Hypnotize

Just listen to those opening Uh! Uh!s. It’s the easily greatest line in hip hop because it's the realest. I’d maintain that it’s the Puffy beat that makes this, though: I mean, it’s the perfect match for Big’s voice – intelligent, humidly precocious, hilarious. It’s genius is its languid flash, paid and absolutely unstoppable, and I think that’s down to how wobbly it sounds: the way that its kicks and hooks spring around the beat rather hitting it dead on: disobedient, proud and languorous like everything that’s late and everything that is wonderful about hip hop. I mean, there's technically better Biggie songs out there but God... This is just so fucking beautiful.

Hypnotize by The Notorious B.I.G