1. Jay-Z, “Reasonable Doubt” (and D’Evils might be the greatest hip-hop track of all time for that matter)
2. Outkast, “Aquemini” (just as The Godfather can be said to have transcended the Gangster Flick genre, “Aquemini” transcends hip-hop—sounding nothing like anything we heard in the ’90s rap scene, SpottieOttieDopalicious might be the first record that actually made me pay attention to what these rappers were even saying in the late ’90s)
3. Mos Def, “Black on Both Sides” (to this day, Mathematics is unmatched on my iTunes play count)
4. Notorious B.I.G., “Ready to Die” (if you are between the ages of 22 and 40 and do not know at least some of the lyrics to Juicy then you must’ve grown up in a cave or some shit)
5. Cam’Ron, “Confessions of Fire” (Horse and Carriage is directly responsible for planting the seeds in my brain that would grow into an unhealthy obsession with The Diplomats and all things Harlem by 2004)

If I had 24 hours to live?  Fuck a wardrobe, I’d give blunts to them bloggers under massive stress, give every bum on the web cash to invest and hope NTB blow up as my last request.