Gibbs, and Clipse boys were still on the come up, working corners or studying corner workers or some combination of the two. There's such a bounce to these songs, even if they feel notably outside of the mainstream, it’s because they are more underground than anything else I kept on this list.

Lil Wayne - A Milli
Run The Jewels - Oh My Darling Don't Cry
Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph
Griselda - DR BIRDS
Westside Gunn - Hell on Earth, Pt. 2 (feat. Benny the Butcher)
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Harold's
Mobb Deep - Drop a Gem On 'Em
Prodigy - Keep It Thoro
Pusha T - If You Know You Know
Clipse - Mr. Me Too
Pusha T - Numbers On the Boards

There's a whole playlist hiding inside that last section too. Honestly, every section here could've gone deeper. I have some sense of restraint, believe it or not, even on a seven hour playlist.

We exit the underground stretch with Pusha's synths pushing us back into comfortably having choruses again, basically. From here it's all about swagger. Panther is filthy swagger. "All the Way Up" shows up because it's all baller all the time. A$AP, Flo Milli, and Megan are, and earn the title, punk as hell. I'm always going to be a fan of music that somebody's parents are probably scared of, and this section is here to remind you it's still happening, especially with the ladies.

Run The Jewels - Panther Like a Panther (Miracle Mix)
Fat Joe, Remy Ma & French Montana - All the Way Up (feat. Infared)
A$AP Rocky - Pretty Flacko
A$AP Rocky - Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2
Flo Milli - Conceited
Flo Milli - May I
Megan Thee Stallion - Cash Shit (feat. DaBaby)
Megan Thee Stallion - Girls in the Hood

The throwbacks to the G-funk era were tempting me hard here, but I'm resisting going too deep. Again, I'm holding back. I have to. But we've still got a West Coast theme to explore, and Eazy is one of the old schoolers who somehow lazily luxuriates in all that G-funk-adjacent space without ever needing to fully commit to it. It's such a reminder of the conversation East and West Coast were having in the late 80s and early 90s, and all the opportunity and expanse it led the music toward.

While rock was waffling between stadiums and grunge, we had wild regional scenes drawing influence from each other, which is how we get a thread within a thread here: a run from some of my favorite producers and beatmakers ever. Dre, Sermon, Dilla (via Common), and Q-Tip get their corner because of that, and those beats still hit so hard.

The musicality of G-funk - that national interpretation we mentioned a few stops back - is with us the whole time, even if I had to bite my arm to keep from going too deep into that, or into a pure 808 celebration, on this list. Hey, remember when Kendrick did the Super Bowl? That was wild. Still missing that Paris concert, Amazon. Just saying.

Eazy-E - Boyz-N-The-Hood (Remix)
2Pac - California Love (feat. Roger Troutman)
Dr. Dre - Still D.R.E. (feat. Snoop Dogg)
Erick Sermon - Music (feat. Marvin Gaye)
Common - Dooinit
A Tribe Called Quest - We the People....
ScHoolboy Q - Collard Greens (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE.
Kendrick Lamar - squabble up

We got wild, we toured the country (sonically), we toured the eras, we played the hits, and this is where we put a bow on it. The synths and samples here start in the Bay, then Chicago fights the major labels with Chance, then we revisit New York's anti-label drama on top of the Nate Dogg championing he deserves, all to remind us of the role rock played - and I do mean rock 'n' roll and the crack-cocaine rock, at the same time.

Then we club out to the only song we play in our house more than "Gangsters & Strippers," with "Blow the Whistle" as the runner up: "Choices" by E-40. That bass really makes me want to buy a sub for the car. Maybe I will.

E-40 - Function (feat. YG, IAMSU! & others)
B-Legit - So International (feat. Too $hort)
Chance the Rapper - Favorite Song (feat. Childish Gambino)
Chance the Rapper - No Problem (feat. Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz)
De La Soul - The Grind Date
De La Soul - Oooh. (feat. Redman)
Pharoahe Monch - Right Here
Mos Def & Pharoahe Monch - Oh No (feat. Nate Dogg)
Fabolous - Can't Deny It (feat. Nate Dogg)
Snoop Dogg - Lollipop (feat. JAY-Z & Nate Dogg)
Slum Village & Abstract Orchestra - All Live
Jaylib - McNasty Filth (feat. Frank-N-Dank)
Ghostface Killah - The Champ
The Diplomats - Built This City (feat. Hell Rell)
Trick Daddy - Let's Go (feat. Twista & Lil' Jon)
E-40, Lil Jon, Sean Paul & YoungBloodZ - Snap Yo Fingers
Ice Cube - Check Yo Self (Remix)
Ice Cube - You Can Do It (feat. Mack 10)
Too $hort - Blow the Whistle
E-40 - Choices (Yup)

If you made it this far, I hope it didn’t take you 7 hours, but also, I respect the process and this took me wayyyyy more than 7 hours to make.

I know I missed 1000 songs. I want to hear all of them. Find me and tell me.