WARMER MIXTAPES #719 | by Rufat Agayev of SKYWAY

When I was growing up in Erie, PA we had no Hip-Hop stations on the Radio. On Mondays though they had a Hip-Hop show from 9 till Midnight on Public Radio that some College Kids would host. So in the 4th grade I would stay up without my mom knowing and record the show, on a tape, with the 5-disc CD changer system I got for Christmas. I would wake up the next day and play the songs I liked most from the show; this list contains songs I heard which sparked my Love for Rap Music.

1. Scarface | Smile (feat. 2Pac & Johnny P)
This is right, When 2Pac Died, I loved Pac and I Remember Jamming All Eyez On Me, That Shit was Amazing. I would Go Online and read all the Conspiracy Theories about How He Was Still Alive (listen to the Makaveli intro, you can hear Suge shot him). Basically this song is Awesome, and there was a double in the video that posed as him, People Went Crazy When They Saw It.

2. Jay-Z | Intro/A Million And One Questions/Rhyme No More
I got my dad to buy me In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 for Christmas after seeing the Sunshine video on MTV. Jay-Z was my Favorite Rapper after I went through my No Limit phase. The beat on this is just Too Good and How it Switches at 2:23, ugh!

3. LL Cool J | 4, 3, 2, 1 (feat. Method Man, Redman, Canibus, Master P and DMX)
This is the song that started the Canibus and LL beef, when they played this I Went Nuts. The Beat, Accompanied by How Every Rapper Kills It, and the Beef makes this Classic. Oh, and I was Rooting for Canibus.

4. Rakim | Guess Who’s Back
They would play this song All The Time on the show, especially just the beat when they would make announcements. Everything About This Song Is Ill.

5. TRU | No Limit Soldiers
So my Friend in Karate Class let me borrow the TRU CD when I was 9, That Shit Changed My Life. This song started my No Limit Obsession; I had like every CD No Limit put out, my mom would buy me the Clean Version from this department store named Hills.

6. Juvenile | Ha (Jay-Z Remix)
This was when Cash Money first Got Popular, this song was the Shit, and I Remember Blasting It Out the Window During Summertime. The video was HellaGrimey, and Cash Money had like the Best Chains after No Limit.

7. DMX | Niggaz Done Started Something (feat. The Lox And Mase)
So on top of This Having a Timeless Beat, it also has the Hottest New York Rappers from New York in the Late 90’s on One Song. I was a big DMX and Mase fan and they both just Shitted On This Beat.

8. Wu-Tang Clan | Triumph (feat. CappaDonna)
I remember Sitting with my Best Childhood Friend on the Porch and he explained How The Video for This Looks and I didn’t believe him. After watching it and hearing the song, I was Dumbfounded. To This Day it is Still One of my Favorite Videos. From ODB’s speech, Method Man’s part on the bike with the Black Contacts, GZA Jumping from the Building, and Ghostface and Raekwon Rapping in a Cage in a Cub with Quincy Jones. WTF!!! Ghostface Spits in the Camera, then Raekwon all like guaranteed made 'em jump like Rod Strickland!!!

9. The Notorious B.I.G. | Mo Money Mo Problems (feat. Puff Daddy & Mase)
I Knew All the Words, This Song Always Used to be #1 on MTV’s Hip Hop Countdown, and When This Shit Would Come On at the Dances I Would Throw my Rodies in the Sky and Wave 'em Side to Side. SHINY JUMPSUITS!!!

 10. Eminem | Just Don't Give A Fuck
First song I heard from Eminem, I Didn’t Know He Was White Until He Got Popular. But the Lyrics on this were like No Other Emcee I Heard at That Time. Super Descriptive, Rugged, and Uncut. Sheesh!