The 10 Most Successful Rap Songs Of The Summer (2012)

Do you remember which rap songs were hot during the summer of 2002? If not, here's a reminder: Nelly's "Hot In Herre," Eminem's "Without Me," Cam'ron's "Oh Boy," and Diddy's "I Need A Girl" all spent considerable time at or near the top of the Billboard charts. Were they the best songs of that summer? Eh, probably not. But, if you go back and listen to them now, we bet that they'll remind you of things that you did during the summer of 2002. Summer anthems have a way of doing that.

Unfortunately, the summer of 2012 is just about over. The nights are already getting colder. The beaches are becoming less and less crowded. And, if you're like us, you've already pulled out the box of hoodies that you threw in the attic in April. But, we don't want you to completely forget about the summer of 2012 just yet. So, before you do, go ahead and burn a CD or make a Spotify playlist that includes The 10 Most Successful Rap Songs of the Summer of 2012. They aren't necessarily the 10 best songs of the summer. But, when you pop on your CD or press play on your Spotify playlist in 2022, these songs will remind you of everything you did this summer.

#10.
The Song: "Wild Ones"
The Artist: Flo Rida, featuring Sia
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 8
What Made It Great: We'll admit, if we didn't hear this song again until the summer of 2022, we'd be perfectly fine with that. But, outside of taking over the rap charts, it also took over the Billboard Hot 100, Pop Songs, and Hot Dance Club Songs charts. So, if we're including the songs on this list based on how "successful" they were, we can't leave this one off.

#9.
The Song: "UP!"
The Artist: LoveRance, featuring 50 Cent
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 2
What Made It Great: It's amazing how well this song did at radio considering how explicit the hook on it is. Then again, that's part of what makes it so great. It was completely inappropriate to walk around singing this, which was part of the reason why we couldn't stop doing it.

#8.
The Song: "Nobody's Perfect"
The Artist: J. Cole, featuring Missy Elliott
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 4
What Made It Great: This wasn't technically a "summer song" as it was released as a single all the way back in February. But, it really hit its stride in June when it surged to the top of the charts. And, unlike a few of the songs on this list, this is a track that we haven't gotten tired of playing yet. No summer songs are perfect—but this is as close as it gets.

#7.
The Song: "Take It To The Head"
The Artist: DJ Khaled, featuring Chris Brown, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 6
What Made It Great: If you ask us, this song didn't get enough burn on the radio this summer. It was billed as a summer anthem by Khaled and it definitely delivered.

#6.
The Song: "Leave You Alone"
The Artist: Young Jeezy, featuring Ne-Yo
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 2
What Made It Great: We're usually not really in the business of falling in love with Jeezy's love songs. But, the Warren G production on this one made it the perfect joint to ride out to with your summer fling.

#5.
The Song: "Work Hard, Play Hard"
The Artist: Wiz Khalifa
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 3
What Made It Great: For those of you thinking that Wiz was just going to rest on his laurels after the success of his debut album…think again. Even though summertime is usually filled with relaxation, this joint reminded us that there was still work to be done.

#4.
The Song: "Drank In My Cup"
The Artist: Kirko Bangz
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 1
What Made It Great: If you didn't pour yourself a tall cup of something this summer and throw this on at least once, you lost.

#3.
The Song: "Cashin' Out"
The Artist: Ca$h Out
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 1
What Made It Great: The hook! We're still waiting to see how Ca$h Out's career pans out. But, the hook on this one earned him a spot on just about everyone's summer playlist.

#2.
The Song: "No Lie"
The Artist: 2 Chainz, featuring Drake
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 1
What Made It Great: This song is actually just making its' biggest impact on the charts right now. So, you can expect to hear this one well into the fall.

#1.
The Song: "Mercy"
The Artist: Kanye West, featuring Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz
Where It Peaked On The Billboard Rap Songs Chart: No. 1
What Made It Great: Consider it rap's version of "Call Me Maybe." We heard it at least five thousand times this summer. And yet, we still couldn't change the radio station when it came on.

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