The Greatest Hip-Hop Song (Of The VIBE Era) is off and running, and already unpredictable upsets have bumped favorites off the bracket.
Perhaps the most notable took place in the East Coast division, where an eight seeded Nas & Lauryn Hill [“If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)”] bodied the whole Bad Boy Family [“It’s All About The Benjamins (Remix)”] by a diesel 23 percent of the vote. The sleeper pick previously knocked off Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life” in a preliminary fan vote-in, and now advances to the elite eight.
Elsewhere in the East, second-seeded Method Man and Mary J. Blige (“I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By”) (2) topped 50 Cent’s birthday anthem“In Da Club” (7), Wu-Tang‘s “C.R.E.A.M.” (3) beat out ATCQ‘s “Scenario (Remix)” (6), and “One More Chance (Remix)” (5) upset classic posse cut “Flava In Your Ear (Remix)” (4).
The Dirty South division saw another number one catch an L. T.I.’s “What You Know” (8) literally shot up the charts with 71.3 percent of the vote, ending B.G.’s “Bling Bling” (1) shine. “Ms. Jackson” (2) knocked off Lil’ Jon’s party starter “Get Low” (7), “Back Dat Azz Up” (3) prevailed against booty-shaking predecessor “I Wanna Rock” (6) and Lil Wayne’s zany punchline-powered “A Milli” (5) napalmed the No Limit soldier tanks, as “Make Em Say Uhh” (4) fell.
Things were a bit more predictable in the Midwest division, where higher seeds reigned supreme. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “Tha Crossroads” (1) bested Da Brat’s “Funkdafied” (8) with 86.2 percent of the vote, while “Lose Yourself” (2) beat out “Country Grammar (Hot Shit)” (7) with 76.9 percent of votes. In the Kanye West showdown, “Jesus Walks” (3) knocked out “Slow Jamz” (6) while Eminem’s “Stan” (4) beat Common’s “I Used To Love H.E.R.” (5), both winning with nearly two-thirds of the vote.
On the wild, wild West, Dr. Dre beat out Pharcyde, as “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” picked up more than 80 percent of votes against “Passin’ Me By.” 69 percent preferred 2Pac’s “Dear Mama” (7) to “I Get Around,” while Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” (6) bested Snoop’s “Gin & Juice”(3), and “California Love” (4) beat out Cypress Hill’s “Kill A Man (5).
Vote in the second round of the Greatest Hip-Hop Song of the VIBE Era Tournament, which features the battle of the classic hip-hop soul duet, Nas and Lauryn Hill (“If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)”) vs. Method Man and Mary J. Blige (“I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By”).
Click here to cast your vote in the second round!
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