The Killer Bees are creating quite the buzz on VIBE’s Greatest Song (Of The VIBE Era) Tournament, as they knocked Brooklyn begotten son Notorious B.I.G. out of the competition.
The Wu-Tang Clan’s acronymic track “C.R.E.A.M.” (3) defeated Biggie, Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans’ hip-hop soul classic “One More Chance (Remix)” (5) with a margin of 11.6 percent of the vote. Elsewhere in the East Coast division, Nas and Lauryn Hill continued their Cinderella streak as “If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)” (8) overtook “You’re All I Need To Get By” (2) with more than two-thirds of the vote.
The West Coast division saw a set of upsets, with 2Pac’s “Dear Mama” squeaking by Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” (1) with 51.1 percent of votes. Ice Cube bumped the other Dre track in contention, as “It Was A Good Day” (6) overcame the 2Pac-assisted “California Love” (4) with 58.2 percent of vote.
In the Midwest division, both Eminem and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony stayed alive. While Em’s stalker-fan masterpiece “Stan” (4) beat out Kanye’s holy “Jesus Walks” (3), Em’s motivational “Lose Yourself,” um, lost, to the “Tha Crossroads.” As both “Stan” and “Crossroads” each took nearly 60 percent of second-round votes, the two records face off in the third round.
Last but not least is the Dirty South, which found Lil Wayne’s first major appearance [Juvenile’s “Back Dat Azz Up” (3)] beating out his straight rap track “A Milli” (5) with 57.7 percent of votes. Big Boi and Andre 3000’s “Ms. Jackson” (2) overtook T.I.’s hard-hitter “What You Know” (8) in a more lopsided battle, gaining 67.5 percent of the vote.
Peep the VIBE Greatest Hip-Hop Song Tournament to vote in the final eight matchups. —John Kennedy
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